𝐽𝑈𝑆𝑇 𝑁𝑂𝑇 𝑌𝐸𝑇 / JJ MAYBANK

𝟸𝟽

DENMARK TANNY

"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asks, curious.

"Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed" JJ sits next to me, on a log. Around us sit the others, in a circle around a fire.

"You're ready for this?"

"Yeah." Kie agrees.

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." Begins John b.

"Oh, my God. Here we go again with this." Sighs Pope.

"No. All right, wait. Hear him out, all right?" Convinces JJ.

"It's been here all along. It's on the island." John b looks over at Kiara.

"Are you serious?" She asks, confused. "Oh my God."

"I'd like to voice my skepticism." Clarifies Pope.

"Of course you do, Pope." I laugh.

"yeah I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John b stands up and holds out his hand to Pope. "Proceed."

"All right. So, in my backpack-" he pulls a letter out of his backpack. "-I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

"Who the hell's that?" Kie questions.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out. Here you go." John b hands the letter to Kie, who then hands it to Emilia.
"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is....."

The others excitedly slap their knees as a drum roll. "-Tannyhill Plantation."

"What?" I look at my brother in shock.

"Tannyhill?" Kiara asks.

"Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Kiara smiles excitedly.

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out." John b takes the letter and shines it with Pope's flashlight. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Holy shit." Pope marvels.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold." Laughs John b in delight.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true." Adds Pope as JJ stands up and walks over to John b.

"I am a genius. Hey, whoa!" Says John b as JJ hugs him and lifts him up. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."

"You guys are really cute." I laugh.

"I'm so proud of you right now." Says JJ, looking into John b's eyes. "Thank you. That's really sweet of you."

"Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?" Asks Pope.

"Good question. So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She's gonna bring an original survey map-"

"Wait, wait. Hold on. Sarah? Why-why Sarah?" Kie asks.

"This is gonna be good." Murmurs JJ, sitting down and placing his hand unobtrusively on my thigh.

"Sarah, um, she-she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter." Explains John b.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kiara looks upset at John b. "Yeah, um-"

"He was mackin' on her." Adds JJ.

"Yeah, I still can't figure that one out, bro." I retort.

"I wasn't macking."

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron." Repeats JJ.

"Honey, honey-" I look over at the blonde. "You do realize that you're not helping with the situation at all right now."

"I just-"

"Just be quiet, JJ." I chuckle and he looks over at me with a smile, when he is then brought back down to earth by John b.

"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access."

"There was access, all right." JJ mumbles, and I just have to let out a short chuckle.

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie asks seriously.

"I was just trying to get into the archives."

"Is that a yes?" Kie then shouts.

"I-I left out key details."

"Yo, what? You let a kook in our secret? What about Pogue life? What about the T-shirt company, bro?"

"I was just using her for information."

"Okay, John b, I wasn't there, but come on, please don't lie to her like that." I say.

"Why don't I believe you?" Says Kiara to John b.

"Whose side are you on anyway, Emmi? Look, I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or- or, uh... send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies." John b points to Pope. "Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?"

"Uh..." JJ looks over at John b.

"Do you want us to answer that, or-" asks Pope.

"Just-just stop."

"Look, you don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her." Explains Kiara.

"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club." Says Pope, upset.

"Rafe and Sarah are two different human beings." Retorts John b.

"Right." I murmur.

"Sorry, Emmi, but it's like this, okay?"

"Yeah I know. Because Kiara is right. And so are you. Sarah is not the best kind of person." I stand up.

"Oh yeah, how would you know that? Huh?" My brother replies.

"Because I'm her brother's girlfriend, maybe?" I slip out, but immediately regret it. Because I hate to even think about the fact.

"That's right, I forgot. So you're mad at me but Emilia can be with Rafe?" John b says impulsively. The rest are silent, except JJ, who also stands up. "What?"

"Watch your mouth bro, I'm serious." JJ moves closer to John b so we can't hear what he's saying. "You don't know what she's going through with this guy so leave it at that, okay?"
JJ moves back to sit next to me and looks at Kiara.
"What did she do to you, exactly?"

"She's like a- like a spitting cobra. First, she- she blinds you, and then-"

"This is a bad analogy." Pope states.

"Listen to me! Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."

As the others continue to discuss, JJ moves closer to me to whisper something in her ear. "What about, you know, our kiss...do you think we should talk about that?" He whispers with a smile. I feel his warm breath on my ear and get goosebumps right away.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Maybe it would be better that way." I stutter slightly.

"Right." He smirks.