“I can’t believe that she’s still in town!” Emily exclaimed, “School resumes on Monday for goodness’ sake!”
Alex made a face from her seat. She had her arms folded over her chest and slouched on the backrest. Her cousin kneeled on the bench across from her, binoculars in her hand and on her eyes. The window had a hedge of bushes plus a few tall plants. It helped Emily hide herself.
“Well, I can’t believe you have binoculars” Alex replied, shaking her head.
Her cousin simply waved a hand at her, “You just didn’t notice them last time.”
“That still doesn’t answer why you even have them in the first place.”
“A girl scout must always be prepared.”
Alex rolled her eyes and flickered to her right. Colin sat next to her. He waited patiently with his thumbs tapping on his phone screen. The temptation to peek hit her like a ton of bricks. She could already guess that Lauren was on the other end.
Remembering the rule on privacy, she leaned back and let it go. Jae’s stare caught her attention. She stuck out his tongue at him and turned back to the girl beside him.
“Is she staying nearby?” Alex couldn’t help but ask, “How can we spot her already? I really hope she won’t come here though.”
Emily snorted, “Is Logan here? Yeah, didn’t think so.”
‘If Skye does come here, I am 100% sure she is in town because of you’, she added at the back of her mind. She almost said it out loud but remembered Colin’s presence in time. It would take quite the amount of explaining why Logan’s ex-girlfriend would be associated with Alex.
“You have a flight to catch within the day” Alex reminded her cousin, “Don’t stay longer than necessary.”
“Ugh, how can I leave when I know she’s here?”
“She is invested in this, isn’t she?” Colin remarked. His phone layed on the table, its screen locked. When Jae called him about Skye’s appearance in town, he could hardly believe it. What made it more absurd was this plan to discover her motives. His fingers drummed on the table as he glanced out the window.
This idea sounded unlike him—and Alex. Why were they going through such lengths?
“She holds quite a grudge” Jae shrugged, “Something about being rivals in their school.”
Among the 4 of them, the blonde elf did act like the most concerned party. From the moment they entered the Stitz Diner, she got to work. They had decided to start with the place they knew Skye visited. Both girls found the timing a bit odd.
Either she knew Logan sat in the diner and went in or she stumbled upon him coincidentally. The former seemed more likely between the two, according to them.
Colin cocked an eyebrow, “They go to the same school?”
“Unfortunately” Emily muttered. She placed the binoculars near her chest, unfolding her bent legs. She sat down with eyes still trained outside.
She finally looked around the table, saying, “Alright, she went to the store in front of the diner. I say it’s game time before she disappears again.”
===
A few hours earlier…
===
Carla ate her cereal inside the kitchen. Her parents had already gone for work and left no instructions. It was another day for her and her siblings to figure out. She made a note to check the food supplies, thinking about what to cook for lunch.
She gazed up at the ceiling, her eyes stinging from the fluorescent light.
Just how long did that cat plan to stay? And how could she get rid of her step-cousin faster?
Biting her inner cheek, Carla pushed the cornflakes around the bowl. There had to be something else she could do. Her lips pressed together and trapped the tip of the spoon. Should she give a hint to Jae about his twin’s ex?
The spoon clattering on the bowl, she reached for her phone.
How could she forget? During the Cinderella Search, Jae had suspected Logan’s girlfriend had been Skye. All she needed to do was somehow make them meet. Then, maybe Jae would keep her step-cousin’s plans from happening.
The messenger app popped out on her screen.
‘Morning, Jae! How ya doin?’
Carla hit the send button before she could change her mind. She had a habit of overthinking her messages when ulterior motives were involved. She didn’t want it to get to her and make her act unnatural.
‘Doing okay. What’s up?’
Her thumbs flew across the keyboard, typing in her reply.
‘I just suddenly remembered about your Cinderella. Did you ever find out if she is Logan’s ex or not?’
There. That sounded okay, right? She mulled in her mind. She did cooperate with him a lot during that time. Then, the hunt suddenly stopped. It was only natural for her to be curious about the results.
