Dennis took a moment to process what he just learned. He never would’ve tried taking that short cut if Vance hadn’t been so adamant about going there so often to find missing baseballs. However, the shock of what he just heard was quickly dissipated when he remembered what he discovered there.
“Okay, maybe it was dumb, but that doesn’t matter right now. While I was down there, I tripped over a bag full of old books, and I found this!” Dennis replied while taking out the book. “It’s a history book! From before they were outlawed!”
“Big deal. I heard most of the stuff in those things weren’t true anyway. That’s why Hendrick outlawed them, right?” Ricky asked.
“I don’t know why he outlawed them, but it all seems pretty real to me! Why else would they have taught it at schools for so long? And it’s fascinating! It even talks about the Gifted!” Dennis answered.
Once Dennis mentioned the Gifted, the other boys immediately started laughing uncontrollably.
“You’re kidding, right? You mean the superheroes?” Ricky asked sarcastically.
“There were hundreds of them!” Dennis replied, “and they protected Prokopios before the dome went up!”
Vance quickly started waving his hands to shut Dennis up before he got carried away. “Just because you found a book with pictures of superheroes, how do we know that makes them real?”
“That’s why we have to check the museum!” Dennis answered. “That’s the only way we can find out for ourselves! If it’s still there, it should have a bunch of old artifacts that would prove if this stuff really happened or not?”
Paul finally built up the courage to move his hand from his mouth and chime in. “But how do we know if the stuff is still there?” he asked.
“I guess we won’t know unless we go and check it out. Maybe it’s empty, but aren’t you guys curious? If this place is still full, it could change everything we’ve ever thought about Prokopios? Haven’t you ever been curious about where we came from or how we got here?”
The boys stood in silence. They couldn’t deny it. As much as it was discouraged at school and by their parents to ask questions about their past, there was always a burning desire to find out why exactly their past had been so mysterious.
“Whatever we find, isn’t it worth us checking it out at least? Paul, I know you must be curious, right?”
Paul as usual was trying as hard as he could to avoid any conversation which may even resembled confrontation.
“I mean, if you really want to, I guess I could too.”
Vance and Ricky rolled their eyes.
“So, I guess the vote is 2 to 2!” Vance replied.
“Actually,” Ricky interjected “as dumb as this sounds, and as dangerous as this is, do we have anything better to do?”
“Of course, we do!” Vance replied.
“Like what, Vance?” Ricky asked sarcastically.
“I don’t know! Watch TV, sleep, clean, or anything else”
“You know what Dennis?” Ricky replied, “I’m in, let's meet back here tomorrow after school.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you guys serious? We could get in serious trouble going to the surface. If my mom finds out, she will literally kill me. You all know that, right? You’ll see my face on milk cartons, but you’ll all know what happened! Is that really what you guys want?”
Dennis grabbed Vance by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
“Listen, Vance. How many times have I put my neck on that line for you? How many times have we all gotten in trouble over one of your stupid ideas?”
Vance was immediately reminded of all the times his antics got the boys all sent to detention together. While some of the stunts were Ricky’s idea, most of them were his. Needless to say, it was often.
“I promise you” Dennis continued, “we can leave right after school, and have you home before your mom even starts cooking dinner”
“And what if she finds out?” Vance asked.
“If she finds out, I will do your homework for you for the next 2 months. Including book reports!”
Vance paused to think.
“Make it three and it’s a deal”
Dennis gave Vance a huge hug and immediately started rattling off all the interesting things he remembered from the book. None of the boys paid much attention, as they were more interested in continuing their game, but that didn’t stop Dennis. He probably spoke more that afternoon than he had the entire summer but seeing Dennis this excited about something was oddly refreshing.
That night the boys went to bed anxious, knowing that the next day, they were planning to do something extremely illegal, reckless, and overall, stupid. They were fairly bright boys (with the exception of Vance), and usually wouldn’t do anything this dangerous just for fun, but it was a reflection of the loyalty they had for one another. They knew it was a risk, but if anything could make Dennis as happy as this museum idea did, then it had to be worth it. However, despite their resolve, they still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. As a matter of fact, they were all so nervous, they completely forgot that Vance lost a bet that day; but it didn’t matter. They knew Vance was never going to do it.
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