Road to Clover (The Breanna Raven Series) by Katarin Haley Pope

so eerily quiet. Usually this time of morning, there are people getting into their vehicles and going to work. Buses would be going through the neighborhood picking up kids. It’s like the cove has stopped existing.
    I shake those thoughts out of my head. Honestly, it’s too depressing. We take the path down the middle of the road. I have all kinds of emotions going through my mind. I’m scared. I’m happy. I’m excited. I want to cry. I can just go on and on. I wonder how Agni’s feeling. He looks like he’s really scared, but that’s all I can read from him. He’s looking straight ahead, like he’s trying to avoid eye contact. He wants to stay. I feel like I’m making him go. I don’t want him to be resentful towards me later if something goes wrong.
    I ask with concern, “Are you okay, Agni?”
    “I’m okay.”
    “Are you sure? Because you don’t have to do this. I understand if you want to stay. I can go by myself.”
    “There’s no way I’m going to let you go off by yourself , Breanna.”
    “But you are so unsure about this.”
    “ Yeah, I know, but I’m going to do it, anyway. I want to see my dad again, and I don’t think I will if I stay here.”
    When we get to the entrance of the cove, we notice the cars are still blocking the way out . There wasn’t an explosion after all, but I can still smell gas. As we approach the gate, we hear someone calling Agni’s name. We turn and see Jessica Fox jogging our way. Wonderful, what did she want?
    “ Where are you two going?” She asks breathlessly.
    “ Why are you asking?” Agni says with clear annoyance.
    “ I’m just wondering, that’s all.” She seems uneasy, unable to stand still.
    I answer, “It’s none of your business.”
    “ You can lose the sour attitude, Breanna.”
    Agni asks, “Jessica, why all of a sudden are you so concerned about what we’re doing now?”
    Under normal circumstances, Jessica would ignore me and Agni, like we were the plague, and if Jessica did say something to us, ten times out of ten she was being a real pain in the butt. Simply because everything around us has changed doesn’t mean we’re new found friends.
    She remarks, “The homeowners’ association is getting ready to send out notifications.”
    We say nothing to her.
    She continues, “You might as well just go back home.”
    Agni and I are staring, still with nothing to say.
    “ There’s a meeting later this morning, and you have to stick around for it.”
    “What meeting?” Agni asks. I hate it that he broke the silence, but he’s always curious. Anything worth knowing, he’s going to ask about it for sure.
    “ The homeowners’ association is giving the meeting at the clubhouse, and everyone in the cove is required to be there.”
    “What’s the meeting about?” Agni asks.
    “A lot of people didn’t make it home. So, the board members are trying to spread out duties.”
    Now I’m curious. So, I ask, “What kind of duties?”
    “Well, for one, we need to get the cars moved out of the way from the front gate here. Every single house needs to be searched for anyone that’s hurt or dead. The elderly must be checked on. We might have to send people out for food and medicine. There’s a lot that needs to be done, and we need all the help we can get.”
    “We’re not staying .” Agni responds.
    “The board members won’t like it. You have to do your part.”
    “The board members are not our parents, and we don’t have to do anything they say.” I remark.
    Since when does Jessica have a sense of civic duty? She only cares about cosmetics, and how many boys she can get to pay attention to her. She must be kissing someone’s butt to show what a great person she is, but she’s a phony.
    I don’t know about Agni, but I’m done talking to her. She’s trying to boss us around, and I’m not having it. I start climbing over the mangled mess of cars. Agni grabs Miss Kiki, and he’s right with me. King leaps over like there’s