‘As a matter of fact, I did and it definitely isn’t Skye.’
Carla raised her eyebrows, lips pressed together. It was a shot in the dark when she told Skye about it but… did Jae find out about Alex’s identity? Was it at the restaurant last Friday? Other than the trip to the Principal’s Office—and her step-cousin’s unexpected visit—the week had been uneventful.
Before, she squeezed the Cinderella Hunt at every free time she could get. Now, Jae and the others already forgot about it. They didn’t even share any news. Weren’t the others curious? Even Max hadn’t noticed it and he had been the first one to become really excited.
Well, he also hadn’t noticed two weeks went by and that he could dye back his rainbow hair.
Carla shook her head. She needed to focus. She typed slowly, carefully calculating her next words. She didn’t know if Jae knew about Skye’s current location or not.
‘It really wasn’t her? Wow, didn’t you see her in town before?’
Well, to be specific, he saw someone that looked like her. Although, at the time, Jae was truly convinced that it had been Skye. She didn’t see it herself and only had his words to believe in.
‘Now, that you mention it… I did. I also heard someone spotted her yesterday at the Stitz Diner. She seems to be lurking around. It’s driving me crazy. Desperate enough to drive Colin into the fiasco and find out her motives—that is, if she’s still in town.’
Carla’s gaze fluttered upwards for a moment. Oh, she was still in town alright.
‘Damn. Well, hope you catch her soon before she gets to Logan. Who knows what she’d do.’
===
Present time…
===
Skye browsed through the gift shop quietly.
Her feet roamed around, beginning from the leftmost part. It had taken a bit of convincing to get herself here. If her mother hadn’t taken her side, it might not have been possible. Her agreed time of stay almost ran out. It would take another round of discussion for her to come here next weekend. For that matter…
She needed to talk to Logan today.
Would he let her inside the Parker Mansion?
A few cute keychains caught her eye. Each one had the shape of a chipmunk. The image of her stepbrother, Neal, came to mind. Just the thought of his phone with a chipmunk dangling at the tip made her laugh. Oh, it would just be too good.
The wind chime at the door’s front door swung, tingling its little bells. The female cashier near it greeted the new customer. He walked to her and looked over the sweets at the counter. Shops liked to display some items while customers waited in line or while they paid for their purchases. Sometimes the counter products caught a person’s attention at the last minute.
Using a volume slightly higher than normal, he said, “Do you have other flavors of this strawberry chocolate?”
“We have almonds, fruit and nuts, nougat…” the cashier replied, pointing out to each item, “There’s also another brand over here. This one has tiny bits of coffee beans.”
Colin pressed his lips together. He stepped back to get a full view of the display. Rubbing his chin, he stood with his feet apart and his eyes took everything in, “What kind of chocolate would you prefer?”
The cashier’s amber eyes blinked, “Excuse me?”
“I need advice on what kind of chocolate to give a girl,” Colin smiled gently, his brown eyes twinkling, “Mind helping out a bit… Aimee?”
Aimee bowed her head. She could feel the blush on her cheeks. Her name sounded melodic with his voice. Most customers only came to the counter for payment. She rarely encountered ones that like to chat—mostly the elderly. They tell her that she reminded them of their granddaughters.
Before her stood a guy that seemed to be around her age. The girl must be lucky to have someone so thoughtful. He took things in consideration and didn’t merely pick a random chocolate.
“I’d say…” the cashier began to say, “Anything milk chocolate would work. For some additional flavor, salted caramel is still the best for me.”
Colin nodded his head slowly, listening to her every word, “Milk chocolate, huh?”
“Well, if you want to be more daring, I’d say dark or milk chocolate” a new voice joined in the conversation.
Colin looked over his shoulder. Skye walked up to the counter with a wide smile on her face. Her hair fell over on one side of her face, untied. She had one hand lifted up, carrying several keychains, and the other tucked inside her coat. She placed them on the counter.
Her hand resting on it, she gave Colin her full attention, “Long time, no see, Colin. How have you been?”
