Not my imagination.

After that unusual encounter with Onew, Camille was a bit unsettled.

She was undeniably happy but something in her gut was telling her that something was not right.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do with just a gut feeling.

Lessons were more or less dragging. Today’s lesson was a little boring with the teachers droning on with history and techniques; she wished she could fall asleep.

When the bell rang for dismissal, she thanked the heavens. She couldn’t wait to get out of class. The boredom was killing her.

Students were going out of their class like there was fire. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one feeling bored.

She grabbed for her bag and rushed out to see her friends who were already waiting by the school gates. They weren’t hard to miss since they were clustered together. Moreover, with the giants; Jill and Dani, they stood out.

Andrea was nowhere to be seen. Sehun must have fetched her already. He was quick.

Those two were still in the ‘honeymoon’ phase. It was sickly sweet to be around them that she and the rest of the girls had the urge to vomit. They weren’t offended but the other girls wished that they should tone it down.

Maybe except for Innah and Angela… They were really supportive about the two.

They waved when they saw her. She approached with a smile.

“Mhillie~” Ash sang and hugged her. “Hey.” She hugged back and waved at the others.

Kat nodded at her in acknowledgement while Angela and Innah smiled back.

“You’re slow.” Jill told her. Her eyes wandered back around the students passing by.

Camille rolled her eyes. She didn’t have to be surprised with Jill’s opening remark.

“Hey guys, want to hang out in my house? My mom’s making a large order of cookies. She may need some help.” Innah invited the whole group.

“Awesome.” Kat replied. From her expression, it was evident that she clearly loved those sweets Innah’s mom makes. “You’re mom’s cookies taste so good.”

“I agree. They’re divine.”  Dani said.

Jill also agreed to help. “It’s better than doing absolutely nothing at home. My mom’s gonna be nagging me again.”

“Mom problems again?”Dani asked with a worried expression. She and Jill were a bit close since they have similar situations.

“You bet.” Jill’s lips thinned to a line and nodded.

Angela went quiet with Innah’s invitation.

“How about you Angela?” Inna asked as she adjusted her red backpack.

“I…I can’t.” Their gentle friend stammered. “I have things to do at home.”

“Ah…okay. Be careful on your way home.” Dani didn’t notice the odd behavior. The rest caught on early, but didn’t say anything.

Angela nodded and headed out in the opposite direction.

A long moment passed before Inna pointed something out. “That’s not the way to her house.”

“I can’t believe she’s sneaking.” Ash whispered, still watching Angela’s back.

“Maybe it’s nothing. Andrea might know where Angela’s going. They’re a lot closer.” Inna reasoned out. Their little friend was the type to think good of everyone. It was one of the things the other girls really love about her.

“We’ll know soon.” Camille said. “Any inputs Jill?”

“I’ll check my sources.” Jill said and typed something on her phone. She put her phone back to her pocket and grinned. “Done. We’ll know something by tomorrow.”

“Okay then… let’s go and help my mom”

“Roger!” Camille joked and followed Innah to their house.

When they arrived, they were happily greeted by Inna’s pet Sydney. She was a black toy poodle that has the ability to jump like a rabbit. Sydney is a bundle of joy and what makes her so cute was that even though her coat is pure black, the fur around was white. The white fur made her look like an old hermit.

All the girls smiled at the little bundle before heading inside.

Innah’s house was big and spacious. The best part of the house was the kitchen.  There was enough space for all 6 of them to assist Innah’s mom.

As soon as they arrived, they washed their hands and helped with the baking.

Kat and Camille did the sifting of ingredients.

Jill and Dani were assigned to mixing.

Inna and Ash did the cookie cutting.

With their help, Innah’s mom was able to finish the orders in record time.

The girls were rewarded with a fresh batch of cookies as a reward. They took it without a fight. It was obvious that they were willing to help as long as they get to taste those chocolate chip cookies.

They were to die for.

The owner of the house placed the plate full of warm cookies on the table in front of Innah’s friends with a smile.

“Thank you dears for helping out. I really appreciate it.”

