"Uh, hi?" I awkwardly greeted the three strangers. "I'm Bke Palmer."

  "Hello Bke. I'm Anahera Turei," said the one who'd been driving. She spoke with an accent that I thought might be Australian, but I wasn't confident enough to make any assumptions. And her tone didn't seem all that friendly, she sounded a little uptight.

  Anahera appeared to be the oldest of the group, I'd guess she was in her early thirties. She was also one of the tallest, standing about the same height as Fiona. She didn't look as athletic as the redhead though, she actually had a little soft friendly weight on her. She had dark eyes that matched her dark brown hair, which looked long enough to reach part-way down her back but was currently tied into a single ponytail. Her skin was a pretty tawny hue, and she wore some subtle make-up. She was dressed sort of business-casual, with tan scks, an off-white blouse, and comfortable-looking ce-up shoes.

  The one who'd been in the passenger seat spoke up next, "Greetings Bke. My name is Valerie Zimmerman, but you may call me Val."

  Valerie spoke with a distinctly German accent and looked to be in her mid-twenties, around the same age as Fiona. She was about average height, with a narrow waist but wide hips and a substantial bust. She had fair skin, bright blue eyes, and her curly blonde hair hung down to her shoulders. She was dressed a lot more casual, in dark blue jeans and a pale yellow top. And oddly enough her outfit was rounded out by a pair of light-brown cowboy boots.

  The final magical girl was only a couple years older than myself, she looked like she could still be in college. She also looked the least interested. She sounded like she'd rather be somewhere else as she gave me a half-hearted wave and said, "Yo. Name's Ivy Noguchi."

  Unlike the other three, Ivy didn't have an accent. Or maybe it was more like she and I had the same accent, and I was positive she was at least from the same continent as me. She was a little taller than myself, and appeared to be rather slim. She was dressed in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a baggy t-shirt, which maybe added to how skinny she seemed. She also wore what I could only describe as rugged-looking hiking sandals.

  "Hello Anahera, Valerie, and Ivy," I responded. "And hello again Fiona."

  A couple of them nodded quietly, but they all seemed to be staring at me and it made me feel even more awkward. After another couple seconds I tried to get a conversation going again. I remembered Fiona said that the other magical girls came from all over, and decided to ask about that.

  "So you all know where I'm from," I commented with a slight grimace, "Considering you're standing in my driveway. Fiona told me she's from Wales, how about the rest of you? Where do you come from?"

  "I am living in Munich nowadays," Val replied.

  "San Francisco," Ivy said, and she definitely sounded like that's where she'd rather be. "In my third year at UCSF."

  Anahera added curtly, "Aotearoa."

  I had no idea what that meant, but I wasn't sure if I should try and ask since I was getting some unfriendly vibes from her. Fortunately Fiona must have noticed my hesitation, and she chimed in with an expnation.

  "Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zeand," the purple magical girl said. "Annie lives near Wellington I believe?"

  "The name is Anahera," the Māori woman stated as she gred at Fiona, "Not Annie."

  "Ok," I nodded slowly.

  Then as if things weren't already awkward enough, Harper's old red pick-up truck turned the corner onto our street. He pulled up and parked on the road behind Fiona's bike, then both he and Ellie emerged from the vehicle.

  Despite how uncomfortable I felt with the other four magical girls all standing there staring at me, I couldn't help smiling at my two dates. My girlfriend was wearing her nicest bck pants and polished army boots, and she'd put on a tight tee with some inscrutable metal band logo across the chest. And my boyfriend was in a button-down shirt and a nice pair of scks, along with his dress shoes.

  "Hey Bke," Ellie greeted as she and Harper moved past the others to stand on either side of me.

  The tall handsome jock added, "What's going on? Everything ok?"

  "I don't know yet," I replied as I looked back and forth between my two dates. "I guess we're about to find out?"

  Then my attention returned to the four magical girls in front of us and in another awkward tone I asked, "So uh, what are you doing here? I kind of figured you'd all be going after my grandmother. To try and stop her?"

  "All in good time," Anahera replied with another little frown. She gnced at Ellie and Harper then added, "I take it these are friends of yours?"

