vibrant

fourteen; i'll be here

Ophelia shivered in the cool night air until the Pogues built a fire to warm them up. Then, she sits as close to it as she can, relishing in the warmth of it as her friends surround her. With her high heels and her headband on the ground next to her, Ophelia sighs, looking around the circle and smiling to herself. Jj sits down beside her, nudging her elbow with his and making her grin at him. He returns the expression, and Ophelia feels her cheeks heat up slightly as she remembers the feeling of his lips on hers. He had changed out of his suit as soon as he got the chance and honestly, Ophelia was a little sad, she thought he looked really good in it. Is it even her place to think he looks good? Ophelia asks herself. To drown out her thoughts, Ophelia tries to listen to the cicadas singing in the distance.

"Hey guys," Pope suddenly says, drawing the Pogue's attention, "So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me-"

"Mine too," Ophelia adds, already knowing she's gonna get an earful when she returns home.

"-So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope finishes, looking around the group expectantly. Ophelia sees John B shoot some finger guns at Jj and Ophelia stifles a laugh. He does that way too often.

"Might as well tell 'em man, before we get gaffed," Jj says, making Ophelia raise her brows.

John B, from across the fire, looks Ophelia dead in the eye, "You ready for this?" He quietly asks.

"Probably not," Ophelia shrugs, mindlessly fiddling with her fingers, "But tell us anyway."

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," John B states, and Ophelia can't help but internally groan.

"Oh my god," Pope complains, "Here we go again with this."

Ophelia nods, "Yeah, I thought we were done with the whole treasure hunt thing."

"No, alright, wait," Jj pleads, looking between the two brainiacs of the group, "Hear him out," Then Jj lowers his voice, leaning slightly closer to Ophelia so only she can hear him, "I swear, it's worth it, Lia."

With a small sigh, Ophelia gives the blond boy a short nod before turning back to John B, who looks smug as he speaks, "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."

"Are you serious?" Kiara asks, her excitement clear in her tone, "Oh my god!"

"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope immediately says.

Ophelia nods, "Me too."

"I'm sure you would, nerds," John B chirps with a teasing smile on his face, standing up and walking around the fire, "But can I please present you with my evidence, sir and madam?"

Pope waves a hand, "Proceed."

John B turns his gaze to Ophelia, searching for an answer. She does the same motion and puts on a pretentious accent as she speaks, "You have the floor, council."

"Alright," John B says as he leans over his bag and unzips it, he pulls out a folded piece of paper, "So, in my backpack I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

Kiara interrupts him, "Who the hell is that?"

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant Wreck, check this out," John B unfolds the letter and hands it to Kiara. Ophelia watches Kiara's facial expression as she reads it, disbelief crossing her features as John B continues to explain, "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," Kiara stands and walks the letter over to Ophelia. Letting her green eyes scan over it, Ophelia lets out a low whistle, the story starting to make sense. She hands the letter to Pope, who starts to analyze it in the same way Ophelia had, "After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll please, because that farm is..." With a grin, Ophelia and Kiara both hit their hands off their knees, creating the sound John B had asked for, "Tannyhill plantation."