A Big Box of Memories (4 page)

“Food doesn’t last a hundred years,” said Molly.

“Some does,” said Jody. “Like wine and cheese. They age and get better.”

“My grandpa had a bottle of wine that was fifty years old,” said Mary Beth.

“I’m sorry to be so fussy,” said Molly, “but I don’t like wine or cheese. It has to be something I like.”

The Pee Wees kept thinking. And they kept eating cookies. Then they were thirsty, and Mary Beth’s sister brought out glasses of milk. This was turning into a party. A what-in-the-world-will-Molly-do-now party. But Molly did not feel in a party mood.

“Why don’t you just put in an old hair ribbon or something?” asked Lisa.

“Yeah, or a pencil you used, or a notebook,” said Tracy.

The mention of a notebook reminded
Molly of her diary, and she felt like crying. She didn’t want to hear the word
notebook
for a long time.

“You always have to be different,” said Roger, who had been riding by on his bike and had smelled the cookies.

Molly hated those words. They were what her mom often said to her!

“It’s okay to be different,” said Jody. “It’s just that it’s a lot of work.”

Molly felt warm toward Jody. He knew how she felt! He knew it was okay to want something that was not ordinary.

“Molly is creative,” said Rachel. “Like artists and writers. It takes more to please them.”

“It’s her imagination,” said Kevin.

Rat’s knees, her friends were talking about her as if she weren’t there! As if she were some weird person who thought she was better than anyone else. She
didn’t. She just didn’t like to be second best.

She looked at Roger, who never worried about things. And Sonny, who couldn’t care less what he put in the capsule. He and Tim were busy taking the chocolate chips out of their cookies, throwing them in the air, and catching them in their mouths.

“All right,” said Jody. “I think the first thing to do is make a list of Molly’s interests. We have to think of what kind of thing she’d like to be remembered by.”

Mary Beth got some paper and a pencil. Jody wrote the number 1 on it.

“Do you like sports?” asked Kevin.

Molly shook her head. She didn’t mind playing softball in the empty lot in summer, but it was definitely not her favorite thing.

“If you liked football, you could have had my Vikings cap to put in,” he added.

Molly did not want to be remembered in 2100 for a Vikings cap. But it was nice of Kevin to offer.

“Thanks anyway,” she said.

“How about a hunk of your hair?” said Kenny. “My mom has my first curl from when I was little in my baby book.”

Molly did not think her hair was that important. What did her hair say about her? Especially if it wasn’t on her head!

“That would be small,” said Mary Beth helpfully. “And it would last.”

“What are your interests?” asked Jody, still waiting to write something after the number 1.

“You like movies,” said Lisa.

“And pets,” said Tracy.

Jody wrote those down.

“I mostly like to read,” said Molly. “And write. That’s why I liked the diary. It was my favorite thing to do, and it told all about me.”

Jody wrote that down. “So reading and writing should be number one,” he said.

“Well, the diary is gone and that’s that,” said Rachel. “I have an idea. Let’s have a treasure hunt! A treasure hunt for Molly’s best thing! Whoever finds the best thing gets a prize!”

“Who will give the prize?” asked Tracy.

“I will,” said Rachel. “I have two copies of the same video game. I’ll give one of them away.”

The Pee Wees liked video games. They all looked interested now.

“We could divide up and look all over town,” said Lisa.

“I think the first place we should look
is Molly’s house,” said Rachel. “That’s where there would be something personal. Something all Molly’s.”

The Pee Wees were trying to be helpful. But Molly knew her own house. What could they find there that she hadn’t?

“I
guess a treasure hunt would be a good thing to try,” said Molly.

“What we should do, then,” said Jody, “is hunt for an hour and then bring the stuff back here. Molly can choose what she likes the best.”

Jody looked at his watch. “Come back here at four o’clock. The one who finds the treasure gets the prize!”

Jody made it sound so easy! Weren’t
friends great? That was what Scouts were for, to help others. And Molly needed help.

“Will your mom care if we dig around your house?” asked Patty.

“I don’t think so,” said Molly.

Molly, Patty, Mary Beth, and Rachel went to Molly’s house. The other Scouts followed. Molly told her parents what they were doing.

“Good luck,” said Mr. Duff. “I’ll keep my eyes open too.”

The Scouts went their separate ways. Even Molly looked again.

At four o’clock the Pee Wees went back to Mary Beth’s house. Mary Beth’s sister gave them some lemonade. Hunting had made them thirsty.

“What did everybody find?” Mary Beth asked.

“Look at this!” shouted Roger. “This is the treasure that gets the prize!”

He held up a rusty nail.

“This is an attic,” he said.

The Pee Wees roared. “An attic?” shrieked Rachel. “I’ll bet you mean an
antique
.”

Roger turned red. He needs a dictionary, thought Molly. But he probably wouldn’t read it.

“It’s old,” said Roger. “And valuable.”

“Pooh,” scoffed Lisa. “It’s not old, it’s just a rusty nail that you can get blood poisoning from if you step on it.”

“I’m not going to step on it,” said Roger. “I’m going to put it in the time capsule.”

“Did anyone else find anything?” Mary Beth asked.

