John Green Short Stories

Their Perseverance Won't Go Out

Their Perseverance Won't Go Out

"Why are we here, again?" queried Alaska, a brunette girl with startling green eyes and a knack for uncovering trouble.

"Because, John summoned us all to attend lunch together, remember?" responded Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl with the rebellious streak who had ran away from home a few months ago.

Their close friend, John Green, had requested that they all join him for a extraordinary lunch at the Loveless Cafe. Hazel, Augustus, Margo, Quintin (later referred to by Q), Collin, Lindsey, Miles (later referred to by Pudge), and Alaska were the only ones who were able attend.

"It's so incredible that all of you could be here today! It makes me so proud to see what great young adults you have all become," started John, once they had all quickly taken a seat. "I called you all together, not only to have a good time carousing together, but also because I have some news to share." If anyone's attention wasn't originally on John, it was now as he began to describe just what "news" meant. "However, I will not help a single soul uncover the answers, so you must perceive them yourself. There are clues shrouded throughout the restaurant. Three, two, one, GO!" he exclaimed.

As if by magic, everyone had already raced out of their chair and begun to hunt around for clues. Hazel Grace, a sweet young girl with hair the brown of an oak tree's wood and sarcasm as great as her companion's, Augustus, was speeding towards the kitchen, with Augustus cavorting behind her, trying to keep her oxygen tank from tangling. His jet black hair was flopping up and down as he attempted to catch up to Hazel. Despite his prosthetic leg, he was actually doing very well to keep up with her mad dash around the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Margo and Q were making a more of a controlled search; checking between table, booths and anything else that could possibly hide the answers to John's mysterious news. Q was definatly the best with searching for signs, for he had found Margo by the few traces she had left behind for him concerning her whereabouts. Surprisingly, they didn't find anything of importance.

Lindsey and Collin made no progress, either. They inspected the restrooms first; then they headed off towards the kitchen. Even though Collin was a child prodigy and could whip up anagrams like nobody's business, he wasn't too grand at producing the motivation necessary for becoming a great detective.

However, Alaska and Pudge were the closest to cracking the code. They had started out searching outside, but they soon realized that nothing was obviously hidden out there. So they backtracked back into the room where John had first spoke of his news. They feasted their eyes upon a new addition to the room: a simple book sitting on the table they had been sitting at earlier.

"What's this?" questioned Alaska, poking at the spinal cover of the big, black book.

"Seems to me that this is the news John was hinting at," replied Pudge. They opened the book and the first thing they noticed was the book title, This Star Wont Go Out.

"Splendid! You did it! I knew you guys could! You figured out my news!" Exclaimed John, clearly ecstatic about their sleuthing skills.

"This star won't go out? very dramatic. I like it. But what exactly is it?" asked Augustus, who was studying the ebony book jacket.

"Why, its my next book of course!" cried John.