To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 10

I never really cared about Odette.

In the books she was just a pretty face with very little character development. She supported the main characters but never took part in the action and was just, to be perfectly honest, downright boring and predictable. Granted, I was still excited to see her because she was a familiar face. I was desperate for anything familiar in this world.

So, it came as somewhat of a shock to me that she was the person I talked to most in Manica, partly because none of the other characters had shown up yet. I had especially been looking forward to seeing Jala and Maddox, two of the most prominent heroes, but based on the timeline they could still be kids right now. Ugh. I was going to be an old woman by the time anything exciting happened.

Instead of gun fights and mysteries, I was stuck behind a bar telling Odette about my non-existent love life with Derek in the hopes that I'd get some information out of her, which I never did.

"He didn't recognize you?" Odette scoffed at his foolishness before pausing to hand one of the robots a customer's drink. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Of course. I don't want to—"

"Don't!" she suddenly interrupted and grabbed both of my hands in desperation. "Please don't tell him! It'll be so funny to see him talk to you and not realize who you are."

This time I was the one to scoff. "You want me to lie to him?"

"No, just don't tell him. Oh! And if he asks your name just make one up like...." She paused to think, her eyes shining from joy. "Ooh! I know! Call yourself Jacelyn! It's pretty."

"Jacelyn?" It did sound like a nice name but..."No." I shook my head and grabbed a nearby bottle to wash it. "If he asks, I'll tell him the truth....maybe." Unless I froze up like an idiot for some reason, then maybe I'll do it.

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then he'll never find out."

"Excellent."

Growing fed up, I glared at her to show my annoyance. Unfortunately, it only served to make her laugh and trot off to serve more of her customers. As I watched her leave I dramatically rolled my eyes. She was a piece of work. I wasn't even sure if she was a good person or not. She'd seemed so mature in the books.

"Back to work," I muttered, forcing myself to actually wash dishes since I had rent to pay. As I worked, I started humming the Manica theme song, pleased at the irony it created. I was moving onto the third verse when Odette suddenly walked past, nudging me but not saying anything.

Surprised, I looked up from my work to see what was wrong and spotted Derek entering through the front door with two of his friends. Realizing why Odette had poked me, I smiled.

"Aren't you going to serve them?" I asked her sweetly, acting as innocent as physically possible.

"I'm the boss. I'm supposed to just sit back and nitpick everything you do." To prove her point, the woman plopped down in one of the chairs and waved for me to get moving. The joke was on her, though, because as she waved, one of the serving robots zipped past and, thinking she was motioning for him to do it, served the group of boys.

"Ha!" I yelled at her, grinning cheekily.

◑○★☆●◐

"What do you think she is?" one of my friends asked. He had been talking about that blonde waitress ever since we'd come in and it was starting to get annoying. "An eight? Seven?"

"I think she's a person, not a number," my best friend, Ace, said as he accepted the drink held out by one of the robots. Ace was as kind hearted and logical as one could get and his straight, blond hair and brown jacket reflected that.

"You're boring, Ace. Derek, what do you think?"

"I think you should buy me a drink," I answered nonchalantly, holding back a laugh when he got red in the face.

"I'm serious, guys. I want your opinion before I ask her out."

"Why don't you..." Ace leaned forward. "Get to know her before you ask her on a date?" He said it like it was the most unique idea ever known to man.

"Or just ask her out and get it over with," I suggested, not caring either way. "You'll break up with her in two weeks anyway so it doesn't matter what we think."

The boy whimpered, then froze, his eyes gradually growing wide and threatening to pop out of their sockets. "She's coming this way," he hissed, trying to adjust his position so he'd look cooler. "You have to help me."

Ace didn't answer but I laughed in his face. "Not a chance."

"Excuse me." The pretty girl in question stopped before our table with an empty tray in her hands, her eyes almost as wide as my love struck friend's.

Now that I'd given her a once over I had to admit that she was good looking but couldn't compare to my last ex in the beauty department. Plus, since my last relationship I'd decided to base everything on personality so I wouldn't get dumped or cheated on again.

Man, she was wearing a lot of makeup, too. She'd probably look like a completely different person under it all. Not that I really cared....She kind of looked similar to Mary, in a weird, overdone kind of way. I don't think Mary would ever consider having a job like this, though. She seemed too innocent to serve drunk men all night.

The girl glanced my way, then nervously pulled a lock of hair behind her ear and turned to my level-headed friend.

"Sorry if this is random but...Are you Ace?"

He nodded, acting surprised. "Yes, I am. Do I know you?"

"I'm a big fan," she gushed, lowering the tray she'd been clutching against her chest and shaking his hand. "My name's Jacelyn and I've been...I heard about you from an acquaintance of mine. They said that you were the best sharp shooter in their class."

"I'm not sure if that's true but...Who did you hear it from?"

"Oh, I..."

At that point I blocked out her voice and turned toward my other friend. His face was downcast and as soon as he caught me staring he focused his gaze on the floor, pouting.

"Better luck next time," I whispered, patting him on the leg until he swatted my hand away.

◑○★☆●◐

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

I just got to meet Ace. The Ace. One of the main heroes of Manica! The sidekick of Jala, the sharpshooter of the group, the possible love interest of Jala, the...

Wow. It was like meeting three different celebrities in two weeks.

I was so glad I had come!

A/N: Congrats. You got to meet the first hero of the Manica Adventures.