Charisma: compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others
*
Despite everyone sleeping mostly throughout the train ride, when we got home everyone stumbled out of the car, to quote Estelle, we were all 'sleepy zombies.'
I was happy to be back at the dorm.
When we got inside, the stairs became our greatest obstacle, except for Estelle, who took one look at them and opted to lie down on the footrest by the door.
I was debating whether to push through my drowsiness and have a regular sleeping schedule or going for a nap and risk jet lag. As all the bags came in, I decided to make some tea.
I missed the sight of kitchen appliances, perhaps a strange sentiment, but seeing the blender sitting on the counter and being able to touch it and turn it on was uncomfortably pleasing after days of not being allowed in a kitchen. The wooden polished tea case was pushed to the corner, the sight of it making my taste buds tingle, but upon picking it up, I saw the coffee machine. I wasn't a coffee drinker. Ever since I met this quirky librarian/relic enthusiast a few years ago, who was addicted to caffeine in general, coffee was ruined for me, but with how tired I was it sounded good.
"Is today the day?" I said aloud, seeing both the option for instant and coffee beans, "Will you finally defeat me caffeine?"
"You two need a minute?" Alexis walked into the room.
"Please." I wanted to press its buttons. "Do you want coffee?"
Alexis nodded, "Yes, it is my life force."
When I started the coffee machine, the others spilled into the room. I very quickly became a barrister as everyone threw their coffee orders at me. Ten minutes later, I placed various mugs before them. "Cappuccinos for Ava and Alexis," I pushed them forwards, "Mocha for Robyn. Hot chocolate for Bonnie and Amada. An espresso for Amia." I had no clue how I remembered who got what, but I recalled this one; "A purple sparkle latte with a picture of SpongeBob for Estelle."
I put Estelle's coffee in a large soup cup. I had found the food colouring in the pantry and coloured the milk to make a purple froth. However, I wasn't an artist, and Estelle was quick to point it out. "You call that SpongeBob."
"I call that coffee," I countered. I found a small white cup and placed the remaining frothed milk in it. "And a babyccino for baby Mia." Mia took the cup and drank the warm milk happily.
"How can you drink straight coffee like that?" Ava asked Amia, who examined her little espresso cup.
"In Italy and France, you would all be shunned by cafes," she informed, sipping her drink as she went to the lounges.
"There's more than one way to drink coffee, Amia," Alexis stated.
"Shunned," Amia whispered.
Robyn accidentally gave herself a frothy moustache. Estelle soon following, but hers being purple it got more notice. "Is coloured coffee a thing?" she asked, licking up the excess froth.
I took out another mug, the smell of coffee being enough to wake me up, so I opted for tea. "I don't think people care about the colour of their coffee," I answered, "Just so long as they get it."
"I'd open up a café selling coloured coffee," Estelle regaled, "I would colour the babyccinos, and claim magic is what made their hue. A shot of charisma! A dollop of confidence! A spoonful of ambition!" She climbed onto the counter to announce her ideas to the kitchen, prompting the girls to cradle their drinks in their hands. "Your mocha is yellow you say?" she pointed at Robyn, who had the biggest smile, "Because there's a shot of happiness!"
"That's called alcohol," Alexis chimed.
"No such thing in my café! There shall only be magic and eatable glitter!" She gleefully danced on the countertop, ignoring the moments where she spilt her coffee from her sudden twirls. Every squealed in surprise when it splashed.
I managed to catch Ava's eye, the two of us exchanging a smirk at Estelle's usual personality.
"What're your rules on naps during work hours?" asked Bonnie.
"Splendid encouraged even!" she bellowed.
"Will you have themed drinks?" Amia called.
"What kind of owner do you take me for? Of course, I will!" Estelle kicked up her leg as she started pacing on the countertop, tapping a finger thoughtfully against her chin. "Let's see. I will have Vampire themed coffee, tainted red with your enemy's blood served in the darkest black cup. I will have Cloud Cremer! Hot chocolate covered with a family of marshmallows and whipped cream. There shall be Pixie Mixes, Fairy Tea, and Dragon Flame Espresso, where only the bravest souls will take a sip of such an elixir."