  I was starting to get the feeling that she was the leader of the group, between her being the oldest and the way she answered first when I addressed them all at once. I couldn't help feeling more uneasy though, since she didn't appear to like me very much. On the other hand I felt like I needed to stand up for my two best friends, but both of them beat me to it.

  "I'm Bke's girlfriend," Ellie announced as she slipped an arm around my waist.

  A moment ter Harper's arm wrapped around my shoulders as he added, "And I'm her boyfriend."

  Just like that I forgot all about the awkwardness, between the smile that suddenly appeared on my face and the flutter in my heart. I reached out with both arms and hugged them back as I told the magical girls, "What they said. This is Ellie, and this is Harper. And we're actually on our way out for a date. Maybe next time you could save yourselves a trip and just call or text or something?"

  Anahera didn't seem pleased to hear that, which also didn't surprise me. Her expression remained somewhere between serious and unhappy as she responded, "I think you can spare us some time first. Considering we've travelled a long way to come and see you. Some of us further than others."

  After gncing at my two dates I sighed, "I guess we can take a few minutes? Seriously though, my grandmother's the one who wants to end the world, not me."

  "Perhaps this is a conversation we could have, somewhere more private?" Valerie suggested. "I'm sure you don't want your neighbours to overhear talk of such things."

  I shook my head, "Not a good idea. My sister's got one of her friends visiting, if we try and talk inside we'll end up spending an hour answering all their questions."

  Fiona winced, "Ah. Then probably best we just stay here? It doesn't look like anyone's listening in anyways."

  The others seemed to agree with that assessment. Although one of them had another concern. Anahera looked pointedly at my two dates again and asked, "I take it they're going to be present for this conversation?"

  "Yeah," I nodded. "They already know all this stuff, they know about magical girls, and they met Fiona on Tuesday."

  The Māori woman didn't look happy about that, but I figured as much. Then I asked, "So I assume you want to know about my grandmother? I've already told Fiona everything I know about her. Or is this supposed to be more like a job interview?"

  "A little of both I believe," Valerie replied.

  Then Anahera took over, "Let's start with Judith Williams. I'd like to hear everything you know about the woman, even the details you've already shared with Fiona."

  That made it sound like this was going to take a while, but I didn't bother compining. Instead I sighed, "Fine. So up until Tuesday morning I didn't even know I had a grandmother..."

  I tried to get through the story retively quickly, but Anahera and Valerie kept interrupting with a bunch of questions. At least Fiona and Ivy were quiet. Actually from her expression I got the feeling that Fiona felt like this whole thing was a waste of time. Especially since she already knew most of this stuff, including all the important parts. Like where my grandmother was going and what she was pnning to accomplish.

  For that matter Ivy still looked like she'd rather be somepce else too, but unlike Fiona the Asian-American girl seemed like she was barely even paying attention to the conversation. She spent most of her time focused on her phone, while the Welsh girl was at least watching and listening in on everything.

  Despite my best efforts to speed things along it was about a half hour before I ran out of things to tell them, at least when it came to my grandmother. Then I repeated the main points, or at least the ones I thought were most important.

  "So like I said," I stated, "I've never met the woman, I didn't even know she existed until Tuesday. And she's not from around here, she lives out in Saskatchewan. But you won't find her there now, she'll be on her way up north. And some time in the next week she's going to try and open another rift and end the world. Probably for the new moon on Friday."

  Anahera and Valerie exchanged a gnce, then looked at Fiona as well. The redhead nodded once, but whatever silent communications they were exchanging it didn't seem like the Māori or German women were that impressed.

  "So?" Ellie spoke up. "Did Bke pass your test? Does she get the job?"

  After a pause of a few seconds the group's leader shook her head. She addressed me, "Perhaps in a year or two, when you're older and more mature, we will reconsider. For now your youth and inexperience would be a concern in any event. But in this case, considering you are after all the great-great-grandchild of Jacob Weimann I don't think it would be wise for us to bring you with us."

  "I agree," Valerie nodded. "Perhaps if we had known you and worked with you for a few years Bke, before the revetions regarding your heritage came out? Then maybe we would be more comfortable having you with us for this mission. But no. I think it would not be wise to invite you for a first mission that would pit you against your own flesh and blood."

