AIK: Chapter 4 - No Room at The Diva Table
- Henry Livingston
- Dec 5, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 10
Memorial Day is a day to remember those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country and although it is the unofficial beginning of summer, one can only hope that the masses pay their respects to the fallen sung and unsung military heroes. The good news is that this day is celebrated with those heroes in mind, but at this particular kava bar, the divas believe that the day is only about, well, them.
“Two super-star actresses, a good witch, a bad witch, an interpreter, a goddess, and a canine heiress sit at a table for eight. Tell me if you have heard this one before,” Captain Harlock whispers with a slight grin in his voice, “who will dare to sit with them?”
“It’s too early in the day to try to follow where you are going with this,” Scarlet speaks rubbing her temples.
“I feel I should take bets about it. Funny thing is that they don’t even have anything at the table. They’re just in a seven-way stare down.”
“Actually Captain, Penelope is translating for Princess Tin-Tin. The witches are in a weird I hate you SO much glare. The movie stars are channeling their inner Narcissus in their mirrors, and Sister Sober is resting her head on the table.”
“She is drooling. Is she drunk?” Harlock adds.
“When is she not?”
Over at the table Evelyn opens up the conversation, “shouldn’t you be serving us drinks Peia? I mean why are you even at this table?”
“Because my benevolence counters that ugly fashion choice you think you did well with this morning.”
“The only counter you should control is the counter over there where you should be doing your job.”
“Woof, woof. Woof, woof woof… woof woof.”
“Good one Princess,” Penelope says while giggling.
Peia frowns, “what did she say Penny?”
“You know I really don’t like it when you call me tha—”
“What did she say?”
“She said, someone finally put in an order, but wonders if we will ever get served.”
“Woof… woof woof.”
“Apologies, I misspoke, …but wonders if you are going do what you’re here to do.”
“Woof.”
“Thanks, Princess.”
“Woof woof woof woof, woof woof woof.”
“Again apologies, I didn’t mean to get too personal and assume we were friends. My bad.”
Without looking away from her mirror, Angelica calmly speaks up, “be careful Penelope, Princess Tin-Tin does not like to share the spotlight. We were in three movies together and she hated playing second fiddle to me. I remember in one of the movies, Lady and The Terminator, Princess Tin-Tin was so startled at the pyrotechnics, that she pissed her costume. It took us about five hours to find a seamstress because it was a late-night shoot. We lost the rest of that day because two minutes into the next scene, she lost it and bit the animal trainer. He was rushed to the hospital and needed forty-seven stitches from the bite. It took until noon the next day to get another trainer for the shoot.”
“Woof.”
“What did she say?”
“I’d rather not say that word,” Penelope says shaking her head refusing to translate.
“Takes one to know one…, second fiddle.”
“Ha! That is nothing,” Amber Jane adds, putting her compact away, “We were in one movie together, and the director thought it would be a good idea to have Princess Tin-Tin, wait…, never-mind. I forgot she was replaced by that Saint Bernard, Cassie Nova, after eating a piece of a cannabis brownie that belonged to one of the stagehands off the floor,” Amber reluctantly laughs after the memory replays in her mind.
Everyone else at the table begins to laugh.
“Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof woof.”
Penelope stops laughing and adds a sad, “she said, that isn’t funny, she could have died.”
The others laugh a little harder.
“You’re all going to where the devil lives,” Penelope says sincerely.
“Evelyn, what is your address?”
“Why would I tell you that Peia?”
“We need to know where we are all going to for laughing at Princess Tin-Tin almost dying.”
Sister Sober chimes in, “she lives under a house that has fallen from the sky. Ha-ha-ha...”
Everyone stops laughing.
In unison, Evelyn and Peia react to Sister Sober’s comment, but Evelyn, with Peia’s after you gesture, continues their shared thought, “whoa, you can’t say that, Sister. The struggle is real and all witches fear that fate may come for them one day.”
“Got it,” Sister Sober finishes, “no mic drops, and no house drops.”
“Why is she even at that table,” Scarlet questions.
“She is me, but at that table,” Captain Harlock says smiling.
“Okay, I have issues with that, but it tracks, so I will abstain from any further comments.”
From across the room someone new approaches the diva table, and as Captain Harlock and Scarlet Moondust wait to see what will unfold. Suddenly the squirrel at the bar completely disappears and reappears as a pterodactyl. Her voice is several decibels higher, but her attitude and demeanor are unchanged.
“Dammit,” Harlock shouts, “I was so focused on the diva table that I missed the kavatender transformation at the bar!”
“Well, so did I,” Scarlet adds, “her physical look poofed into something else.”
“Wait, Scarlet, aren’t you a werewolf?”
“Yes, and part-time superhero.”
“Don’t you do that kind of thing too?”
“Which part? Transformation or Superhero stuff?”
“Transformation please.”
“On occasion, but will she turn back is the real question?”
“I am unsure which one I should watch now,” Harlock speaks undecidedly.
“I feel your emotional predicament, Captain.”
Together they decide to watch and see if the pterodactyl would change back into a squirrel. Unfortunately, upon a revisited glance to the diva table, Captain Harlock sees that all of the divas have left, “dammit!”
Keeping her eyes on the pterodactyl, Scarlet asks, “what now?”
“They’re all gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“Vanished into thin air. The divas have left the building.”
“Wait, all of them?”
“Yep. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”
“No way. I’m not taking the chance of missing the squirrel return.”
“Good call,” Harlock says and turns in support of the bar watching choice, “is it sad that this is how we spend our day, Scarlet?”
There is no response.
“Scarlet,” he questions again, still examining the pterodactyl, awaiting it’s change back into a squirrel, “Scarlet??”
The captain stops his unofficial observation of the kavatender and turns to see that Scarlet has left too, but there is a note that reads: Got a text and had to rescue a school bus full of kids from falling off a bridge. Talk to you later, Scarlet, “Well, I guess it is just me waiting for the pterodactyl to…,” he glances back to the pterodactyl and sees that she has turned back into a squirrel, “…dammit!!”
Amazing work