Angel Full of Flowers

❁ 31 ❁

Rulebreaker. I would be labeled as a rulebreaker for the rest of my life if we got caught sneaking Poppy with us to Wonderland.

Dear mamá,

I hope you aren't frowning upon me! I just feel so bad leaving Poppy behind while the rest of us go off to have fun. She's worked just as hard as the rest of us and deserves a little fun. We leave tomorrow evening! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. Wish us luck!

With love,
Camellia

As I closed my journal, I suddenly felt something fuzzy tickle my cheek. Angel was holding one of his wigs with a mischievous grin.

Taking it from him, I cautiously asked, "Why are you giving this to me?"

He twirled in amusement at something he was plotting in his head. "We're gonna disguise Poppy as myself."

In shock, I immediately stood up and whisper-shouted, "What?! There's no way that'll work! In case you haven't noticed, her eyes are blue!"

"Mrs. Aster won't be able to tell the difference. And I don't see you coming up with any ideas," he said as he placed a hand on his hip.

He was right. This was an outrageous plan but we had no other choice—it was Angel's idea after all.

Sighing in response, I stuffed the wig in the pocket of the coat I would wear tomorrow and dragged my luggage off of my bed. Turns out Angel had multiple wigs in case any of them got lost. How in the world does someone lose a wig?

I sat down on the edge of my bed and looked at him. "Why haven't you packed yet?"

"I'll pack later, I'm gonna go meet up with Chrys right now."

My excitement turned into a bitter ache. I wondered to myself why he was meeting up with her at this time of the day—almost nighttime.

"Oh, o-okay, I'll see you later then." My voice wavered a bit. It was selfish of me to even think that Chrys and Angel would ever be more than friends, but I couldn't help have the thought in the back of my mind. What if Chrys secretly knew about Angel? Why wouldn't Angel tell me if that was the case?

Anxiety swirled inside of me like an angry storm. It felt all-consuming and I couldn't stop the thoughts from piling up in my head. No matter how many times I told myself that it wasn't true, they just kept pounding against my skull.

Before leaving, Angel gave me a small smile as he opened the door. "I won't be too long," he said and left.

There is nothing to worry about. Everything is fine.

°°°

When Angel came back last night, he seemed a bit off. He wouldn't look me in the eyes and seemed often lost in thought.

I didn't know what to make of it. If Angel had something he wanted to tell me, he would. But I would never force it out of him.

Once it was time for our departure, we all met up with Poppy in secret. She had to bribe her roommate in order for her to be able to sneak away for the next few days. If anyone asked, Poppy was constipated and was constantly in the bathroom.

"I'm going to be expelled," Poppy kept murmuring to herself. Everyone ignored her rambles and huddled together.

"Okay so here's what we'll do," Angel whispered, "we'll give Poppy a wig that looks similar to my hair-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Where will we get the wig from?" Tulip asked, interrupting Angel's scheme.

"Camellia has one," he replied.