Stopping In For a Drink [Open]

[Zia Williams]

The day was one of those typical Salem fall afternoons. The sky was somewhat cloudy - an occasional ray of sunshine peaking through the clouds about once in every 10 or 15 minutes - and temperatures were solidly in the mid-60's range. The wind blew slightly through the somewhat busy town, as people scurried from here and there, trying to get back to work after a lunch break, or attempting not to be late for a previous engagement. Zia was one of the few who didn't look panicked or stressed out. Though it was hardly sunny out, she had her large sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and was slowly shuffling through the crowd, thoroughly enjoying the nice day. She bumped into some people - who gave her dirty looks - but she didn't care. She loved it when the weather was like this.

Approaching the corner Starbucks, she decided that she could go for a latte, and stepped inside. Again, this Starbucks was a typical Massachusetts one. Though the temperatures were in the 60's, the AC was still on full blast, making the coffee shop considerably colder than the outdoors. Zia pulled her sunglasses onto the top of her head, and walked over to the counter to place her order. As luck would have it, she happened to know the barista - an old friend of hers - and she managed to get a small discount on her coffee. Smiling her thanks, Zia walked away from the counter with her coffee in hand, and sat in one of the multiple, comfortable chairs the owner had thrown about.

Placing her latte on the table in front of her, Zia reached into her ever-present black, canvas messenger bag, and pulled out a book, and started to read, hoping that she'd be able to be distracted by a familiar face appearing in the coffee shop - which happened often.

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

Rachel decided to get out of her grandparents house and take a hike, maybe see some things in town and get to know it a little, She just got here a month ago and her mother left to San Francisco earlier this morning, leaving her at her grandparents house till the school opens.
Rachel liked it here, it was peaceful and so different from her hometown Sydney and as much as she misses her friends there she liked it here.
She heard alot of stories about Salem, Her mother always used to talk about it when Rachel was younger.

Rachel was so deep in her thoughts that when she looked she was near Starbucks, she decided to go in and order frappuccino.

The bell above the door jingled as Rachel pushed open the door, The strong scent of coffee filled her nostrils as she walked towards the counter. Excitedly and after waiting in line ordered a grande caramel frappuccino. She paid the woman and walked over to wait for her drink; Rachel was patient but when she received the drink, she was more than thrilled. Sitting down in a comfy chair, Rachel took a drink of her frapp and set it down on a table next to her. The soft music playing overhead made Rachel feel drowsy, and she felt like sleeping, she occupied herself and looked around her and watched the people in the coffee shop she saw a girl about her age reading.
Rachel felt the urge to go and talk with her but since she was shy she decided not to do so.
She'll wait until the girl look her way and then she'll smile and giver her a nod Rachel thought.

[Zia Williams]

Glancing up from her book when the door to the coffee shop jingled, Zia's eyes closed in on a girl - about her age - who was at the counter, ordering a drink. She seems familiar... she thought to herself, trying to figure out why, but she couldn't. Mentally shrugging, she turned back to her book, and resumed reading, until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl sat down at an adjacent table. Feeling the girl's glance sweep her way for a split second, Zia looked up again, and smirked. This was beginning to feel like a game of hide-and-go-seek, she thought, as she shut her book, and walked over to the other girl's table, intent on introducing herself.

"Hi there!" she said, brightly, sitting on the other chair, opposite the girl. "My name's Zia - have we met?" she asked, sticking her hand out, hoping that this girl wouldn't find her too straightforward. Usually, Zia didn't give much thought to what people thought of her, her clothes, or her hair, but it annoyed her when people made straight-off assumptions that she was cocky because she was outgoing. She wasn't cocky - she just liked to be friendly, and break the ice quickly. "I think I've seen you somewhere before... Do you go to Matthew Hopkins?" she pressed, intent on making small-talk with the girl.

