Chapter 1 At recess Jasper John Dooley and Ori invented a new game They were tired of knights and hide-and-seek They really didn’t want to play babies with the girls The girls made them lie in the grass and wa-wa-wa and pretend to eat pinecones Today they were treasure hunters Jasper and Ori knelt in the sand near the jungle gym and dug The deeper they dug the harder it was Jasper grabbed a plastic snack container lying on the ground He used it to dig and gave Ori the lid I found something Ori called out Jasper peered into Ori’s hole Something glinted at the bottom Treasure Both boys attacked the hole with their hands Sand flew
all around them until Ori pulled the treasure out A bottle cap he said and slumped I thought it was gold They went back to digging Jasper found a worm It nearly got cut in half Jasper carried the worm over to the bushes and hid it under some leaves where it would be safe from birds and treasure hunters When he got back to his hole Isabel and Zoë were standing over Ori with their hands on their hips What are you doing Ori Zoë asked Digging for treasure What kind of treasure Gold Ori said Or silver Ha ha ha Isabel laughed Jasper asked her to move because her foot was almost in his hole You’re never going to find treasure here Isabel told him Jasper pretended the girls weren’t there but ignoring girls was the best way to interest them They bent over watching Jasper and Ori dig ooh-ing when Jasper hit something hard then giggling when he lifted a rock out of the hole
Jasper John Isabel said if you’re looking for treasure I have some in my cubby Jasper stopped digging and looked up at Isabel She smiled showing the empty front-tooth space in her mouth What kind of treasure Jasper asked I’ll show you Isabel said just as the bell rang Jasper and Ori followed Isabel and Zoë into the school In the classroom Isabel led them to her cubby where her backpack was hanging on a hook She unzipped the front pocket and reached inside it
