*𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 1 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.*
Jake and Violet have been best friends for as long as they can remember. They have a bond like no other: sharing the smallest of secrets and practically reading each other's minds. Every...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Are you sure it's okay if I join you guys for dress shopping today? I know it was a Waldaerwood thing before you invited me along." Whitney and I were on a call while I organized my room and she worked on homework.
"You know you're always welcome, Whitney," I brushed away her protest. Whitney was always hesitant to join me whenever I invited her along for any group activities, even though she had known everyone since we were eight. "Besides, I will not survive shopping with those girls without you. You know how I hate shopping."
"That's true," Whitney laughed. "You almost threw a fit in the store when we went shopping with our moms for our eighth-grade dresses." Mom had insisted I should go to the stupid dance and had dragged me along with Aunt Josie to pick out dresses. It was to everyone's surprise I had found a dress I liked, and that even got me excited for the night. And look how that turned out. "Well, if you're sure."
"Yes, yes, now, moving on," I finished folding the last of my clothes and jumped on my bed, bringing the camera back to me. "Do you have anyone in mind that you would like to go with?"
"As if I'd go with any of the guys in our grade," Whitney scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you're my date." She winked obnoxiously and we both burst out laughing. Why'd I have to talk about dates for Winter Formal? Now all I could focus on was Michael and Aubrey going together, Aubrey wearing a corsage from him, and the two wearing matching formal wear. She'll probably lean in just right at the photo booth, with Michael's hand around her waist, and—
"Jada, hello?" Whitney pulled me out of my thoughts. "You're thinking about Michael, aren't you?" She guessed with just a glance at my face. I groaned and threw my face into a pillow. I hated that I still couldn't get over something that happened months ago and wasn't even a big deal. But it is a big deal. I haven't talked to my best friend in months because of it. "Jada, come on, you can't hide from me."
"I just feel so stupid," I pushed the pillow away and faced the camera. "How could I not have known, Whitney? I'm his best friend, I know everything about him."
"You're not a mind reader, Jada. There's no way you would've known."
"Jake and Violet are mind readers," I grumbled, but that would never be a fair comparison. Those two would always have a special bond, far greater than any one of us. Whitney shook her head but she was smiling. She was about to add something else when April knocked.
"Hey, James said you should go next door," she announced, inspecting my drawers to make sure I folded my clothes. I loved having a clean and organized room but I hated doing any sort of laundry. April would inspect my drawers whenever she came in so I would get in the habit of folding them as soon as I could. "He said there's a 'super important person that knows the secret of life?' " She shrugged. April didn't have to say anything more. I was running past her and I was out the front door in less than a minute, grabbing the Alderwood key from the front. I practically burst into their house, stopping when I reached the kitchen.
