[ the second book in the drops of sunshine series ]
As much as she ended up loving her first one, AJ Hood never wanted to go on another quest. But somehow, she ended up on one anyway. And this time, it's not going to have a pretty ending... but at...
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~ ☼ ~
There was only one problem with our getaway plan. Though we had water, we didn't have anything to eat. After what felt like several hours but was probably only 30 minutes, I found myself not only horribly bored but starving.
There was literally nothing to do up there. Since the wind was so strong, we couldn't talk, and I obviously had no source of music. I entertained myself at first by counting how many small towns we passed over, but then I started to realize that was like counting needles in a haystack. There were hardly any towns at all out in this wild part of PA we'd found, and the ones that were there were so tiny they were barely specks in the woods.
What else was I supposed to? Meditate? Self-reflect? Gods, as if. Instead, I found myself slowly going crazy. I saw shapes in the clouds just above us, and started to think it was the cloud god sending us signs. Was there a cloud god? There was now. I was the cloud god now, I decided, since I kept finding myself in mid-air. I would accompany my father on his chariot and try to prevent him from killing his other children...
"AJ!" Lucas shouted. "Are you okay?"
I'd begun to slump down against Pinky's neck, a precarious position. And yet, I didn't move. Instead, I wailed, "I'm hungry."
I was hoping I could weird my way out of being uncomfortable with Lucas. It worked; I just barely heard him laugh underneath the wind.
I sat up again, and yelled back to him, "Do you have any food on you?"
"I do!" He yelled back.
Kiera and Aria were just far enough ahead that I don't think they could hear us. In fact, I saw Aria turn around and yell something to Kiera, but I couldn't hear it at all. I both liked and hated this. I had to make this as purposely awkward on purpose so it didn't turn awkward on accident.
Lucas held something to me. I turned around to grab it - it was a granola bar - only to accidentally drop it.
I swear, it was accidental. I would not sacrifice food, even to keep a crush-ship safe.
"No!" I yelled.
But it was too late. The granola bar was falling to ground, spinning in circles like a Quaker Oats-brand whirly-gig. Then it was a speck in the air, and then it was gone. My will to live with it.
I felt like I might scream. I hadn't eaten at all all day - none of us had. I couldn't believe Lucas had a granola bar. Or that he was willing to give it to me. It felt like a miracle ripped away at the last minute.
I looked at Lucas; he looked at me.
"I am so sorry," I said, unable to help myself.
"Why?" he yelled back. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I just dropped our only sustenance!"
Lucas shrugged. "Yeah, okay."
I turned back to face forward, my face burning. Now, instead of seeing me as a silly, charming jester type, Lucas probably thought I was a clumsy idiot. I was not clumsy. I might have been an idiot, but I was not clumsy, gods dang it.
