Our next spot was the library. On the plaque was a Sherlock Holmes quote, so we pulled off every Sherlock Holmes book we could find on the shelves. 

"I found the tip!!" Ruby said. We lifted our heads, only for him to show us a huge dick someone drew in one of the books, "And the balls and the shaft."

"Now's not a time for dick jokes," Monse said.

"There's always time for dick jokes."

"Cesar needs us. Stop dicking around," Monse said.

"You do realize that was another dick joke?" Ruby said. 

I snapped my fingers at Ruby, "Back to work!"

I grabbed one of the books, opened it, and saw a Santos cross on it with the elements Promethium, Phosphorous, Lanthium, and Neon. 

"Guys!"

We found a periodic table and tried to figure out what those four had to do with each other. Monse grabbed a Post-it and wrote the symbol for each.

"It's a compound!"

Pm P La Ne. 

"Pimp Lane!" I said.

"It's Pimp Lane!"  Ruby said, "This shit's real. Oh, we gotta go. The game's afoot, bitches."

We biked to Pimp Lane, and I made sure to lock my bike so no one would take it. As we walked by, we saw a couple getting freaky, and Jamal somehow got a weird recording of it.

"Trying to figure out if that's a boob or a butt," Ruby said, making me roll my eyes.

"It's a boob," Jamal said.

"No boobs! Let's go!"

We looked everywhere we could, but we found nothing. Absolutely nothing. We were all tired and defeated. All I wanted to do was go home and jump in bed, but I couldn't. Not until we found this goddamn money. 

"We could go back to the library!" Monse said, sitting on a couch next to the couple who were still making out.

"Oooo, I wouldn't sit there," Jamal said.

"Library's closed," Ruby said.

Monse and Ruby started arguing while I followed Jamal because he said he saw a path. I pulled out my phone flashlight and started walking until I saw something.

"It's a Santos cross," I said as Ruby and Monse walked over, "En las sombras del tiempo. In the shadows of time. Ok, but what's 6479?"

"It's a sundial!" Jamal said, "Chivo said Lil Ricky loved 'em."

"What do we do with it?" Monse said, "There's no sun!"

Jamal laughed, "Watch and learn, my crab-infested friends."

He took out a pen and phone flashlight, positioning the pen over the light and casting a shadow onto the letters. 

P O O L

"Pool! But where's the pool?"

"The community pool!" We all said.

"Lil Ricky, you can suck it! Because nothing gets past us!" Jamal said.

We went back to our bikes, only for Ruby and Monse's bikes to get stolen, so we hitched a ride from Abuelita. If I told Izabel where I was, she'd rat me out. 

"What are you doing at Pimp Lane?" She asked.

"What do you know about Pimp Lane?" Ruby said.

"Mijo, I wasn't always old! I was once what they call a sure thing!"

I raised my eyebrows, not wanting to picture that. 

"I think I'm gonna throw up!" Ruby said.

"Don't slut shame me!" she said, making me laugh. 

We got in the car and drove to the pool, only to find ANOTHER dead end. The worst part was Jamal accidentally launching himself into the pool and taking me with him. I hit him SUPER hard for it and then chased him in an attempt to strangle him, but he outran me.

"Jamal, Ariana, why are you two soaking wet?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. What happened ain't right," Jamal said.

"What's not right is there's no Santos Cross!" Ruby said, "Google said there's 19 pools in Freerdige."

We were about to go to another pool when Jamal made a theater reference. The Robert Pool Theater. Abuelita immediately drove us there, and when we got there, a Macbeth play was happening. 

Jamal and I changed with Abuelita's clothes in the back and then we all looked around the theater. With Jamal's interrupting, we found a cross backstage. 

"Find your center," it said.

"That doesn't make sense!" I said, frustrated.

We tried to retrace our steps, but nothing came up still.

"Ta-da!"

"What is this?" Jamal said. Abuelita was on stage holding a map. We looked down at all the spots Abuelita circled.

