Watching closely as the bartender constructed her favourite smoothie, Charlie fidgeted and drummed lightly on the counter with her free hand. She became painfully aware of the book in her hands – what were the other guests thinking? For a brief moment, she looked around. Most of them were younger than her, she decided, and made a mental note to inform Willow of this later. Maybe then she'd let them go home. No one here wanted to talk to a woman with a book in her hand, and Charlie wasn't sure she wanted to talk to anyone anyway. Didn't she have a painting to finish?

She allowed herself to fall back into her own world while she waited, and almost didn't hear the girl next to her speak. It was only at the second half of the girl's sentence she registered, barely stopping herself from jumping at the sound of another voice. She turned to try and figure out the first half of the question, then caught sight of the girl. 

Charlie clamped her mouth shut to keep from asking if the girl was old enough to be in the bar. [i]Don't ask it, don't ask it, don't ask it...[/i] As she stared, the girl kept talking. Something about awkward strangers, but Charlie couldn't focus with all that pink staring back at her. [b]“So why did you come here? I mean... everyone has a reason for coming to a place like Mingle, right?”[/b] Oh, right, she was asking another question now. Realising how impolite it was not to have answered her already, Charlie cleared her throat.

“Willow dragged me here. Uh, my friend, Willow, that's... who she is.” Gesturing in the general direction of her friend, she silently thanked herself for not saying something rude or stupid about the girl's age or state of dress. The bartender, whose name badge Charlie failed to notice, placed the smoothie on the counter. Taking it, Charlie looked back at the girl. Her new habit drew her attention to the glow sticks on the girl's wrist; she tilted her head and frowned. “Aren't you a little young to care about dating?” [i]Oh... crap.[/i]