Hearts of Gold

10.

Jonah's P.O.V

"What's g-got you so h-happy?" I question my uncle when I walk into the kitchen that morning and see him at the counter smiling down at the toast he was spreading some peanut butter on.

Why was he smiling at a piece of bread as if he had just won the lottery?

"Nothin," he shrugs, glancing back at me with his eyes shining before going back to making his breakfast.

I raise an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Y-your being weird." I mutter, making my way past him and towards the refrigerator to grab the jug of orange juice.

"Me? How so?" He asks just as the toaster pops out two more pieces of bread.

"Y-you're never this happy in the mornings," I start off. I grab a glass from the cabinet above me. "Unless y-you won a race or have a new c-car coming in or s-something." After pouring myself a glass and filling up his glass after he pushes it slightly my way, I screw the top back on the juice and put it back in the fridge before looking at him again.

His eyes glint mischievously at me as he takes a sip of his juice before handing me a plate of peanut butter toast and a banana with it as well as a cup of yogurt.

I thank him as I grab it from him and head over to the table where I take a seat and begin eating as I wait for his answer.

"You know me so well Benji," he lets out an exaggerated groan as he stretches his arms out widely, a yawn coming from his mouth.

"S-so which is it then?" I ask, taking a bite of the toast.

He shrugs and turns his back to me as he stuffs some more breakfast into his mouth.

He takes a minute before responding.

"Just excited for this next race coming up, I guess."

I grow silent as I process his words.

Yeah, my uncle loved racing. It was probably one of the only things in this world that brought him absolutely nothing but pure joy. I've always seen him happy and light up whenever he was able to talk about it in any way the conversation allowed him to.

But this felt like a different kind of happy.

The man looked as if he was almost glowing.

"I f-feel like you're lying b-but okay," I mumble, continuing my breakfast and looking over at the tv that was showing the news.

A laugh leaves his mouth and I look over at him to see him looking at me, his head slightly tilted and his mouth parted only a little bit as if he was about to tell me something.

He stayed like that for a split second before he pursed his lips to the side, shook his head and grabbed his glass from next to him before downing the rest of his juice.

"Me? A liar? I'd never." He smirks playfully at me before tossing his dishes in the sink and ruffling my hair as he walks past me.

"I do, however, have to get ready for very important race coming up. Because I, in fact, was not lying about that." He winks at me just before escaping the kitchen and heading to his room.

I shake my head at his stupid little mind games before continuing my breakfast alone.

Whatever it was, he'd probably tell me about it soon.

~~~~

"I just don't understand why someone would even think that. I mean who in their right mind would ask me to vouch for them?" My friend, Cole, asks us as we make our way to the pier.