"He was different than anyone else, more rough and less polite in the best aspects. Being with him was like my own personal punishment, and my best gift all at once."
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"Hey, your face looks pretty bad there, Pogue. Starting to look like your father more," Rafe's voice continued, while laughs trailed behind.
"Oh shit, all right."
"Gentlemen, is there a problem?" I let out a sigh of relief, relaxing my hand and taking a step back.
Thank god.
"You powerpuff girls have fun," JJ said after minutes of mumbling conversation, and I laughed quietly.
"Tell Khalia she looks pretty hot for a pogue."
What.
—
The rest of midsommer turned into a mess, and suddenly I was being dragged away by John B, who seemed to be on a high of adrenaline.
"What the hell is going on? I'm missing my one shift of the night where I could be making bank," I huffed, crossing my arms.
"No, we're about to make more bank than a Chase bank could hold." JJ rebutted, raising his eyebrows and smiling.
"Is this that thing? That stuff with the compass? Guys, I thought you gave that up," I rubbed my eyebrow in frustration, turning away from the group.
"You ready for this?" John B asked, holding his hands up to increase the anticipation of the news. "The gold never went down with the royal merchant."
"The what never went down with the what?" I asked angrily, turning back around and facing him. "I might've just lost my job and you're talking about gold? John B, may I remind you we're a group of sixteen year olds with the same amount of money as a cracked out fein on the streets?"
"All right, hear him out," JJ intercepted, pointing to John B and sitting down on a random log that was sitting over the sand.
"Look, I have a note," John B took his backpack off, unzipping it and bringing out a tattered paper. "It's from Denmark Tammy." He practically boasted, as I felt like I had fumes booming out of my head.
"Who in the hell is that?" I narrowed my eyes, taking the paper into my own hands and John B went behind my shoulder to point at it.
"A slave that survived the merchant wreck and freed a bunch of slaves. He ended up using the gold to buy his freedom, then he bought a farm and sold a shit ton of rice, which severely pissed off the white planters."
My look of disappointment impeded John B before he mustered the courage to continue, "On the day they go to lynch the dude, he writes a farewell letter to his son."
"Drumroll please," JJ announced, creating a fake patting sound against the wood of the log.
"It's a coded message to find the gold, Khali."
"Yeah, fuckin right and I can fly like a little fairy, fuck off." I handed the paper back to him, slapping it on his chest and ripping off my apron.
"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water."
"John B, are you high right now?"
"Wheat is code for gold, K. The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."
