CHAPTER 2
The Labor Day fireworks in Pebble Junction were an annual celebration that had been going on for almost a hundred years. The fireworks were held down at the beach, right on the harbor. Before the fireworks, there was a big barbecue.
Everyone in town went. It was something Tim looked forward to every year. It was the perfect way to celebrate the last day of summer.
The big barbecue started at noon on Labor Day. Tim’s family got there at about 11:30 and grabbed a great spot to picnic. They set up their chairs and blankets halfway between the food stand and the gentle waves from the lake.
“I knew we should have gotten here earlier,” Dad said. He put his hands on his hips and looked at the long line at the food stand. “They better not run out of spicy sausage.”
Mom patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, dear,” she said. She winked at Tim.
“I guess I’ll go look for Brent,” Tim said. “The water looks great, so I hope he brought his body-surf board.”
“I’ll grab a couple of hot dogs for you,” Dad said. “Come back in a few minutes.”
Mom waved as Tim started off across the sand.
The beach was packed. Tim had to walk slowly and weave around blanket after blanket. Before he’d gone a hundred yards, he’d seen at least ten families he knew.
Finally, Tim spotted Brent’s dad. At over six and a half feet tall, he wasn’t hard to find. He was standing on a blanket near the forest.
“Hey, Mr. Saber,” Tim called out. He started walking over. Brent’s dad spotted him and smiled.
“You’re just in time,” Brent’s dad said when Tim reached him. No one else was there.
“Where’s Brent?” Tim asked. “He’s back from computer camp, right?”
“Like I was saying,” Mr. Saber said, “you’re just in time. Brent will be back in a minute. He went to meet up with Paul and Tyrone.”
“The twins are here too?” Tim said. “Cool. It’s nice to have my best friends back in town.”
“And when they get here, we’ll start the competition,” Mr. Saber said.
“What competition?” Tim asked.
Just then, Brent and the twins walked up. Mr. Saber ignored Tim’s question.
To Tim’s surprise, the other boys weren’t dressed right for the beach. Instead of wearing shorts and T-shirts, they were all in jeans and hiking boots.
Mr. Saber said, “Look who showed up while you were in the lunch line.”
“Hey, Tim!” Brent said. He gave Tim a high five. “Did you have a good summer?”
Tim shrugged. “Terrible, actually,” he said. “It rained here every single weekend. I didn’t get to the beach one time.”
“I heard,” Brent said. He frowned. “Well, up north the weather was great.”
Tim smiled. “Like you need great weather to goof around with computers all summer,” he said.
“We weren’t at the computers all summer,” Paul said. “Like I told you, we went geocaching a lot.”
Tim scratched his ear. “You went what?” he asked.
“Geocaching,” Brent said. “That’s what we’re going to do right now, too.”
“Oh, no way,” Tim said. He held up his beach towel. “We’re going swimming and bodysurfing. Then we’re eating hot dogs and watching fireworks. It’s the last day of summer.”
“Trust me,” Brent said. “You’ll love geocaching. It’s even more fun than bodysurfing.”
Tim looked across the crowded beach at the waves crashing on the lakeshore. He didn’t know what geocaching was, but he didn’t plan to let it stop him from hitting those waves.