Barry Lyga - Time Will Tell

Id sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town

Hed tousle my hair and say, Son, take a good look around

This is your hometown

Bruce Springsteen, My Hometown (1984)

I awoke from a quiet night, I never heard a sound

The marauders raided in the dark

And brought death to my hometown

Bruce Springsteen, Death to My Hometown (2012)

B earing shovels and a pickax, they made their way up the hill that morning. Liam started whining about the climb halfway up, pleading exhaustion already, to the annoyance of the others. Elayah rolled her eyes.

Marcie did more than roll her eyesshe turned to Liam and held out her shovel, stopping him in his tracks.

Are you in or are you out?

I only had a grande this morning, Liam said with a wretched pout.

Grow up, Marcie told him, tossing her hair back. Stop being a pussy.

Microaggression! Liam cried. Hashtag me too!

The last of their foursome, Jorja, snorted. She had the pickax, which somehow imbued her with additional gravitas. Everyone turned to look at her.

Girls are allowed to say pussy, she informed Liam. Were reclaiming it from the patriarchy.

Sucks to be you, Marcie added with a healthy dose of snark.

Wait, wait! Liam made an almost mechanical sound deep in his chest. I think I think I know what the problem is. He gagged up a wad of something thick and yellowish, then spat it into the grass at his feet.

Elayah was the only one to react. Gross! she exclaimed.

Liam chuckled under his breath. Tall and dirty blond and crinkly-grinned, he was pretty much every aftershave and mens deodorant commercial come to life. He had a face made for YouTube and a body made for making girls swoon. Straight girls, at least. Elayah had done her fair share of swooning, and even knowing that he was playing her for the reaction to his phlegmy, male raunch, she was still frozen by those blue eyes and that saucy quirk of his lips.

Youre disgusting, she said just a moment too late. Liam laughed. He took a bizarre pleasure in tricking her, then pulling back the curtain. Always had.

Its up there. Jorja pointed to a spot just atop the hill.

The lady hath spoken! Liam shouldered his shovel andgrande or notdashed up the hill at a pace that made Elayah feel like a slug. First one up is ruler of the world!

Jorja reacted instantly, her long legs carrying her up the hill only a foot or two behind Liam. No fair! she screamed, racing.

Just then, Liam crested the hill. He spun around and lofted his shovel like a medieval knights sword, striking a legs-akimbo pose. I have conquered the mountain! he bellowed.

Not a mountain! Jorja yelled back, just a few feet from him.

Marcie sighed and shook her head, adjusting her glasses. She raised an eyebrow at Elayah. Are we going to race like those idiots?

Please, no.

Marcie laughed. Im glad.

Together they made a steady but unhurried trek up the hill. The incline rolled over into a broad, wide expanse of grass and trees. It would have been a mesa if it had been higher and drier. And in the Southwest. From here, they could see the dinky sprawl of town to the north, the Wantzler factorystill chugging along, barelyto the west, and the high school to the south, down the slope. Elayah allowed herself a moment to enjoy the view, then hustled over to where the others had gathered.

I think its this tree, Liam said, now all serious. It is, right?

Everyone glanced over at Elayah, who had already dug into her pocket for her phone. She consulted a document, pinching it wider. It was a scan of the yellowing sheet of paper shed found in one of the old yearbooks in the school library. There was a map of sorts there, with a scraggle of lines to indicate the copse of trees they faced right now, then a hasty circle to indicate the sun. Some ruled lines formed a right triangle between the sun, one tree in particular, and a spot on the ground.

The tree on the map had a callout to it, showing a capital B. The tree Liam had indicated had a rough, scraggly B carved into its bark, nearly overgrown but still distinct enough to identify.

Looks right, Elayah said. It had been more than thirty years since the makeshift map was drawn. They were damn lucky the tree was still there. Hell, they were lucky the hill was still there.

When shed told her dad about the treasure hunt, hed laughed and said, Honey, are you sure theres even a place to look anymore?

Fortunately, there was. The hill and the trees were older, slightly eroded, more than a little weary-looking, but still in the same places theyd occupied in 1986.