Down

Chapter 7

I was hitting the swing with a stick, I hit it as hard as I could and it swung and hit me.. I fell to the ground,
I said" Ow!"
JJ yelled" What did you think was gonna happen, Munch?"
I yelled" That!"
John B yelled" Do you need us?"
" No!" I got up," Can I hit the swing?"
" Yes!" I hit the swing with my stick again, pouting," Good job!" I giggled, and ran to them.

I said" Kie, did ya see?" I fell onto her lap, giggling,
She said" Totally! Nice punch, how was the fall?"
" Good! I landed on my ass!" She and Sarah started laughing,
" JJ!"
JJ said" Oops. Don't say ass, Skye."
I said" Why not? You say it!"
" I-I don't have an answer that won't get me into trouble. Just... don't say it?" I giggled," Say butt."
" Butt! Butt! Butt! Butt!" I spun around, laughing,
" And... I regret nothing."

They were melting the gold, I tried to run past John B but he stopped me with his foot, I pouted at him.
He said" Kie says anyone shorter than her can't be around the open flame."
I said" I'm four!"
" Shorter than her."
" JJ!" He ignored me," Bubba! Pope!" He ignored me too, I fell onto John B's leg, pouting. He chuckled,
" Sorry, mini JJ, next time we build a fire I'll let you have a fire stick."
" Yay!"
JJ said" Stop calling her that." I giggled, smiling, and wiggled my tooth,
Sarah said" Losing a tooth?"
I said" JJ say use it for crab bait!"
John B said" No we're not."
" Drum bait?" He made a thinking face, I smiled at him,
" Not a chance. But you can put it under your pillow and the tooth fairy will give you a prize."
" I'm hungry."
" Go find your cheese whales."
" Where?"
" Kitchen. Uh... on the counter. Don't fall." I nodded and got up, running to the house as fast as I could.

I climbed onto the counter and found my cheese whales, I smiled and grabbed them, I slid back to the edge and jumped, hitting my knees on the ground. I got up and ran back out, eating cheese whales, giggling.

We got out of the van,
JJ said" Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein."
Kie said" Like you could've done any better."
" I could have done much better. I took a welding class."
" You-"
John B said" Chill out, okay?"
JJ said" Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off. How did I get this job anyway?"
Pope said" 'Cause you're the best liar."
" Come on, Skye." I walked to him and held his pocket.

JJ said" Afternoon, ma'am."
The woman said" Afternoon."
" I see you buy gold."
" That's what the sign say, don't it?"
" Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind."
" I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it."
" How about them gold apples?"
" That ain't real."
" That ain't real?"
" It can't be."
" Feel how heavy it is. Mm-hm! Mm-hm! Let's get some light on that." She looked at it with a magnet-flying glass, I seen one on tv before. I didn't get it, it doesn't fly and it's not red and white like a magnet, but whatever.
" Spray-painted tungsten."
" Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay. Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?"
" You mind?"
" No, go for it. Wow. Would you look at that?"
" Hold your horses. We ain't got to the acid test yet."
" Ooh! The acid test. My favorite, guys." She poured acid on it,
" Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted."
" Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long."
" It looks like somebody tried to melt it down."
" My mom. She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to-to melt it down. To consolidate it."
" Seven pounds. That's a lot of earrings."
" Okay, to be honest, ma'am... it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with alzheimer's."
" Mm-hm." She walked away,
" Take your time, ma'am." After a minute, she walked back in,
" So, uh, I talked to my boss."
" And?"
" And, uh, this is what I can do." She put a piece of paper on the counter,
" Fifty thousand? You think I walked in here not knowin' the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth 140, at least."
" Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?"
" Ninety, or I walk."
" Seventy. Half price... and, um... I don't ask questions about where you got this."
" I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please."
" Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check."
" Cash... No, ma'am. I want the cold hard. That's what that sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what I expect. I'm gonna get it in cold hard."
" Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have the money there. Is that alright?"
" Where's this warehouse?"