𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚊𝚢 𝙳𝚒𝚎 | The Goonies

Chapter Eleven | Salt and Pepper

Monday morning spelt lethargy for the best of students, but Lacey felt dead on her feet when she flopped into her seat beside Jude.

"Girl, you look like a zombie," Jude said, patting Lacey on the back. "Is everything okay?"

"Slept badly," Lacey mumbled as she drew out her books.

"Anything to do with your new obsession?"

Lacey rested her head on her hand and blinked slowly. "Hm?"

Jude smirked. "You know. Mikey Walsh."

Lacey let her arm give out and rested her head on the table. "No. Who told you that?"

"Someone said they saw you go there twice this week. They must live on the same road or something," Jude explained. "So is there anything you want to tell me?"

"He's helping me with my project. About that thing you found in that newspaper?"

Lacey was saved by the teacher requesting silence for the register, and then silence for note taking. She napped the entire way through her double class.

At break, the two girls went to their usual table outside, and Jude immediately started probing for gossip.

"So what did you find out?" She asked, taking a bite of her apple.

Too much.

Lacey pulled out her notes and handed them to Jude, too tired to explain, and revelled in the few minutes of silence.

Eventually, Jude looked up and whistled, pushing the pad back towards Lacey. "Some story. Are you sure all that really did happen? It sounds a bit farfetched."

Pressing her lips into a line, she nodded, slipping her notes back into her bag. "Of course it did. They all told me the same story."

Jude raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Oh, so who's they all?"

Lacey groaned. "Mikey's friends."

Jude flicked her eyebrows up. "Oh, I see. And was you-know-who -" she cut herself off as she glanced up.

"Hi Lacey," Data chirped as appeared beside her. "Have you got a moment? I need your advice."

She turned her eyes on him slowly. "Sure. What's up?"

He fished around in his bag and brought out a small can, talking all the while. "See I'm trying to make this thing like pepper spray but less harmful, so it doesn't make your skin all puffy, and since your dads a police officer I thought I'd come to you and ask what bottle I should put it in? Because this is a spray bottle but I don't think it's concentrated enough, see?"

He pressed down on the nozzle before she could stop him, send out a mist of spray. The breeze blew it straight into Jude's face.

Immediately, Jude cursed, rubbing at her face and jumping to her feet.

"Sorry! Data's sorry, I-"

"Data!" Lacey exclaimed, getting up and rushing to her friend's side.

"Water, water, it comes off with water," he spluttered, and rooted around in his bag.

"Look in my bag, its on the left," she instructed, and reached back to take it without taking her eyes off of Jude, who was cussing like a sailor with her hands over her face.

Lacey unscrewed her bottle and poured it onto her jumper sleeve, pulling her arm out of the sleeve and peeling at Jude's fingers. She applied her sleeve and smoothed it over her face, and when Jude took it from her she awkwardly pulled her jumper completely off, wetting more of the material so Jude had a fresh surface to rub at her face with.

Lacey turned exasperatedly to Data, but bit the tip of her tongue when she saw Mouth standing there holding her bag, and Data's can. He must have been the one to give her the water.

"Never," Jude rasped, "ever do that again, or I won't class it as an accident."

Lacey glanced at her friend, who had finished wiping herself down. There was little harm done except for the fact her mascara had smeared and she vaguely resembled a panda.

Lacey quietly pointed it out to Jude, and promised to meet her in the girls' toilets in a few minutes.

As Jude left (throwing a quizzical glance at Mouth), Lacey turned eyes on Data, who refused to meet her gaze.

"I'm not going to even bother to say anything," she said. "My sentiments are the same as Jude's." She looked at Mouth. "Can I help you at all?"

"Nope, but Data can. I'm here to tell him there's a meeting tonight. Hi, by the way." He flashed her a smile.

"Hi yourself," she replied simply.

God, his mood changes we're giving her whiplash. At least she'd figured out when to expect them - he got all defensive whenever she tried to help with the case. She had to give it to him - he was loyal to a fault and so protective of his friends, though she'd bet he'd say otherwise if she questioned it. If only he'd just let her help.

"Andy really wants to see you again Lacey," Data said excitedly. "You should come tonight."

She didn't even bother cutting her eyes to Mouth. She shook her head apologetically. "I've got to work on my essay, mum'll kill me if I end up finishing it last minute," she lied easily.

Data's face fell. "Well, alright. But maybe you can come another day?"

"I'll see how far I get with my essay," she assured.

She finally looked at Mouth, and he nodded gratefully with her empty promise.

The truth was, she'd been thinking all weekend about the Fratellis. With the library resources dried up, she poured long hours into her essay to distract her from the present situation and delve into the past. She had ended up finishing it over a week before it was due.

WORD COUNT: 905

PUBLISHED: 14/05/19