Of Books and Friendships

So living in Atlanta,GA are three best friends Emory,Indayah,and Mack/Mckenzie in their world friendship is the most important thing to them they make sure it's built on loyalty and trust until one day Emory's mom keep pestering her about cleaning the basement, so she finally gets the courage to do so with the help of her two best friends while their cleaning the basement they all discover something, a black book at that and what it holds leaves them shocked. That's when they all start to notice over this huge thing their friendships are starting to distance and trust is being questioned. In this friendship only one will be left standing, the one who trades on her best friends will end up in jail, and one will experience death maybe but it's all up to the best friends to get it together.

Emory: 5'0 milk-chocolate shy, adventurous,caring,nerdy, smart, 18 year old just finished graduating from High School preparing for college. Secretly has an obsession with designing clothes but gets discouraged a lot, has a huge crush on this guy who went to high with her ( I might make a love story for her in book two find out to see) and she's known as the mom of the group.

Indayah: 5'2 loud, goofy, curious, loving, always a baddie as she says dark- caramel skin known as one of the best friends of Emory graduated from High School also. Secretly is an nerdy genius, but because of the motto she goes by she lets her work bypass her and she's known as the troublemaker of the group always using her smart mouth when it's not suppose to ( Will she make it to the end and be in book two find out and see).

Mack/Mckenzie: Slightly taller then her other two best friends standing at 5'6 with the skin tone of coco-butter the mean and observant one of the group, with the tomboyish style to match you will never catch her wearing heels also graduated High School with her two best friends. Act likes she hates majorettes but secretly is trying out for the dance team once she makes it to college(Will she make it to the end and be in book two find out and see).

As Emory's on the phone with her two best friends their trying to all figure out how they are going to survive now that school is out and they need income to stay up to date with everything. Okay Okay I got Indayah gets excited at her idea how about we rob a bank yeah,yeah they'll never know its us females who did it. As she gets too excited Emory and Mack stares at their phone dumbly at how stupid their best friend can be sometimes. No way Mack and Emory shouts out at the same time on the phone are you trying to have us all in prison for life think smarter not harder Indayah, Emory states. Well it came out easy in my head Indayah mutters. Okay what about we street fight for money Mack comes out and say. You know what lets get off the subject of that right now Emory states, Suddenly Emory hears the voice of her mom, she sighs and walks downstairs and greets her mother where she's stated in the kitchen. Yes madam Emory jokes in a fake British accent. Well madam her mother jokes too I need you to clean up the basement it's been abandoned since we moved in here and I need it to be an extra room or office. Emory knows she can't win in this situation because of her mother's look that she's giving her and just goes with the simple Yes Madam, she hurries back upstairs to her room and gets back on the phone with her two best friends and suddenly gets the idea that they help her clean the basement and they will all go around to the malls and maybe consider Mack idea if they help her with the basement because she's going to need it. My best friends in the whole wide world it wouldn't hurt for you all to maybe help me with something tomorrow maybe helping me out with redecorating my room will it,she puts out the lie because she knows if she said anything about basement they wouldn't be up for it. As long as it's food there I'm with it Indayah states, and I really don't care Mack calls out as long as I'm out this house I am down for it. Okay perfect tomorrow noon 1 pm be here Emory squeak outs love you both a lot she says over the phone so with that been said we all need beauty rest for tomorrow and they all hang up and gets prepared for tomorrow not knowing it's something that will change all of their lives.

