After Stellarlune

Chapter Five

THE NEXT MORNING SOPHIE WOKE UP EARLY SO SHE COULD TALK WITH KEEFE BEFORE THEY met up with their friends to plan what they were going to do next.

She left her shades open so that the sun would wake her up, and when she woke up, she jumped out of bed and got dressed as quick as she could.

She sprinted down the stairs, wondering if this would be the morning she beat her adoptive parents awake, but Grady and Edaline were already sitting at the kitchen table.

"You're up early," Edaline said.

"Yeah," Sophie said. "I couldn't really sleep."

"Why not?" Grady asked, frowning at her. "And by the way, since your mother is apparently way too nice, we need to have a talk tomorrow if she hasn't gotten anything out of you by then."

"Okay," Sophie said wincing. She didn't really want to tell her parents about all the Keefe stuff, even though Grady had made it sound like he wouldn't care too much. She would still get all the goofy smiles from Edaline every time she was in the same room as Keefe though, and Grady would probably glare at him more than usual. "Can I have breakfast?" She asked, before Grady could ask her more.

"Of course," Edaline said, placing a bowl of green liquid that tasted like super creamy, super delicious hot chocolate soup.

"Thanks," Sophie said when she finished. "I'm going to head outside now, and all my friends are coming in a couple hours to figure out a plan."

"Okay sweetie," Edaline said. 

"Don't forget to tell us what the plan is," Grady added.

"I won't," Sophie promised as she rushed outside.

Keefe wasn't by the Panakes tree, so Sophie walked over to the grove, hoping he would be there. It was pretty early, so he was probably still sleeping, or maybe eating breakfast. 

Sure enough, when she got to the grove, a gnome came right up to her.

"How may I help you Miss Foster?" He whispered. 

"I'm looking for Keefe," Sophie said.

"Mr. Sencen is still sleeping," the gnome informed her, explaining why he was whispering. "You can wait here for him to wake up." He led her to a tree, and when Sophie looked inside, she found that it was covered in some sort of soft pillow plant. She went inside, and waited.

She must have been tired, or maybe the inside of the tree was one of the most comfortable places she had ever been in, because she dozed off almost as soon as she got bored.

"Sophie?" She jolted awake, and accidentally hit her head on a root that was poking out. She peered out to see Keefe watching her with an amused look on his face. "So did you like the gnome trees?" He asked. 

"Yeah," Sophie said, struggling to climb out. "I was just... waiting for you to wake up."

"By going to sleep," Keefe said. "Well I'm up now. Did you need something? Or did you just want to spend quality time with the Keefester?" He struck a pose, and Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I just wanted to ask how you're doing, you seemed pretty down last night."

Keefe's face fell, and his shoulders seemed to droop. "I guess I'm okay," he mumbled. "I just feel so bad."

"It's not your fault," Sophie said, reaching for his hand. "Jensi wanted you to do it, and he's probably happy to know, even though it's hard."

"I guess," Keefe said looking away. "But... can we not talk about this right now. Maybe we could do something else? Like, maybe something fun?"