Brunch with Lacey

“Finished in 1894, the Witzler Hotel represented itself as a herald of the future prosperity already arriving in Honey Hollow. Constructed by the finest craftsmen, no expense had been spared to deliver an opulent introduction to visitors. Locals took pride in its majestic glory,” the impromptu tour guide relayed, waving their arms around in the lobby.

Nearly a dozen people glanced at each other in confusion.

“That feeling lasted almost seventy-five years until the dark times arrived, ushered in by the sinister force called the shopping mall,” the perky tour guide recounted, switching to a spooky voice.

“Malls are evil?” a ten-year-old boy questioned, checking with his parents, who shook their heads.

“Seeking to cut maintenance costs, renovations began to wall off the expert woodworking, beautiful murals, and cathedral ceilings. The foulest insult of this drive for efficiency came with the partitioning of the grand ballroom into several conference rooms and a small banquet hall. A totally major betrayal and unwise decision, which you will understand if you’d care to enter the ballroom for the next part of our tour,” the local history buff suggested, gesturing to the far side of the lobby.”

A bundled-up petite redhead entered through the revolving glass door. A quick glance and listen had her shaking her head.

“I swear, I can’t leave for three minutes to grab my phone from the car,” Lacey said aloud.

“Yes, she swooped in right away to help them. Better watch it, or Magda might hire her,” Radko, the Witzler’s concierge, joked about the hotel manager.

‘Don’t say that out loud!” Lacey hissed, hurrying over before Yumi could start leading the people toward the ballroom. “Sorry, folks, the local volunteer guide requires a break.”

“Is she here?” the sweet cheerleader inquired, receiving a head shake in reply. “Well, I should probably help these strangers feel comfortable in Honey Honey until then.”

“Actually, we’re from Moose Point, so this isn’t even close to our first–” the father of the ten-year-old revealed.

“Ah! A faraway land across the plains and into the woods from Honey Hollow,” Yumi replied before inquiring about the other people’s hometowns. “Eldermoss? Wow! I know just the show you can watch to learn about this town’s glorious residents. It’s put on by two of the loveliest girls from Eldermoss. It’s called Sussing with–”

“Oh, I’m sure they’re not interested in what Nosy Nectar has to say,” Lacey interrupted, smiling at the elderly couple. “I’m sorry, Yums, but we need to check in for our reservation.”

“Perhaps a raincheck if you’re still lost in a few hours?” Yumi called over to the guests while Lacey physically escorted her away.

“Seriously? I’m gone for a few minutes. How does this happen?”

“I heard the one family sounding confused, so I called a huddle for any visitors from other towns together,” Yumi relayed brightly. “Is Amberly here?”

“Nothing has changed in the last two minutes,’ the redhead responded. “It’s a good thing I went back for my phone. There was snow this morning north of Blackbridge, so the traffic is—”

“Oh, no! Is she okay?” Yumi fretted.

“Amberly is fine. Said she’s a solid fifteen minutes behind schedule. So we won’t have to wait long. Let’s get our table, and—”

Exiting the dining room’s main entrance from the lobby, Fletcher hesitated before rushing forward to drop to his knees just inside the lobby in front of Lacey.

“Yes! My savior has arrived. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” the school flirt exclaimed, reaching out to kiss his classmate’s hand. “Your sweetness is vital to my survival today. I can only praise whatever power led you to hear my cries for help!”

“It’s going to be one of those mornings, isn’t it?” Lacey responded, turning to look at Yumi.

“This sounds serious. Are you in trouble?” Yumi asked, checking their surroundings.

“My mother and I may have been kidnapped this morning. I lost time, nearly ninety minutes. We came here to meet one of our rival relatives, and I think his sinister niece and nephew pumped sleeping gas into Mom’s car,” Fletcher continued, while still holding Lacey’s hand.

“No!’ Yumi gasped.

“Fear not, Miss Nakano, for I am truly saved. My favorite superhero has arrived at my most desperate hour.”

“Where? Is it the Beevenger?” Yumi queried, studying the men and women who walked past them, their expressions varying in response to the commotion.

“I believe he’s talking about me,” Lacey said with a deep sigh.

“You’re a superhero?!” Yumi exclaimed, stepping away from her friend to study her.

“But of course. Lacey Stratton is…the Pink Cupcake!” Fletcher announced, standing up with a flourish. “Technically, you should be the cute/surprisingly sexy sidekick, but I’m willing to take the number two role for you, your honor.”