It's the next day a Tuesday to be exact 10 in the morning and Emory is laid in bed scrolling through twitter eating cookies and cream ice cream, yes she knows it's early but that's what her mind was settled on after she finished her hygiene and doing her hair. All she's ready to do is get this basement cleanup done and over with, before her mom comes home from work tomorrow as she's doing a double at the hospital until 1 pm tomorrow. She sighs and puts the finished bowl of ice cream in the sink and makes her way into the living and lays on the couch and covers up and puts on her favorite old time show One on One and slowly gets comfortable and starts falling asleep, 3 hours later she's woken to banging on her front door and groans loudly and looks at her phone knowing it's her two best friends that's doing the most. I'm coming she shouts and snatches the door open to her two wide grinning best-friends. No ma'am turn that frown upside down it's time to redecorate Mack states as Indayah agrees from the kitchen with a mouth full of food already. Um yeah about that Emory goes as she locks the door where the inside and outside can be locked and she has the key hidden in a special place, it's not my room were exactly cleaning but it is in this house, she says looking everywhere else but at them. You all did promise so let's go were heading to the basement she hurries and pulls them along as they yell no and wait, but they're already standing in front of the basement. They all stand there for a minute and they all decide their going to all open the door at once, they all open and door and it makes a creaking noise they move slowly and peak and it very dark inside and their thankful they don't have to walk downstairs just to find a light switch as it's already discovered. Mack flips on the light and Indayah dramatically screams, shut up and open your eyes both best friends exclaims to her, Oh she sighs out, and whose cleaning this huge mess up she states this is too much my body will shut down from this mess. Both Emory and Mack leaves her to rant and looks around at the basement that has so much stuff in it they don't know where to start. So all three best friends comes up with a plan on which area their going to do separately and which area is going to take team work.

Six hours into the best friends cleaning their areas of the basement they all get prepared for the last finale of it the area with the most stuff. They all start to work on it and Emory thinks she's hallucinating hearing a creaking sound below her feet and the curious person she is stops working and looks below her to one of the woods that's installed in the floor looking very weird and out of place. So she presses her hand on it and notice it's loose and not installed in the floor very good and she also notice a hole in it, she looks around for something to use and spots a clothes hanger, she's slightly scared to open it but her curious mind won't let her just leave it so she have her two best-friends help her they all move the board slowly and discovers a black book, curios to know what's inside they all open but is shocked and wide eyed to discover what's inside.

Wait-t-t money they all stutters out, but how Mack exclaims, I don't know maybe someone who was living here before me left it and forgot it. Do you know what this mean Indayah shouts excitedly we don't have to be in a rush to find a job this early we can use this. You might be right but I'll feel terrible if we use this money and don't know if it's illegal or not I mean come on they hid it for a reason Emory says feeling a little uneasy, I mean yeah what if they come back for their money Mack calls out feeling nervous herself. You know what lets just count it and see how much we come up with. Half an hour later they all come up with the total of 20,000 dollars they all stares for a minute and shouts we're rich Yes! this is amazing. Wait! Wait! Emory suddenly stops and shouts out we all do need to agree this is between us three and no one else. Yeah you're right both best-friends exclaim as the day goes on their finally finished cleaning the basement and Emory is in the kitchen whipping up her special fried tacos with her special ingredients she use as both of her best-friends are inhaling the smell waiting for it to be done. Once the tacos are done their all sitting around laughing and enjoying there-selves and talking about everything they comes up with. So Emory, Indayah wiggles her eyebrow have you found a way to tell Carter you like him, I mean yeah you have been a scared to even make conversation with him Mack throw both arms up dramatically. Emory blushes thankful she's a darker skin tone and says I'm getting to it don't rush me I haven't found time to see how I will go about this. Once dinner is over the girls says goodbye to Emory and leaves to go home.An hour later Emory is in bed from taking a long hot shower and is scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to settle on and she slowly drifts off to sleep but on the other side one of the best-friends is thinking to hard and very jittery about how they found the money and she already feels rich and what she can do with all that money and she starts to think what if I just have the money to myself I have to come up with a plan she exclaims. While the other best-friend is sitting in her home lonely and scared because she's the only one while her mother is out all the time thinking that she's still young.

