“You have got to be kidding.” I turn and look at Tim, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I don’t know anything about cracking safes.” Marcus struts over, puts his arm around my shoulder, and turns me back towards the safe.
“That’s okay,” he begins, “Because you’re really smart. I know you can figure it out.”
Standing in front of it, the safe sits on the basement floor, nearly as tall as I am.
“Marcus... I don’t know anything about cracking open safes.”I repeat, but I can see he’s not listening to me.
“Look at this thing.” He kicks it with the toe of his shoe. “It’s ancient. It can’t be as hard to open as the modern safes we have today. Besides...” He turns and looks directly at me. “Imagine what could be inside.”
I catch a far-away look in his eyes. I assume he’s imagining the wealth he thinks could be inside and what it could mean.
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I look at Tim; he just shrugs his shoulders and says, “It could be a game changer if there really were valuables inside.”
“He’s right! And whatever we find, we split three ways.”
I look at the safe again and notice scuff marks up and down the sides.
“I see you’ve already tried to open it.” Marcus turns away.
“We tried getting it open by brute force.” Tim chimes in.
“And why do you think I’ll do any better getting it open?”
Turning to face me again, Marcus says, “You were always the smartest kid in the class when it came to math and geometry. That must count for something at getting a relic like this open, right?”
I take a deep breath, suddenly overwhelmed with the thought of trying to open it. The image of a stethoscope comes to mind, and then finding piles of cash begins to pique my interest.
Whoever lived here is long gone, so there couldn’t be any harm in taking what’s been left behind, right? If there was enough money, I wouldn’t have to bother going to college and racking up debt. I imagine myself never having to work for the rest of my life.
“Okay, I’ll do it.” Marcus claps his hands together in excitement.
“But I’m not making any promises.”
“Great! When can you start?” Marcus rubs his hands together in excitement.
“Let me do some research and find out what it’s going to take.”