He trusted Shanley to be reliable. Besides, it would be a good opportunity for him to score some points with his future inws.
The others had no objections either.
"No need to find someone."
Just then, Juniper, who had been curled up on the sofa, poked her head out. "I''m okay at drawing," she mumbled.
""Okay''?"
Jimmie was slightly surprised, but he quicklyposed himself and nodded dumbly. "Alright, you draw them."
How was she good at everything? Did their parents y favorites when they made her?
Soon, based on Jimmie''s descriptions, Juniper had sketched a portrait of their parents. After coloring and restoring it, a stunningly lifelike image appeared before them.
"It''s them."
Jimmie took the portrait and examined it from every angle. "It''s uncanny," he said in disbelief. "It''s like you traced it right off their faces. It''s a perfect likeness."
"It does look right," the other siblings, who were older, agreed. They had some faint impressions of their parents.
Only Juniper had no memory at all. She was only three when the shipwreck happened.
"Really?" Looking at the handsome, distinguished man and the beautiful, intelligent woman in the portrait, Juniper felt a little giddy. So, these were her mom and dad. The words felt so foreign, the faces so unfamiliar.
"Juniper, you look so much like them!" Celine eximed, leaning in for a closer look.
"Of course she does," Melvin pouted, his tone dripping with mock resentment. "Juniper inherited all of our parents'' best features, and I got all the... leftovers, is that it?"
"Pfft—" Celine couldn''t help but burst outughing, though she quickly covered her mouth and tried to console him. "That''s not true! You may not be as good-looking as Juniper, but you''re... you know, presentable. You have eyes, a mouth... nothing''s missing."
"Celine, are you trying tofort me?" Melvin turned to her, pointing at his own face in disbelief. "Is *this* what you callforting me?!"
"Huh?" Celine blinked and nodded. Yes, she was.
Honestly.
"Let''s handle the search through Sigma Network''s Cybeic Shadows and Subterra Vanguard''s Binary Oracle," Juniper said in a serious tone. "Don''t leak our parents'' information anywhere else for now."
No one knew what caused the
What
shipwreck back then-whether it was an ident or intentional. And there was her parents''
message-that she had to wair). no
she was eightee some
before they could find her, which surely held
hidden meaning.
"That''s why our own people have to be the ones to find them," Juniper added after exining.
"Juniper''s right. Our own people," Shanley was the first to chime in, a faint smile
ying on his lips. "It''s better to keep this kind of thing in the family."
Everyone nced at Shanley. Give
him an inch, and he''d take a mile.
Never mind that he was
head over heels in love. If Juniper were just a little more charming, she could probably talk him out of everyst penny he owned.
After everyone had left, Juniper carefully put the portrait away and handed it to Flint. "Print two copies and have them framed."
"Right away," Flint and Felton replied in unison. Flint took the drawing and asked respectfully, "Ms. Payne, when do you need these?"
"Immediately," Juniper answered without a second''s thought. "Get it done and bring them to me at once."
"Understood." Flint nodded and hurried out of Cloudscape Community. As he walked, he was already on the phone with Felton, his voice more urgent than ever. "Code red! Get over here with the car, now!"
In her room, Juniper leaned over her desk, carefully studying the two photographs. Her nose was like her father''s straight and elegant. Her eyes were like her mother''srge, bright, with deep set double eyelids that crinkled into crescents when she smiled. Her eyebrows were from her father, her lips from her mother...
Wow. She looked so much like them!
She had a mom and dad too.
She giggled to herself.