Scarlet in Glezentine

Chapter 7 - Charlie

We get to a large house with a bright blue door. James goes to it and knocks. A large plump woman appears through the entrance.

"Are you back already?" She asks in the same accent, only thicker. "What'd you get?"

"Fifth. Adam got sixth. But that's not why we're here. I need to see Charlie."

The woman sighs. "She's in her room. Like always." As James steps fully inside, the woman finally notices me. "And who might you be, young lady?"

"I'm Scarlet."

"We don't have time for this," says James, sighing. "We need Charlie. I'll get her. You stay." He tells me, running up the stairs and out of sight.

The woman smiles at me and says "You must be dying in that heat out there. Would you like a glass of ice water?"

I'm not that thirsty, but I don't want to talk to her alone, so I reply "Sure, thanks."

As she gets some water, I look around the room. It's more of a habit than anything else. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn from looking around someone's house. For instance, I see only pictures of a family of three. This woman, James, and a girl with long, bright blue hair that is always up in a ponytail. I think it's Charlie. I see none with a dad, so he's either dead or he left or something. My guess is that James feels like he has to be the man of the house.

There are also many pictures of just the children and their accomplishments, so she is probably very proud of them.

Aside from the pictures, there's a floor to ceiling bookshelf with worn out books. The lady probably loves books, so now her children do too. Or they just have a weird library. I couldn't tell which it was.

The woman comes back with two glasses and a jug, and pours some for both of us. I take a sip, and feel the cold liquid go down my throat. Very cold.

I hear a door open and two people walk down the stairs, bickering to each other. James and Charlie. She looks over to me, then smirks at James. He just glares at her.

"Well hello there!" She says cheerfully, in a British accent, much like James. "Are you the one competing that I get to remodel into something more suitable?"

I nod. "I think so."

She looks excited, but James says "She just needs clothes to run in."

Charlie pouts. "Aww. But can't I model her? Please?" She sounds like a begging toddler.

"No." He scolds her like a puppy who had just chewed his favorite pair of shoes. 

"Just do it fast. It starts in 20 minutes and we still have to get there."

"Okay, okay. We're going. See you in 10." She leads me up to the top floor, and into a dressing room. She starts murmuring to herself about the fabric type, the color, etc. Once she has everything, she makes me stand on a raised section with three mirrors that help see all around me.

As she works, she chats. "What's your name?"

"Scarlet."

"How old are you?"

"12. You?"

"I'm seventeen. Just too old to compete. Unless it was Carl instead, but I don't really like him."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters, he doesn't care about the people. No ones seen him out in public just for a stroll in, like, ever."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So is Christopher any better?"

"Way better. We see him at least once a week. He's always jogging somewhere."

"What about Caroline?"

"She's too young to care about anything strongly. But that's not her fault. She's just like James."

"How so?"

"Well, they're young and both think they can change the world. But they never can. Alright! You're all done! What do you think?"

I spin in front of the mirrors, looking at the amazing shorts and matching top. "They're beautiful! Thank you so much!" I mean it. The black shorts with ombré purple, pink, orange and yellow stripes along the sides, match the same colour shirt with black stripes along the edge.

Charlie sighs and smiles. "Thank you. I do like it. I think it's one of my better works. Let's go see my baby bro." She starts walking towards the door when she spins around. "Oh! I almost forgot! Here," she says, handing me a hat that matches the shorts. Everything matches. "He said to make you one to replace your old one." I take it gratefully, hating how the other one itches.

Charlie walks out the door, leaving it open so I can come out once I finish putting the hat on. Once I'm done tucking the last of my hair under the hat, we walk down the stairs. I see James talking to the lady. She sees me and James turns his head and his eyes go wide. I smile and I see Charlie smirk at him. I guess she was expecting that reaction.

"Um," He says. "Wow. Um, we have to go. Um thanks Charlie. I owe you."

"Bye! Thanks for everything!" I say politely. Once we get out the door, I say," Wow. Your family is really nice!"

"Thanks," He says. "They don't meet many new people. They know almost everyone in the city."

"Wow, really? What do you do?"

"It's mainly just Charlie. She runs a sewing company. She makes each pair of clothing herself. You're lucky to have me, or else it would be at least a week before she got to you, and that's assuming no one else gets in front of you."

In the distance, we hear bells ring. "Run!" I say with a smile, and take off at top speed.

"No! Wait! Save your breath!" James calls after me. But I'm too far away to hear anything else he has to say.

James' sister's name is Charlie, and I've always wanted to have blue hair, so that's partially why I already like her :)

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