Chapter 10

The store kind of sucked. It was super stuffy and there was no air conditioning. There was just one fan that I’m pretty sure is supposed to spin around, but it was stuck pointing at the cash counter. But the cash lady was nice. She was so big and muscular. She could probably lift a tree, like one of those lumberjacks. I should get muscles like that! She asked if I was alone, and I told her we were on a road trip and my “mom” drove through the whole night and she gave me money to buy things so she can nap a little. That’s not really a lie. Marisa is basically my mom. She adopted me when I was a baby. The cash lady said “Aren’t you a good kid” :) and then said I could “roam around.”

~THE HAUL~

- Three packs of gum (sometimes we’re non-stop travelling so much we don’t have time to brush our teeth)

- Pocket tissue (some public bathrooms don’t have toilet paper :/)

- Wet wipes and hand sanitizer (for when there aren’t washrooms AT ALL)

- Phone charging cable

- Tiny tiny bottle of painkiller (kid-safe)

- A few bottles of water (VERY heavy)

- Bottle of coffee for Marisa (she likes caramel)

- Granola bars and energy bars

- And my SECRET CANDY

Don’t tell Marisa please. It was only $1.

There was a TV playing the news and it was showing those pictures of me and Marisa again. It was on mute so thankfully the cash lady couldn’t hear it. The captions said the cops were “on the lookout” and that I was “abducted” and “do not approach.” That last one is some good advice. Approach and get SPARKED. Approach and EAT BULLET.

The cash lady wasn’t watching it, but just in case, I sparked the antenna juuuust a bit so it would only get static. She put everything in a paper bag for me. She also gave me a red candy! It was cherry flavoured.

When I went back to the car, Marisa wasn’t napping AT ALL. She was talking on her cellphone. I tried to spy on her, but she saw me and hanged up. I was a bit mad at her because one of our cardinal rules is that our cellphones are for emergencies ONLY. Marisa shouldn’t get to break the rules just because she’s a grownup. We made the rules TOGETHER. I know who she’s talking to. It’s that woman from the clinic, Lilian. I don’t even know why Marisa calls her. She’s only met her like, once. Anyway, she was breaking another cardinal rule: never talk to anyone from the clinic.

At first I didn’t ask about it because she was tired, and I bought secret candy so that makes us even. But this isn’t the first time she called Lilian. And she always does it when she thinks I’m asleep, and she speaks very quietly, so I don’t know what they even talk about. It isn’t fair. If I tried to call Daniel or Lory or Curtis, Marisa would say I’m “not allowed.” When I told Marisa we weren’t supposed to call anyone, she said it’s “just Lilian” like that makes it different. We could get CAUGHT, aka the THING WE’RE TRYING NOT TO BE. Marisa promised it’s the last time she would call, and then she deleted Lilian’s number. I told her that doesn’t prove anything because she could have memorized it, and she said “You know I’m bad with numbers.” I guess that’s true. I never asked her for math homework help because she does math sooooo slow.

I checked her phone just to be sure. Usually she doesn’t let me touch her phone, but she’s sleeping, so it’s not like she’ll ever know. At least she’s telling the truth. The contacts are completely empty.