𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

Try Me

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. Think of it as borrowing." Ari said from her spot on the floor of the van. They were all crammed inside, heading to JJ's dad's old workplace.

"Humans are the only animals that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope muttered, his arms crossed as he stared out the window.

"Did you come up with that?" John B asked, glancing quickly at Pope.

"No, Albert Bernstein did." Ari chimed in. Pope nodded in agreement.

"But it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing." Pope said, Ari rolling her eyes at Pope.

"Oh." John B replied slowly, the wheels turning in his head.

"So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?" Pope turned to John B, his gaze intense.

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" JJ didn't even look up from rolling his blunt.

"It's fantasy, but possibly reality." Kie said, turning to glance at Pope before looking back at John B.

"Reality." John B said softly, smiling at Kie, who smiled back.

"Virtual reality." JJ added, flicking open his lighter to light the blunt, but Ari snatched it from his lips and tossed it to Pope.

"Keep the signal clear." Pope said, throwing it to the back seat as they pulled up to their destination.

"Ready?" Kie asked, turning to Ari.

"Let's get this over with already." Ari replied, getting up from her spot between JJ's legs and carefully opening the door, making sure not to make much noise as she closed it.

"Hey, don't worry. You guys got this." John B reassured them with a smile as they approached the window.

"It's not us we're worried about, JB." Ari grinned, linking her arm with Kie's as they walked toward the little shack.

"Hello! Excuse me!" Kie waved energetically at the guard through the window as she and Ari approached the gate.

The guard opened the door, looking somewhat puzzled. "Can I help you?"

"Hi! Um, we actually have a flat tire. We were wondering if you could help us out." Ari said with an innocent smile, her eyes wide with feigned helplessness.

The guard scrutinized them both, his eyes narrowing slightly before he sighed. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Ari tilted her head, her expression one of pure curiosity.

"Yeah." The guard repeated, nodding as he turned to retrieve some tools.

"It's so easy." Kie whispered, grinning as she and Ari shared a quick fist bump.

"It's just this back one right here." Kie said, leading the guard to the rear tire.

"It must have been a slow leak or something." Ari added, still smiling as she leaned casually against the car.

She glanced over at the boys and gave a quick nod. They responded with thumbs up before slipping away quietly.

"Must have been sitting in the yard too long." The guard muttered as he inspected the tire.

"Yeah." Both girls sighed in unison, trying to maintain their innocent facade.

"I-I got this." The guard stammered, his eyes lingering on Ari for a moment too long. She instinctively shrunk back a bit, positioning herself slightly behind Kie.

"Thank you." Kie said warmly, smiling at the guard.

Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking broke the moment. Kie and Ari exchanged a quick, annoyed look.