Simons POV
I stared up at the streetlights, which were the only things illuminating our path. My terror was growing by the second. I wanted to trust Eleanor, really, I did. However, logic told me that if I could trust her, she wouldn't be so adamant about keeping secrets from me. "How long is this going to take?" I asked, making no effort to disguise my irritation. "Or is that ALSO classified?"
"Shouldn't be long." The mysterious girl quipped.
"Can you give me an estimation?" I asked.
Eleanor stopped the car at another red light. At least she was following THAT part of the law. "Huh? Oh, you mean like hours? Minutes?"
"Yes." I tapped my fingers against the door handle. Whatever patience I had was quickly evaporating.
"Couple hours. Tops." The light turned green and she floored it.
I clutched the seat again. "HOURS!?" I gasped. "How is that not LONG!?"
She didn't respond.
"Eleanor." I hissed. "Answer me when I speak to you. I did not sign up to be dragged around to who knows where doing who knows what...for HOURS."
She turned momentarily and narrowed her green eyes at me. "You know, I'm just as stressed as you are."
"Highly unlikely." I folded my arms.
"Ease up a little, Simon." She turned the steering wheel sharply.
I began thinking of some way I could convince her to take me home immediately. My gaze fixed upon the dashboard. The check engine light was off. Drat. There goes that plan. I cringed when I saw the speedometer. While Eleanor wasn't exceeding the speed limit as much as it felt like she was, she was still a good 5 miles per hour over it. Nothing about this situation was good. Hang on, the gas gauge was getting pretty low. That, I could work with. At last, there was a small chance I could make my escape.
"If I were the one on a secret mission that needed to be completed in an allotted time, you know what I would do?" I smirked.
Eleanor looked confused. "What?"
"I'd make sure my gas tank wasn't running on empty." I finished, still smirking.
The pigtailed Chipette stared at the gas gauge with a horrified expression. "AW NUTS!" She exclaimed. "CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!" Obviously, she was embarrassed at her oversight.
I breathed a sigh of relief. This was going according to plan. Soon, I would be home. "We'd better find a gas station." I said.
She glared at me again. I had the sinking feeling she knew what I was planning. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as I had thought.
A few minutes later, we came across a convenience store combined with a gas station. I expected Eleanor to undo the child safety locks when we pulled up to the pump, but alas...she did not.
"You stay here while I refuel the tank and pay." She ordered.
I was completely at a loss. "How do you propose you do that, Eleanor? You're clearly too young to drive. The second you try to pay, they'll know you stole a car!"
"You underestimate my skills." The girl bragged.
"No! You overestimate your skills!" I whispered angrily.
"Whatever." She grumbled. "Just STAY HERE and don't even THINK of trying any funny business."
"But..." I began, before she rudely cut me off.
"But nothing."
I felt my ears growing hot. She was really pushing me. "This'll never work."
"You gotta trust me. I know what I'm doing." She insisted.
I growled. "I'd trust you a lot more if you stopped treating me like a hostage!"
"I'll stop treating you like a hostage when you stop acting like a hostage. Try to work with me, not against me." She said sharply.
The stubborn girl shut the car door and I unbuckled my seatbelt. I rushed to the backseat to try and watch what she was doing. She managed to almost effortlessly get the nozzle from the holder and refuel the tank. How many times had she done this in the past? Maybe she did have more experience than I gave her credit for.
She finished pumping gas and I watched her pull a pair of stilts and an overcoat from Dave's trunk. Oh for cryin' out loud! Did she actually think that tired old trick would fool anyone? All I could do was hope and pray that I wasn't considered an accomplice in this situation.
If only I could send a message to someone, letting them know where I was. Wait a second! I did have my phone! I had everything in my backpack too, since I had been at school and never made it back inside the house to put my things away. I took my phone out of my pocket and tried to send out a text. FIDDLE STICKS! There weren't any bars!
Now what was I supposed to do? I couldn't call, I couldn't text, I didn't even recognize the town we had stopped in. I started rummaging through my backpack for something I could use to pick the locks.
This would have been so easy if I could just unlock the car from the driver's seat. Unfortunately, Eleanor already thought of that and positioned that giant mechanical leg, that she had been using to press the brake and gas, between the steering wheel and the door. She had blocked my main way to reach the unlock button.
Maybe I could take the mechanical leg apart. She'd be upset, but...at least I could get out of here. I set to work, using the screwdriver I found in my backpack to unscrew the control panel of her invention. I was confident that pretty soon, I could put this whole ordeal behind me and never speak of it again...until I was selected as a witness for the inevitable trial.
Eleanor's POV
I was so glad to be out of that car and away from the constant complaining and criticism. I didn't know how his brothers managed to put up with it. Before putting on my disguise, I made sure that the car was locked and that all the locks were thoroughly Simon-proof. The last thing I needed was him breaking out, running to a place with better reception, and then calling Dave to tattle on me. If he thought I didn't know exactly what he was planning, he was mistaken. I'm not as easy to outsmart as most people think.
