Lavender Monarch has Exactly Thirteen Fears

33. blindfold

I walk out of the office feeling rattled. The pennies feel like stones in my gut but my head is floating off into the clouds. My mum opens the car door for me and tucks her newspaper under the seat. 

"You okay?" she asks. I nod my head and pull my seatbelt on.

"I'm a piggy bank," I say. She glances at me and knits her brows together but doesn't say anything further. She puts the car in reverse and we drive the whole way home in silence. She must be wondering what on earth she's been paying this therapist for. 

I walk inside and make a peanut butter and grape sandwich and sit on the couch with my legs crossed. I take a bite and chew thoughtfully. Piggy bank. Piggy bank. Piggy bank.

 I can see the coins spilling out and rolling on the wooden floor, tumbling through the crack on the veranda. Falling through the sky. In the hand of a magician being pulled out of a little boy's scruffy hair. Exchanged in a supermarket between grubby hands. Tucked into jean pockets. Spiraling down one of those coin wishing wells. Copper coins everywhere. 

I grab my phone out and dial June's number. "You need to get here now," I tell him. 

"Where? What?" I hang up on him. I rush up the stairs to my room and grab the backpack out of my closet and start making a mental list of everything I might need. Cash, credit card, ID, spare clothes, phone, water, food...everything goes into the bag. 

On a last-minute whim, I fill a plastic bag with cat food and put Salty on my shoulder. She meows in protest. I glance at my room, satisfied I have everything I need and walk back downstairs. 

On the way out, I grab my warmest jacket off the hook. I close the front door and stand on the front step. It's freezing. Where is he? I'm about to pull my phone out to call him again when I see his figure walking up the drive, hands shoved deep in his pockets. 

"June!" I cry out and race down to give him the biggest hug.

"Hi?" he says in bemusement. "Why are you so happy?"

"No reason. But listen, can you steal your dad's car again?" He takes a minute to process what I've said. 

"I'm confused, but no way. I'm already in so much trouble. If I pulled a stunt like that again, my dad would kill me."

"Please, for me?" I give him my best puppy dog expression but he shakes his head. 

"Sorry, Lav. I mean it. I can't do that."

"Okay. Well... we'll have to use my mums."

"No! We're not stealing any cars. Why do you need one anyway?" No cars. How are we supposed to get everywhere we need?

"Fine, we'll catch the train...or call a cab," I say, glancing off. The train is doable. It's only a forty-five-minute walk to the station and if we use buses as well... I hear him sigh. 

"Excuse me," he says and I finally look at him. "Can you please explain what's going on?" I pull my backpack tighter on my shoulders.

"Oh, right. Sorry." I gush and trip over my words and in less than a minute, I've explained it all to him.  He stares at me a little too long without saying anything and then throws his head back to look up at the sky. 

"You really are something, Lavender Monarch." He blows out a puff of air and turns his head back to look at me, "I can't even believe I'm agreeing to this. But okay. Let's do it."

"Thank you," I say, wrapping him in a massive hug. He laughs. 

"Good God." He eyes my backpack. "I see you're ready, but let's drop by mine so I can grab some stuff too." We take the quick walk to his place and shuffle inside. I wait by his door as he races up to his room. A few minutes later, he returns with a backpack of his own. 

"Okay. Let's go," I say, itching to get a move on. 

"Just one more thing." He slings his pack over to me and I catch it in two hands as he slips into his dad's office. I can hear muffled voices but I have no idea what they're saying. He better not be telling his parents what we're doing or else they'd lock us up for the week. 

I tap my feet impatiently and rest the pack on the ground next to my feet. There's no reason he should be talking to his dad. Plus, we need to get going, especially if we have to walk all the way to the train station. Eventually, the door opens and he walks out with a smile. 

"Finally," I say. "What were you even doing?" He pulls his hands out from behind his back to show me a pair of keys. 

"Getting these."

"I thought you said you wouldn't steal them!"

"I didn't. I just asked. It seems my dad agreed this was a worthy cause."

"June!" I whack his shoulder. "You weren't supposed to tell." We're lucky his father is this easygoing. 

"I only did partly. It wasn't lying, just leaving out a few minor details." I whack him harder, even though I'm technically the one who encouraged him to do all this. We slip outside and get into his dad's car. The garage door winds slowly up and we back out onto the street. 

"You ready?" he asks. 

"More then," I say. He smiles at me and I see the familiar mischevious glint in his eye. 

"What makes you more afraid, driving off on a potentially dangerous mission with your best friend, or driving off on a potentially dangerous mission with your best friend while blindfolded?"

"Uh...the second one. For sure," I say and look at him strangely. Blindfolds were not part of the plan. 

"Well too bad," he smirks, passing me a piece of black fabric. "'Cause we're going with the second."