And honestly, even without the twelve-hundred-dollar windfall I believed was in here, shouldn’t there still be more than this? There had to be hundreds of people who put money into this jar.
But maybe I miscalculated. Or maybe I’d naively thought that most people would be handing over fives and tens, even the occasional twenty, when in reality, it was just the loose change at the bottom of their pockets.
Someone knocks at the door.
I gasp and look up as the door swings open—agonizingly slow.
Quint stands there, his hand still raised.
He blinks at me and looks from my face, which is already reddening, to the stack of dollar bills in my hands, to the near-empty donation jar.
THIRTY-TWO
“Prudence?” he says, brows furrowed. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry!” I spout, even though I haven’t done anything. Haven’t taken anything. Even though I have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.
I start shoving the money back into the jar.
“I was just dying to know what we made!” I laugh, and I know how nervous it sounds, how incriminating. My hands are shaking. “The suspense was killing me.”
He chuckles, a little uncertainly. “Yeah, right. I asked Shauna earlier and she said she hasn’t even gotten to it yet. That she’ll let us know tomorrow.”
“Gah, tomorrow! That’s, like, ages away!” I’m laying it on too thick. I try to calm myself down as I twist the lid back onto the jar.
“I know. So?”
I stare at him. “So?”
His eyebrows lift and he gestures at the jar. “How did we do?”
“Oh! Uh…” I shrug helplessly. “I’d only just gotten everything sorted. I didn’t have time to count yet.”
“Oh.” He still looks skeptical, even as he nods. “I guess we’ll both be surprised, then?” A moment of awkward silence passes between us, before Quint’s face starts to clear. “Regardless of how much it is, I know everyone is really happy with how the cleanup went. Mom said she’s even had a few people call about volunteer opportunities.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“Yeah.” He presses his lips together and I can tell he wants to say something, but I’m still too agitated to guess what it is. Too freaked out that he’s about to accuse me of stealing. Which … I didn’t do. Which … it wasn’t.
Was it?
No. No. I’m not a thief. Thieves are bad people. I am not a bad person.
I clear my throat and intercept whatever it is he’s wanting to say. “What are you doing here?” Then, realizing that’s a guilty-sounding question, I amend, “I didn’t think you were on the schedule today.”
“I’m not.” He leans against the doorjamb. “Has anyone told you yet? About Lennon?”
“Oh! Yes. The blindness.”
He nods and I can tell he’s waiting to see how I’m doing. To see if I’m devastated at this news. But when I don’t break down in sobs, he continues. “And they’re going to try introducing him and Luna.”
“That! Yes. Right. Of course you came for that.”
He chuckles. His look is no longer accusatory, and so my thumping pulse is gradually returning to normal. “That’s actually why I was looking for you. They’re getting ready to move Lennon.”
“Oh, great! Let’s go!”
I start to brush past him, eager to get out of this office. But I’m only two steps into the break room when Quint catches my arm.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
I look back, dread filling me. “Sure. Of course.”
“How, um…” His hand falls away and hangs at his side for a second. Then he scratches behind his neck. “After Shauna counts up the donations, how would you like us to let you know? I can call you … or send a text? Or email?”
I stare at him. “Um. I mean, tomorrow’s Tuesday. So … I’ll be here. You can just … tell me?”
“Right, except. I counted, and … today is your sixteenth day volunteering. Which, according to our original agreement, means that today is your last day.”
I lean back, startled. My mouth forms a surprised O, but no sound comes out.
Freedom, I think. I can have the rest of my summer to do whatever I want.
Why is it that I feel no joy whatsoever at the thought?
“And, in case you aren’t sure, I’ll definitely still help with the revised report. For Mr. Chavez. You held up your end of the deal, so I’ll—”
“I’m not leaving.”
Quint goes still. “Yeah?”
“I want to stay. I mean—Lennon needs me.” I gesture in some vague direction toward the first floor. “And I still have so