𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗 ⚓ 𝙹𝙹 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔

03

Malia sat next to Kiara as the small fire the boys built crackled. Her dress was now slightly dirty, and she took out the bobby pins that held her hair in place. She almost looked like she’d been out in the forest, surviving for weeks.

“Hey, guys. So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So, what's this mandatory meeting about?” Pope asked, tossing a few rocks into the flames.

John B looked at the boy and shot his finger guns at him.

JJ perked his head up as he fumbled with a piece of bark, “Might as well tell him, man, before we’re gaffed,”

“You ready for this?” John B asked, looking at all five teens.

Malia nodded her head, brushing her fingers through her tangled hair.

John B looked to the ground for a second, “So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant,” he started.

Pope let out an annoyed sigh, “Oh, my God. Here we go again with this,”

“No, wait. Hear him out, alright?” JJ shushed him, waiting for John B to continue.

Once the brunette got everyone’s attention again, he smirked, “It's been here the whole time. It's on the island,”

“Are you serious?” Kiara asked, “Oh, my God” her confused look turned into a cheerful one.

“I’d like to voice my skepticism,”

“I’m sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?” John B stood from his seat, walking over to where he and JJ left their bags.

“Proceed”

“All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny,” John B smiled as he retrieved a folded sheet of paper from his bag, “Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out,”

His fingers fumbled with the letter for a second, handing it to Kiara to read.

“Okay, slaves weren’t mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery” the boy explained as he watched Kiara hand the letter off to Malia, “So, Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm,”

Malia read over the paper before handing it off to JJ to give to Pope, “Is that Tannyhill Plantation?” she looked at the boy.

John B’s smile dropped as he made eye contact with the girl, “Mal, you kinda ruined my moment,” he muttered.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she covered her mouth, "It was the last name, I'm so sorry JB"

Kiara let out a laugh and JJ followed. Pope tried not to chuckle but found it rather difficult.

Malia waved her hands around, silencing the laughter, “Forget I said anything! Forget I said anything!” she glanced up at John B, “So, he bought a farm?”

“Anyway,” he sent the girl a glare, “Drumroll please…”

The four began slapping their knees and stomping their feet to help John B regain momentum for the grand reveal that had already been spoiled.

“You know what, stop it,” he groaned, “Malia already ruined it. Yes, it's Tannyhill Plantation. Thanks, Mal,” he playfully rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Anyway, so, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton-”

“Language,”

“Crap-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him,”