“Sorry, buddy. I don’t think Chocolate Chip Cookie sounds like a hero’s name. No, no, don’t give me the reformed villain line. It’s just not to be,” the petite redhead stated.

‘Ah, hold on, my lovely cupid,” Fletcher said before leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I’m Beevenger.”

Of all the things Fletcher expected, it hadn’t been the explosion of giggles that followed from his grade school friend. Patting his cheek, Lacey remarked, “Sure, you are,” before directing Yumi to enter the dining room.

“But I am!” the back-haired teen called after her.

“Just ignore everything he says,” Lacey told her friend before greeting the hostess.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Yumi whispered.

The hostess led the two teens to a table in the front section of the main dining room, beside a window. Lacey informed her that they needed to wait for one more person before they ordered, which made Yumi look almost tearful. However, she rebounded by ordering orange juice to start, then gladly declined the menu.

“No, need for that, ma’am. I’m only down for the s’more pancakes this morning.”

“Oh, I don’t know what we’ll get,” Lacey responded to the inquisitive look. “Thanks, Julie.”

“Wow! You know so many people. I love it!’ Yumu cheered.

“She did have a name tag on,” Lacey responded. Finally, after a long look, she admitted to having met the hostess on many occasions with Whitney.

Surveying the dining room, the outgoing redhead spotted multiple people, alerting the sweet teen to their presence while also reminding her not to run over to greet them. Lacey, in particular, ordered Yumi not to rush over to say hello to Principal Manske, which Yumi nearly did.

“But I want to meet his new girlfriend,” the black-haired sweetheart insisted, sitting back in her seat. “It’s the polite thing to do.”

“True. However, I don’t think Romy is his girlfriend,” Lacey replied, letting her friend’s confusion continue for now. “Now, did you see the videos from last night?”

As intended, the discussion about Claudia’s party distracted Yumi for ten minutes. The lip-syncing by the Babybees and their friends especially caught her attention. Although she expressed sadness and confusion over the volleyball/cheerleader fight. Lacey assured her that Whitney had enacted a truce with Sean’s help. That confused Yumi further. Unfortunately, her rumbling stomach led her to glance around in concern.

‘Does it stay how long they serve breakfast on your menu? Is there a cutoff time listed?”

“It will be fine. We’ll order shortly. You’ll finally get to try the Witzler’s s’more pancakes.”

“I’m going to love them! I know it already,” the cheerleader declared. ‘Um, but I might want seconds. Is there a cutoff time? Maybe we should call Julie over here. I think we need to find out. Do you have her number? A quick message would suffice.”

“It will be fine,” Lacey repeated. Still, the ginger actually felt relieved to see Fletcher returning and heading in their direction.

“Has she discovered guilt for rejecting my pleas for help?”

“Um, I honestly don’t know. Sorry, we have more pressing concerns,” Yumi declared, peering past Fletcher to look for Julie.

“Fletch, how bad can your breakfast be?” Lacey inquired.

“Breakfast? We’ve been here almost thirty minutes and still haven’t started brunch yet.”

“Oh, dear. Is there a problem in the kitchen? Did a fire break out? I think I smell smoke,” Yumi fretted.

“I assume the kitchen is fine. Fletch’s problem is with the people at his table,” Lacey responded.

“Assume? Dad says one should never–”

“Everyone claims that this is a normal meeting, but I suspect something nefarious is going on,” Fletcher declared, finally drawing Yumi’s attention. “Why else would Mom and Aunt Sela bring along Aunt Kathy. Sienna even brought Rylee.”

“Rylee goes everywhere with your cousin,” Lacey pointed out, sighing at the Saturday morning paranoia.

“Yes! But this is different. I’m beginning to suspect that this meeting might be to wed off Sienna as the bride to one of the Canadians,” Fletcher began, causing Yumi’s head to rock around.

“Sienna is getting married? I love weddings!” Yumi squealed.

Before Lacey even had time to react, the sweetest, kindest girl in all of Honey Hollow exploded out of her chair. Although she didn’t know Sienna’s precise location, Fletcher’s gesture toward the side dining room while talking had her dashing in that direction. Jumping up, the petite redhead ordered the person to blame to help.

“You just had to say it in front of her. Well, hurry and help me!’

