FUMES [2], jj maybank

9. YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND

A FIRE IS LIT in the middle of all of us. My pumps are set aside and my dress is pulled on the way up to my knees. "Hey, guys. So, like, my dads already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope, as per usual, is panicking. "Ready for this?" John B asks. "Yeah," Kie and I both say in unison. "So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant."

I knew it. I fucking knew it.

"Here we go, again with this."

"Hear him out, alright?" JJ says to Pope. "It's been here the whole time. It's on the island," JB says.

I stand up and literally jump for joy at myself being right and the 400 million dollars worth of gold being in arms length. "Are you serious?" Kie asks. "I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope speaks out. I'm still reeling from the excitement when John B is going on about the evidence as to why it's on the island.

The map gets passed around as John B explains and I'm stunned. "Tannyhill Plantation!" Sarah's house? "What?"

"Tannyhill?" John B explains what Denmark Tanny did and how he bought his freedom along with other slaves their freedom but was sadly, lynched for his actions. "....In the last line of that letter he leaves a coded message on where to find the gold."

John B leans down in front of Kie and I, "Where?"

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except..there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out, " John B flips the paper around and shows it to us again, "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water." Everything starts to add up and I get more excited again. "All we need is an original survey map of the property! And we found the gold!"

"Okay, so this might actually have a small chance of being true," Pope says actually believing for once. "Holy shit, John B. You did it!" I exclaim. JJ leaves my side to give John B such a tight hug it lifts him from the ground. "Fire, fire. You're near the fire—"

"Sorry to interrupt the bro moment but, what's the plan?" I ask. "Good question, so Sarah Cameron is coming tonight—" My eyes immediately shift over to Kie. I didn't know about this. "Sarah, why Sarah?" She's already pissed off at the mention of her name.

  "Think quick, JB," I lean forward on my seat and listen as he stutters to explain. "Sarah, um, she—got me into the archives at Chapel Hill yesterday and that's where I got the letter." Two hours of getting ready and she never mentioned this to me? I'm not mad, just curious as to why. Kie's mad though.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" She looks disgusted which makes me roll my eyes and get ready to defend Sarah. "Yeah, uh—"

"He's mackin' on her." My boyfriend's words make me snap my neck and he shrugs my shoulders. "You're WHAT?" I shout. "I wasn't macking!"

"You were totally macking on Sarah Cameron!" I'm just blinking. I have no idea what to do. I'm too stunned and maybe grossed out. "I'm using her for access—"