"This is finding your center!" she said, "The park, the library, Pimp Lane, and now here. Four points!"

We didn't get it until she spelled it out for us, "It's a cross."

She connected the points to make a cross, and I was starting to get it, but Monse and Ruby didn't.

"Do you know what's in the center of these four points?" she said, circling it, "A place with muchos santos."

The church! Of course! It all made sense, I thought. 

We looked around the entire church, and we all gave up, sitting down on the same pew.

"Is it just me or is that baby Jesus throwing a gang sign?" Monse said.

"He's repping the Santos!" Jamal said. 

We got up. Out of frustration, Ruby hit his hand on the altar, and it made an echoing sound. Ruby and Jamal lifted the top, and then, after what felt like we'd found nothing, it was right there. In front of our eyes. Ruby opened the chest, and there was the money.

"We did it!" I said.

"We just saved Cesar!" Jamal said.

"This is surreal! We need to memorialize the moment and send it to Cesar!" Ruby said, pulling out his phone. We took a selfie and Ruby put one of the coins in his mouth, only for something unexpected to happen.

"It's chocolate."

We rummaged through it. It was all chocolate. A small figurine caught my eye, and it was a gnome with a tag on it.

"You won. Enjoy your treat."

"Chivo," Jamal said.

 "That rat bastard," I said.

Monse's phone rang. Cesar was calling her.

"I got nothing," she said, "I'm so sorry. Cesar. Cesar, say something!"

No response.

"Oh my god," she said. Jamal tried to hug her, but she pushed him, "You better pray he's ok!"

"We'll get the money, and he'll be safe!"

"We could've had him out of town by now!" Monse yelled.

"This is just a mislead," Jamal said, "Right, AJ?"

"Dude, you fucked up," I said quietly. I was so unbelievably pissed and scared, scared for Cesar, pissed at Jamal, and at myself for not shutting this down sooner.

"I told you we should've put him on a bus!" Ruby said. 

"He needs money to get away! Rollerworld is that money! We just gotta-

"Gotta what?" Monse said, "You live in a fantasy, Jamal. Grow up. You just ruined Cesar's life. He's never gonna be the same!"

"Come on, Monse, that's not fair to put that on Jamal-

"And you!" Monse said, turning around and pointing at me, "Why are you always defending him? You of all people should've shut this BS down! I thought you were the COMMON SENSE one in the group!"

I was about to say something back when Jamal beat me to it.

"Cesar ruined his own life. He's in a gang! That's the reality! And you think I'm living in a fantasy?! You're the one who's living in a fantasy thinking you can save Cesar. It's not gonna happen. Ever. Cesar was born a Santo, he's gonna die a Santo. So, stop lying to yourself, sweetie!"

Ruby and I looked at each other nervously, knowing Monse was gonna blow. 

"I'm lying to myself?" she said, stomping over to him, "Your whole life is a lie! Those fake ass injuries. Bullshitting your parents. The football team. Thinking AJ is EVER gonna want to be with you?! You're the biggest fakest liar and I hope I never see you again!"

That last part made my eyes widen, and so did Ruby's. But now was not the time to think about that.

Ruby followed Monse out, leaving me, Jamal, and Abuelita. 

While the two of them talked, I just started crying. That's all I COULD do. Sit there and cry like a little girl. 

Jamal slowly walked away with tears in his eyes. 

"Abuelita," he said, "Tell Olivia I can't make her quince."

I stood there silently as Abuelita looked back at me.

"Mija," she said, hugging me as I still cried.

"I don't know what to do," I said, "I just, I-

"Go after him," was all she said.

Jamal slowly opened the door and left. I looked at her, nodded, and ran out. 

"Jamal!" I said, running after him.

As he turned around, I threw my arms around him and kissed him. I pulled away first and looked at him, unsure of what to say or do next. Before I could say anything, he grabbed the back of my head and kissed me.

I might've been exhausted, covered in chlorine and sweat, but I'd never felt more alive in that moment.