"What's the name of your charisma café?" Robyn signed, her hand movements whimsical.
"Excellent question," Estelle admitted, "Perhaps as you said, Charisma Café. Or Estelle's Coffee Brewery. Or Unicorn Central!"
"How many sips of that coffee have you had?" I asked, her randomness a touch more eccentric than usual.
"Enough!" She took another gulp and gagged, "God that's bitter."
"Queen of Coffee everyone!" Ava toasted to her non-existence café, to which everyone cheered like the tired students we were.
Our fun was quickly diminished when Simmons walked into the room, in all her red-haired glory. "Hey, Simmons," I greeted, "Do you want some coffee?"
Simmons was too distracted by Estelle on the countertop to focus on me. "Umm… no, I… I'm fine, Your Majesty, get down from there, that's improper."
"Queen of Coffee to you," Estelle snapped, pointing the finger at her.
Simmons cracked a smile, "No longer pastries?"
Estelle shrugged, "I pass such duties onto you. I'm sure you will treat my sweet subjects well."
Simmons' usual panicky side surfaced again as she said, "Your parents have sent a car for you. I have already packed your things, you leave immediately."
Estelle sobered up at this information, as did everyone else. "Wait, where is she going?" Ava asked turning in her seat.
"Her parents have something important to discuss with her. And with the other day's…" she took in a deep breath, "unfortunate incident, they felt this meeting needed to be sooner than anticipated."
Estelle dropped her arm, furrowing her brows as she said, "Simmons, I just got home. Can't I have a moment to relax?"
"You don't want to keep your parents waiting," Simmons informed, "They're already worried about you as is."
Estelle sighed as she placed the cup down, with Simmons' hand she hopped down from the counter. "When do I leave?"
"As soon as possible."
Estelle took the sudden news with unnatural maturity. "Do you know how long I'm going for?"
Simmons shook her head, "I'm afraid not."
"Are you coming with me?" Estelle asked her tone almost a plea.
Simmons shook her head again, "I wasn't requested."
Estelle took Simmons hand, "Can you then? As my request?"
Simmons sighed, "If you need me, yes. I will come."
Estelle tilted her head with a dumbfounded smile, "Of course I need you, Simmons. You're my family friend." Simmons blushed slightly at this admission. "Go pack your own things. I'll say goodbye to everyone, and then we can go." Simmons bowed her head and left the room.
Estelle stayed with her back to her, holding her hands to her chest. I got worried, "Everything okay?"
She didn't answer. "Star?" Ava rose from her seat.
Estelle slowly turned around, her face construed in an expression I had never seen on Estelle before: deep thought. "I'm… I'm not sure," she confessed, dropping her hands, "I haven't seen my parents all year, haven't had a… a meeting with them since I was twelve." She pulled at her fingertips as she scanned the room, looking at everything but everyone's eyes.
"You have no idea what it's about?" Amada asked.
Estelle shook her head, her eyes dropping to the ground. "If they ask for me, I must go." She lifted her eyes, immediately lifting her spirits, "They are my parents, and it is my duty as Princess of Pastries." Her tone was light but suppressed as if being called upon by her parents worried her.
Ava walked up to Estelle and held her shoulders, "You'll be fine," she assured hugging her quickly, "You get to go home for the holidays, that's great."
Estelle nodded, "Yeah, it will be. I'll get to see all my friends back home."
"Yeah, see? So, get rid of that scared look," Ava said poking her nose.
We all migrated out to the front room, our luggage, including Estelle's bag, still propped against the wall. Estelle had changed her clothes to something uncharacteristically glamorous.
Not that Estelle wasn't beautiful with what she wore, but this appeared as if someone else had picked it out for her. She was dressed in a white and silver dress, with a skirt that puffed out like a ball gown only without the length. It made her hair appear just as white. It simultaneously looked like Estelle and yet nothing like her.
