The Treasure Book

"All right... English..." Ashley panted, out of breath from running to class then added, "If I remember correctly Clara, your first class should be further down the hall." Clara nodded and waved goodbye to her friend. Clara continued running, looking at the doors along the way. "Chemistry... Chemistry... Which one is Ch-" "OW!" Clara stopped to see that she ran into a junior girl. "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, TUBBY!" the girl shouted. Clara, not having any time to stop, ran off and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I'm late for class!" the girl stood up and clenched her fist, "No one hurts me and gets away with it... If i see her again, I'll... well, I'll do something! I just can't stand here, I'm late for class too!" she thought out loud and ran off to class.

While Clara was in class, she couldn't stop thinking about that book, (Why was that book in my locker? How long was it there? Is it some special book that tells of secrets that could benefit humanity? ...Or is it just some boring history book? Doesn't matter. I'll look at it during lunch.) "Daydreaming Ms. Lee?" Clara let out a short scream when her teacher asked her a question, causing the other students to laugh in an uproar. "S-Sorry Mr. Jones... It won't happen again..." Clara stuttered, her face completely red from embarrassment. The middle-aged teacher nodded and headed back to the front of the class.

Later...

"Man... Chemistry and Social Studies is so boring... At least it's lunchtime." Clara smiled and grabbed a tray of food, sitting next to Ashley. "Well, that was a boring first day... How was to for you?" Clara asked her friend . "Well, I don't think anything interesting will happen on the first day. That being said... BOOOOORIIIIING!" Ashley replied with a loud moan, which made Clara laugh, "Well, I see that you're still so energetic. I spent all of my time in class, thinking about... the book!" she gasped and reached into her backpack for the mystery book.

While she was looking, a familiar voice approached the two, "Ashley! Clara! It's me, Joe!" "Come on, where is that book?" Clara muttered as Joe asked, sitting down at the same table, "Ashley? What's she doing?" Ashley smiled and replied, "Well, remember that book Clara found in her lock-" "FOUND IT!" Clara cut her off, holding the book in the air. "Uh... yeah. da, da, da, daaa." Ashley said unenthusiastically then added, "Well, what kind of book is it?" Clara looked at it and said, "Well, it's a dusty one... Hold on." Clara stepped outside and blew off the dust which caused a huge puff of dust to cover her body. She shook herself off and went back inside.

"Whew... Really dusty!" Clara added, still slightly covered in dust. "Now... let's see... Famous Mansions of the World. It's just a book about mansions?" Clara said, underwhelmed and sighed, "Guess I got excited for nothing." "I wouldn't say that." Ashley added, pointing at the book, "I see something sticking out of the book." Clara looked where she was pointing and she indeed did see something, a yellow piece of paper. She opened the book to see what it was as her eyes widened, "It's a note. "To whoever is reading this, perhaps you will have a better idea to the whereabouts of an amazing treasure." "TREA-" Ashley was about to shout until Joe covered her mouth as he whispered, "You don't just yell "treasure" in public. people will get suspicious. Read on Clara." Clara nodded and began to read more, "My name is Arthur Jones. I am a sophomore at Oakwood High, and have discovered that a rare golden ring is hidden somewhere in this small town of Elmridge. As for the whereabouts... I have no clue. The location of the ring is supposedly hidden inside of a mansion somewhere here, but nowhere in this book is there any mansion that exists in Elmridge. I've looked through the book probably ten times, but nothing. Since now that I am finished with high school and am moving away for college, I thought I would give this challenge to another student. P.S. I also checked online and couldn't find anything there either." Clara closed the book and asked the others, "What do you think? Should we bother?" Ashley gasped, Should we bother?! It's gold! We'll be rich!" "If we could find it..." Joe added, "This Arthur guy said that he couldn't find any information online. Either this mansion is old, or this is just a joke." Clara stood up, still thinking as Joe went on, "Probably the latter. I mean, who leaves a book in someones locker?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?!" Ashley asked loudly, causing everyone in the lunchroom to turn to Ashley as Joe covered her mouth again, "Okay, okay, I'll go! Just... stop shouting. Everyone can hear you and it's really hurting my ears..." Clara nodded, also wanting to be a part of this and said, "All right, each of us will search everywhere online for this mansions location after school and tomorrow we'll meet up together and hopefully, we'll find something." Ashley and Joe nodded and the three left the lunchroom and went their separate ways to their next class.

