//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Real Life Begins 
// Story: The Charmed Ones 
// by ninjintonic 
//------------------------------//

A year later...

So much has changed within the span of year and not much to say in its entirety. But I like to say we're headed in some sort of direction. We all have jobs now, unfortunately. Bills and responsibilities are a bitch, Sonata was right about one thing, we should've practiced being humans sooner if we knew we've pend to this. We had no other choice but to learn quickly.

I swear I don't think I can go another day with Aria complaining about her job anymore. According to her, humans work at a fast pace and quality control is the least of their concern. My response was, "Duh, that's why you work at a fast-food joint. Quantity over quality in all these places." It gets under her skin every time. Sonata was able to hold a job without getting fired for once, working as a mascot at Chuck E. Cheeses. It's considered a dream job according to Sonata, which is not a surprise. Wearing a costume and acting as a fictional character suits her just perfect. The pay isn't great but it's enough to get by. As for me, I just got the promotion last week as the store manager at a fabric company. It's not what I expected, but should I complain? That's just how civilizations work. We work for stability in our lives; We come and go, we give and take, and when it's finally over, we steer clear far from reality as possible for the night. We repeat again in a vicious cycle the next day.

At this point in our lives, we are so far behind from our original goal. Getting our equestrian power back was the last thing on our minds since we're all caught up with our own lives, working nine to five, almost six days a week. I don't know how I feel about it, but I guess it's safe to say at this point that we all love and hate what we do. Sure, I wouldn't say no to getting our power back, but since we have no clue on how, we all had to come to an agreement to hang on the threads of faith that something miraculous is bound to happen when least expected. But for the mean time, we'll just have to suck it up and live like human beings.

"Jose, can you pull a double tonight? Melissa called in sick..." I asked as he sets a pattern of fabrics on a rack. 

Jose is one of my critical employees. The combination of his ways of being quick-witted and his well-built physique, he's the man for the job. Especially when job requires heavy labor. Jose smiled, "Thank God about time you let it out of your system. I know you've been meaning to ask me four hours ago... Are you that shy?"

I raised an eyebrow, "It's nothing like that. I couldn't make up my mind whether to put you or Stacey in charge for the night."

"I gotta ask, you always put her on the floor to pull doubles. I can use the money too ya know... Besides, what does Stacey possess that I don't... Two fake implant bulges on her chest?" Jose continued to set the last remaining batch of fabrics on a rack. 

I crossed my arms and displayed a smirk, "Ya' know, I sometimes wonder about you... Do you critique women's breast every day?"

"Hey, I'm a guy... It's in my DNA... If you need to know, it's more like every other hour." Jose chuckled.

I brushed my hair back with my fingers, and tossed him back a serious look, "It was a rhetorical question."

Jose with a swift taunt, "Was it really?"

Giving him a scornful look, I pulled out my walkie-talkie from my back-pocket, and spoke through it, with my eyes on him still in tact, "Hey Stacey, you're free to go home for the night."

Jose chortled, "I really do get on your nerves, do I?..."

I forged a fake smile, "Please... Honey, first of all, I've learned over the course of years to cope with people like you. Secondly, it takes a lot to piss me off."

Shaking his head, he sat the last fabric on the rack, "You owe me a drink." He then walked away wearing a smirk on his face.

I would've thanked him if he wasn't acting such a total jerk. If I had my powers, the evil things I'd do to him, you have no idea.

I took a deep breath in relief and thought to myself, 'wow', how productive today was. Everyone did a great job handling the business altogether despite some close calls. Can't wait to hear back from corporate, but until then, I don't think I can exhaust another hour here at work. Calling it a day and skedaddle my home.

*Cell Phone Rings*

I took my phone out of my pocket then answered, followed by my tone with a less enthused attitude, "Yes, Nata, what do you want..."

"Dagi, I'm going out with some co-workers tonight for drinks and stuff, I won't be home until midnight." Sonata confirmed.

"Whatever, I'm not your mother." I stressed.

"Yeah but you're the one who told us to let you know in advance if we're coming home late..."

I sighed, "... Where's Aria?"

"Dunno..." a short moment of conversational pause in between, she then continued, "... You tried calling her?"

"It goes straight to voicemail." I replied.

She paused in between, "Wait a minute, I heard she was going to that little music get-together she mentioned couple of days ago."

"... Dinner for one it is then..." I compelled.

"Seems like it... Listen hey I gotta go, call ya later, love ya bye!" Sonata hangs up without a chance for me to respond.

