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Marlene tapped one end of her pencil to a made-up rhythm while seated at one of the tables in the bar. The Seventh Heaven. The new one. She told Tifa often that it felt just like the old one, but secretly, some of the little things were missing and it made her sad.
She remembered the sign in the corner that Tifa patiently read aloud every time she asked. “Eggs & Chips”, glowing bright blue, purple, and yellow like a beacon calling in customers and friends alike. Marlene couldn’t even remember if she’d had that meal before. Back in those days, she often stayed far away from the customers, hidden in the back or in their space underneath the magical pinball machine.
Her tapping became louder until Denzel reached across the table and smacked the pencil down so hard it cracked some of the pointed lead onto her clean homework sheet, smudging her work. How was she supposed to complete her fractions now?
“You owe me a new pencil, mister!”
“Just sharpen it, Marlene!”
She threw the pencil down and crossed her arms. Denzel mimicked the movement and they locked into defiant stares. Marlene was determined to win until a flash of color caught the corner of her eye. Could it be? She broke contact to check the empty wall in the corner. Her heart sank, just a little.
Denzel paused in his gloating, noticing the change in Marlene’s mood, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
“I remember once, in my old home, there was something special I liked about it. We don’t have it anymore.”
“Do you mean the Seventh Heaven in the slums?”
“Uh-huh. It was a really cool sign.”
“Oh yeah? What did it look like? Maybe we can see if Cloud and Tifa can help us make it!”
With a renewed sense of hope, Marlene smiled and flipped over her fraction sheet. “Let me get some crayons. We’re gonna need lots of colors!”