Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

I'm still crazy after all

"I'm sorry, Basil. I need the car during Spring Break."

Basil felt his heart dropping into free fall.

"I'm going away on a business trip," Mrs. S elaborated. "It's not in this country. So I'll be taking the car to the airport and flying out. I'm coming back at the end of the week."

That's the most inconvenient time ever!

It just had to be this Spring Break, huh.

"Mom," Sunny spoke, "can't you let us use the car over Spring Break instead? You aren't even going to be in the country."

"Sorry, Sunny. I'm not feeling confident enough to give you the car for the whole week, especially if you're planning to drive out that far."

Basil saw in her face that she was hurt by this decision too.

They'd explained to her that they wanted to use her car over Spring Break to drive out to the rivers where they planned to take measurements of toxic chemicals in the water near Coup de Soleil Factories. They explained the purpose of their project, starting from the fact that the company wanted to clear the forest behind Faraway to build a new mall.

They did not mention how Basil's parents wanted to take him back to put him on an internship he didn't have any interest in. Basil was still too afraid that she would make him respect his parents' wishes.

"Maybe you can do this project over the summer instead," she said. "It sounds like too huge of a project to be ready for by Spring Break, doesn't it?"

I don't have time to wait until summer!

My parents want results immediately.

"Mom, we already planned out everything," Sunny protested further. "Trust us. We're ready to do this over Spring Break."

"I told you, you can't use my car over Spring Break," she said. "Besides, it'll be parked at the airport so it won't be easy for you to access it."

"That's not a good excuse," Sunny retorted. "You could just let us drive you to the airport."

"Sorry, but I just don't trust the two of you with my car for a whole week yet."

Sunny clenched his fists and bit his lip. He looked ready to burst out in rage.

Please don't lash out at your mom, Sunny...

"It's okay, Sunny," Basil said, patting him on the shoulder. "I understand. We'll find some other time to do the project."

"But...Basil," Sunny said, gazing at him helplessly. "This project is so important to you. We might not have much time left."

"I know."

I'll just have to take matters into my own hands again.

Basil went back into their room. Sunny exhaled loudly in anger. Then Sunny followed Basil into his room, closing the door emphatically behind him.

"Can we just tell mom that we really need the car because your parents are gonna take you away to do a dumb internship if you don't provide them any scientific data on your reports?" Sunny asked.

"I don't want to risk it," Basil replied. "We really don't know how she's going to react to hearing that my parents want me back."

"I...I don't know. What else can we do? We can't rent a car since we're not eighteen yet."

Basil's brain raced to find a solution to this problem. There had to be one.

Sunny's mom drove an old car, one that did not require those electronic chips in order to start the engine. And since she was flying out of the country, she was not going to be near her car for the whole week.