“I didn’t say the engagement had happened yet,” Fletcher defended himself while squeals echoed out from the other room.

“No ring?”

They found Yumi noting the absence of an engagement ring after yanking the ice queen’s shocked hand up. Rylee had big bug eyes while watching the scene before a hand slapped up to work as a dam against the wave of giggles seeking to escape.

“Not that there is anything wrong with no ring for now. It doesn’t matter if he’s poor, only that the two of you are in love,” Yumi continued, pulling Sienna forward for their third celebratory hug.

Thankfully, Lacey arrived just seconds before Sienna’s shocked expression morphed into fury. Throwing her arm around the thrilled teen, she hurriedly explained that there had been a misunderstanding.

“Did I ruin the surprise? Oh, dear! I am sooo sorry!”

Sienna avoided the fourth hug attempt while her face twisted into a snarl.

“I am not engaged or getting married, you damn—That damn cousin of mine is lying,” the furious blonde roared, shifting the direction of her lashing only due to a small hand gently placing itself on her arm.

Lacey mouthed “Thanks” at Rylee.

The three older women immediately worked to change the subject. Fiona asked about Clive and the campaign, while Sela focused on her Rachel her former cheer captain. Kathy helped by asking Yumi about her parents, which led to a lengthy description of her father being upset over Yoshio’s obsession with video games, while Felicity didn't see the problem, since his friends were playing online with him. Taking advantage of the game discussion, Sela handled her daughter while Fiona ordered her son to sit back down. As there was an extra seat on his other side, she directed him to scoot further away from his cousin.

After five minutes, the two teens returned to their table after Peabody Wynwick appeared. Somewhat aware of the man’s legendary eccentricity, Lacey didn’t want Yumi to start a conversation with him. To their surprise and delight, an attractive, sassy teen waited at their table for them.

“Look at you, Miss Stratton. Getting a prime table by the window and socializing with the blue bloods. Planning to follow in daddy’s footsteps and become a politician, Miss Big Shot?” a blonde teen remarked, seated at the table with a winter coat featuring faux fur edgings resting over the back of her chair.

“Oh, shut it, matchbreaker,” Lacey replied. Then, she shot forward to wrap her arms around the young woman in a firm hug. The hug was badly needed, and its owner knew this from the way the redhead squeezed the fabric of her tan sweater dress.

“You should run for office!” Yumi exclaimed before throwing her arms around both girls.

“And foil our plans to start the greatest dating service agency in history? Are you anti-Cupid, ma’am?” Amberly Abbington challenged.

“N-N-Never,” Yumi stammered. “Lacey is the goddess of love!”

“She’s only teasing, Yums,” the petite redhead clarified before hugging her fellow petite blonde again. “It’s good to see you.”

“I would’ve come sooner, but you kept throwing work at me to do,” Amberly shot back.

An eighteen-year-old with long, slightly wavy, buttery blonde hair, baby blue eyes, medium-sized breasts, and a tiny, toned ass, Amberly had been a native and resident of Honey Hollow until early last August. Forced to relocate three-and-a-half hours south because her father transferred jobs, the move wrecked years of planning. First, Amberly had long been seen as Whitney’s co-captain, which resulted in Caterina as the last-minute replacement, bringing Aurora onto the squad to fill the open roster spot. Second, it had broken up Strattington, the squad’s high-flying duo and the infamous team of matchmakers.

“I know. Thanks for helping from big ole Blackbridge,” Lacey insulted about the largest city in the region.

“I came well stocked. Do you require glue, caulk, epoxy putty, jelly, cream, custard, or all of the above to fix that broken heart?” Amberly inquired.

“I like the treats!” Yumi clapped, putting down the brown Ushanka hat of Amberly’s that she’d been studying. A fashionable, yet quirky dresser, the blonde’s outfits always fascinated the girl who usually visited during her school breaks.

“Oh, damn! I left the plaster to cover the cracks out in the car,” Amberly continued, causing Lacey to grin wildly.

“Knock it off, Fairhead.”

“As you wish, Dulcinea,” the buttery blonde responded, using their various nicknames for each other. “So, what was happening with Ice Queen and Squirrel Hunter?”

“Nothing new. Fletch didn’t want to attend a family brunch,” Lacey reported.

“I think Fletcher might have lied to me,” Yumi announced, her eyes glistening.

