Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

If you're judging this book by its cover and title, you're already proving the point this story wants to make. Try to move past this satirical obstacle in front of you. This is a story about bullying, and like the hundreds of other books on the topic, it will show you the harsh reality of being discriminated, belittled, ridiculed for something you cannot control- how you look, who you love, or what you believe in. But unlike these books, this story's sole purpose is not to tear your heart out of your chest as you mourn over your loss of faith in humanity. Instead, this book will make you laugh and love alongside these characters. Just like in life, there will be moments of dread and surrender, but there will also be moments of happiness, laughter, and love. - Naomi Lorraine, better known as Nerdy Naomi with her thick-rimmed glasses and straight-A report card, is the most unpopular girl in her school. Even with the help of her sarcastic comebacks, that doesn't stop her from getting bullied by everyone in Dartwell High. Every day her childhood bully, Raymond Meyers, knocks her off her feet, literally. However, she can't do anything but survive the laughs, insults, and bruises high school gives her. There are three senior transfer students, dubbed the Three Musketeers: Bennett Frazier, Jordan Wallace, and Declan Lynch. All in one day, Naomi catches their attention one by one. With her snarky attitude, but innocent look, they can't help but want her. But not the way you're thinking. Oh no, not like that. Instead, it's probably the whole opposite. It's quite simple really. She'll be their good girl. And they'll be her bad boys. ~ [This story is a first draft written by a 13 to 15-year-old girl so it has its fair share of grammar mistakes and plot holes.] Wattys 2015 Talk of the Town Award Second Place Story of 2015 Best Humor and Overall Points of The Fiction Awards 2016 Third in the Writers Awards 2016 Highest Ranks: #1 Humor, #1 Teen Fiction

{ Watty 2015 Winner + Featured Story } Meet Sawyer Jameson. On the outside, she's a normal seventeen year old girl with amazing friends, a charitable job and a loving family. She's beautiful, funny and easy to get along with and just by looking at her, you'd think that she's the perfect girl, living in the perfect world. On the inside though, just waking up and living her day-to-day life is a struggle for Sawyer. Well, aware of this fact, Sawyer's mother forces to see a psychiatrist after school on a daily basis in order to cope with the tragic events Sawyer encountered a year prior. Now meet Graham Cambridge. Those who don't know him could easily stereotype him as being a blunt, selfish, egotistical golden boy, just because he likes to party and play football. Those who actually know him though know that he's actually quite the opposite of all of those things. When Graham transfers from his elite prep school to Sawyer's high school and quickly takes an interest in her, things go from bad to worse. At least, that's what Sawyer's convinced herself of. What people don't realize though is that maybe they were wrong about Graham Cambridge and that his life is about as far from perfect as they come and that he and Sawyer are alike in more ways than one. Two completely different teenagers that maybe aren't all that different after all are about to embark on a wild ride that neither of them could have ever expected. Can they help each other get past their demented previous tragedies? Or are their bygones too great to ever escape them? And can Sawyer ever truly be saved? Full of romance, heartbreak and just a little bit of fate, the next couple of months will challenge both Sawyer and Graham in ways they never thought possible. And maybe, just maybe, something beautiful will come out of it. © Copyright 2013 Millie Morgan. All Rights Reserved.