𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐒𝐎 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ➝ 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

𝟑𝟒. 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐍 𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐍𝐄𝐑

𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐎𝐏 can rolled to the left side of the van as I shifted my body into more of a hunched position — even though my mother is always on my case about my posture. The wind whistled as I circulated through the vehicle, hoping to cool down its few passengers while we waited patiently.

"He said it looked something like this," Kie pointed out. In her hands was a crumpled piece of paper with a drawing scribbled over the pre-blank surface. Even with the few metallic smudges, the drawing was pretty accurate, even with the whole craze of the previous night.

"That's 50 feet down, and they're using 100-feet rope," I added as I observed the drawing of a pulley system and a well with many measurements.

"So I guess this little wagon will go..." Kie hesitated with a smile as both Sarah and I held back a laugh, "... straight to the gold room,"

"Who drew this?" Sarah asked, not wanting to make fun of them, but it was hard with the lack of skill.

"Who do you think," Kie chuckled as the three of us glanced out the front window towards Pope and John B who were working on the said system.

Hands down to Pope, but if I were him, I would stick with the academics and leave the drawing to someone else.

"Y/n, Kie, this better work," JJ appeared out of thin air, dropping the few gold bars onto the carpeted floor. "We can't pawn this if there's a giant wheat symbol on it,"

Kie tossed me the unlit blow torch with a smile as I rolled my eyes. "It's going to work," I reassured, even though I was still a bit skeptical myself. I mean, to pawn bars of gold isn't going to be easy, especially if we can't get this symbol off of the front.

✮

The afternoon passed quickly as the six of us spent our day trying to melt the hunk of gold down. While we drove to the pawn store, I couldn't stop checking my phone. The fact that I haven't heard from Rafe worried me.

With everything going on with his dad, I wanted to be with him and know that he has nothing to worry about. But I knew that I had to be with my friends during this because this could be a big step in our masterplan.

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ said. The group slipped out of the van and stood a small distance away from the pawnshop, trying to regroup before we make the deal.

Kie scoffed. "Like you could've done better," I slammed the door closed after everyone got out, while John B tried to calm the two down.

Besides the fact that the two seemed to argue most of the day, I could totally see them as a couple. At the same time, I could tell that Pope had a thing for Kie and I'm just trying to stay out of that mess for as long as possible.

"Chill out, okay?" John B sighed as he stepped between the two bickering teens.

"Easy for you to say," JJ groaned, gold blob in his hand, "You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off," He waved the gold in the air, and muttered, "How did I get this job anyway?"

"'Cause you're the best liar," I grinned as I shoved my hands into my pockets innocently. JJ whined loudly before walking away and I could help but chuckle softly.

The shops bell dings softly as our group walked in, trying to space ourselves out amongst the store. While JJ moved to the counter, I made my way towards the back where a small rack of old and new cowboy hats rested.

While JJ and the store owner talked amongst themselves, I let my mind wander to the later hours of the day. I had to talk to Maggie about an upcoming schedule conflict, hoping she could take an extra shift for me.