“No, no, don’t take it personally, sweetie. Fletcher is prone to exaggeration and conjuring up stories and enemies like a magician. It’s his gift to the rest of us common folk,” Amberly reassured, easing Yumi’s concerns. “It’s also wonderful to see you!”

Of course, Yumi needed to leave her seat for another hug. Although Yumi moved away for five years and never performed on the same squad with the blonde, they'd become friends over the years as the dark-haired girl visited for the holidays and long stretches each summer. Losing the newly elected co-captain had been devastating for Yumi, as she'd just joined the squad at the beginning of the summer after moving back to Honey Hollow. Breaking away from the hug, Amberly asked if the sweet girl was helping with their Valentine's plan. She caught Lacey's quick shake of the head.

“Oh, dear, I’d love to, but I just can’t. The girls mentioned at lunch yesterday that I have far too much on my plate right now. That’s super saddening! I always wanted you as my leader,” Yumi admitted, with her shoulders shrugging in defeat.

"You don't need help with everything, but you could always assist us," Amberly suggested, ignoring Lacey's second headshake. A bubbly, chatty girl, the other half of Strattington was, in many ways, the non-ditzy version of Yumi, with a dash of sass.

“Really? Oh, I don’t know. I’m dealing with an especially tough student. The rebel type that only sees you as an authority figure rather than a person seeking to change your life for their betterment,” Yumi explained, causing Lacey to scratch her forehead to cover her smile. Although she usually messaged Double A about everything, she’s held off on this surprise.

“A student?” Amberly asked, with a confused expression, until a possible reason dawned on her. “Oh! You got a Babybee? I bet you replaced Margo as Mercedes big cheersister, didn’t you? That’s great! I knew you wanted a little cheersister.”

“One? I have ten little cheersisters!” Yumi boasted before frowning. “Maybe it’s only eight or nine. Mercedes keeps on insisting that we had a family separation, and Cadence lied to me about being an actress on New Year’s morning.”

“Cadence still counts, Yums. And you don’t want Mercedes, she’s a hopeless cause….even for you,” Lacey insisted, cutting off the opening mouth. Next, she turned slightly to explain the conversation to her close friend with a wink. “Aunt Bridget pointed out to Yumi on New Year’s Eve that she has all the Babybees as her little cheersisters.”

“Oh! I get it,” Amberly responded, winking in return at the redhead. “That’s similar to Delilah’s mom back in the day.”

“Yes!” Yumi exclaimed.

“I take it that Cadence is the rebellious student, then?”

“Oh, my! Should I add her to the class?” Yumi asked the girl’s cousin. “She could use a bump up in her manners. Also, two students might work better. I could foster a competition for the best manners.”

“I think your one student is enough work for now.”

“Agreed!”

“I’m sorry. I’m not following.” Amberly paused while Yumi politely accepted her apology. “You have a student, and it’s not a Babybee. What are you teaching?”

“Etiquette!”

Lacey chuckled at her matchmaking partner’s reaction.

“It’s even better than you suspect,” the ginger hinted. “You ask for monthly updates about your replacement. Well, that’s what’s happening in February.”

“Potentially in March, as well. I’m hoping for permission from Whitney to expand the curriculum to advanced social etiquette for next month,” Yumi chimed in.

“Cat is…She’s teaching…Yumi is teaching Caterina Quill, of all people, etiquette? Why? How? When?” Amberly stammered.

“We started yesterday at lunch. Results were iffy, but I expected as much,” Yumi disclosed. “Unfortunately, Whitney is a tough negotiator. I only get two days a week, and two additional weekend days in February.”

"Why is Whitney–"

"It's punishment. Remember, Cat was bad and jumped the line," Lacey reminded.

“Hmm, I still don’t understand how Cat jumping leads to punishment, but whatever! Wait until you see the new and improved Miss Quill. Bad Cat will turn into Good Cat!” Yumi announced.

“Ohmigawd!” Amberly shrieked, kicking her legs out in delight. “I am so coming from one of these weekend classes. And I thought Whitney versus Quilla during sophomore practices was a test of wills.”

“Speaking of Will, I need to contact him and Marcus for Tuesday’s class,” Yumi recalled, pulling out her phone.

"Still nothing on that front?" Amberly whispered, gesturing in the other girl's direction.

“I haven’t had a chance. I told you what happened to my matches on New Year’s Eve,” Lacey hissed back.

“Down like the Hindenburg,” the blonde commented. “Does anyone need a light? Because we're the perfect match.”