Indayah stays up all night thinking of a plan on how she's going to be rich with the money her and her two best-friends discover. When she suddenly gets a grimy feeling inside her to be greedy and have all the money to herself. I mean come on they have more than me and their parents are rich they have all they want what more could it hurt them, ( but what she doesn't know she causes a lot of hurt between her and her best-friends. I need figure out a plan to get that money. Oh I know I'll just take them out and flee the state and no one will ever know it's me she laughs evilly. On the other side of town Mack is dealing with problems with being home alone and the only thing that can bring her spirit up is watching dancing videos. She tunes into DD4l Bring it on Lifetime and is mesmerized by the tricks the dancers do and is loving their wardrobe as she's watching T.V. she also grateful that she has two best-friends in her life and the money they find is something good for all of them to share. As the days go by all three girls meets back up Saturday at Emory's house they sit around watching movies, polishing each other nails, and scrolling thru their phones, so an anxious Indayah can't help it and starts discussing the money they found and starts to question both girls what they would do with the money. As they day goes by it getting time for both Indayah and Mack to leave, Emory walks them to the door and they head to Indayah's car. Once settled in the car they both make it across town and pulls up to Mack's mansion. Okay so I have to use the restroom I'm coming in Indayah states, sure okay Mack says. As Mack opens the door Indayah gets ready and put her plans into motion she sees Mack makes it into her room to put her essentials up she looks into the bathroom mirror, not believing she's about to do this but she has too they already have what they want she looks wide eyed and crazily in the mirror. She fake flushes the toilet and turns on the sink and open the bathroom door and head downstairs were Mack is waiting on her. She fakes likes she's excited to give Mack a hug goodbye when suddenly as their doing so Mack gasps loudly while she's looking into the eyes of the person she thought she could trust she did can't believe it. Indayah shrieks nervously and runs to her car can't believe that she did something very terrible.

As Mack lays on the floor of her home a bloody mess and short breaths away from dying. Her mother comes in not knowing what's about to hit her as she sees her only daughter laid out on the floor. She comes in and suddenly looks down in shock and terror and loudly screams No! not my baby she cries and nervously fumbles to get her phone out her purse. Yes I need an ambulance it's an emergency my daughter has being stabbed and it seems the knife was broken off and is in her body deeply okay we're on our way ma'am the operator states. I'm sorry Mack's mother calls out holding her daughter's body and pressing down on the wound I promise you I will start being home more just-t-t-t please she stutters out don't leave me. The ambulance finally makes it in two minutes and Mack and her mother is on their way to the Hospital. At 2 am Emory gets a call that leaves her in a state of shock and have her freaking out that she has to calm herself if she wants to make it to the Hospital to see the condition of her friend, she makes it to the Hospital in no time after all she did go over the normal speed limit. She rushes into the hospital at the front desk about to ask information until she hears her mother call her name and guide her to where she sees Mack's mother balling her eyes out hysterically, what's going on mom, Emory cries out will she be okay, Emory mother sighs and says she is going through surgery right now and were doing the best we can so it doesn't puncture an main artery that will bust. Mack's mom continues to cry out loudly. Mom please make sure you all do the best you can to save her please Emory lips quiver as tears are slowly falling I know sweetie her mom says, we will she always being like a second daughter to me, Emory mom's walks away trying to keep strong for both her daughter and best friend Mack's mom even though their relationship got rocky. Emory sighs and sits down and hugs Mack's mom and stares at the wall and she suddenly looks around to see no Indayah were could she be she thinks to herself, so begins calling and texting but still no answer and that was not like Indayah, Emory thinks to herself she's not a hard sleeper so what's really going on. You know what maybe she is tired, but that's not the case on the other side of town Indayah is sitting in her car chewing her fingernails down. Sitting in front of her best-friend house because she knows Indayah probably made her way to the hospital already as she sees neither car parked in the yard and also from all the calls and texts Emory sends her. Well I guess its time for me to put my other plan in motion, Emory really did something good when she showed us where the spare key was located.

Indayah parks her car around the corner from Emory's house and sneakily walks up to the so she won't be very much noticed and she looks around before getting the spare key out of the bird house. And she looks around once more and slowly creeps the door open and makes her upstairs in Emory's room know where did she put the book she thinks, she looks around for ten minutes almost giving up when she looks at the suitcase of fabrics Emory keeps and opens to find the book. Jackpot! she screams out excitedly I found it okay now let me get out of here and go to the hospital to put on some fake tears. She runs out the house not forgetting to put everything back in place, but what she doesn't know is that Emory's mom got a hidden camera installed, that catches everything inside and outside their home.

