Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

Wanna take down a megacorporation this spring break?

"I got my driver's license!"

Sunny rewarded Basil with a peck on the cheek.

"Take me on a drive," Sunny requested.

"Should I really?" Basil asked, worried that Mrs. S might not feel so comfortable with her son being driven around by his boyfriend, the new driver on the road with a history of violent hallucinations.

"I'll see," Mrs. S responded. "Maybe I'll let you use my car once or a couple of times each week."

"That's too little," Sunny argued. "What's the point of Basil getting his driver's license if we can't even enjoy driving?"

Mrs. S threw Sunny an unflinching look. "We'll start at once a week. And you have to get my permission every time."

Sunny grumbled. "Kel told me that when Hero got his driver's license, his parents let him use their car for a whole month."

"It's okay, Sunny," Basil said. "Mrs. S only has one car. She needs to use it for work."

"We're not going to total your car," Sunny protested to his mom.

"I need to be sure that you two are physically and mentally healthy enough to be trusted with a car," Mrs. S said. "I'm just...worried, sometimes. I'd rather wait until you're both a little healthier first."

"Come on," Sunny complained. "I've been doing fine."

"It hasn't been that long since the breakup between you and your friends," Mrs. S countered.

"It's not like we're going to use your car to drive all the way back to Faraway," Sunny said.

Both Mrs. S and Basil raised their eyes at that.

"Erhh, that's not what I'm planning, to be clear," Sunny added.

"Once per week," Mrs. S finalized.

Dejected, Sunny took Basil's hand and went back to their room.

Basil empathized with both Sunny and Mrs. S. He had his own concerns, too. He didn't pass his driving test with flying colors or anything. He'd made a couple of mistakes, changing lanes a little late one time and needing a couple of redos to complete parallel parking. Driving in the city was also stimulus-heavy and stressful. He imagined that he would prefer driving in a more suburban town like Faraway.

Sunny's been thinking a lot about returning to Faraway lately.

I'm sure it's because he wants to find some way to save our old hangout spot.

Sunny turned towards Basil. "Mom really doesn't trust us yet."

"I don't blame her," Basil replied with a self-deprecating smile.

"Well, I see her point." Sunny exhaled in defeat. "It's too bad that I won't ever be able to drive."

Basil turned his gaze away. "I'm so sorry."

Sunny reacted quickly to the words that he'd spoken. His fingers locked with Basil's, holding both hands tightly. "I deserved it."

"Sunny, don't..."

"Basil, you saved my life," Sunny insisted. "You gave me time to confront my other half. I felt like it helped me to accept what I did."

Basil tried to smile, though it was so hard not to feel crushing guilt.

Sunny might not blame him, but trying to rationalize away losing his eye with being given time to confront Omori did not feel the most reassuring. No matter how Sunny justified Basil's actions, Sunny had lost half his vision. Sunny couldn't reason away the outcome of Basil's stupid, foolish act of lashing out at Something with garden shears in his hand that night.