Daughter of Pluto | Wattys2017

I

The girl blushed. "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"

"Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" He raised his eyebrows at Jason like, Can you believe her?

Aimee was lost in thought as she stared at the boy. He looked like a Latino Santa's elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects. His long, nimble fingers wouldn't stop moving—drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.

"Anyway," Leo said, "I hope you've got your worksheet, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago."

Aimee made a little face at the thought of spit wads. "Gross."

Leo finally noticed how Jason was looking at him and checked his reflection in the window."Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?"

"We don't know you," Aimee said. Aimee gave Jason a look out of the side of her eyes. He nodded slightly knowing what the look meant.

Leo gave her a crocodile grin. "Sure. I'm not your boyfriend or Jason's best friend. I'm his evil clone."

Aimee and Jason's eyes widened when they heard him call himself her boyfriend. Heck she just fucking met this boy. Aimee was about to say something when she was interrupted by Coach Hedge.

"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"

Leo winked at Aimee. "Watch this." He turned to the front. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"

Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse. He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader's. The kids cracked up. The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow says moo!"

The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"

Piper stifled a laugh. "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"

Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. "I'm a special boy."

"Guys, seriously," Jason pleaded. "What are we doing here? Where are we going?"

Piper knit her eyebrows. "Jason,Aimee?you guys are joking right?"

"No! I have no idea—"

"Aw, yeah, of course they are joking," Leo said. "They are trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren't you?"

Both Jason and Aimee stared at him blankly.

"No, I think they are being serious." Piper tried to take Jason's hand again, but he pulled it away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't—I can't—"

"That's it!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!"

The rest of the kids cheered.

"There's a shocker," Leo muttered.

But Piper kept her eyes on Jason, like she couldn't decide whether to be hurt or worried. "Did you two hit your heads or something? You really don't know who we are?"

Jason shrugged helplessly,he looked at Aimee who was staring at her pale hands.  "It's worse than that. We don't know who we are."

The bus dropped them in front of a big red stucco complex like a museum, just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that's what it was: the National Museum of Nowhere, Aimee thought.