SERAPHINA'S POV
I have stayed up all through the night, reading my mysterious red book all about the Astria tribe, learning more about a bit of their culture - but it's still not enough.
The knowledge I am able to amass from this book is limited, scrapping just the surface. I can't quite place my finger on it, but I know for a fact that there's more to it.
My heart pounds faster, and I just know it in my heart that there's so much that I need to know, more to disprove the rumors about them being evil witches that ate hearts.
None of that was in this book, proving the fact that it's all just bullshit conspiracies made by wolves just to make the history of their Wolfdom sound more noble. But I can smell some serious bullshit going on.
The only issue is that I'm just about done with it, and there's no other info on it I can find.
Everything else on the Astria tribe in the school library is the rewritten version of how they were the villains and the wolves were the victims for centuries.
A sob story that isn't in the least bit appetizing.
Just when I think about how to satiate my thirst for more, the window blinds are pulled open and the in-pour of light blinds my eyes momentarily, and I hiss like a snake.
"Sera?' Olivia looks at me more clearly now that the sun's light is directly in my face. "Did you stay up all night?" She asks, looking at me with confusion.
I look at her, realizing I've been caught.
"Uh... I was just doing some reading and lost track of time." I say while stylishly stuffing the book under my blanket.
I still haven't told Olivia about the book, giving myself countless of excuses why I shouldn't - like how dumfounded she'd be, seeing the words change like they do.
Or maybe, she'd share the same views against the Astria tribe like how everyone else in the school is trained to.
I'd decided to tell her at some point, but not right now.
She moves to the mirror by the chair, running her fingers through her hair and tossing it around for a bit.
"Are you pumped for today?" she asks in a sing song manner, definitely in a good mood.
I sigh, falling back right on the bed, getting comfortable and covering myself with the covers.
"Yeah. I'm going to sleep through the entire weekend to make up for the stressful week I've had so far."
My eyes are already tired from staying up all night, and a long rest is all I need, hopefully before Artemis decides he wants to make my life any more miserable.
"You're not going to get ready?" She asks the question that confuses me.
I look up from my bed at her again.
"Get ready for what?"
"Oh my god, Sera, the cookie fundraiser for your campaign is today."
I let her words slowly sink into my half hazy brain, and when they do, my eyes widen with shock. How did I forget that something as important as that was today?
"Holy fuck." I swear, scrambling off the bed yet somehow managing to fall off and land face flat on the floor.
The exhaustion I'm feeling must be messing with my coordination, it seems.
I rush into the showers, taking a quick 5-minute bath before rushing out and changing into something that allows easy movement - like a simple turtle-neck and a flared black skirt with a pair of white sandals.
I pack my mid-length hair up in a loose pony tail and literally run out the door with Olivia running after me from behind.
Olivia offered to help the second I told her about the fundraise, saying it was to make up for acting out when I told her I was running against Morgan.
More and more, I watch her slowly gaining more confidence in herself, and I feel a bit prideful about it, like a mother hen watching her chick.
We run all the way to the school field where our stand will be, immediately greeted by the sight of a bustling crowd of students moving through countless stalls. Each stall represents another student vying in the elections.
It's as if everyone else decided that today was the perfect day to showcase their talents in fundraising. The variety of stalls seems endless, offering everything from games to kissing booths.
Our stand is off at the edge of the whole thing without a single customer in line. I imagine a tumble weed rolling by our stand.
Talk about completely deserted.
We walk in through the back and are greeted by the sight of Alice and Juliet icing some cookies.
Their eyes meet mine and immediately light up like tiny stars, dropping everything in their hands and running up to me while squealing - as usual.
I smile awkwardly as I've not quite gotten used to their enthusiasm. No matter how many times I see as it, it always takes me off guard.
"Sera! You're just in time to taste this wonderful creation made by Alice." Juliet screams, shoving a frosted cookie in my mouth, taking me off guard.
I chew into it, and only a micro second in, the tropical fruit flavors burst in my mouth and my eyes widen in awe.
"Holy crap. This is fucking good!" I exclaim, swallowing the rest of it while she blushes shyly, waving me off.
"Let me try." Olivia reaches forward, grabbing an identical piece and eating it. In only seconds, her eyes light up the same way mine had seconds ago.
"Wow, these really are good. It's a wonder how we don't have a line in our front, begging to try one of these." She praises her, and there's a tint in her cheeks while she stares at Olivia.
Right then and there, I already get the feeling that these three have potential at being good friends and almost instantly, they hit it off after simple introductions, laughing between themselves.
We assume our designated roles next, each of us taking hold of a piping bag to ice the cookies for a few minutes, ensuring we have a sufficient supply prepared for when the anticipated rush of customers arrives. Although that might just be delusional.
I admit that they have more faith than me.
"Done." I say with a sigh, wiping off the sweat from my forehead while staring down at my master piece - my rendition of tinker bell.
Juliet looks at it with a questionable gaze, trying to choose her next words carefully. Same with Alice that seems to be biting down a laugh.
"What?"
"I thought you said you were in art class?" Olivia blurts out plainly.
I am actually, but the truth is that, drawing with a fat sugar filled bag is more difficult that it seems, compared to doing so with a light paint brush.
"I am."
"You know what? I think it would be best if you helped with the baking process, actually. It seems like it's more of your forte."
"I agree."
Alice and Juliet push me to the back of the main shed area, where the oven is already lit, busily baking the next batch.
"Help yourself to the ingredients." They say in unison, leaving me back there with it.
I sigh, already catching the subtle message in the sentence, and I couldn't disagree with them more. My job should be more of talking to the supports, handing out badges, and asking for votes - yet here I am, baking cookies.
A far cry from what I sighed up for.
I go right into it though, throwing in some eggs and flour and some sugar, then some baking powder and vinegar...
Those go in too, right?
I begin to perceive the subtle scent of smoke hovering over my head and it takes a few more seconds before it dawns on me that the cookies are burning.
In a haste to bring them out, I grab a mitten, pulling out ten toasted lumps of charcoal and letting out a tired sigh. I'm really not cut out for this shit.
"Is that a new flavor you're working on? Charred-chip cookies?"
I turn to the side swiftly, coming face to face with the last person I was expecting to see today.
He smiles lightly with a hint of nervousness; the same way he had when we first met in chemistry class.
"Gabe?" I look at him, too speechless to question what he's doing here.
He scratches the back of his head.
"Hey, Sera - long time no see." And as if reading my mind, he answers the first question that popped into my mind without me having to ask.
"I'm the third member of your campaign team; at your service."