“We’re glad we could help. You’re cookies are really amazing. ” Dani said with a smile. She was one of the oldest in the group. With her age and maturity, she’s known for being the spokesperson and the mother of the group.

“This will ruin my diet but I don’t care.”Jill eyed the delectable cookies. Unlike Dani, Jill was the troublemaker. She’s adventurous and wasn’t afraid to try out new things.

While they were chatting with the mother, Camille already helped herself with the treats. She moaned happily.

“They’re gonna be bestsellers at the festival this year.” Innah beamed.

“You’re going to have a stall this year?!” Kat asked excitedly.

Innah nodded happily.

Kat squealed and beamed as she munched on a cookie. “I have no doubt that they’re going to attract a lot of attention.”

“Speaking of the festival, I heard they’re looking for volunteers.” Ash said while finishing up a cookie.

“They’re just looking for slaves. I won’t be participating.” Camille scrunched her nose at the mere thought of volunteering. She didn’t like work. She leaned back and enjoyed another cookie.

“Why not Mhil? You could do something about those hideous videos they make every year. You’re a genius when it comes to video directing and editing.” Jill pointed out. “You helped me with my project.”

Camille was a bit flattered with Jill’s words but there was no advantage on it. If her teachers would give incentives, she might think about it. “Still…it’s slavery. Not my thing.”

 “Not even if ‘he’s’ there?” That made her pause for a moment. Maybe. For sure being around Onew was an advantage but…

She shook her head, trying not to think more of it. Thinking when her system was full of sugar treats was not a good thing.

They make her do dumb things like agree to insane ideas.

The whole group decided it was time to go home around 9pm.

Most of them lived nearby. Only Camille and Ash lived an hour away from Innah’s.

Ash’s father picked her up. Ash invited her friend to ride with her but for some reason, Camille declined the invitation.

It could be because of the sugar rush that Camille had the urge to go home by herself.

In the end, she paid a hefty price for it.

The next morning, Camille walked to school gloomily.

Her eyes were still a bit swollen even after treating it with ice. The cry fest she did that morning had taken a toll on her.

By the time she reached her classroom, she was physically and mentally exhausted.

She sulked on her seat and buried her face on her arms. Camille was not in a good mood and doubted that her day would get any better.

Dark clouds surrounded her mood even when the bell rang for a break. She joined her friends at the new spot and frowned.

Everyone smiled at her and did a double take at her new do.

“What happened to your hair?!” Ash exclaimed, touching the ends of Camille’s hair.

 “Some kid thought it was funny to put gum on my hair while I was asleep in the bus.” Camille had no choice but to cut the front short since there was a lot of damage on that part. The gum was practically spread on front part and covered almost half of it. She was grateful for the hairstylist that took suggested for the bangs.

“That’s cruel.” Andrea’s face looked a little grim.

Everyone agreed.

For women, hair was precious. Camille included.

“There’s nothing I could do about it.” She tried to act nonchalantly about it but her friends noticed the puffy eyes that were still obvious.

Her friends did their best not to put too much attention to the new hair and talked about less depressing news like the newly opened coffee shop that Dani has been raving about.

Dani was quite animated about this coffee shop. They know about her coffee addiction but Camille had a feeling that it wasn’t just about the coffee. There was another reason why Dani was interested taking a visit to the café.

As her story goes, there was a boy. The part-time barista of the café And that boy was a familiar fixture in Sehun’s, Andrea’s boyfriend, group of friends. His name was Suho.

Camille still remembered Suho. From her first impression, he was gentle and a little bit rich on the side judging from his clothes at the park. It was strange for a rich kid to work but who was Camille to judge him? He could be a good guy for Dani, but it was too early to tell. Suho was basically a stranger.

“I guess you’re going to be spending a lot of money on expensive coffee.” Camille smirked, she felt a bit better with a change of topic.

Dani blushed. “He makes good coffee.“

“A plus.” Kat added with a knowing smile.

Their friend slightly nodded.

After that small chat, Camille went back to class in a better mood. Chatting with her friends helped her forget about her precious hair.

Her lips lifted upward and made a turn.

She gasped when she stumbled upon a firm che