On the other side in the Hospital Emory and Mack's mom sits quietly and emotions running waiting to hear the good and bad news. When suddenly Emory hears Indayah running in screaming like the dramatic person she is, what happened? what do you mean Mack's in surgery she shrieks putting on fake tears she'll be a great actor. Will you please calm down and sit Emory shouts out we haven't got any news yet but we will they all sit in wait in silence, but Emory suddenly knows something on Indayah arm. Indayah why's your arm scraped and a little cut Emory calls out, oh this happen on the corner of my bed where the foot board is when I was changing my room around she makes up a quick lie. Oh okay well be careful the next time Indayah says. Whew! that was a close one Indayah thinks to herself. As time passes all three are sitting in the waiting room until 6 am rolls around and Emory's mom walks into the waiting room with this look on her face. I'm sorry she sighs out. No mom you promised Emory shakes and cries out. As the other two are crying hysterically, Wait! stop! Emory mom says.

Nothing bad is happening I'm saying sorry because Mack is in a deep coma and don't know when she will wake up it'll be days, months, or a year from now but I have faith she will wake up I'm going to make sure she gets the proper care she needs but for right now I need you all to go home freshen up and eat and get some rest. I don't know I need to see her at least before I leave Mack mom's exclaim, yeah we do too both Emory and Indayah says.I would but we're still doing a couple of things on her, so it'll be best if you're all energized up and come back, fine they all say. Emory makes it home lost in her thoughts in the shower still in disbelief at who would try to kill her best-friend a sweet innocent girl I mean yeah she's rude and mean at times,but it's harmless. But what if I'm next I really need to start being more observant and looking at my surroundings. I cannot let nothing happen to me. On the other side of town Indayah is sitting in her bedroom with all the money surrounding her spending like she ain't never have this much cash which she haven't, but she buying unnecessary things like clothes,shoes, expensive jewelry, mostly all types of designer not thinking of her best-friends and how they all were going to share it but she soon will feel karma come her way it's going to hit her all at once and guilt will finally seep into her. Emory's is getting ready to call Indayah over so they can count the money once more and split it up and leave the rest for Mack when she wakes up, she goes over to the suitcase, when she suddenly hears Emory come help with the groceries she and yells I'm coming Madam! she runs downstairs and helps her mother which takes an hour. After finally finishing she runs back to her room and thinks what was I suppose to be doing again she thinks long and hard until she gives up she hates that she's so forgetful, so she soon lays down and scrolls through Instagram and stops on a picture when she sees her crush she double taps his photo and keeps scrolling when she suddenly gets a notification and it's from her crush she opens it she screams and finally contains herself and start texting him this really made her day. The third day of that week Emory and Indayah's at the hospital sitting with Mack talking with since the doctors say it will be good for her, but Emory can't help but to notice Indayah acting strange and having this weird look in her eyes. But she know it's probably worrying too much about Mack. Later that day both girls head home Emory's on face time with her crush and Indayah is still spending money, once Emory is done being on face time she does her hygiene and goes downstairs to eat when she suddenly remembers that she has to call Indayah and split up the money, but it's to late over in the night and I need some sleep I'll just get with her tomorrow. And so she's off to sleep dreaming about her crush and Indayah once again is up all night greedily spending money both girls not knowing it's trust and loyalty coming their way.

It's a month later and Emory and Indayah is out running errands and yes Emory forgot again. Their at the mall shopping when Emory notice once again Indayah is acting weird and she mostly notice the new wardrobe and phone, wait Ms ma'am were did the new look come from. Oh this well my guy of the week was spending money on me providing me with anything I want Indayah grins and smirks. Well kudos to both of you but be careful you're going to end up getting someone hurt playing all these guys at once oh don't worry I have it all under control, Indayah says. Both girls finish what their doing and head home, Emory is at home getting clothes together because she's going on a date with her crush which she's so excited for she's nervous but she's going to contain herself she has until next Friday, once she's done she looks around her room and she spots her suitcase full of fabrics and suddenly remembers what she was supposed to be doing and goes to open the suitcase and move around the fabric and sees that the book is missing, wait did I move it or something I know I didn't because I haven't touch the money since we hid I'll just ask my mom did she come and get it. So Emory starts texting her mother and her mother assures her she barely being at home and being in her room, so she thinks long hard and gets a text from her mother that tells her to check the camera. How can I be so forgetful so she goes to the check the app on her phone and opens it but she's shocked at what she's discovered.