“Love is like the wind, you can’t see it, but you can feel it,” Lacey responded, resuming their game of love quotes.

“It was lava at first sight,” Amberly replied, causing the redhead to stick out her tongue.

"Was that cannon fire, or is my heart pounding?"

“Um, I think that just Fletch,” Yumi responded, typing away on her phone. Finished, she placed it on the table before attempting to flag down their waitress.

“Okay, call me curious. What was yesterday’s lesson?” Amberly inquired.

“How to dine like a lady,” Yumi supplied happily.

“I can see that might need improvement,” the buttery blonde noted, wincing at the kick from under the table. “Perhaps you need a gentleman to help spur Cat’s efforts.”

“I had one. Sean Tarver graciously agreed to help.”

“I think Sean was more in awe of the chicken cutlet that Mrs. Mascaro cooked,” Lacey pointed out.

“Please tell me there is footage of this.”

“I’m pretty sure that Kizzy got most of it,” Lacey divulged.

“She did?! Oh, I need to see it. I must double my efforts,” Yumi proclaimed before turning toward Amberly. “Have you ever seen My Fair Lady? Excellent! Do you think a musical flair to my teachings might help reach Cat better?”

"Love is a friendship set to music."

“Double A,” Lacey scolded.

Fortunately, the waitress arrived to take their orders and distract Yumi from a potentially new teaching method. First, she inquired about serving hours for breakfast. The answer relieved her.

“We’re not staying until one, Yums. Our meeting is at 12:30,” Lacey explained.

“Roger! Okay, first up, we’ll take three of your homemade honey cinnamon rolls for appetizers,” Yumi began before ordering s’more pancakes and placing a hold on a lemon blueberry breakfast cake for dessert, in case they ran short of them.

Lacey agreed to get s’more pancakes, too, but Amberly went with the French crêpes.

“Okay, I know you’ve kinda explained it, but what’s the deal with this Sir Sean stuff?” Amberly asked once the waitress left. “I kept seeing it on Nosy Nectar.”

“Sean is going to help Ramsey expose Nosy Nectar,” Yumi blurted out.

“Wait, what? Has he gone mad, as well?”

“No, he hasn’t. I suggested it because Rammy has been driving Whitney and me crazy. I figure that he can search around for a couple of weeks before helping convince Ramm that it’s a foolish quest,” Lacey explained.

“But the Babybees are certain that Sean will catch Miss Nosy,” Yumi revealed.

“They think Sean is a god!” Lacey snapped.

“Whoa! Easy there, cupcake,” Ambery directed. ‘You seem uptight this morning. Did something happen last night?”

“Nothing happened. I’m fine.”

“I think she’s mad that Austin had a cupcake thrown into his face,” Yumi suggested.

“I’m not mad about that. What Jesse did was nice.”

“Jesse Yegge, hmm. You know, I’m pretty sure that he’s been sweet on you for years,” Amberly said. “What do you think, Yums? Should Jesse or Sean be the match plan on Valentine’s Day for Lacey? You know, Sean did marry her in the past.”

“I know! Cadence is still upset over being assigned to the car seat row,” Yumi recalled.

“Look, we don’t have time for that. We need to focus on our mixer,” Lacey insisted, raising Amberly’s suspicions. “We’re locked in with speed dating and karaoke. Those are good, but I think we need one more event or game as an icebreaker.”

“Ax throwing!” Yumi suggested.

“Um, what? Why?” Amberly questioned.

“Kizzy and YoYo suggested it for Katie to finally let out the rest of her anger.”

“I think that was a joke about throwing an ax at Palmer,” Lacey noted.

“Trivia?” Yumi suggested.

“Ooh, we tried that sophomore year for VD. It got super competitive,” Amberly disclosed.

“It did?”

“This is the story about Kelly freaking out on Emily Buttery,” Lacey explained about last year’s cheer captain and a geeky girl two years older than them. “I swear that Kelly had it out for Katie since she took Emily’s side in the hair-pulling. They’d been neighbors for years.”

“I know. We should do a matchcard,” Amberly threw out.

They had to fill in Yumi about the icebreaker game that cut a deck of playing cards in half, with one guy and one girl receiving one of the halves. Usually, the plan required everyone to spend the mixer checking cards before finally sharing a kiss at a designated time. The sweet, innocent cheerleader loved the idea, since it sounded like a mystery to her.

