Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

thirty six

SCARLETT RAN her fingers through her hair as she stared at the test paper on her desk. She had forgotten all about the history test and so had revised nothing- not that she had any notes to revise from anyway. A breath of relief left her mouth as a knock at the classroom door caught the attention of the room. Looking up, Scarlett saw a man dressed in a very smart suit. "Mr. Sunn, can I borrow Pope for a minute?" The man asked.

Scarlett looked over to Pope, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What do you think he wants?" She mouthed.

Pope shrugged. "No idea." He mouthed back.

"We're in the middle of a test right now." The teacher explained, his voice no louder than a hushed whisper. He stood up from his chair, walking over to the man at the door.

"I'm from the Vanderhorst Foundation."

Scarlett's eyes widened, recognising the name. They were the people Pope had applied to do a scholarship with. The same scholarship he missed out on because of the Pogues' hunt for the lost gold. She watched as the teacher turned back to face the classroom, his eyes setting on Pope. "Mr. Heyward, it's for you."

Pope silently stood from his seat, following the man out of the room. Scarlett turned to Kiara and JJ, the three of them sharing looks of confusion. After a few minutes, Pope walked back in the room, a brown envelope in his hands. His eyes were wide as he sat back down in his chair.

"Okay, what was that?" Kiara whispered, leaning forward slightly.

Pope simply held the back of the envelope up, showing his friends the seal. Scarlett's eyes widened as she realised what the symbol was. "Oh my God." She whispered.

"Is that the wheat symbol?" Kiara asked.

Pope nodded, confirming what the Pogues were thinking. "Yeah."

JJ threw his arms behind his head as he sank back in his chair. "What the f-" He caught the teacher's eye, stammering as he changed what he was about to say. "Fu... fu... fudge?"

Scarlett shook her head slightly in shock. What would the wheat symbol be doing on the back of a scholarship envelope?

⭐⭐⭐

The Pogues walked into the library, just as the school bell rang. "Is this a game of tag?" JJ asked as he and Scarlett followed behind Kiara and Pope.

"I don't know." Kiara shrugged.

"Am I gonna have to beat you with your protractor?" JJ asked Pope. "What's going on?" Pope still hadn't said anything to them about the envelope, it's contents or his conversation during their history test.

"Pope. Talk to us, man." Scarlett whispered, avoiding the irritated gaze of the school's librarian.

The boy led them over to one of the free computers and Kiara took one of the seats. "Seriously, Pope, you are driving me insane." She whispered. Scarlett took the seat next to her, resting her elbows on the table.

"Okay, so that guy was from the scholarship committee." Pope began to explain. "Take a look at this." He handed the envelope to JJ, who tore it open. "Read it."

"Out loud." Kiara added as JJ stared blankly at the paper.

"I can't read cursive." He whispered, handing the letter to Scarlett.

She shook her head. "I can, but I'm too high right now to read anything."

Kiara sighed as she took the letter from Scarlett's hands. "You're high? Now, really?"

Scarlett nodded. "I ain't doing school sober."

Kiara shook her head at the girl, beginning to read the letter aloud. "Dear Mr. Heyward, I am reaching out because I have material evidence that can exonerate John B. Routledge."