Read chapter 2 here!

Ha ha ha! I finally got the book from Clove! Even if I had to snatch it and scribble in the book to get it.

(PS: Clove is trying to take the book back by bribing me, saying she’ll lend her favourite jacket to me. NOT GONNA WORK, PAL. Mwahahahahaha)

Anyway, back to where Clove left the story.

With an evil grin, I turned to face the figure in the corner and asked, “Am I right?”

Clove stepped in front of me, dressed in her ridiculous attire and her lip-glossed mouth hanging open. She took off her huge sunglasses (which, btw, was totes overkill. #dumbClooooove), revealing a pair of black eyes staring at me. Yep, it was definitely Clove.

“How did you know?” she asked incredulously. Cinnamon giggled and Clove spun around to face her, glaring furiously.

“I suppose it’s not a surprise to see you here. It’s basically your second home,” she said coolly. Cinnamon flushed and something clicked inside me. I stepped right in front of Clove so that she had to look up to look me in the eye.

“Yeah, so what if she loves to read?” I snarled. “But what about you? The last time I saw you here, you were stuck in detention. So what brings the great Clove to the library?”

Clove hesitated for a second, but then her snobby expression came back just as quickly.

“How does that matter, anyway? What are you doing here? The only book I ever saw you holding was the second book of The Tremendous Three, which-“

She stopped suddenly. “Wait. YOU LIKE THAT BOOK?”

By now, I knew that I would never get out of this mess. If I denied it, Clove would still spread the rumour and I would become the laughing stock of the school. If I came clean, she would still spread the news but at least I would still have some dignity left.

Besides, even though I’m an amazing liar, my gut told me to tell them the truth. So I took a deep breath and said, “Yes, in fact, this is my favourite series. Laugh all you want. I don’t care.”

I crossed my arms and waited for Clove’s annoying high-pitched laughter.

None came.

Clove just took off her shawl and sighed, wrapping it in a bundle. “It’s my favourite too,” she admitted.

My jaw dropped and behind me, Cinnamon gasped, reminding us of her presence. Clove began explaining.

“When I came to know that ‘The Mystery of the Secret Cottage’ is released, I dashed in here as fast as I could. Well, there was a fashion emergency in the middle and the whole escape-your-fan-club thing, so it took a bit longer than I wanted.”

While Clove was talking, all three of us had made our way to a corner and were sitting on one of the couches. For once, I didn’t retort to Clove’s vanity and let Cinnamon express her surprise.

“But, but, but… You’re CLOVE,” Cinnamon exclaimed, much louder than she normally was. “You never come to the library. You never even touch books! As a matter of fact, neither do you.” The last part was for me.

Both Clove and I turned red with embarrassment. “There’s a first time for everything,” we both mumbled.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Cinnamon squirmed in her seat and Clove was fumbling with her hair.

“Soooo…..” I started. “Who’s your favourite character?”

Cinnamon stopped moving. “I like Sarah,” she said.

Clove stated, “Abigale.”

I smiled and said that I liked Hazel. From then on, we chatted like we were old friends meeting after a long time. All three of us let down our guard and soon, we became the best of friends.