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

Rachel looked at the girl and watched her coming right up to her, Rachel hated her shyness sometimes, and wished she was more outgoing around people she doesn't know.
She watched as the girl was getting closer and when she sat down, Rachel put a smile on her face and wondered what the girl was going to say.
"Hi Zia." Rachel murmured to Zia and stretched up her arms to shake it with her.
"No I don't believe that we've met before." Rachel said and paused for a second.
"However yeah I go to Matthew Hopkins, Didn't start yet I just got here couple a months ago with my mother, you may know my grandparents they've been here all their lives, The Hallliwells." Rachel asked knowing that almost everybody who lived in Salem knew her grandparents.
Rachel noticed that she didn't actually introduced herself to Zia.
"Oh sorry, where's my manners I forgot to introduce myself.
am Rachel Chloe Parker." Rachel said and smiled in a dumb way

[Zia Williams]

"However yeah I go to Matthew Hopkins, Didn't start yet I just got here couple a months ago with my mother, you may know my grandparents they've been here all their lives, The Hallliwells."

Zia had been softly sipping her drink - peering intently at the girl, as she prattled off a bunch of information. Everything that is - but her name. When she mentioned that her grandparents were the Halliwells, Zia's ears perked up in interest. "The Halliwells?" she asked, an expression of pure curiousity appearing on her face. "Aren't they like, some descendants of the two sisters that were the most wanted witches in Salem back in the 1600's?" she asked, her voice almost giddy with excitement. Zia had a bit of a thing for the Wiccan religion and its traditions. She had read about the religion once for school - and it fascinated her. Ever since then, she had done a bunch of her own research - one of the reasons she had wanted to come to this school - the myths surrounding it.

"Oh sorry, where's my manners I forgot to introduce myself.
am Rachel Chloe Parker."

"Ah. The infamous Rachel Parker." Zia remarked, shaking her head in a knowing way. "I've definatley heard of you - isn't your mother that famous Australian model?" she asked, as she took another sip of her latte, the warm liquid cascading down her throat.

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

Rachel looked at Zia with a contentment smile; she knew that her grandparent's family name was famous around Salem due to the fact that they were the descendants of the Halliwell witches on the infamous Salem Witch Trials back in the 1600's.
"Yeah they're in fact the descendants of the Halliwell sisters who were the most wanted witches in Salem." Rachel nodded her head.

Rachel was always intrigued by Wicca, Witches, Witchcraft and everything Magical.
She always heard her Mother talking about growing up in Salem with all the myths surrounding the town.

"So you've heard about my mother, I guess everybody did, thought she's not Australian, She's American, she grew up here, she's the Halliwell." Rachel smiled and continued, "My Father is the Australian one." Rachel said correcting Zia's information.

Rachel took a sip of her Carmel Frapp and asked Zia,
"By the way do you really believe in all the witch craft thingy, magic and witches?".

[Zia Williams]

"Oh, your mother's not Australian? My mistake," Zia said, as she placed her latte back on the table. Widening her eyes as Rachel informed her that her grandparents really were descendants of the infamous Halliwell sisters, she began to feel excited. "They truly are? That's brilliant!" she exclaimed, leaning forward in excitement. "Do you know if they know any of the actual Wiccan stuff?" she asked, her excitement rising. "Oh, and of course I believe in that stuff - though, usually, most people would find me a bit odd, I really don't care. The religion itself is fascinating, and actually makes a lot of sense. It's just these horrour authors and screenwriters in Hollywood that make witches out to be some terrible creatures - like monsters, or something, you know?" she prattled on, illustrating her point with arm gestures.

By now, some people had noticed the girls' odd - and loud, conversation - and were giving them strange looks. After Zia had finished expressing her long thought, she looked back at them, glaring, almost challenging them to come up to her and tell her something. This worked - and the people quickly, and embarrassed, turned away. "So yeah." Zia said, draining the last bit of her latte. "What's your opinion on the whole Wicca/witch thing?" she asked Rachel.

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

Rachel was enjoying her little chat with Zia.
She thought that the girl was intersting, and she express her feelings, she felt like with a girl like Zia what you see is what you get.
She liked her, Zia wasn't afraid or bothered by the way people looked at them and Rachel couldn't care less it's not like she knows anyone here for that matter.

