Trolls Band Together (OC Insert)

Chapter 6

(Val's POV)

Branch walks to the middle section of the vehicle, focusing back on the topic at hand. "Okay, guys, where was I? We gotta find our brothers and fast. But don't worry. Old Branch's got it handled." He pulls on a light switch and the light on the wall shines down on a board.

As I walk over, the board includes many pictures of Branch and his brothers, as well as magazines of the boy band.

"All we have to do is follow the clues," Branch says confidently.

"Wow," Poppy says as she and John Dory stand in front of the board. "Check out your old outfits. Puffy jackets. Puka shell necklaces. Denim tuxedos?"

As she points at each picture, her eyes land upon one that shows Branch as a baby. What's different about him here is that the tips of his hair are white. "Branch, did you have frosted tips?" She asks.

"Yeah. It was an era," Branch sighs as he leans on the board.

"Don't forget his perm," John Dory adds.

Poppy immediately jumps in front of his face in disbelief. "No way! Pictures or it didn't happen."

John Dory flips out a small picture of Branch with his hair curled.

Screaming in adoration, Poppy snatches the picture out of his hand and stares at it. "Look at you! You were so cute. I love it." Apparently, the photo is so cute that it has her almost crying her eyes out.

"But we had to pull the plug when he tried to frost his perm," John Dory says.

I nod at that statement, saying, "Understandable."

"It was an era!" Branch says in his defense.

"Tragic," John Dory adds.

"While you three are strolling down memory lane, I'll work on finding Spruce," Branch says as he glares specifically at John Dory.

"I'm gonna need copies of that pic. Wallet size." Poppy says the last sentence in a whisper to John Dory.

And he acknowledges it with a wink. Now standing next to Branch by the board, he says, "We don't need your little board to find Spruce..."

"It's not little," Branch corrects.

"...because I got this! Booyah!" John Dory finishes by pulling out a postcard depicting an image of an island with a sunset in the background.

"A postcard that says, 'Wish you were here'? That's it? It's not even signed," Branch says taking the postcard from him.

"It's definitely Spruce. I mean, he's the only one I know who talks that way," John Dory says as if it were obvious.

"There's no return address. It's blank. This could be from anywhere. We can't find Spruce with this," Branch says.

I grab the postcard from Branch and take a look at it. "Well, considering how small this place is, we could just ride along the coast until we find an island that looks just like the one on the postcard."

"Liking the way you think, Peacekeeper," John Dory says, going to fist-bump me.

I fist-bump him with confidence.

Branch stands at the front with Tiny to keep a lookout for the island.

"You know," John Dory starts to say, getting my attention. "You'd be a keeper if you got with someone."

My eyes widen as I stare at him, not expecting that. "Uh, thanks...I'll...I'll keep that in mind," I say before clearing my throat and looking somewhere else.