What's up with those two lately? Not like they've had enough BS from work, and yet they're still able to kill time and loiter. After having taught them a valuable lesson on taking risks from the decisions we make, whether for personal gain and due to our powers being completely obsolete, I just hope Celestia that nothing backfires. Sure, I don't mind living a little, having a cheat day, being a dare-devil just a little bit, but boy these girls are in for a treat. Then Aria questions why she can't be the leader, when all things considered that I do most of the heavy lifting.

Headed straight to my office, contemplating what to fix for dinner. Maybe perhaps order something to take out since I'll be home alone tonight. Chinese food while watching my favorite series of Charmed on Netflix sounds awesome. I must know if they killed out my favorite character, Prue Halliwell, on the next episode. It would be unfortunate to see that since she's the strongest, the oldest and the wisest witch than the other two in the show.

"Goodnight Dagi, see you tomorrow." A random employee waved farewell.

In my normal clothes with a jacket to keep me warm like a sauna on a frozen evening, I waved back whilst making my way to the exit through the powered doors, "You too and don't work too hard."



Half an hour later, I got off at my usual bus-stop that's walking distance from our apartment. Nearby, there's a bakery which I've been going to for some time now. They have quite a variety of sweets and has one of the best damn coffee in town. But I'm just going to stop in for a cup of black coffee decaf, and call it a night.

A loud chime sounded as I entered the door to an immediate, loud, welcoming voice, "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!" by a chubby lady behind the front counter. Speaking from retail perspective, I wondered if she ever gets tired of having to show such remarkable energy of a greeting all day, every day. Must be good business, but I mean come on, we're all humans after all, sad to say I fall into that category, but even for an immortal, I don't think that's normal. We do get exhausted in the middle of the day, but having to keep her A-Game 99% of the time, is creepy if you ask me.

"Just a medium hot black coffee decaf for now please." I ordered as making my way to the counter to pay up.

"Coming right up, my dear!" She turned and made several steps towards the coffee machine to brew a fresh cup of decaf.

Waiting at the counter for my coffee to finish brewing, I browsed through the half empty dining area to find a more peaceful spot for me to sit. Usually a booth by the corner window is perfect, and is currently vacant.

"Here ya go, that'll be $2.75." followed by her smile that shun like the brightest sun in the sky.

I rolled my eyes with a friendly grin, "Thanks." revealing my debit card from my purse, I swiped it through the card machine to pay. Payment Pending.

"It's okay dear, it usually takes time for our card reader to process." The chubby lady made a friendly hand wave gesture to simply indicate that it's not a problem, "Enjoy!"

Grabbing my fresh cup of coffee, I made my way to the seating area, towards the designated booth to sit down and chill for a little while. I made another attempt to place a phone call to Aria, but it still went straight to voicemail. She's not one to always check her voicemail often so instead, I drafted a text message: "Where are you?" I placed the phone down on the table and took a sip of my coffee, refreshing and delicious. I haven't heard from Aria since this morning, she did mention earlier that she was going to be out, but she was too vague to elaborate further. Based on what Sonata mentioned earlier, she's probably in that quote unquote 'music convention' having the time of her life with a guy. I'm not one to intrude in her personal life, but as the big sister, it would be nice of her to keep me in the loop. So much for this whole rule for laying low from human danger. The stuff I see on the news every morning, humans can have their fair share of venomous ways. Perhaps much worse than Sirens on some level.

A customer entered the bakery, prompting the chimes to ring once again. I gazed through mid-distance with anxious curiosity, to visualize that familiar face and his broad shoulders, an employee of mine, Jose. What in the hell could he be doing here at this time of the night, isn't he supposed to be pulling a double? Raising my eyebrow, the chubby lady took his order at the front counter. He took a gander at my direction, smiled and waved his hands severely enough to get my attention. The nerve.

After paying up for his coffee and muffin, with no hesitation in the slightest, sauntered his way towards my direction with an excessive self-assurance enabling him to, for lack of a better word, look whimsical. I can't stand the guy. Nonetheless, he casually sat himself down in the booth, opposite side of me.

"Hi!" Jose broadened his smile, even his dimples.

"Hi!" I replied in the same tone, while fiddling my fingers at my coffee cup. I huffed out a single laugh, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" He was annoyingly acting clueless.

"Heh! you kidding me? Aren't you supposed to be, I don't know, working?" I sneered.

"Oh, oh, oh, well that girl, what's her face showed up?" Jose snapping his fingers to recollect the name of that one employee.

"Melissa..." I contributed.

He pointed a finger at me for granting him the name, "Yeah her!" Staring at him blankly, I waited for him to continue rambling on at will, "Well so, I just didn't think I need to be there so I clocked out." He then took a sip of his coffee and a bite of a muffin, "You have no idea how relieved I am to be here."

I leaned forward with a faint smile, and peered at his somber features. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" I said in a low voice.

