28 A Girls’ Trip to Cuzco
Two weeks later the three girls visited Dr. Sam again in his den.
“What can I do for your ladies?” he asked, stroking Plato’s neck.
“We’d like to visit Cuzco,” Dante said.
Dr. Sam looked the girls over. “Any particular reason?”
“We just want to get out,” Spinny said.
“Who is ‘we’?”
“Rand, Dante, and me.”
“And I’m guessing you want to borrow the truck?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You feel ready to take it into the big city?”
“Sure. Yes, sir,” Dante said.
“All right. Could you take some of the others with you? I know Epic and Mia wanted to go to town too.”
“Well,” Dante said, “we just wanted a little getaway for the three of us. You know, just so we could get a little bonding time.”
“If you three were any more bonded, I’d have to use a crowbar to pry you apart.” Dr. Sam knew that the three of them were up to something but couldn’t figure out what it was. “When do you want to go?”
“Tomorrow after school.”
Dr. Sam thought a little more, then said, “All right. In fact, I could use a few things from the city. You’ll save me a trip. Next month is our ten-year-anniversary party for the clinic. We’re inviting all the surrounding villages to come celebrate with us. I’ll ask the kitchen staff what they need and make a list for you.” He looked at Spinny for a moment, then said, “You have a new necklace.”
She flushed. “Oh, yeah.”
“It’s pretty. Where did you get that?”
“I, uh… I found it.”
“You did? Where?”
“It was in the mountains. It was far away so I couldn’t ask anyone if it belonged to them.”
Dr. Sam just nodded slowly, clearly not believing her. After a minute he said, “All right. You can go.”
After they had walked out of the den, Dante pushed Spinny against the wall. “Where did you get that necklace?”
“I bought it from a lady.”
“With what money?”
“I used some of the gold.”
“You took gold without asking us?”
“Who cares? There’s a lot.”
“That’s not the point. It’s all of ours. How much did you pay for it?”
“Like, this much,” she said, holding her hand out.
Dante shook her head. “You are so stupid. That’s like two ounces. You traded two ounces for a gold necklace with like a gram of gold.” She let Spinny go. “What else did you buy?”
“I got a Coke.”
“You bought one Coke with gold?”
“Yeah. And some candy bars.”
“How much did you pay for that?”
“I don’t know.”
“How much?”
“Like, this much.”
“You paid at least seven hundred and fifty soles for a Coke. You’re an idiot. And we’re taking that out of your share. No, we’re taking double that out of your share for being so stupid. And next time you want some gold, you ask both of us. You could have let our secret out. Doc isn’t as stupid as you.”
None of them had any idea what that small mistake would cost the entire colony.