Hidden Mysteries

Afternoon at the Museum

AN: Warning for guns/religious talk (? just a brief mention of gods and stuff, but just in case!)

Today's the day.

I'm already dressed, my messenger bag hidden in my school bag, underneath my notebooks and folders. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, so hard that I want to vomit.

It's not the secret trip to the museum I'm worried about. It's telling my family where I'm going.

Obviously I can't tell them the truth. They'd flip their lids, and probably pull a Mother Gothel and lock me in my room for the rest of my life. So, we have to go for the second option.

Lying.

I've never lied to my family before, or anyone. Well, maybe a few white lies here and there, but I've been a super honest kid, my whole life. In fact, when I was younger Nickel used to claim that I couldn't even tell a lie even if I was Pinocchio.

I tug on my sleeve, focusing on breathing. I could do this. I could do this. Just keep calm.

"Suitcase, are you up?" I hear Baseball call from downstairs. "Breakfast is almost ready!"

"Coming!" I shout, gripping my bag's straps as I head on down to the kitchen. Baseball was over the stove, making eggs and bacon. Microphone is sitting at the table, copying something from a thick textbook. Apparently there was some sort of issue with her apartment, and she was staying with us for a while until she and her roommates could find another place to stay. I sit down next to Mic, tapping my foot slightly.

"Morning, pumpkin," Baseball greets, kissing my forehead and setting down a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept okay." I pick up the fork, poking at the yolk and watching it start to get all runny all over my plate. "Are you working again tonight?"

"No, I have some time off." Baseball gets some lunch meat out from the fridge; he usually packs my lunch the night before, but sometimes he forgets. "I can pick you and Balloon up after school today if you want him to come over."

You can do it, Suitcase. Rip off the bandage.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you the other day. Balloon's taking me geocaching after school today, we'll be home late."

"Geocaching?" My throat tightens as I hear the confusion in Baseball's voice.

"Oh! It's that thing where you try to find treasures and stuff with coordinates, right?" Mic butts in. "I know a kid on campus who loves that sort of thing."

"Y-Yeah, we're going with a kid from the high school, Fan. He works at the arcade, and he's really nice." I shovel eggs in my mouth so I won't have to talk more.

"Ohhh, Fan! I know who you're talking about, good kid. I've seen him hanging with Paintbrush a lot." Baseball closes the fridge. "Just try to be back before it gets too late, okay?"

I only nod in response, a pang of guilt vibrating through my small body.

~~~

"Why are you wrapping your hands like that?" Balloon questions, watching Fan wrap his hands with some sort of bandages.

"This is how they do it in anime!" Fan explains. "Plus you never know when you need to get physical. Paintbrush has been showing me a few martial arts moves over the past couple of days, so if we get into a hand-to-hand combat situation, I'll be ready."

"Well, hopefully that doesn't happen," I butt in, finishing tying my sneakers. They're pretty beat-up since I used them for gym last year, so I figured I'd use them as adventuring shoes since Baseball got me new gym shoes this year anyways. "We got everything?"