While in the dress, her pose was different, her arms didn't touch her sides, and her fingers remained outstretched as if she was ready to catch something. We all hugged, saying our goodbyes and have funs. Mia, at first, didn't offer a hug, opting for a fist bump.
"How gracious," Estelle commented, returning the gesture. In the same motion, Mia reached forwards and hugged her, her hair getting stuck in the silver accessories on her dress.
Bonnie rolled forwards and reached up for a hug, very distinctly saying, "Bring me back a tiara. Always wanted one of those."
Estelle laughed, "You got it."
Before I could say anything to Estelle, she threw her arms around my shoulders and hugged me, clinging to me in a way that reminded me of my sisters when I moved to Windmill Lake. "We'll still be here when you get back," I assured. She didn't respond to my assurance, prompting me to pick her up and spin with her, making her yelp and giggle in surprise. When I placed her down, Steven, the well-dressed chauffeur, opened the door and gestured to the car waiting for her.
Estelle took a deep breath and sighed, nodding to Simmons before walking out the door and down the path. Simmons picked up her own bag and went to follow, but Ava caught her arm, "Simmons, is something wrong?" she asked.
The red-haired Royal Hand paused for a moment, before shrugging, "We won't know until we get there, Ava. Could be any number of things from the previous incident to a family member falling ill. They don't like to explain these things to the help or over the phone. They're very proper like that."
"Will you let me know if something bad happens?" Ava looked to Steven as well, "Even if it's just a hunch?"
It hadn't really occurred to me that Steven and Simmons overly cared for Estelle, outside of a work-customer relationship, but the way Ava spoke to them, and their sympathetic looks they shared, they understood our worry by Estelle's sudden attitude change.
"If I find any reason to worry, I will let you know." Steven tipped his hat. "But we must get going; otherwise we'll throw the schedule off."
Simmons nodded. "If there's anything major I hear, I will let you know," she guaranteed.
Ava let go of her arm as they walked out of the dorm. Mia and the twins being the first to run out onto the porch to wave Estelle away. The rest of us poured out soon after to watch her go. We all smiled and waved after her as she leaned out the window and called out to us another farewell before her car disappeared down the road.
Alexis linked arms with me and sighed, "That was quite sudden, even for her."
"Royal Family, what can you do, I suppose?" Ava commented.
"And I thought our parents were intimidating. Did you see how quickly Estelle and Simmons were ready to just leave?" Bonnie asked going back inside.
"It is kinda a dream though, isn't it?" Amia asked her brother, "Living life like a Royal."
"Sounds like it would be boring," Amada admitted, crossing his arms before turning to go back inside, his sister hot on his heels in protest.
Ava was making that concerned face again as she stared down the road. Before I could intervene, Robyn reached out and held Ava's hand, snapping her out of her daze with a warm smile and a quick hug. No explanation between the two needed as they wandered back inside.
Alexis audibly breathed in and out the outside air, inhaling deeply as she arched her chin towards the sky. "How I've missed this," she confessed, tightening her grip on my arm.
"Missed?"
"Surf spray and sand is fine, but nothing beats that pine tree smell of home," Alexis answered, "Try it. See if you can sense the difference."
Arms still interlinked, I obliged, copying her breathing exercise as we both took a deep breath in through the nose. There was something sweeter about the air of the forest, that fresh pine scent that was oddly familiar even though I had never taken the time to take it in. "It's nice," I stated, opening my eyes to the front yard. "Nice to be back."
Alexis pulled her arm free from mine, petting me on the back as she wandered back inside. Mia was still outside, standing on the second step of the porch, looking down the road after Estelle. "You coming inside, Mia?" I asked.
Mia's fingers pinched at the pink fabric of her shirt as she slowly sat down, eyes turning to the dirt pavement as she sighed.
I nodded, a weird form of understanding coming between us. "Alright, kid. Don't wander off, I'll just be inside."
As I went inside, I watched Mia rest her head heavily on her hands, pressing her fingers against her ears as if blocking out the sound.