Jenn spent her whole afternoon aimlessly wandering around in town, eavesdropping and listening to town gossip. Unfortunately, she did not get a lot out of that small-town gossip. All she managed to gather was how the victims’ families kept pushing the police to work harder to solve the cases, but the police had neither made a response nor disclosed any information about the ongoing investigations.

However, much to her relief, no one had recognised her so far, not that she knew every one of the town folks.

As the evening shadows began to fall, she decided that she’d reached her quota of walking for today. She leisurely bought a cup of coffee from a coffee house nearby and strolled towards the park. The pleasant aroma of the coffee mixed with the faint smell of sweet floral fragrance as she neared her destination, bringing a relaxed smile to her lips. Eiry’s Garden had always been her favourite spot in town to think.

As she settled down on a bench at the far end of the park, that’s when she noticed them watching her from the corner of her eye. They were hanging around the huge fountain which stood magnificently in the middle of the park. The two younger guys from the group were a year younger than she was, namely Ray and Tom, and the girl, Isabella, was two years younger than they were. The three of them were trying to observe her as subtly as they could, but they were failing miserably. As for the man who was now openly gawking at her with shock written all over his face, he was five years older than she was. His name was Nick.

How could she be so sure about who they were? Well, it was obvious. She knew them. And she was pretty sure that they remembered her. Or at least Nick did, judging from his comical expression of surprise. Well, he had never been one to be able to communicate or express his emotions without coming across as awkward or shy. It seemed he had not changed much.

As if just realising that he was staring at her the entire time, Nick quickly recomposed his face into his usual serene mask, but he didn’t stop staring. As for the other three, they were whispering to each other. They were talking about her, she thought. Honestly, she could read them like an open book, and she knew that they thought she looked oddly familiar.

Jenn angled her body slightly towards them so that she could read their lips better. At the same time, she took out a notebook from her pocket which she’d brought with her for situations like this. She scribbled a few lines on her notebook and peered up every once in a while, trying to be as natural as possible while she studied them from under her lashes.

Isabella was whispering to Tom, “Do you think that’s who I think she is?”

Tom responded by nodding his head once. “But she looks really different,” he observed. “Maybe it’s not her.”

“A long lost twin of hers?” Isabella guessed, arching a brow. This earned her funny looks from both Ray and Tom.

“I thought that only happens in movies,” Tom said mutedly, looking rather amused now.

Then Ray interjected by saying, “Jenn or not, she seems new in town. Might as well give her a warm welcome.” Excitement coloured his expression.

Before Isabella could ask for Nick’s opinion, Ray – always the most outgoing one – was already walking towards Jenn. As Ray approached her with a friendly smile, Jenn observed the mild change in his looks. It seemed he had grown a few inches taller since the last time she saw him. She also noticed his muscular physique. Well, someone has been working out. Ray opened his mouth, and she braced herself for his first question.

He introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Ray Darce.” Then he asked, “May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”

Time to start playing her role. Standing up, she turned to him and mirrored his smile. “How about you guess my name?” she answered smoothly, without missing a beat.

His smile faltered as he hesitated. Jenn knew the reason behind his uncertainty. There she was before him and he remembered her, but her different appearance and way of speaking had put doubt into his mind.

“Uh …” He eyed her with a hint of playfulness, plainly trying his best to hide his uncertainty. “Is it Jennifer?”

“Not bad, Darce. Not bad at all.” She smirked. “It’s good to know that I’m still remembered after my long absence in town.” Up close, she noted the slight change in his facial structure. He had outgrown his chubby cheeks, and his jawline was definitely stronger and defined. Ray had certainly turned into quite a handsome young man, she thought, smiling inwardly.

It was quite amusing to watch the uncertainty on his face morph into an enormous grin, his baby blue eyes widening involuntarily. “Jenn? Jennifer Cole?” His hand flew up and held her upper arm tightly, as if trying to convince himself that she was really there.

Jenn was surprised at the sudden contact, and she felt something spark inside of her at that very moment, but she hid it well with a chuckle. “Yes, it’s really me. Now, can you let go of my arm? You’re cutting off my blood circulation,” she said in a joking manner.

