I hope you’re doing okay. Are you doing anything special for Halloween?
Talk soon,
Anna
Me: I’m back.
Kylie: Did you go swimming?
Me: Yes, you wouldn’t believe what happened. I’ll tell you all about it some day.
Kylie: Mommy and Daddy are at bowling. Mrs. Sullivan is looking after me.
Me: :( I have cinnamon toast. I’m calling you now. Pompom is with me.
I spentthe next hour chatting with Kylie, and then rehashing everything for Alicia, from the flight and the hotel, to the freaky swim with Ace, and the pool game. I also told her all about the investigation and all the people we interviewed. I described their homes in great detail. And I certainly didn’t forget to tell her about my secret candy stash.
“I’m so jelly,” she kept saying. “You could make some good coin, selling that candy.”
“It was exciting,” I admitted, “but also exhausting. I was so nervous the whole time. I really wanted to do a good job.”
She twirled a lollipop (contraband) in her mouth. “And you did.”
“So many people are counting on me; Simone, Haley’s family… and Haley.”
“You’ll find her… I’m sure of it,” she cheered, bouncing off the bed. There’s something special about Alicia.I think it might be impossible to be in a bad mood around her. She reminds me a lot of Kylie.
I smiled as I slipped under my covers. “I need to go to bed early… I’m exhausted.”
“Do you need some sleepy time tea?”
“No, thanks. Not tonight.”
I closed my eyes.
I love you, bed.
The last thing I saw before falling into slumber were Leo’s eyes, and his proud smile.
I slept twelve hours.Which may or may not be a record for me. I was all bushy tailed and perky when I put my uniform on and packed my school bag.
Another day, another dollar, as my dad would say.
I was on my way out when Alicia and Sarah, one of my dorm mates, barged into my room. “Sarah wants to buy some candy,” Alicia told me. “I told her about your stash.”
I wasn’t planning to sell my candy, but what the heck. I opened my drawer and showed her my selection.
“Two bucks for the Kit Kat?” she asked.
It seemed like a good deal. I was about to nod when Alicia broke in, “Rip-off. Four dollars.”
It was a little steep but I guess there’s a big markup at RAMS on contraband candy. “How’ bout three dollars?” I suggested.
Sarah smiled wide. “Deal!”
I handed her the chocolate bar and we darted out of the room. We ran into about a million people on our way to classes. I got my first glimpse of the weather as we walked through the tube, a dark gloomy day. But even a gloomy sky couldn’t bring me down. I was on a high.
“So you spent a lot of time with Ace?” Alicia asked, still pestering me with questions about my little getaway. I wasn’t sure why she was asking about Ace. Probably because she’d fallen for his powers of seduction, too… like every other female on campus, and a few boys, too.
