Fool's Gold

~ Six ~

Lily poked her spoon at her cereal, nudging the pieces around the lake of milk. Everything seemed so boring now. No more adventure awaiting her.

After eating some of her now-soggy cereal, Lily wandered around the house. She didn't want to go outside because of the strange man, but because she almost always spent her time outdoors with her friends, she had no idea what else to do. There wasn't anything to do indoors. There were toys, but she'd long grown too old for them, and she'd read all of her library books already.

At least she wasn't alone in her boredom, though. Goldilocks the big golden retriever just sat in the middle of the kitchen floor and stared numbly at the wall.

Lily knelt down and crawled over to her dog, nudging her with her nose as Goldilocks would often do to her. The dog looked up at her, then promptly rolled over onto her back.

"Ooh, you want belly rubs, do you?" Lily cooed, petting Goldilocks' soft stomach. "You love those, don't you? See, though, what I really like is chase..."

On that word, Goldilocks' ears perked up and she leapt to her feet, running out into the living room. Lily jumped up after her, dashing close on her heels.

*****

Lily collapsed onto the couch, exhausted, the dog panting at her feet. She'd always considered herself athletic, but wow, that dog could really outrun her. Sure, she could do cool ninja moves like climbing over cars, as she proved the other day...

She shuddered, pushing the memory out of her mind. It hadn't been a real adventure. There was no such thing as real fantasies like that. No secret spies leaving her messages, just creepy strangers. No, she and Kendra had been fooled, and—

Kendra. Kendra didn't know. She hadn't seen what she'd seen. She'd be going to meet that person today, all alone.

Lily checked her watch. 9:53. Did she have time, or was it too late? Should she stay home or try to warn Kendra? She couldn't let her endanger herself, but at the same time, she had to be mindful of her own safety as well. No, she couldn't worry about that too much. She could bring Goldilocks. Big dogs are good at keeping people safe.

"C'mon, Goldie," she muttered, clipping the leash onto the dog's collar and stepping into her shoes. With another glance at her watch—9:54—she sprinted out the door and down the street.