Carly’s life changed more than she’d dreamed after the Snow Ball. She started spending more time with Jarret, and he introduced her to his group of friends. For the first time ever, she felt like she fit right in.
They liked to hang out at the library, sip coffee from its café while pondering chess moves or talking about obscure fantasy shows. And of course, they loved reading.
It was as if a whole new world had opened up to her. She wasn’t a weirdo. There were people out there who liked the exact same things she did.
Well, perhaps not all of the same things. None of them seemed to share her interest in collecting crystals, gems and wildlife. But hey, she’d take that over being the lone nerd any day.
Not that she used to be completely alone in the past, of course. But Ralph never understood her interests. Ralph. They hadn’t really talked since the Snow Ball debacle. He sat down next to her in algebra once, as he used to, but it just seemed too awkward.
Carly did miss him, a little bit at least. But her new friends got her so much more. And they wanted to spend time with the real her.
To them, a chess tournament was a thrilling afternoon. And they wouldn’t make fun of her for reading a book for hours. They’d just join in.
And as for the silly little crush she used to have on Ralph?
Well, maybe she wasn’t completely over it, as much as she’d like to tell herself she was. But let’s just say that aside from sharing her hobbies, some of the boys in her new group if friends were quite easy on the eye as well.
***
Ralph stared out of the window mindlessly. The room was empty. Normally, Lottie would sit here, reading up on her newest obsession, but he hadn’t seen her in her usual chair for a while. She’d been spending a lot of time with those new friends of hers. He sighed.
“The library, huh?” A familiar voice forced him to acknowledge the present. “This is just sad. You’re like one step away from setting up a Carly shrine here.”
“What do you want Sera?” He grunted.
“Fancy you should ask.” The girl sat down beside him with a grin.
Great. Just what he needed.
“So, my aunt Yenn told me I should try to help one person that I’ve hurt in the past. Do something nice for them.” Seraphina rolled her eyes. “So I picked you.”
“What?” Ralph wasn’t following.
“Ok, I didn’t exactly pick you. I picked my sister. But sorting out Carly obviously requires you.” She explained.
“You’re not making sense,” Ralph scratched his head. “What does any of this have to do with… well, anything?”
“Oh don’t play dumb!” Sera was getting impatient. “You’re obviously in love with my sister.”
Ralph looked really uncomfortable, but he didn’t confirm or deny what she said. He just sat there in silence.
“Thought so.” Sera nodded.
“Look Sera, I appreciate you’re trying to be nice – I think – but this is a waste of time. Lottie doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
“Pfft, it’s not like you to give up so easily. You badgered me for weeks until I agreed to go out with you, remember?”
“And you only agreed to go out with me because Lottie helped me…”
“Exactly,” Seraphina nodded. “And now I’ll help you to go out with her. Works out perfectly.”
Ralph almost laughed. “With all due respect, what the plum do you think you can do to help? There’s nothing that can be done. I’ve already told Lottie I had feelings for her, and she didn’t believe any of it!”
“Uh-huh.” Sera looked bemused. “So why did she not believe you?”
“She thought I was only interested because she looked pretty at the stupid Snow Ball…”
“She didn’t even look all that…” Seraphina trailed off.
“Plummit Sera, can you just go away?!” Ralph yelled.
“Calm down,” Seraphina told him. “So she thinks you’re only into her looks… for some reason, pff.”
Ralph glared at her angrily. Seraphina ignored him.
“Well clearly you just need to show her that that’s not the case. Show her that you care about the stupid stuff she cares about. I dunno, read a book. Bring her a rock or something.”
Ralph looked at her in awe. “You know, that’s not such a terrible idea.”
“Well duh…” Seraphina stood up. “Seriously, you people…”
She left a pensive Ralph behind, making her way out of the library.
“Hey Sera… thanks!” He called after her.
She just shook her head with a smile.
This wasn’t so bad, actually, she thought. Clearly the world (and the petty love lives of those around her) needed her insights.
The Plumbob 
YES Sera honey, that’s the way to do things! 😛 I think she would actually make a brilliant agony aunt – she wouldn’t take any nonsense and would just set about sorting things.
I’m glad Carly has more friends now, but I really do think that she should have Ralph in her life as at least a friend – he really does care about her, he just needs a bit of help showing it. GO FIND HER A PRETTY ROCK, RALPH! READ A BOOK! (When did I grow to like him so much?)