As Clara was walking through the halls of the school, she heard a "HEY!" and turned to see a girl who looked a bit older than herself and asked, "Uhh... Can I help you?" The blue-eyed girl bowed and introduced herself, "I'm Jenny Parker and, I'm sorry I eavesdropped, but I heard that you were looking for a mansion somewhere here and I happen to know the mystery of the missing mansion." Clara's gasped and covered her mouth, "Y-You do?" Jenny nodded and told Clara, "Well, the mansion has been abandoned for over 30 years now and that book is pretty recent, so I could see why the book doesn't mention it. As for online resources, I guess that Arthur guy didn't look hard enough because the mansion is located deep in the Oakwood Forest." "There's a mansion out there?" Clara asked, surprised. Jenny nodded, "Yeah, I've explored that old place many times as a kid, you could say that it's my secret hideout." Clara crossed her arms and asked her, "Wait, If you know where this mansion is and heard us talking about treasure, why didn't look for it yourself?" Jenny shrugged and told her, "I'm not interested in any treasure, but I will gladly help you find it." Clara's face beamed and she gasped, "Really?!" "Sure, just make sure you come alone. Now, I know that you are good friends with those other two, but like I said, it's my secret hideout and I want to keep it that way. You get me?" Clara thought about it. She didn't want to explore the mansion without her friends but she didn't really have a choice and she nodded. Jenny smiled, "Great! we'll meet up outside the entrance to Oakwood Forest tonight at six. Okay?" Clara nodded as the two headed to their classes. While Clara was walking, she was also thinking, (That girl... She looked very familiar...)

Later that day...

The first day of school has ended as Clara, Ashley and Joe walked outside. "So, Clara, me and Joe go to the same class together and we were talking about coming over to my house and working together to find this mansion. You in?" Ashley asked. Clara was about to say yes until she saw Jenny leaving the school. Clara sighed and told them, "Actually, I haven't been feeling good after lunch, maybe something was wrong with my food, I'm not sure so I'm just going to rest at my house. And don't worry, I'll still try and help as much as I can." Ashley frowned and put her hand on Clara's shoulder, "Aw... I'm sorry." Ashley then turned to Joe, "Okay, I guess it's just you and me then." Joe nodded and both him and Ashley left to Ashley's home. As they walked away, Joe shouted to Clara, "I hope you feel better tomorrow! Because we have a ring to find!" Clara just stood there, about to cry. Clara wasn't one to lie, especially to her best friend. Jenny approached the sad girl and told her, "Nice lie! Now, bring anything that you think you need and meet me at Oakwood Forest, All right?" Clara sniffled and nodded slowly as they both headed home.

Clara opened the front door of her house and was greeted by her mother who smiled and said, "Welcome home, honey! So, how was your first day of school?" Clara, now in a brighter mood from seeing her mother, replied, "Well, schoolwork was boring, but at least Ashley was there." Martha thought for a second then slammed her fist into her hand, "Oh, Ashley White! How could I forget your best friend! ...So, where is she?" Clara's smile went to a frown as she asked, "Uh... what?" "Well, I would have guessed that the two of you would spend the rest of the day together. Is something wrong?" Martha questioned, a little confused. Clara thought of something to say then told her what she told Ashley and Joe and held her stomach and groaned, "Ugh... I think something was wrong with my school lunch and now I have a bad stomachache and decided to just come home." her mother frowned and rushed to her medicine cabinet in her bathroom and handed her some Tylenol telling her, "Just take this and take a nap in your room. Okay, dear?" Martha asked with a concerned tone of voice and Clara simply nodded and headed upstairs to her room.

Clara closed her bedroom door and dove onto her bed and cried softly. She felt bad when she lied to her best friend, but lying to her own mother made her cry even harder. "Now I, sniff, really have a stomachache... Maybe I should just tell Ashley and Joe." Clara told herself and sat up, "No, I-I can't... Maybe there really isn't and sort of information online. This could be my only lead. I just need to suck it up and do it." She then sighed and started to get ready for her hike through the forest.

5:50 pm...