  While I couldn't argue with the inexperience stuff, hearing them basically say they didn't trust me because I was reted to some creeps who wanted to end the world was more than a little annoying. I really wanted to say something, but I decided it wasn't worth arguing about. I could tell Ellie and Harper were angry about that too, fortunately it seemed like they were following my lead since they both kept quiet as well.

  Fiona spoke up next, and that's when I realized they were basically taking a vote. The Welsh woman addressed her companions, "I think you're both making a mistake. Bke has no affiliation with Judith Williams, she's said as much a half dozen times in the st half hour. And more to the point, the pink ring has already chosen and accepted her. Bke is the new Rosa. That more than anything else tells me she's one of us."

  That caught me by surprise. Not just that Fiona vouched for me, but the part about the ring choosing me. It left me with a bunch more questions, and I could tell Ellie had at least as many as I did. We both kept quiet though, while the other magical girls finished doing their thing.

  "Ivy?" Anahera asked, when the st girl failed to speak up on her own. "Your opinions on the matter?"

  Without looking up from her phone the younger woman replied, "I vote no. Not because of the family thing, I believe her when she says she's got nothing to do with the woman. It's mostly because of her inexperience. Only one week since she acquired the ring? Not enough time, she doesn't know what she's doing. If we take her with us she'll just get us all killed, or we'll be too busy keeping her alive to accomplish anything."

  Apparently that was the end of the conversation. Or end of the interview, and I obviously didn't get the job. Anahera told me, "Thank you for your time Bke. We'll be on our way and you can get on with your date. I'm sure one of us will reach out to you in a year or two. Until then take care. And do stay out of trouble."

  She Valerie and Ivy all turned and headed for their SUV, while Fiona gged behind. The redhead gave me an apologetic look and said, "Sorry Bke. For what it's worth, you're probably better off staying here anyways. We'll be heading to Iqaluit this evening, then first thing tomorrow morning we'll continue on to Resolute Bay then Camp Hazen."

  "Don't worry," she added. "I'll let you know how it goes."

  I sighed, "Alright. Thanks Fiona, and be careful."

  She nodded once, then got back on her bike.

  Once she'd left I looked at my two dates and apologized, "Sorry about all that. They didn't call or text or anything, they just showed up unexpectedly."

  "It's fine Bke," Ellie replied. "I didn't realize they'd be such jerks though. I'm gd you're not going with them."

  Harper agreed, "Yeah same."

  "How do you feel about that?" he added after a moment. "I hope you're not upset or disappointed about being left behind?"

  I took a moment to think about it then shook my head, "Nope. I already said I didn't want to get hauled off to magic girl school or anything like that. Getting hauled off to go beat up some crazy old dy sounds even worse."

  "I was a bit annoyed that they seemed to think I'd be loyal to my grandmother though," I admitted. "Like my only interaction with her has been through the thugs she's sent to beat me up? I don't exactly call that 'quality family bonding material'."

  Ellie suppressed a ugh, "I'm gd you're not upset. And I'm gd you're staying with us. I'd have missed you, if they hauled you away up north. And I'd have been worried about you."

  "Same," Harper nodded. Then he gave us both a hopeful smile and asked, "So are you two still up for that date?"

  "Yeah!" I replied with a happy grin. "How about you Ellie?"

  The cute tomboy nodded, "Same!"

  We were almost an hour te, but at long st the three of us set out on our first date together. As usual I was in the middle as we piled into Harper's truck. We headed north out of the little vilge, and before long we were in the parking lot at one of the restaurants in Markdale.

  There really weren't any actual fancy pces around, but he'd picked something that was a little further up the scale from our usual pizza delivery, or the wings pce in Dundalk. They sourced a lot of their ingredients locally, and their specialty was BBQ. So the menu was all steak, ribs, chicken, and mb.

  In a way it wasn't that different from a lot of other Friday nights. I was spending time with my two best friends, we were having some fun food and hanging out together. But it was a lot more special this time, because instead of just three friends having dinner now we were officially dating. And every time I remembered that fact I ended up with a happy giddy smile on my face.

  I was a cute girl, and I was dating another cute girl, and I was also dating a handsome guy. My life had changed a lot in the past seven days, but it all worked out in the end.

  "I love you two," I blurted out just as we were all finishing up our dinner. "Thank you both for being my friends."

  PurpleCatGirl