04. Stolen Letters

It's a fine day and Renesmee decided to stop by a bookstore to buy her favorite collections of book series from her valued author. After her class, she directly went out of the campus and headed her way to the Cassinfield Bookstore which is well-known as CBS. Her school is not far away from the place, since the South Castrill Bridge isn't distant at all.

Valliree Morgan, the team leader of their group project who was also a member of a cheerleading team—was anyhow looking for her existence and Renesmee Fuentes made sure that the young lady wouldn't be bothering her.

She rode a cab and upon arriving at the place, her smiles wouldn't go away. It's been a while since she got back to the place. "I wonder if Isle is still here," she mumbled and led the way toward the main door.

"Hi, good day. How can I help you?" A young lady at the cashier greeted her and Renesmee smiled back upon seeing her friend.

"Whoa, it's been a long time since we saw each other, how are you, Isle?" Fuentes asked as she strode to the counter. She felt glad upon beholding the presence of her pal, the last time they met was in Autumn. She's somehow startled upon witnessing incredible changes on her friend, Isle. She constantly recognized her for being rude and harsh.

"Uh, I'm sorry but do I know you?" The cashier asked out of confusion, she was darting back at Renesmee, trying to recall some memories.

"You're very forgetful, it's me, Esme. We met here before, you were the new crew back then and we talked about how cruel life is." And she chuckled, Renesmee often perceived that Isle is quite forgetful. She deeply understands her.

"I'm sorry… but I think you've mistaken my name, it's not Isle. My name is Astrid." Both of them were relatively confused, Renesmee recognized her as Isle, and not Astrid. On the other hand, Astrid couldn't recall having Esme as a friend.

"You're Isle Hawthorne." Fuentes uttered and smiled. Her calm mood could be plastered on her appearance and that made her look more threatening.

"It's Astrid, my apology if I ever told you to call me Isle. I just couldn't recall anything at all, but I am glad to meet you… once again." Astrid said and gently let out a peaceful smile. Renesmee chuckled and took a picture out of her wallet, it was a photo of the two of them, and it was taken inside the campus—both of them wearing a school uniform.

"When was this?" Astrid Hawthorne questioned while staring deeply in the photo.

"It was taken last year. You really can't remember?"

"I honestly like to know more about this photo,"

"I'll explain it to you then, I still have plenty of time to search for the taste series so there's no problem at all. I miss the thought of having a conversation with you." Renesmee said which made Astrid feel awkward.

She's not used to it. The fact that someone spoke with her, the warmth of her voice makes Astrid's heart melt.

"I'm telling you, girl, this bookstore is the best." Renesmee retorted.

They had their seat and Astrid struggled to feel the comfort around her new buddy. Renesmee Fuentes has never been like this to anyone, she never displayed the clingy side of her.

"So how do we become friends?" Astrid Hawthorne asked out of her curiosity, the validity that she never knew Fuentes somewhat distracts her mind. How can she be able to attain friends, if nearly everybody hates her existence.

"It's really odd delivering the explanation to you, did you hit your head and get in a coma?" Renesmee jokingly said and leaned her back to the couch.

"Kidding, so yea… it all started when I visited this place because I was so dedicated to reading the Taste series, until now. So it happened last year." She continued, Astrid is so focused on her storytelling.

"I think that was your first day on your job as a cashier, I could still recall how happy you are for having the career. I remembered we talked and had a short moment to introduce ourselves. I never knew that you were my schoolmate back then, we attended the same school and I knew it right after that day. I was surprised when I saw you at the detention office."

"What came about next? I didn't know I attended the same school as you, why did I quit?" Astrid asked.

"Uh, actually you seldom attend your classes and the headmaster decides to drop you since you seem like you never care about school at all. That's what I know, I don't have any idea why you're so lazy attending your classes." Renesmee replied, Astrid got curious even more. She guessed she just missed something fun in her life.

"But I am not lazy at all, I am currently studying at the Cassin Heights and I do well with my examinations." Astrid stated, trying to protest.