Clara was approaching the forest, wearing a sky-blue t-shirt, blue denim jeans and brown hiking boots, and waited at the entrance of the forest for Jenny. Fifteen minutes later, Jenny finally made it to the entrance and Clara tapped her right foot, "Your late! I was waiting here since 5:50!" Jenny scoffed and told her, "I didn't tell you to come here earlier. It's your fault. But, I'm here now, so let's go!" Clara rolled her eyes and the two started to walk into Oakwood Forest. While walking, Clara looked at Jenny and thought, (This is her idea of hiking gear?) Now Jenny had a figure to die for. Big breasts, slim waist, wide hips and an equally round bottom. She had very long white hair that reached down to her shoulders and wore a very small white shirt that showed her stomach and dark blue shorts that didn't even reach her knees.

The two walked through the forest for what felt like an hour and Clara asked out of breath, "Haa... A-Are we there yet?" Jenny rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes we are." Clara tiredly walked to Jenny to see that the mansion was indeed there. Her tiredness transformed into excitement and she squealed, "I-It does exist!" then Clara ran towards the mansion and tried to open the front door, but she couldn't get it to open. "Hmm? Why won't it open?" Jenny sighed and replied, "Yeah... that door has been jammed ever since I have been here. The only way in is right here." Jenny said, pointing at a small hole in the wall. Clara frowned and asked her, "This is the only way? But... it looks really small." Jenny shrugged and told her, "Well, this is the only way in, so it's either go for it or go home." Clara didn't want this long hike to be for nothing and she gulped, "O-Okay... I'm going in!"

Clara started with her arms, followed by her head. She had trouble getting her shoulders and chest through but with enough pushing and wriggling, she got further through until she stopped again. Clara groaned, knowing that her stomach was nest, (Don't panic... Jenny is here to help if I really get stuck.) and she pushed as hard as she could. She sucked in her stomach and even that was only able to get her belly in halfway. Clara strained and asked Jenny, "Jenny? I can't get through by myself... Can you give me a hand?" Jenny chuckled with a big grin on her face and forcefully kicked Clara's rear, causing Clara to yelp and her belly to pop through. Now her rear was next, which is where the real challenge begins.

"OW! I'm glad you helped, but could you at least warn me?!" Clara shouted at Jenny, causing her to scoff and retort, "Don't yell at me, tubby! This was all a part of my plan!" Clara was confused and asked her, "P-Plan? What plan?" "My revenge plan, of course!" Jenny answered causing Clara to think, (Revenge? What did... I...)

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, TUBBY!"

Clara gasped and said, "Wait! Now I know who you are! Your the girl I ran into in school!" "Yeah, like a raging cow!" Jenny shouted as Clara growled, "Stop it with the fat jokes!" Jenny scoffed, crossing her arms, "Why should I? You wouldn't be stuck here if you weren't so fat!" Clara face turned red and she muttered, "N-No... The hole is too small." Jenny laughed at this and said, "You go ahead and think that. As for me, I'm outta here. See ya later, tubby!" Clara's eyes widened and she yelled, "What?! Y-You can't just leave me here!" "I can and I will, tubby! Bye-bye!" Jenny replied, laughing loudly, leaving the chubby girl stuck alone. Clara tried to move forward and back but couldn't move either way and was stuck tight. Clara slumped down and moaned, "Oh... Why am I trying? As much as it hurts to say it, Jenny is right. If I wasn't so big, I would probably be inside, exploring the mansion. But, sniff, now I'm stuck... All alone..." she cried softly, wishing she didn't listen to Jenny.

About ten minutes have passed, Clara was still stuck in the wall. She thought that she would be stuck here forever until she heard someone call out her name, "CLARA!!!" She quickly rose her head and said to herself, "That voice... Could it be?" "CLARA!!!" said another voice and Clara had the biggest grin on her face, (It's Ashley and Joe! I'm saved!) The duo continued to look for their friend until Ashley spotted the abandoned mansion and her chubby friend's behind. "Joe, I found her!" Ashley exclaimed as the two ran to Clara. Ashley knelt down to her friend's rear and smiled, "Clara, you're okay! I-I thought something terrible happened to you." Clara was happy that her friends found her but something else was on her mind. "I'm fine, but... how in the world did you two find me?" Ashley and Joe sat down next to her and Ashley told her, "Well, me and Joe were trying to find info about the mansion. While we were doing that, we saw you outside with someone walking into Oakwood forest. By the way, why did you lie to me!?" Ashley asked angrily, causing Joe to interrupt, "That doesn't matter now, Ashley. We know that that girl is bad news when we also saw her walking out of the forest alone. We both knew something was up, and we headed out to find you." he said with a smile. Clara sniffled and rubbed her eyes, "T-Thanks guys! And I'm sorry for lying, Ashley..." Ashley shook her head and said, "No need to apologize, that's all in the past. As long as you're okay." "B-But I'm not... I'm stuck!" Clara grunted as she tried to pull herself in.

