Lawrence Looks for Treasure

Part 2 - Chapter 4

4

Of course, everyone in Kinnard knew Professor Tessio. She was talked about everywhere. She was talked about on our favourite radio station, Hot 103.3, between hits like 'Californication' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and 'The Way I am' by Eminem and 'What's my Age Again' by Blink 182 and 'Ms. Jackson' by Outkast. She was also talked about in the paper, behind coverage of the Y2K bug, and the Bush v. Gore vote count, and what a fad the World Wide Web was becoming, after all. But we paid more attention to Professor Tessio. It's not every day that Kinnard produces its very own treasure huntin', globe trottin' brainiac.

Tessio was about thirty years older than us. She'd gone to Camp Okanagan with Chris's dad. At the time, though, no one knew much about her. Not a tremendously social gal. When she got older, she attended Kinnard University, eventually becoming a professor, a doctor of anthropology, an expert in ancient civilizations, a rich woman, a local hero.

See, way back when—I don't know, maybe a thousand years ago—Spain sent this guy named Cortez to explore the New World. He landed in Mexico, walked to shore and saw a kingdom made of gold: he saw the Aztec empire. It had subjects by the millions, stretching from North to South America. Though outnumbered, Cortez and his conquistadors had a trick up their sombreros—armor. Spanish steel helmets and chest plates were too hard for Aztec weapons. So Cortez, the thug, attacked their capital, killed their emperor, enslaved their people, and looted their kingdom. All this is well known. Look it up. What Professor Tessio discovered, though, was ground-breaking.

She found that Emperor Montezuma had hidden his most prized treasures the night before Cortez reached the capital. Through a network of indigenous tribes, Montezuma dispersed these artifacts across the Americas. Sadly, when Montezuma died, so did the knowledge of the treasure. It was never recovered. Forgotten for centuries. That is, I should say, until Professor Tessio.

She studied the history and mapped out the network. She travelled from continent to continent, and eventually found one of these artifacts. At the southern tip of Texas, she dug up a coffin. It was covered in jewels, and held a baby petrified in gold. She sold this shiny human sacrifice to the Smithsonian. She made millions. She made the paper. For years, her story filled our local news; for weeks, the national news; for a day or two, the internationals. It was the biggest event in our community since maybe ever. One store even sold little action figures of her, though the likeness was wanting.

That was a long time ago. When we were in elementary school. Since then, Professor Tessio hasn't done much. She did try to find the rest of the treasure, but never could. Most doubt that there is any more. Whatever the case, nowadays, Professor Tessio holes herself in the university, keeping even less company than before. When asked what she's working on, her lips are tight. Some say she's washed up. Others think she's gone nuts. Maybe she has. But according to Chris, Dr. Bella Tessio just made another big discovery.

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