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Sera definitely has her own approach to giving advice lol! But that doesn’t mean it’s not good advice nonetheless 🙂
Yeah it’s a bit ironic that Carly found likeminded friends because she looked good at the ball, and she sent the one person that was interested in her before the ball away supposedly for that reason. But that’s just how life works out sometimes. It’s definitely doing Carly a world of good to have finally discovered her niche, but lets hope her and Ralph can reconnect, whether as friends or something else – it would be a shame for their friendship to go down the drain altogether.
And I’ve always loved Ralph, so I’m glad you like him now too 🙂
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I’m glad Carly is surrounding herself with like-minded people. She needed some good friends. I’m not a huge fan of Ralph…I feel bad for him, but I don’t think he’s the one for her. Sure, “opposites attract,” but eventually he’s going to get tired of just sitting around watching her read. She needs someone who will plop down with a good book and read with her! I actually kind of ship Sera and Ralph…I think he’s the only one we’ve met yet who could put up with her feisty personality. The only reason he turned her down was because she was being mean to her sister…maybe now that she’s trying to make amends, they can work things out too!
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That’s a really good point. Ralph does care about Carly (and I imagine he’d keep himself occupied while she reads), but they might just be too different for things to work out for them. And Ralph and Sera do definitely have chemistry, I can tell every time they interact. Truth is I could picture him with either of them, but whether either of those relationships would last… Well, that’s another story.
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Ugg, I about DIED. I’m so happy Ralph hasn’t given up on Carly yet. I hope that everything works out between them.
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Well, Ralph does have the romantic trait, so he’ll probably try to pull the big stomps! Let’s see if it works!
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Sera has always reminded me of Yenn as a teen. A little rough around the edges with trouble finding inner peace, but pure at heart. She’ll find her Ethan, but I don’t see Ralph being that for her.
However, one reason the opposites attract so well, is that they become each other until they’re evened out. Carly is becoming more bold and confident like Ralph was, and Ralph is becoming dorky and adorable like Carly was. They complete each other.
Though I am really scared of Vito’s personality being like Booker’s. I hope his hot and heavy relationship doesn’t end like Booker and Keiko’s. I think Louis is too sensible to let that happen though, I hope…
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Hi, I don’t think I’ve seen you comment before, thank you for reading and for sharing this really insightful comment!
I’ve never really thought about young Yenn and young Sera being similar, but now that you mention it there definitely are some similarities there! Sera is probably harder to digest than Yenn ever was, but she’s definitely not a bad person. She’s just not developed the best coping mechanisms and often gets misunderstood because people thing nothing can get to her due to her tough exterior, when it’s actually the opposite.
And I think you’re right with the whole opposites attract theory – I think it can go two ways, either the two individuals aren’t as fundamentally different and end up influencing each other to be more well-rounded, or they’re just too different to meet in the middle. We’ll see where Carly and Ralph will end up – but Carly definitely is becoming more confident now, and she did bring out a softer side in Ralph.
Vito definitely reminds me of Booker in some ways, although Vito is less superficial – but more egocentric. So not sure if that’s better or worse lol! Louis is very very different from Keiko, however.
Thanks again for reading! 🙂
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Aww, Yenn saves the day! ❤ Glad that someone's being a good influence over this generation! Nice to see a softer side of Sera, too. Hopefully this will help her heal!
Carly seems to be getting a bit of a confidence boost! Perhaps this new group of friends (yay!) can help her realize that she's interesting for her personality, too! Let that geek flag fly, haha! And go find some pretty rocks for her, Ralph 😉
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Seriously where would this family be without Yenn – they could have packed things up generations ago of they didn’t have her.
Sera will probably need a lot more time to fully come to terms with herself, but she’s on a good path! And Carly desperately needed more confidence, these new friends might affect her life a lot more than just with the immediate benefit.
As for Ralph, I do hope things work out well for him in the end – whatever that ends up being – I definitely have a soft spot for him.
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One thought a had about Yenn after you mentioned “where would this family be without her” — the angel wings tattoo is so fitting, because she’s something of a guardian angel for the Bloomers, in life or death! I don’t know if that was intentional on your part or not, but if it was, I can’t believe it took me this long to catch on! xD
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Haha I wish I had planned that! But it did work out perfectly 🙂 I actually went back and reread the chapter where she got the tattoo, and I think her reasoning behind it was the exact opposite then (angel of doom or something along those lines lol) – she’s come a long way haha!
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❤ SERA.
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I love Yenn
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So do I 🙂
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