As the days go by both girls is sitting in the hospital with Mack once again and Emory is trying to remain so calm and not to explode but the amount of hatred she's feeling for her best-friend is hard for her to adjust to not believing that this would be something she's doing, so she remains calm until then a couple hours later both girls get ready to head out and Emory invites Indayah to sit with her for a couple of hours to talk and catch up. Both girls heads to Emory house and do what they normally do every time their around each other, Indayah thinks everything is okay but what she doesn't know is that Emory's in on her little secret. So Emory goes to talking about a movie and how this girl betrayed her best-friend over something that's not worth it enough to sabotage a good friendship like that to at least make Indayah feel guilty, but I know you guys will never. Yeah-h-h-h-h Indayah stutters out, but guess what I forgot to tell you all so my mother and I got this new camera installed and I finally start checking it recently and you won't believe the mess I seen can you guess. Um maybe a bug or something Indayah gets wide eyed and stutters out, nope wrong but you can look for yourself, so Emory proceeds to open the app on her phone and Indayah is stuck knowing she's been caught, Emory passes the phone to her greedy best-friend and proceeds to say now you want to tell me what I see I-I-I-I-I, Indayah stutters out knowing she's being caught and can't hide this secret anymore. Both girls are standing their one feeling betrayed, and the other feeling guilty and knowing that karma is about to come.

Emory stares in utter disbelief at one of her best friends since preschool not really knowing how to digest that her best friend would betray her over something that less important then their friendship. I'm sorry her best friend stutters out I let jealously get in the way and I-I-I got to witty and spiteful and did something very cruel. Get Out! Emory screams at her now former friend GO!GO! she shouts almost cursing catching herself you did something so stupid over money when we could've been all doing good together, but no you was too invested in yourself and being greedy how could you Emory says. You want to know why because both of you have everything you want with your nice house and fancy cars so I took it Indayah states, smirking and laughing walking out the door but what she doesn't know on the app Emory already communicates with the police and sends them the information and their headed to their house. All Emory says back to her is Karma is a beautiful person she gets the job done very fast, not certain where she's going with this Indayah heads to the door with Emory following her she slow down when she sees many police officers, she panics and turns around to see Emory with a spiteful smirk on her face, I'm going to kill you Indayah states going up to Emory catching her off guard shaking her over and over. They both tussle with each when Indayah does something unexpectedly that has Emory screaming to the top of her lungs. Boom! Boom! she hears and her vision is getting blurry when she hears you'll be up when this is all over, but wait when what's over.

Emory! Emory! she hears as she's being shook Ahhh! she screams and wake up the horrible dreams she has and turns to see both of her best-friends looking at crazy, are you okay they both ask her. Yeah I'm fine but I just had the most craziest dream and so she proceeds to tell them, once she's done they all laugh it off I would never betray you all like that for some money, Indayah states it's never enough money to make me do such a thing, and yeah she wouldn't even make it to stab me like that she's not crazy. I'm really not Indayah says innocently(Or am I she laughs evilly in her head to herself). As the day proceed all three girls do everything they can and have fun like they normally would.

So their will be a part two to this story and it will focus on the best-friends in college and them finding love. But get this their will be betrayal in the group with one of the friends she will feel like no one is their for her and she's already going through problems so she starts hanging around the wrong crowd. Can these three friends make sure their friendship stay on the right track while their in college and will they ever go long term with their love life. Stay tuned and find out what happens next on Of Books and Friendships.

Disclaimer: This is a fiction story so the photos used is an imagination of the authors.

The end...........