As Soon As Popular (discontinued-read description)

Chapter 6: Flashphones and Frightening Alleys

*whisper-shouts in happy* ASAP is back!

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Matthew. Did you really think we'd fall for that?" Cassidy crumpled the piece of paper in her hand, narrowing her eyes at the certain brown-haired boy with the wide, mischievous grin on his face.

I examined the paper, trying to make the tiny words on it appear clear. That caused my eyes to blur, and I felt the white paper getting smaller and smaller in my hand. I hope I had enough talent to find out who that was, but I was no Sherlock Holmes. In fact, I was the dumbest of dumb when it came to solving clues.

"Why are you all looking at me as if I'd just killed the cat? My name's not Curiosity." Matthew returned our questioning stares with a shrug. "I didn't do it. Besides, what would I benefit from this?"

"What a waste of paper. I don't even know what type of joke this is." I could hardly hear Jonah's faint voice from behind me.

My eyes travelled from person to person, and I couldn't fight back the small grin forming on my lips. Now, before you think that I'm bonkers and should pay a nice visit to the mental hospital, I had a reason to smile; I was getting ideas for my book. Tons of them. Something interesting was actually happening in my life.

"I was in front of all of you just a few seconds ago. I'm not Wonder Woman. You all saw me, I wasn't even near the bags." Cassidy stopped and pursed her lips as she picked up her bag, which probably belonged to an expensive brand. The kind of brand that I won't be able to shop from, even if I sold my own self. "What would I benefit from doing this too?"

We kept suspecting which one of us was the mysterious owner of this poem. But the ten minutes we spent on that were as useless as my running shoes.

What? It's been two years since I've had a good run.

With a sigh, Jonah opened the library's wooden door and pursed his lips before saying,"I think it's better we get out of here before we get locked again."

With a few nods and a couple of "yeahs", we were already giving up and  making our way out of the dim library, parting away from each other.

As we turned our backs to walk away, I noticed something. We all did the same thing at the same time; we looked at the tiny paper in each of our hands.

Could it help us reach our hopes and dreams?

Probably not.

***
I saw the certain gigantic palm tree beside my house as I got out the house key. Its greenery had evaporated by age and the tree sighed under the never-ending layers of dust. Pushing the keys into the door, I sighed in relief as the door staggered backwards with a squeak. I was used to have the keys even if my parents were home; a good example of their laziness.

"Duck!" dad's rough voice was the first thing that I heard.

It took me a few seconds to calculate the frisbee that was coming right my way, and the cotton ball chasing after it.

That cotton ball was my dog.

Just as the frisbee was about to cut thorough my head and slice it like I'd become one of the fruits in Fruit Ninja, I caught the flying plate right between my hands like a real ninja.

"The backyard was made for a good reason." I threw the frisbee on the ground for Food to play with and stop barking.

"Hey, dad. Just wondering, am I going to eat burnt food today? It was so wonderful last time I ate it, that I do not possibly deserve that luxurious meal again."

"I like how you're always straightforward about it." I shrugged pathetically at his words. "I'm talented when it comes to cooking. Just not when I'm using our stove. Or any other other stove, to be exact. I guess the stoves don't approve of my talent. Oh, and before I forget, you should go study."