The Literary Misadventures of Juniper Rosewood

10- The Corner Bookshop

I awoke the next morning in a large bed with a puffy white duvet, feeling wonderfully comfortable. It took me a minute to realise where I was and why I had the vague remnants of a headache ghosting about in my head. I shot up out of bed, having to sit down again when my head began to spin. I was still in the clothes I was wearing last night. My shoes were at the foot of the bed, and my jacket was on a desk chair on the other side of the room. So this was Dalton James's bedroom. I had to admit it was much different to what I expected. It was small, almost smaller than mine, and while there was a bookshelf next to the bed, I didn't see a library anywhere. His desk was small and wooden and piled high with school books and loose paper. The walls were sparsely decorated, there was only a poster for the last Harry Potter movie next to the lightswitch. There was one picture frame and a lamp on the bookshelf, but other than that, the room was pretty bare. The picture was of Dalton and Etta grinning wildly under a canopy of trees. They seemed much younger, and Etta's hair was much longer and much browner. Dalton was shorter and skinnier, with spots lined up, angry and red, on his forehead. His blond head was shaved. A wooden wardrobe stood at the end of the room, by the window that was cloaked in thin white linen curtains, which let the morning sunlight filter into the room with a soft, refreshing glow.

I tried to stand up again, and this time found my body to be much more agreeable, stretching the aches and pains of sleep from my muscles. I tentatively opened the door of Dalton's room. It opened straight onto one room that had been divided into a kitchen and a living room. Four other doors were leading off from that main room, and so I assumed we were in an apartment of some sort. Dalton was up, drinking a glass of milk and reading my book at the kitchen counter.

"Rosie, you're up," He said, smiling. He checked the clock, "Are you ready to implement phase two of my devilish plan?" He asked."

"I need a drink," I said.

"Okay. Drink first, then the plan," Dalton said, fetching a glass from a cupboard and filling it up with tap water. I thanked him as he slid it down the counter and into my waiting hand. I sat on a stool and clutched my head into my hands.

"Rough night?" Dalton asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes.

One of the doors on the other side of the room opened, and a yawning girl with blonde bed-hair stepped out. She looked to be about fifteen.

"I wondered why you were sleeping on the couch," She said to Dalton, nodding towards me.

"Rosie, this is my sister, Sadie. Sadie, this is my friend Juniper."

"How many names do you have?" Sadie asked.

"Just the one. You're brother evidently doesn't like it though," I replied. Sadie laughed and came and sat next to me, playing a game on her phone.

Dalton came and positioned himself on the other side of the counter from me. He evidently wanted to explain his devilish plan.

"Okay, so," he began, but I held my finger up in front of his face to stop him.

"Shh, too noisy. Quiet voices, please," I said.

"Yes, whatever. We don't need you getting into trouble, do we," He said, "You are going to text your parents to say that you're meeting me in a cafe in town to work on the project, and you won't be home until one. That gives you two extra hours to sort this out," He gestured to my general person, which gave me the vague idea that I looked as though I had been dragged through a hedge backwards, "Does that sound agreeable?"

"They'll probably be fine with that, it's a public place."

"There's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom that you can use," Dalton said.