Jose took another bite of his muffin, chewed egotistically and shrugged, "No, but I always come here. Besides, I love hanging out with you, you're the best boss ever."

From that moment, it's better to bite my tongue than say something rude and regret. I work with this guy for the love of Celestia. So I shook my head and grinned, "You're full of crap, you know that?"

"I'm speaking the truth, plus you... Look like you can use a company." Jose gave a coy smile, and winked. "I know what you're thinking... But give me one reason why you shouldn't fire me here right now."

I stared at him boldly while he takes several more bites of his muffin, "I will give you one reason why I regret hiring you on day one."

"C'mon Adagio, we're not at work." He simpered, "Technically, I'm not doing anything wrong... Just taking this moment of my time to kick back and enjoy our date."

I gave him a sarcastic grin, "Oh, this is our date?.. Oh gully, I can't believe I wore my push-up bra for this. Another nights wasted of an opportunity to get in a guy's pants. Why must I be so unlucky."

Jose chortled and shook his head, "Relax... Not like we met on Tinder then plan to leave here on a one night stand, unless you want to."

Come to think of it, he must be wanting something from me; Work-related stuff. Stifling a relentless stare, I sighed with a question, "...What do you want, Jose..."

As taking his last bite of the muffin, he brushed the crumbs off his hands. "You still don't get it do you..."

I begged him earnestly, "Just, tell me..."

"Alright?..." He paused for a moment, and cleared his throat, "I want a pay-raise."

I stifled a laugh, took a sip of my coffee and gave him a sidelong glance, "You're serious?... After the thought of firing you just seconds ago, and you say that... Are you high?"

"Look... I know what you're thinking but before you go rage mode and reject my request, at least think about it." Jose begged.

"Is this some kind of a sick joke?" With a grimace, I crossed my arm and shrugged, "I don't even have to think twice... Lets start off from the top how unbelievably arrogant you are, not only to your co-workers, but your boss; Two, your lack of customer service and responsibility; Three, eating your co-workers' lunch; Four, sexual harassment and..."
"Whoa whoa whoa... ... ... What?..." Jose interrupted.

I stared at him briefly, "... Sexual Harassment..."

"No, I didn't mean that... Eating my co-workers' lunch??" He questioned, "Since when?"

I shook my head with irritation, "...You're unbelievable. I'm not going to waste my time here anymore. Sadly, minutes of my life you stole, I'll never get back." I made no such attempt to hide the disgust in my eyes, "I better leave before I put your head against a wall."

Right as I stood up from the booth, grabbing my purse in the process, the chubby lady approached me with a receipt on her hand, "..Umm, my apologies, miss, your card had finally processed through our system, but it showed transaction failed..."

I raised an eyebrow with a confused state of mind, trying to recollect all the expenditures I made recently. No way I could've spent all of my earnings in one week, unless Sonata really did consider buying the PS4 pro and a UHD flat screen TV from Amazon. I'm going to kill her! (figuratively speaking) I really should start keeping tabs on that girl, or better yet, to ensure my credit cards are hidden at all costs. "... Are you sure?" I asked with a nervous laughter.

The chubby lady nodded with a frown. Jose seeing this, pulled out his wallet and tossed several dollars on the table, thankfully enough to pay for the coffee that I ordered. "Keep the change, Mrs. Cake, I'll take care of her."

Mrs. Cake displayed an apprehensive smile as she scratched the back of her head, "This is pretty awkward, I uhhh, didn't really mean to..."

"Don't worry about it." Jose confirmed.

"Okay... But Thank You again." Mrs. Cake said repeatedly. She displayed one last smile, nodded and walked away.

"Well ain't she a sweetie." Placing both my hands on my hips.

"Sweeter than you." Jose attested, "Now you really owe me two drinks."

Ignoring his statement, I rolled my eyes and elicited a mischievous smirk, "... Well you enjoy the rest of your night, last I checked, you're supposed to be at work tomorrow morning to do inventory."

Jose leaned back on his chair, grinning. "You still didn't give me a straight answer."

"The answer is 'No'." Giving him a straight response.

We both gazed at each other in mute distress. Jose feeling despondent, his gaze downcast as he spoke, "... Okay... I understand."

Although a part of me felt a pang of guilt, but as a manager, I just can't promote someone while having coffee in a small, convenient bakery. It's totally unprofessional, and unrealistic. Besides, who in the hell asks for a pay raise just like that anyway? Well, the line has been said many times in TV shows. I don't care what anyone says, you don't ask for a pay raise just like that, unless I see you worked for it, which is totally not the case for Jose. But according to him, this is all a moot-point.

"... See you in the morning..." As putting my purse over my shoulder, I simply walked towards the exit, leaving him behind in his own frame of mind.