it's a no brainer

chapter 4 - toy store

It's officially been two months since obx came out and I still can't get it out of my head. If I didn't have wattpad and my gc idk what I would do bc my mom sure is over me talking about it. Anyways, enjoy the chapter💕 :)

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For the last week, Pope hadn't been able to hang out with Kie or JJ. It kind of a concerned him only because that meant that they might have been hanging out together which honestly triggered him. He had been feeling better ever seen they had their memorial for John B and kept wearing JB's hat because it was something that he could keep close. Something that he didn't tell the pogues was that he had been working on trying to get the gold back from the Bahamas.

He had finally convinced his dad to let him off early so then he could go to the library to do some more research. He debated calling JJ but decided against it since he knows he would just complain the entire time saying how it's summer and school doesn't come back for a few weeks. Pope couldn't believe that summer was almost over. They were going to be juniors already. What broke his heart was that they wouldn't spend it together. Although Kie had finally convinced her dad to send her to Kildare County High School, they still had one pogue who would be absent that coming school year.

As he walks into the Kildare County Library he scans his card and flashes the librarian a smile.

"Mr. Heyward, I better not see here after hours again. And don't you think about leaving a mess like you did last time because I have kids and can't get home too late."

"Sorry, Mrs. Vesey I promise I'll put everything back to where I found it," Pope replies as he climbs the stairs skipping every other step. He had planned to do more research into what happened to Robert Tanny, Denmark Tanny's son, and why he hadn't figured out his dad's message. He scanned the aisles looking for the History of Kildare County by Benjamin Newton. He picked it up along with a few more books he needed and walked to a table to spread them out.

He opens his notebook on the page he had made his last entry. On it was a family tree with Denmark Tanny at the top with a line connecting to his unnamed wife. Below them a line connecting them both to Robert Tanny, as far as Pope knew, his only heir. The true heir to the Royal Merchant treasure. He flips through what feels like a thousand pages before he comes across a plot of land that was bought by none other than Robert Tannehill. He couldn't believe his luck. Robert must have changed his name and moved out of the Outer Banks but stayed in Kildare so then he could start a new life without being associated with his father's death.

He grabs another book that has birth certificates and finds that Robert Tannehill had a single daughter Gwendolyn Tannehill. He investigates into another book for marriage certificates. After going back and forth for what seemed like years he finally hits a dead end with Elizabeth Elliot she had never married and he couldn't find any children with her last name born in the OBX. Only God knows how this is going to help him. He copies down all of the information he learned and made a few copies of some records. Pope packed up his bag and started to walk down the stairs until something catches his eye.

In bright bold blue letters is a back to school flyer. He knows John B would be proud of the research he's been finding out but knows that Kie and JJ won't care much about it so he keeps it to himself. As he's walking home he walks by the playground. Since it was dusk and the sun was about to set no kids were there. He decided to swing on the swings for a few minutes and reminisce about his old friend.

"Hey Einstein, whatcha readin'," says Braden. He was one of the meanest kids at Kildare County Middle School. Pope had always been kind of a loner, his best friends were the ones he read about in books like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. He had always wished he had a friend group like them, but things don't always work out for the 'Einsteins' of the world. Braden picked up Pope's backpack and opened its zipper. The contents of his backpack flooded onto the mulch of the playground. His mom was running late to picking him up and so he had walked to the playground to wait for her, obviously he wishes he had stayed at the school.