heroic explorers. This is one of my favorite activities.
I sat with my back to my horrible mother and kicked at weeds. There was a broken bottle and a lot of ants crawling over sludgethat used to be orange soda. I threw pebbles at a boulder, trying to make them land on the mossy patch on the top. I looked at my watch to see how many seconds had passed. I examined the sky, trying to see sideways how far Jane had climbed without actually looking in her direction. She had not gotten very far because she really needs me to be the leader on these expeditions. I could tell she was torn between wanting to show that she could climb by herself and being too scared to even try. I stood up and kicked some more weeds.
And that’s when I saw the bag.
2 • In the Bag
I t was lying just behind the boulder, mostly hidden by the tall grass. It was made of pink quilted satin, printed with green flowers, which is why it stayed hidden. It was about the size of a paperback book. It must have dropped out of someone’s purse. I stood looking at it, not even bending over, thinking hard and fast.
I looked around. All the way around. I turned a slow, casual circle to check in all directions. There were a boyfriend and girlfriend on a bench in the middle of a sloppy kiss. There was a man with a dog walking away down the path. No one was watching me.
My mother was watching Jane with a parental glow. Jane was inching up the rock face and concentrating hard. I sat on the boulder so that my foot touched the bag andgave it a little nudge. It was heavy. I slid my backpack off and put it on the ground. I leaned over to adjust a buckle and deftly popped the bag inside.
I had to open my jacket. I was sweating under my arms. I never stole anything before. But this wasn’t really stealing. Finders keepers, right?
Another swift glance at the family confirmed success. I was the proud owner of a secret.
I shouldered my pack and strolled over to watch Jane climb. She was almost at the top and had a big grin on her face.
“I’d just like to say I’m sorry for being a bully, even though I wasn’t really, but I certainly did not mean to harm Jane in any way.”
My mother’s mouth actually gaped open.
“I’ll be going now,” I added, before there could be any discussion.
I lunged at the rock and climbed fast. Mybackpack was going to stay on my back, like a koala baby, for the rest of the day.
Jane stuck out her tongue when I caught up with her, but I was way past fighting with a six-year-old.
“Hey, Jane! You did a great climb!”
She wrinkled her nose in suspicion.
“I mean it. Plus look down there.” I pointed to the couple on the bench. “Smooch Alert! Smooch Alert!”
She collapsed with glee. I had won back her heart.
We climbed rocks until Jane skinned her shin. We listened to a folk singer beside the boat pond, who made my mother’s face go all moony. It seemed like I could feel the little bag the whole time, burning like a hot-water bottle in the middle of my back.
We ate our lunch near the statue of Alice in Wonderland. We had peanut butter and jelly on bagels and cut-up melon and granola bars.
I thought I had a chance to look at my prize while my mother went to watch Jane climb Alice, but Jane just perched on one of the bronze toadstools, and my mother came right back to sit with me. My fingers lay inside my backpack, quietly stroking the satin.
We got ice cream from the man with one leg. We watched the miniature sailboats scud across the boat pond by remote control. When we finally got out of the park, my mother spent about seven hours looking at used books in the bookstalls on Fifth Avenue. She didn’t buy anything.
Hidden treasure was just a block away when we dragged our feet up the stairs of the subway station onto our very own street corner. So it was extra annoying that we bumped right into our neighbors, Sarah and Joe and their baby, Tucker, and got invited over for pizza.
More waiting. When the pizza got there, I
I sat with my back to my horrible mother and kicked at weeds. There was a broken bottle and a lot of ants crawling over sludgethat used to be orange soda. I threw pebbles at a boulder, trying to make them land on the mossy patch on the top. I looked at my watch to see how many seconds had passed. I examined the sky, trying to see sideways how far Jane had climbed without actually looking in her direction. She had not gotten very far because she really needs me to be the leader on these expeditions. I could tell she was torn between wanting to show that she could climb by herself and being too scared to even try. I stood up and kicked some more weeds.
And that’s when I saw the bag.
2 • In the Bag
I t was lying just behind the boulder, mostly hidden by the tall grass. It was made of pink quilted satin, printed with green flowers, which is why it stayed hidden. It was about the size of a paperback book. It must have dropped out of someone’s purse. I stood looking at it, not even bending over, thinking hard and fast.
I looked around. All the way around. I turned a slow, casual circle to check in all directions. There were a boyfriend and girlfriend on a bench in the middle of a sloppy kiss. There was a man with a dog walking away down the path. No one was watching me.
My mother was watching Jane with a parental glow. Jane was inching up the rock face and concentrating hard. I sat on the boulder so that my foot touched the bag andgave it a little nudge. It was heavy. I slid my backpack off and put it on the ground. I leaned over to adjust a buckle and deftly popped the bag inside.
I had to open my jacket. I was sweating under my arms. I never stole anything before. But this wasn’t really stealing. Finders keepers, right?
Another swift glance at the family confirmed success. I was the proud owner of a secret.
I shouldered my pack and strolled over to watch Jane climb. She was almost at the top and had a big grin on her face.
“I’d just like to say I’m sorry for being a bully, even though I wasn’t really, but I certainly did not mean to harm Jane in any way.”
My mother’s mouth actually gaped open.
“I’ll be going now,” I added, before there could be any discussion.
I lunged at the rock and climbed fast. Mybackpack was going to stay on my back, like a koala baby, for the rest of the day.
Jane stuck out her tongue when I caught up with her, but I was way past fighting with a six-year-old.
“Hey, Jane! You did a great climb!”
She wrinkled her nose in suspicion.
“I mean it. Plus look down there.” I pointed to the couple on the bench. “Smooch Alert! Smooch Alert!”
She collapsed with glee. I had won back her heart.
We climbed rocks until Jane skinned her shin. We listened to a folk singer beside the boat pond, who made my mother’s face go all moony. It seemed like I could feel the little bag the whole time, burning like a hot-water bottle in the middle of my back.
We ate our lunch near the statue of Alice in Wonderland. We had peanut butter and jelly on bagels and cut-up melon and granola bars.
I thought I had a chance to look at my prize while my mother went to watch Jane climb Alice, but Jane just perched on one of the bronze toadstools, and my mother came right back to sit with me. My fingers lay inside my backpack, quietly stroking the satin.
We got ice cream from the man with one leg. We watched the miniature sailboats scud across the boat pond by remote control. When we finally got out of the park, my mother spent about seven hours looking at used books in the bookstalls on Fifth Avenue. She didn’t buy anything.
Hidden treasure was just a block away when we dragged our feet up the stairs of the subway station onto our very own street corner. So it was extra annoying that we bumped right into our neighbors, Sarah and Joe and their baby, Tucker, and got invited over for pizza.
More waiting. When the pizza got there, I
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