"I actually don't know much, for almost one year—I never heard about you, I really thought you're dead." And Fuentes chuckled.

"What the?"

"But seriously, why did you forget about all those things?" Astrid paused when Renesmee questioned her with a serious mood of voice.

"I don't know…"

"That's unusual, I still find you cool. However I could recollect those moments when you're often in the mood to do bad stuff. That's actually a nice thing to remember about you." Renesmee meant. Astrid on the other hand kept quiet. She couldn't say any words, it seems that she is puzzled.

Fuentes took her necklace and showed it to her friend, "Remember this? It was the diamond necklace you gave to me on my birthday, it's honestly very valuable to me. Please don't forget about it." That made Astrid more concerned, she wished to remember all the memories she had with Renesmee but it only disheartened her because of the thought of not being able to recall them.

Before she could even reply, a group of young ladies arrived at the entrance. Astrid frowned upon seeing familiar faces—it was some certain students from her school.

"Hi there, jinx! Oh, the store upgraded! Look, girls, we can now have our coffees." One of them said and walked towards the counter and scanned the area.

Astrid stood up, "Have your time searching for the series you want to purchase. I'll entertain them first." She uttered before leaving Renesmee in their niche.

"Yes, sure. Anyway, it's really nice meeting you again." Fuentes furthermore stood up from her seat and observed the young girls at the counter.

Her grin couldn't be taken away particularly because she could sense the smell of abundance upon the customers at the counter.

"Where can I find the novel compartment? I was looking for the taste series since I couldn't find anything online. It's so popular these days." Antoinette Vera implored.

"It's at the right corner of this shelf." Astrid replied, she was observing them the moment they arrived at the scene. Renesmee on the other hand seems thrilled upon hearing that strangers are targeting the popular series she's been yearning for.

"Hey, Ash. Does Oliver Tycho often visit here?" One of the group asked.

"Oh, you mean the guy from Castrill Academy? He's a book nerd? Oh my goodness." Her company reacts.

"Perhaps, why?" Astrid replied with a serious tone of voice, she never likes her school mates. Particularly whenever she faced them or encountered them on the way, her expression would merely change.

The lady, Antoinette, whirled her eyes before answering back. "That's so nice to hear, could you give this to him?" She picked three aesthetic envelopes from her bag and placed them on the counter.

"Kindly give it to him, and please don't ever read it." She demanded and walked away, she led her way towards the bookshelves and selected some volumes to pay for.

The group was having fun searching for the desired series. Renesmee reached the counter, "You know them?" She questioned. Astrid nodded her head and proceeded to categorize the sales on the computer.

"Unfortunately, yes. They are one of the typical bullies in my new school." Astrid replied.

"Would you like to have coffee with me?" Renesmee asked, Astrid wanted to say no but eventually she finally agreed and had a drink with her.

They waited for the clients to finish selecting their best purchase, Renesmee glancing at the envelopes on the counter, probably a love letter. She secretly took it, and Astrid didn't have much time to notice it right away. They steered their way to the coffee area and had a drink.

"Do you have a bunch of stocks for the taste series? I was a bit disturbed when I heard that they were also looking for it." Renesmee opened up which made Astrid fix her eyes on her.

"We do have lots of stocks in it. People come by to purchase different volumes, the owner perhaps guesses that the deals would be desirable so he had it stockpiled in the supply room."

"I am really pleased to see you enjoying your job." Fuentes uttered and that made Astrid hesitate, until now she's quite feeling uneasy.

"Did I also mention to you that I like this job?"

"You did,"

"What about you? What's your work?" It's Hawthorne's time to ask, and upon hearing the question—Fuentes froze, unable to enunciate any words.

It took seconds before she could finally say anything. "I work as a barista."

"That's so cool, I would like to visit your workplace." Astrid commented.

"Yes, sure you can. It's located in Castrill City." They had their talk for a while and when the clients were done selecting, Hawthorne decided to go back to the counter and total the books that were purchased. "Thank you for buying, come again!"

She indeed enjoys her job, it's remarkably essential to her.