Rachel felt the excitement in Zia's voice asking her about her grandparents, Rachel never really asked her grandparents about those stuff.
But she and her Aunt talked sometimes about it and how cool is it.
"I dont know if they do know something about Wicca, Never asked them really, I dont think they talk about these stuff at all." Rachel paused and thought about how Hollywood makes witches look bad in their movie and with the pointy hats and all this weird stuff.
"Of course I do believe in magic, and I dont find you odd or anything, Did you grow up here or you're from else where?
cause I think almost everybody who lives here believes that Magic does really exist." Rachel paused and took another sip of her frapp.
"I also think it's awesome, me and my aunt talked about it actually, she told me that when she and my mum used to be kids they used to like act like witches and scry for things but she never told me if anything happened with her before, and my mum she always talk about Wicca so I think am a hard core believer." Rachel said smiling.

[Zia Williams]

Zia nodded her approval. "Good to hear that you're a fellow believer. Most of the people I even bother trying to talk to about this stuff write it off as... Mumbo jumbo or something, and say that I'm dumb to believe in such juvenile, and obviously untrue things," she said, rolling her eyes. She picked up her coffee cup with the realization that she had already finished all of her latte. Pouting a bit, she rose from the table, intent on getting another one. "I'll be right back - I want another latte," she said, pointing to her empty cup, which she tossed in the trash can, as she made her way up to the coffee counter once more.

Unfortunately, the baristas had changed shifts - Zia's friend with the 10% discount had left, and she was forced to pay the full price for the coffee with a distinct pout. She returned to Rachel's table, and sat down, already gulping down her new coffee. "Sorry," she said, as she put the cup back down on the table. "I'm addicted to this stuff - it's all part of being a New Yorker I guess. Coffee and bagels are two things I cannot get enough of," she sighed, leaning back in her chair a bit. "Which, should answer your earlier question - I'm not a Salem native. NYC all the way, baby!" Zia added, with a smile.

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

"I'll be right here."Rachel said to Zia as she watched her going to get another latte, She took another sip of her Carmel frapp and waited for Zia to get back.
Rachel's thoughts drifted to her friends back in Australia and her dad, she missed them.
She thought about her Dad alot these days.
She missed him alot.
She picked up her Cell Phone she wanted to text message him.
When Zia was back Rachel was done with her Text message and hit the Send button.
She looked at Zia and gave her a smile.
"Yeah I know what you mean, I'm addicted to Carmel frappuccino.
And my mum is always like do you know how many calories are there in frappuccinos." Rachel said remembering her mother.
"NYC, That's amazing, I heard alot about it but never been there before. How's it like?" Rachel asked

[Zia Williams]

"NYC, That's amazing, I heard alot about it but never been there before. How's it like?"

Zia sighed contently as she thought back to her home city. "It's great! Well - at least, I think it is. Some people hate it, some deal with it, and some just love it. I'm one of the people that love it. I like how it's crowded, and busy, and bustling with noise - I'm a total city girl. But, I suppose, if you're into the country - big rolling fields and cows, things like that - you'd probably hate it," she voiced her thoughts out loud, as she absent-mindedly played with the cardboard holder of her latte. She laughed at Rachel's statement about her mother, and how she commented on the calorie intake of a frappuccino. "Well, she's a model - of course she'll comment on the calories - that's almost like an unwritten part of her job," Zia commented.

She sighed. "So, I told you about NYC. Now, how about you? Do you really the Land of Oz, or was it that you moved away when you were really little?" she inquired, as she pulled out a packet of gummies from her bag, placing them on the table, and motioning to Rachel as if to say, "Help yourself,".

[Rachel Chloe Parker]

Rachel was thinking about her mum and dad lately alot, and the whole divorce thing, she thought that maybe it was for the best, her coming to this school, her dad staying in Australia, and her mum in San Francisco, everyone caught in his own little world.
"No am definitely a city girl, I dont like the country, I love being at the city like NYC, I like being surrounded by people, noise, crown and all those stuff, I thought I'd totally hate it here, but it turned out to be good." Rachel said and looked at her watch.

Rachel giggled about Zia's comment on the Land of Oz.
"I'm really from there actually, I moved her with my mum because you know my parents are going through a nasty divorce now, and things are messed up between them. Rachel said.
Rachel did a good job of hiding her Australian accent that's why people don't believe her when she say that she's from there and lived there her entire life.
She saw Zia placing the packet of gummies on the table.
She didn't like these stuff much but she doesn't wanna be rude so she stretched her hands and took one then she smiled at Zia.