CHAPTER 3
“I’m sure geocaching is a great time,” Tim said. “But I am not spending my last day of freedom before eighth grade starts hiking through the woods.”
Brent laughed. “It’s more than just hiking,” he said. “I promise. You’ll really love it!”
“I thought we were going to spend the day at the beach,” Tim said. “You know, like we usually do on Labor Day.”
“I know,” Brent said. “But Dad got really excited about geocaching. He even bought something to give out as a prize. And we’ll make it back in time for the fireworks. I swear.”
Tim gave a deep sigh. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it. As long as you promise that as soon as we’re done, we’re back to the beach.”
“You got it,” Brent said, smiling.
Paul pulled something from the pocket of his jeans. It looked like a cell phone.
“I’ll send the coordinates to you guys,” Mr. Saber said. “Brent already has them in his device.”
Tim watched as Paul, Tyrone, Brent, and Mr. Saber gathered together in a huddle. They had three of the devices.
The four talked over each other, so Tim couldn’t make out any of the conversation. Finally, he’d had enough.
“Hey!” he shouted. The others stopped talking and turned to him. “What are you all talking about?” Tim asked, in a quieter voice.
The others stopped and turned to face Tim. “Haven’t you been listening?” Brent said. “We’re talking about geocaching?”
Tim stared back at Brent. “Right. Geocaching,” he said. “I know that. But no one has explained what exactly geocaching is,” he added.
“It’s very simple,” Paul said. He held out his device so Tim could see it. It was the size of a cell phone and had a small screen and fewer buttons than a phone.
“This is a GPS device,” Paul explained. “It’s connected to satellites, and it knows the coordinates where you are, no matter where you go.”
“Plus,” Tyrone said, “you can tell it the coordinates of a geocache. Then it will help you find it.”
“That doesn’t sound very simple,” Tim said. “In fact, I still don’t really get it.”
Brent smiled. “Think of it like we’re treasure hunting,” he said. He held up his own GPS device. “This is like the map, with an X to mark the spot,” he said.
“Except you don’t get to keep the treasure,” Mr. Saber explained. “You just find it and leave it where it is, for someone else to find another day. Instead of taking it, you sign the log so people know you were there.”
“Treasure hunting,” Tim said, “without a treasure. Sounds . . . boring.”
Brent shook his head. “Look, just give it a try, okay?” he said. “It’s fun. I promise.”
“And since we’ve got a few beginners here,” Mr. Saber said, “we’re going to make it more exciting.”
He dug around in the bag on the Sabers’ blanket and pulled out a small wrapped box. “The team of two who finds their cache first and makes it back to the picnic blanket will win this prize,” Mr. Saber said, holding up the box.
“I like prizes,” Tim said. “What is it?”
Mr. Saber smiled. “Let’s put it this way,” he said. “It’s something Tyrone, Paul, and Brent used a lot this summer.”
It’s got to be a computer, Tim thought.
“Okay,” he said. “Who’s on my team?”
“We better split up the twins,” Brent said. “To make it fair. I’ll take Tyrone, you take Paul.”
“Sounds good,” Tim said. “When do we start?”
“Right after we eat,” Brent said. He took a bite from his foot-long hot dog.
“Oh, right,” Tim said. He put a hand on his stomach. “I knew I forgot something. I’ll be back after I eat.”
“Hey, Tim,” Brent said as Tim turned to head back to his own blanket. “You’d better find something to wear on your feet instead of those flip-flops.”
Tim looked at his feet. “Why?” he said. “What’s wrong with my flip-flops?”
“You can’t go hiking in the woods in flip-flops,” Mr. Saber said.
Tim nodded and started off. “Some day at the beach this is turning out to be,” he grumbled to himself.
He made it back to his family’s blanket just as his dad was walking up with a big cardboard tray of food.
“Just in time,” his dad called out, smiling. “What a long line! I thought I’d never reach the front.” He handed Tim a hot dog. It was slightly burnt on the outside, just the way he liked it.
“Now this is what the beach is all about,” Tim said.
I just wish my friends wanted to spend the day my way, he thought.