The Cousins Clue Crew (Chapter 3)
*Disclaimer*: This is a work of fiction. Some events may be based on real life, but some events are made up.
As Clara was struggling on what to say, Isabella was tapping her foot impatiently, and Mingmei was looking miserable and crying softly, Nabal was still searching for a way out. A way out of his stupid prison because once he was out, he could start his new mission. One bad move could get him killed, but this was just a stepping stone to his lifelong dream!
Isabella
I held my breath. Clara sighed and said, “I won’t do that, but I’ll make a different deal.” I bit my lip. Was Clara abandoning me?
“What?” I asked, with bitterness in my voice. Asking couldn’t hurt, right? Besides, it’s not like anybody cares about me anyways. Even Clara likes Mingmei better. I have to admit, even Cecilia sometimes seems better than my family right now, and she’s basically my bitter enemy. Because before we went to Japan, she always bullied me about being ‘silent’. She also bullied Clara about being smart at math. A “math nerd” she called it, but for some reason, Clara took it as a compliment. She’s very serious about math. And that was NOT a compliment (okay, it kind of was, but don’t tell).
“Well, how about I try to fix it for a month. And, well, yeah.” Clara broke into my thoughts. I stared at her for a while, my mind going blank. Clara was going to try to fix this!? That was a lot of pressure for one girl, especially when it wasn’t even her problem. Should I just let my battle with Mingmei go? But then again, Mingmei was being stupid and relying on others and I just couldn’t let Mingmei be the center of the family attention, like I had always been. I hadn’t thought about attention like a good thing before, but now I have been starting to miss it. And the good kind of attention, not the bad kind.
I thought about this dilemma really hard. Should I let Clara be the peacemaker and take all the pressure? I still sympathized with her a little, but I wanted to appear tough and fierce (which I obviously already was). I just wanted Mingmei to go back home, she was clearly tampering with Clara and our friendship. I just didn’t get how Clara couldn’t see it.
However, I had to cut some slack for Clara, as she was my best friend, and I just couldn’t bear to see her struggle like this. So, taking a deep breath, I slowly and harshly said, “Deal.” I stuck out my hand like it pained me to do so (and it kind of did) and Clara stuck out hers. I gripped her hand tight, my hands like steel, and she winced in pain, but bravely tightened her own grip. We shook slowly and solemnly, and then that was that.
I tried to forget about the handshake. Clara and I had never shared such a painfully solemn moment. As we walked through the airport and into the cold, refreshing evening air, I tried to keep the tears inside me at bay. I was a strong, tough, fierce girl, and I was NOT going to let Clara put me down like she had done! I was starting to regret my decision, it seemed to give Clara more confidence to confront me.
We took an airport train back to the place where we had parked our car. The ride was silent, a stony feeling settling between me and everybody else. One time Mingmei glanced sideways at me, and when I just kept on staring into space and didn’t even glance at her, she started staring at me. I was determined to ignore her, even with our moment of seriousness I couldn’t bear to put all the pressure of conflicting friends on Clara.
Then Nai Nai caught sight of Mingmei staring at me, and she whispered loudly, “Don’t even bother, dear, the girl has gone a little crazy.”
I stifled a glare at Nai Nai, and I could tell that even with all of the tension, Clara was resisting the urge to laugh. It made me even madder, how can she laugh at this?! It just made me want to yell at everyone even more! But after all, the best way out of this mess was to be calm and serious and composed. If I didn’t shoot down everybody and just acted kind of like every day was my father’s funeral, then everybody would miss me, and do whatever I told them to do, and send Mingmei back to Japan where she belonged.
Ava
We soon got back to our country house and I jumped out of the car. Opening the trunk, I pulled out my suitcase and ran to the front door. Then, I pulled my keys out and stopped suddenly. “Go back 30 seconds.” I said to my airpods. I was sure that I hadn’t heard right, so I had to make sure. My iphone rewinded so that I could make sure.
“We have reliable information that Germany is planning on starting World War 3. Do not be afraid, Americans. Our great nation has pulled through WWI and WWII. If we all come together and work hard, we can do this!”, the President of the United States of America (Andrea), said. I gasped. I had heard 100% right! I mean, I remember hearing rumors when we were in Japan, but I had just thought that they were just that, rumors. (Sometimes, Japanese people think crazy things about Europe and the West.)
I went to my room and started typing on my computer. I went to my favorite news website, CNN, and started looking at the articles at the top. The first article’s headlines read, “Clowns out, Dogs in”. I nodded. I’d heard about that on a podcast I was listening to on the car ride home. It was about how Clowns were starting to be replaced by dogs. I didn’t like dogs very much. (When we lived in the city, we had this really loud dog next door.) But it was fine with me, since I didn’t have much use for the circus anyways.
I then looked at the next article's headline. I made a noise of satisfaction. It read, “World War Three! Are we ready?” I clicked on the article and started reading. Suddenly I realized something. Something about my uncle. Uncle Derek had been the youngest kid, so he must only be in his late 30s or early 40s. After all, Mingmei had been born when he was in his 20s. I scrolled up and highlighted a sentence. “Anybody in the age group 18-46 could be drafted into the army. If this war actually starts, 40% of the said age group will be drafted into the army. Those in this age group should go to the US department of defense website to check for the latest updates, volunteer early, or register to be in the lottery.”
That meant that Uncle Derek could be drafted into the army. In addition there was the possibility that he might be drafted into the Japanese army! For once in my lifetime, I realized how much of a curse dual citizenship was. That would be bad. Just bad. I quickly reversed direction to run towards the adults. Then, I sent a group text to all of our adult relatives with links forwarded. (I was very important and as the oldest child with the best phone, I was included in the adult group chats. My siblings and cousins relied on me to tell them what the adults were up to.) As I was walking, I started researching the Japanese draft. Oh no.... The Japanese had already declared war! This was going to be a big problem…
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