When a shy girl from Figure Eight suddenly gets whisked into a dangerous treasure hunt involving four pogues known for their knack for trouble, she finds herself navigating not only the troubled waters of adventure but also the complexities of frien...
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The stillness of the morning mirrored the quiet inside Sydney Lyons. Sunlight blazed across the backyard, turning the now clean pool into a sheet of liquid gold, but she barely noticed it. Lying next to the pool, a book half-open on her lap, her thoughts wandered far from the words on the page.
Everything that had happened yesterday with the Pogues still lingered in her mind. Sydney had always been certain she wasn't built for their chaotic lives—always together, always stirring up trouble like it was second nature. Yet, after that small peek into their world, she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she had been missing out. They had something she didn't—friendship, adventure, people who genuinely cared about each other. Her days, on the other hand, had always been spent cooped up in this empty, white-bricked manor, surrounded by nothing but silence.
It wasn't that she disliked being alone. She was used to it. Snce her mom passed, and her dad's business trips became more frequent, solitude had become her closest companion. She was the girl who spent weekends buried in novels and movies instead of at parties, who knew more about astronomy and classic literature than the latest gossip from Figure Eight.
But lately, the silence didn't soothe her the way it used to. It pressed down on her chest, heavy and hallow. Maybe it was the endless summer days blending together, or maybe it was hearing the laughter and voices of her neighbors through the fence—lives she watched but was never a part of. Or maybe, she thought, it was hanging out with the Pogues yesterday. Even if they had almost gotten themselves killed, their reckless energy had sparked something inside her, the rush of adrenaline and life had happened in a way she had never felt before.
Sydney shifted in her chair, adjusting her red bikini, though the shimmering pool beside her barely registered in her mind. The water, clear and still, reflected the life she had lived so far—calm, untouched by the chaos outside, but ultimately... unmoving.
She sighed, snapping the book closed. She'd hadn't turned the page in the last ten minutes anyway. Something about this summer was different. She had promised herself she would make it count. And in a strange way, she had. How many summer could she say she'd been to a kegger, been shot at, lied to the cops, or been walked home by JJ Maybank while the two actually enjoyed each others company?
She didn't have to do anything new now, right?
That was it for her summer of getting out of her comfort zone.
A soft breeze rolled through the yard, and Sydney closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the warmth on her skin. She had always been the observer, the quiet one. Watching from the sidelines while others lived their lives had been enough before. But now...now, she wasn't so sure.
A low whistle cut through the stillness. Her eyes snapped open.
Standing there in her backyard was a member of the very group who had been lingering in her head since yesterday