Realising his thoughtless move, he abruptly let go of her arm and smiled sheepishly, blushing a little. “Sorry. I’m just …” He trailed off, clearly at a loss for words, still looking dazed. He shook his head, struggling to gather his thoughts together. “I’m just excited to see you again,” he explained, laughing at himself.

Tom, Isabella, and Nick watched their interaction with curious eyes, and Ray, as though suddenly remembering his friends, eagerly spun around to tell them the good news. “Hey, guys! It’s really Jenn.” He waved for them to come over.

Hearing this, Tom and Isabella started rushing over to Jenn’s side, showering her with hellos and welcome-back hugs. Nick tagged along too, his face carefully arranged into a mask of surprise. Jenn saw through it immediately. Of course, she knew he’d known right from the moment he saw her. He simply did not tell the others. She wondered why. Perhaps he was too stunned to speak.

Nick gave her an awkward hug, pulling back as soon as he wrapped his arms around her. Hmm, still not much of a hugger, was he? “It’s been a while,” he mumbled in his quiet tone, giving her a tiny smile.

Jenn observed that his smile was a bit stiff, but he was never one who smiled much. He was more of the serious type, never a slacker, never a joker. He couldn’t even laugh at his own jest, for heaven’s sake. Jenn laughed quietly, recalling his failed attempts to joke with people.

“Four years since I left,” she said smoothly. Turning to the others, she asked, “How are you guys?”

“Life without you was like hell,” Ray said with mock sadness.

Tom nodded in agreement before grinning at her cheekily. “And now that you’re back, hope is finally restored!”

Isabella gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Oh, don’t be so melodramatic.” The guys guffawed in response, causing her to roll her eyes at their silliness.

Jenn smiled pleasantly at the scene before her. Still a pair of clowns the guys were.

Then Isabella turned to Jenn and said, “We’re doing great, but we did miss you a lot.”

Jenn felt genuinely touched at her words. “I missed you guys too,” she said solemnly.

“Are you back for good?” Tom asked.

She sighed, adding a hint of regret in her tone as she replied, “Just back for a quick visit.”

“How long?” This time it was Nick who spoke. He seemed more at ease now.

“Hmm …” Jenn thought about it for a moment. Then she decided not to answer the question directly. After all, she herself wasn’t sure about her duration of stay. “Well, with school stuff, my schedule can never be fixed. But if I’m lucky, I get to stay for a whole month.” She grinned.

Nick responded with a rare smile of his own, nodding. Then he let the others bombard her with questions again.

Suddenly, she noticed the absence of Jules, Nick’s girlfriend. She and Jules were best of friends, and Jules was always the centre of Nick’s world. They were inseparable. So where could she be now?

“Where’s Jules?” Jenn asked, looking at Nick.

A shadow of emotions flickered across his face, but then it was gone. Jenn could literally sense the cheerful atmosphere around them being sucked away instantly by her question as a thick heavy cloud of stressful silence hung in the air. Nick would not meet her gaze as he excused himself and left in a hurry.

Confused by his reaction and sudden departure, she turned back to the others, only to find them wearing similar edgy expressions on their faces, staring at the ground. Jenn could see the underlying sadness in their eyes, and a small voice in her head told her that they were hiding something big from her.

“Something bad happened, right?” she muttered, her voice low and flat.

Tom was the first to meet her eyes. He smiled half-heartedly. “Jules is gone. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Jenn raised her eyebrows but said nothing. Suddenly, she remembered the last conversation that she had with Jules before she was recruited into the secret service. She recalled Jules confessing that she did not have feelings for Nick anymore and saying that she was in love with another guy. When she asked Jenn for some advice, all Jenn told her was to follow her heart.

The memory replayed itself in her mind as Tom’s answer swam around in her head. So maybe Jules really did listen to her advice. But then Jenn thought that it was quite harsh of Jules to take off and leave all her friends for just one guy. It was really unlike Jules to act so impulsively …

Sighing, Jenn pulled herself back into the present and glanced around. The others were watching her closely, the sadness in their eyes gone.

“You really have changed a lot,” Isabella said thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s not just your hair or the way you act. How should I put this?” She paused for a moment to think. “It’s like you’re a whole new person.”

“A good change, I hope.” Jenn lightened her tone. She could see what Isabella was trying to do: change the topic.

