Ice Cream Summer

"Woah! It's melting all over my hand already!" I yelled.

The summer air was making me nauseous. Everything was in a shade of a warm yellow and was falling behind me as I ran towards my house. My body was drenched in sweat, but the faster I got there, the faster I could be relieved of this sweltering heat with a freezing cold taste of heaven.

The orange syrupy liquid was pooling onto my palm and left an uncomfortable stickiness. I quickly shoved it in my mouth so it wouldn't drip all over me.

"Same here! But we just got outside!" a girl running beside me complained. She had long straight black hair that matched her complexion. Her dark brown eyes were piercing , which contrasted with her round button nose. She was wearing a baseball cap and a white tank top with denim shorts. She’s also my best friend Rea.

"Ugh, I know! Let's hurry up and get to my house. I've got a great surprise for you!"

We sped away, leaving the heat and sweat behind.

"A treasure map? Sounds childish." Rea frowned.

I found the map on the floor when I was walking home from the library last week. It was buried under a thin layer of dirt, but I saw the edge poking out, so I grabbed it out of curiosity. It wasn’t really a treasure map because it was mostly made of clues. There were small illustrations scattered on the map. It was wrinkly an3d two letters were scrawled on the bottom right corner: M.C.

"But it's actually interesting! The clues look super hard, and the treasure might be something worth finding!"

Rea thought for a moment, scrunching up her face.

"Only if you give me something good for my 15th birthday."

I just remembered that her birthday was next week. I agreed, and off we went.

"According to the map, we have to 'read the magic book' first," I read aloud.

"Well let's go to the library then," Rea suggested.

We asked the librarian about a magic book, but she shook her head and shrugged.

I told Rea to split up and search for a magic book, which could look like anything and be anywhere in the huge library. The library was two stories high and I doubted we would be able to find it.

Right when I started looking, Rea started calling for me urgently.

"I found it!"

I was hesitant, but the title was clearly "Magic Book" and looked like what a magic book would look to me: old and “magic”-looking.

“That was easy.” Rea frowned. 

I laughed. She always likes challenges, but sometimes life is just too easy for her. 

She opened it up, and there was an object stuck in the book. A rusty key. Rea grinned.

"Meet the sea and go beneath."

"So should we go to the beach and dig?"

I wasn't sure, but we did it anyway.

"Where are we supposed to dig though?" I asked, clearly confused.

Rea didn't know either.

"If we're supposed to 'meet the sea and go beneath,' shouldn't we actually go in the sea, like, under it?" I asked.

"Oh."

We rushed home and changed into our swimsuits and grabbed our goggles.

We went back and jumped in the salty cold water.

"'Go beneath,' so maybe go under the water?"

"Yea," I said.

We looked under the water, but didn't find anything significant.

I ran back on the beach where I left the map under a rock.

"'Find the broken head and bring it to the sky.'"

"Look for a broken head!" I shouted to Rea.

She laughed and made an "okay" hand gesture and dived back in the water.

We scoured the shallow ocean floor and found nothing.

“I still can’t believe I’m doing a treasure hunt,” Rea groaned.

Just when we were about to give up and leave for the day, I saw something shining under the sand. I quickly dug it up with my fingers and there it was: a broken head. It was made of stone and mold was growing on it. There was a large crack at the top of it, and the eye sockets were hollow, like a skull. 

“Aha! I was right!” Rea exclaimed. I shook my head and chuckled. 

“Now we bring it to the sky.”

I held the head up to the sky and waited. Nothing happened. 

“Let me try! Maybe I have some kind of magical ancestry, since I found the book earlier!” Rea joked. 

Rea reached over to take the head, but slipped and dropped the head on another protruding rock in the sand.

“Oh no!” I panicked. 

The head was split into unfixable pieces. 

Rea made a sheepish smile.

“Sorry…” 

I sighed, but saw a wooden box. There was a keyhole in it.

“Rea look! Give me the key.”

She quickly handed me the key from her bag. I stuck the key in the keyhole, and thankfully, it fit. I turned it and the lid popped open. Inside was a slip of paper. I read it aloud.

“Congratulations! You have found the treasure!” 

Those were the only words on the paper. I looked up at Rea.

“Um, is that it?” Rea was disappointed.

I turned the paper over, hoping to find something else. There was nothing. 

I sighed and gave the paper to Rea. She was even more disappointed than me. 

She picked up the wooden box and stuffed the paper in it, but paused and looked like she was trying to read something.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.

“Woah!”

“What is it?”

“Mice Cream. This coupon is valid until August 31. It is reusable, and you can get free ice cream for yourself, and each person you come with.”

Rea’s eyes shimmered. I knew she was excited. Mice Cream was her favorite ice cream store.

The sun was setting and we agreed to meet up tomorrow and eat ice cream until we exploded.

I never knew that I would ever go on a treasure hunt again, after all, we were teenagers already. But this treasure was totally worth it. Free ice cream for the whole summer! Can you believe it?