It's easy to look at me and say "oh wow, what a cute little girl" not "oh wow. I bet she could kick my butt." I'll admit, I don't really do anything to discourage them from thinking of me that way. It's like...the ultimate disguise.
Speaking of disguises,...I carefully balanced on the stilts, keeping the long overcoat wrapped around me. I used a pair of shades to hide my eyes and a scarf to hide my mouth. I didn't have as much faith in this disguise as I told Simon I did, but I was going to go for it anyway.
When I approached the counter with the money, the gas station attendant gave me a very odd look. Nuts! Could the dude see I was just a kid under wraps? Was this a bad idea?
"Is there anything else you'd like, Miss?" He asked, putting the money I handed him in his cash register.
"No." I said, deepening my voice to sound less young and chipmunk-like. "Thank you. That will be all."
I walked away from the counter on my stilts with my head held high. Whoah! I am so good at this! He was none the wiser. Maybe he let me go because it was so late at night and he was half asleep. Or, maybe it was because he didn't pay much attention to me at all. That kind of made me angry. Like, yeah, okay I got away with it, but it was only because my presence was pretty much glossed over. Nothing I'm not used to.
I am a very interesting person! It's so crazy that someone like me could fly under the radar so often. I'm thankful to have this super stealth ability, but boy does it have its drawbacks. Still, I probably shouldn't be too upset about it. I'd be toast if he DID pay attention to me.
I stored my disguise back in the trunk of the car and scurried back to the driver's side door. I opened it and the first thing I saw was Simon attempting to take apart the mechanical leg that I had spent hours perfecting. Granted, I "borrowed" his blueprints for his robots to do it, but he didn't need to know that part.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, scowling.
He glared at me from behind those obnoxiously large blue glasses. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm breaking out. I'm done being your prisoner."
"Dude, you are making this WAY harder than it needs to be." I grabbed his screwdriver and held it out at him in a threatening way. "Now, GET back in that seat before I have to resort to drastic measures."
"What sort of drastic measures?" He just would not stop with that annoying attitude. "You don't wanna find out." I warned.
"Maybe I do! At least give me that answer!" He retorted.
So...I tied him to the seat using extra strength ribbons. He asked for it. He literally asked for it. I began fixing the mechanical leg, so I could once again use it to hit the gas. Without it, this car wasn't going anywhere.
Simon's voice shook my concentration. "How many more illegal things do you plan on doing?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, still trying to re-screw everything he messed up.
"Besides stealing a car, how many other illegal things will you be doing tonight?" He seemed extra unsettled now that I had him tied up.
"Ideally, only the car." I answered honestly.
"I don't believe you." He moaned. "You wouldn't be so concerned with keeping me here if it were only about the car."
He...kind of had a point there. "I swear it's only about the car. Well, and maybe a little dumpster diving, but that's it. Nothing more." At least, nothing more was in my plan at that exact moment. If an opportunity to get more evidence or a lead arose, I would take it.
"Do I have to do the dumpster diving?" He asked, sounding grossed out.
"Nope. I'll cover that." I finished repairing the mechanical leg and reattached it to the seat."You just sit tight...not that you have any choice." I couldn't resist letting out a chuckle.
I started up Dave's car again and began to drive out of the gas station parking lot. A loud scraping noise rang out as I drove past the exit sign. Uh oh.
"What was that?" Simon turned his head around, struggling against the ribbon restraints.
"Uh..." I didn't know what to say. I was being as careful as possible! How could this have happened!?
Simon saw the exit sign pass close to the passenger side window, much too close. He knew what I had done. "You scratched Dave's car!" He yelped. "He's going to be furious! You know how much he loves this thing!"
I felt the guilt nagging at me again. "It was an accident!" I shouted, as I turned the corner sharply and got back onto the main road.
"First it's a scratch, then it's a car crash." Simon continued speaking. "Face it, Eleanor. You CAN'T drive!"
My temper flared. "I wouldn't have missed the exit if you hadn't been asking me so many stupid questions!" I fumed.
"Don't you DARE try to pin the blame on me! I have made it abundantly clear that I want NO part in this!" He kicked both his legs against the seat and struggled some more.
This was not helping anything. I knew I had to admit to my mistake. Perhaps that would make him trust me more.
"Fine. Fine. I screwed up. It won't happen again." I assured him. "Now, let's listen to some calming music while I think about how to fix the scratch, okay?"
He scowled. "Do I have a choice?"
"You don't." I said, reaching across momentarily to turn the radio on.
After that, I immediately put both hands back on the wheel. There was no way I was risking another mishap. I cast a quick glance at my watch. That risky pit stop had cost me some time. I hoped I could still make it before it was too late.