Isabella pretended to think about it for a while before breaking into a grin. “Yes, I suppose.” Then her face turned serious. “I think I’m going to go check on Nick. I’m worried about him.” Muttering a goodbye, she left in the direction that Nick had gone.

Tom stared after her. He said quietly, “I think I’ll go with her.” Then he gave Jenn a quick hug. “It’s nice seeing you again, Jenn.” With that, he left too.

Jenn was left alone with Ray. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. It was quite a rare chance to get someone alone to talk to in this small town. Scanning their surroundings, she confirmed that no one else was there with them. Grabbing this opportunity, she invited him to sit down with her on the bench.

Ray stared at her curiously, but he showed no intention of turning down her invitation. As he sat down beside her, Jenn took a long sip of her coffee. “I can see that I have a lot of catching up to do now.” She turned and gave him a lopsided grin, breaking the ice between them. Sitting so close to him, she was once again blown away by how much his looks had changed. She turned her gaze away from his face, willing herself not be distracted from the task at hand.

She asked, “So what’s new in town?”

Ray laughed, his blue eyes twinkling. “I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine – fair enough? I have a few questions of my own too, you know.”

Pursing her lips, she raised a brow at him, wondering what he was going to ask. Then she thought, What harm can he do? So she readily agreed. “It’s a deal.”

Clearly feeling satisfied, he repeated her question. “What’s new in town, huh?” He paused for a moment. “Let’s see. VCS has closed down.”

Her eyes widened in surprise when she heard this. VCS, abbreviation for Voluntary Community Service, was an association founded by Nick himself. It was initiated to assist the town folks in maintaining the town’s beauty and cleanliness, plus it was involved in fundraising activities in the church. Ray, Tom, Isabella, Jenn, and a few other young people ran the association alongside him. She was pretty sure that they were doing quite well before she left. “How did this happen?”

A small frown appeared on his forehead. “Well, things weren’t going very well after you and Jules were gone. Nick was crushed. He dismissed us a few months after you left.”

She nodded, saying nothing. Jenn noticed the way he avoided talking about Jules. From what she could see now, Jules’s departure really did make quite an impact on them.

Ray suddenly clapped his hands together. “Now it’s my turn.” He was silent as questions ran through his mind. Finally, he decided on one. “Please don’t take this wrongly, but why did you return all of a sudden? I mean, for four year, we heard nothing from you. There were no calls, no letters. Then today, out of nowhere, you popped out in front of us. What’s the ulterior motive behind your visit?” He pretended to narrow his eyes sceptically at her.

Jenn ignored the playful glint in his eyes and faked a thoughtful look as she slowly said, “Would you believe me if I told you that I came back because I missed you guys?”

“I thought you would have said that you came back because of me,” he said with false disappointment, pouting.

His response made her do a double take. Was he actually flirting with her? She decided to play along. “Well, it would not be fair of me if I said that …” She gave him an amused look. “And your puppy dog face is terribly comical,” she added, bubbling with laughter now.

Ray pretended to grimace before chuckling lightly, obviously enjoying this. “There is no one else here to hear it anyway,” he said boldly, staring at her with a confident look.

Yep, he was definitely flirting now. Jenn never knew that Ray was interested in her. This was new. “You know, I’m starting to think that you’re trying to avoid my questions.” She managed to brush off his comment. This was not the time to flirt around with her old friend. “So what else happened while I was gone?”

The sudden change in topic plainly threw him off a little, but he recovered quite fast. “Tom and Isabella are official now,” he announced smugly.

She let out a laugh when she saw the look on his face. “Let me guess. You were their matchmaker?”

“You owe me dinner,” he said in a singsong voice, grinning.

Once again, he’d surprised her. Ray actually remembered their bet from four years ago. “A bet is a bet.” Jenn couldn’t resist smiling at his smug expression.

“How about we have that dinner now?” she suggested. “I’m starving.”

Ray glanced at the sky and let out a low whistle. “I didn’t even notice the time. Okay, then let’s continue Twenty Questions over dinner.” He got up excitedly. “There is this new restaurant in town. Its food tastes amazing, and it’s cheap. You’ve got to try it.”

She shook her head at his enthusiasm, suppressing a laugh. Some things just never changed.