“I don’t know. People often cheat with it,” Lacey responded.

“Yet, it’s a great way for us to force specific people together,” Amberly pointed out, gesturing to Yumi as the arrival of the honey cinnamon rolls distracted her.

“Right!” Lacey agreed. “Still, I think we’re lacking something.”

“It doesn’t matter until we decide on a venue. We need to know how much room we’ll have, how many hours we'll have, and so forth,” Amberly stated. “Let’s see if your contact comes through.”

“There are no promises. They’re mostly helping us get in the door for the meeting,” Lacey reminded.

“Contact? Like a spy?” Yumi asked, covering her mouth and the roll she chewed.

“Considering the person, sure!”

“Ambs!” Lacey scolded.

“Came I come with? I wanna be a secret agent,” Yumi declared. “I love James Bond. They have such funny character names. Can we be one?”

“Why not? The biggest villain at romance mixers is Dr. No. I can be Honey Ryder,” Amberly began. “Lacey can be Strawberry Fields, and you can be…”

“Jinx. I love Halle Berry.”

“Great call! And our contact can be Xenia Onatopp,” Amberly finished, causing Lacey to frown. “As for the mixer, I might be able to bring several girls and guys along with me. Brittany is committed, as she wants to help you find love.”

“Please tell me that you aren’t spreading tales of my woe down at North High,’ Lacey groaned.

‘Hey, Britt is kinda friends with you, and she’s now one of my closest friends. You two got along fine at those cheer camps. Whitney was the problem,” Amberly remarked.

“Brittany, as in thee Brittany Rachford? The captain of the North High cheer squad and arguably the prettiest girl in the region? Wow! We should sell tickets to the mixer,” Yumi gushed.

“And they might see a fight knowing Whit,” Lacey mumbled.

“Lace?”

“I’m not going to say no to Brittany attending. She is one of the friendliest people I know, and might attract more guys to show up. You’d just better not bring a guy with plans for me,” Lacey warned.

“Three-and-a-half hours isn’t the worst drive for love,” Amberly stated, earning a glare. “Look, I’ll only bring people who plan to attend Zurbrugg or Breakwater next year, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Onto other business before our food arrives. What’s the Sugar Report?” the out-of-town half of Strattington asked.

Lacey knew this would be coming. Sugar Report was a slang term they borrowed from World War II. It referred to the letters that soldiers received from their wives and girlfriends back home. Any conversation between the two girls always resulted in a Sugar Report.

“Um, Yums can’t hear the first few,” Lacey said.

“Earmuffs?” the innocent cheerleader inquired.

“Just for a minute or two. Sorry,” Lacey apologized, waiting for her friend to cover her ears. “Alright, let’s see. Daisy and Evan might be on the rocks.”

“Oh, no. Why?”

“The Buzzy Bee. Rammy’s obsession with Nosy Nectar is pushing too much extra work on Daisy, and Evan already feels like her second love,” Lacey reported.

“That sucks, but maybe if they break up before the mixer, we can find better matches.”

“Possibly, but we might need to play matchbreaker for another couple.”

“Heidi still doesn’t have a clue about Hazel and Louie?” Amberly guessed correctly. “Fuck it. We need to find a way to break them up gently.”

“I hate that part. We’re supposed to help love,” Lacey sighed.

“Sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn,” the buttery blonde declared. “Anything juicy?”

“Hmm, I think Becky Horton might have had her last hurrah as a single lady,” Lacey said, not thrilled about the development. She felt strongly about cheating, which said something about the guilt she felt from December.

“No!” Amberly gasped about the former cheer co-captain. “They’re the perfect couple. Who’s the guy? Did Brian get a last fling?”

“I’m not sure about anything. You know that I’m pretty sure Lana hooked up with Brian several years ago, when he and Becky were having some issues. This might have been Becky’s payback. Suddenly, Lana acted relieved when Mom mentioned the wedding on the day she went back to AC.”

“And the slutty, temptress Stratton sister usually gets weird when their names are mentioned. Hmm, hopefully Nosy Nectar gets wind of the illicit send off,” Amberly said. “Isn’t Archer Bowe back in town?”

“He is, but I have a couple more pieces of news, and I don’t want Yumi’s earmuffs on for long. She can hear the rest after them.”

“Got it,” Amberly responded, holding up a finger to let the other girl know they were almost done.