“How about Skippy’s bone?” asked
Patty, holding it up with two fingers. It was slimy and wet.

“It would smell,” said Molly. “Besides, it isn’t mine, it’s Skippy’s.”

Rat’s knees, Molly sounded fussy. Even to herself.

“I found this little pinkie ring,” said Rachel. “It’s too small for Molly to wear now anyway. It’s a baby ring.”

Patty shook her head. “It doesn’t say anything about Molly,” she said. “It could be from any baby.”

“What have the rest of you found?” asked Mary Beth.

Jody had found a pair of sneakers. Kevin had found an old doll. Kenny had found a plate of leftover cake Molly had baked. But nothing was right.

Finally Molly said, “I think I might have found the right thing in a box in the basement.” She held up an old book. “I
used this when I learned to read. It’s a teeny-tiny little dictionary. My dad gave it to me. I liked words even then.” She would put the dictionary in the time capsule! It would stand for Molly!

“It’s perfect!” said Mary Beth. “Can we see it?”

“I didn’t want to lose it, so I left it at home,” Molly said. “But you’ll see it tomorrow.”

“Rat’s knees!” said Rachel. “I wanted to find the best thing!”

The rest of the Pee Wees looked unhappy that they had not found the treasure.

“You’ll get the prize yourself,” said Patty. “For finding your own treasure!”

“Someone else can have the prize,” said Molly. “If we hadn’t had the treasure hunt, I wouldn’t have found the dictionary!”

Molly was relieved. When she got home, she’d put her name and address and the year in the little book. She would get it ready to take to Mrs. Peters’s house the next day. Ready for the time capsule. It was no diary, but it was definitely second best.

Molly wished she had a prize to give all the Pee Wees for trying so hard to help her. But she couldn’t waste time on that now. She had to get home and get the dictionary ready. It was almost Tuesday. Almost the deadline for the time capsule. Molly had never been a last-minute person. But now she was just under the wire.

She ran all the way home. She opened the door and ran in to pick up the book from the hall table where she had left it.

But it wasn’t there! The table was empty. It was shiny and clean, and there was nothing on it. Nothing at all.

Skippy was curled up in Mr. Duff’s chair. He was chewing on something. When Molly got closer, she saw what it was. Molly’s dictionary! Skippy was eating her time-capsule treasure!

W
hy was Molly the only one to have lost two treasures? Why couldn’t Skippy have eaten a different book? A scary book, or a boring book that nobody wanted? Why did Skippy have to eat a book at all? He had dog food in his dish that would have tasted much better.

“It was the leather cover,” said Mrs. Duff when she heard the news. “Dogs like leather. They make dog bones out of
leather. Skippy thought it was a dog bone.”

Molly was sure Skippy was smarter than that. A dictionary didn’t look like a bone. But it probably smelled like one.

Molly wanted to scold Skippy. But he had such an innocent look on his face. It wasn’t his fault the dictionary smelled like a bone.

“What am I going to do?” she cried. “There’s no time to find something else now!”

“You’re going to have to settle for something not quite as good as what you wanted,” said Mr. Duff.

Never, thought Molly. She would not settle. She would go to the meeting and hope Mrs. Peters would have a good idea. And hope that she could have an extra day to find the perfect thing. The
perfect thing was out there somewhere, but Molly had no idea what it was or where it was.

Molly hardly slept that night. When she did, she dreamed that Skippy followed her to the Pee Wee Scout meeting and ate up the time capsule with all the Pee Wees’ things in it! Skippy became a time capsule himself!

When she woke up, she was glad to find out it was only a dream.

At the Pee Wee meeting, Molly told her sad story.

“Rat’s knees,” said Mary Beth. “You better just take my barrette like I told you to.”

“I wish there was some way you could put your diary in after all,” said Jody thoughtfully. “But it’s just too big.”

“I think the time capsule should be bigger,”
said Tim. “I want to put in my Snoopy alarm clock. It doesn’t work anymore.”

Mrs. Peters shook her head.

“It can’t be bigger,” she said. “The box has to fit into the space in the cornerstone.”

“Why did they make the space so small?” asked Sonny. “That’s dumb.”

“You aren’t supposed to put your whole house in it!” said Lisa. “Just a memento.”

Tim looked as if he was thinking very hard.

Jody looked as if a lightbulb had gone on over his head. He looked as if he had a brilliant idea. But he didn’t say anything.

“Well, Molly,” said Mrs. Peters, “I can only give you until tomorrow afternoon to come up with something. We have to
get our capsule to the courthouse in time for the ceremony.”

When Molly got home, she threw herself into a chair on the porch. Suddenly she saw Tim walking by. He was walking fast. And he was carrying a shovel.

Molly went to her room. When she came down an hour later, Tim walked by again. This time his shovel had dirt on it. So did his jeans and T-shirt. He looked tired.

Then, after supper, he returned with the same shovel.

“Where are you going?” Molly called to him.

“It’s a surprise,” he said. “Tell you later.”

What could Tim possibly be digging that would be a surprise for
her
?

Night crawlers? Rocks? More treasure?

Nothing could help her now. She
would just have to grit her teeth and take the barrette Mary Beth had offered her. The barrette would have to be her gift to the children of 2100. That was all there was to it.