"Did you forget? I'm Ashley White! Your brave knight! Here to make everything right!" Ashley shouted theatrically making Clara laugh and Joe sigh, "And I'm Joe, this brave knight's... uh, horse..." Joe said unenthusiastically. "Y... Your acting is terrible." Ashley cringed, making Joe shout, "Well, this isn't the time for jokes! We need to help Clara!" "Aww... You're no fun..." Ashley moaned but agreed and the two grabbed Clara's legs and pulled like before. But, this hole was much smaller than her locker and they didn't make any progress. "Come on, Clara... Suck it in..." Ashley groaned. "I-I am! And I'm still stuck!" Clara panicked, "Hoe will I get out now!? I'm too big to get in and I made it too far to go back! If that Jenny didn't force me in..." "Wait!" Ashley interrupted, "Maybe we can get you in... with a little FORCE!" Ashley yelled, shoulder-charging her friend's massive rear, but all it did was cause Ashley to bounce back a few feet and Clara to shout, "OW! That hurt, Ashley! And it didn't even work!" Ashley sat up, thinking of a way to help her. Then, she saw a window not patched up with wooden boards and she walked to it and tried to open it.

The window was about five feet from the ground. Ashley turned to Joe and asked, "It's pretty high up... Could you give me a boost?" Joe nodded and cupped his hands down to the ground as Ashley stepped onto his hands. Joe lifted her higher and Ashley climbed into the mansion, shocking Clara, "W-WHAT!? I thought that this was the only way in!" "What made you think that?" Ashley asked. "Jenny told me tha- ...never trusting her again..." Clara mumbled, crossing her arms. Ashley approached Clara's top half and got a good look at the situation. She could see how big her stomach was compared to the hole, and it was about five inches bigger than the hole. Ashley thought about how she could get Clara out, then her face beamed as she held her finger in the air. "I got it!" Ashley exclaimed, "Joe, I need you to pull again, okay?" Joe nodded and proceeded to pull on her legs. Clara felt the tugging and she turned to Ashley, "So what's the plan?" Ashley smiled and raised her arms, "This may tickle a little..." she said as she started to knead her belly fat into the hole. Clara immediately started laughing uncontrollably, "Ha,ha, ha! W-What are, ha, ha, you doing?!" Ashley smiled and told her, "While Joe is pulling, I am stuffing your belly into the hole. It may take a while... but- *POP* -it should work."

Clara sat up, still giggling, "He, he.... T-Thanks, Ashley! You too, Joe! ...Joe? Oh, not again..." she said as she stood up, letting Joe get up after her, "We need to stop seeing each other like this. ...Um, what are you staring at?" Joe asked. Clara never noticed how good Joe looked. Even though he wore all black, black shirt, black shorts and black shoes. He even had black hair and black eyes. But his slim figure and his short, messy hairstyle was something Clara always loved to see from a guy. Clara shook her head and apologized, "Sorry... I-It's nothing." Joe shrugged and pointed to the window, "Well, this should be an easier was in. Here, just stand on my hands." He said, doing the same thing he did for Ashley. Clara nodded and stood on his hands. Joe strained to lift the chubby girl and could only get her up two feet. Luckily, the extra two feet was high enough for Clara to lift herself inside. Or so she thought. The window was bigger than the hole, but she still couldn't get her rear in. "Ugh... Ashley? A little help?" Ashley nodded and pulled on her arms. It didn't take too long for Clara to get inside and she fell hard onto the mansion flooring. Clara and Ashley stood up and heard a loud creak. The two looked around to see where that creak came from until...

*CRASH*

...the floor collapsed underneath Clara and Ashley! "W-What was that!?" Joe said, startled, and squeezed into the hole in the wall and noticed a huge hole in the floor. "Clara! Ashley!" Joe shouted with worry, hoping his friends were okay and tried to find a safer way down to the basement. Clara and Ashley laid on the basement floor surrounded by the broken floorboards from above. Clara very slowly stood up and groaned, "Ow... That was unexpected. Ashley, are you okay?" she asked looking around the debris when Ashley replied faintly, "Y-Yes... I'm fine..." Clara gasped when she saw her friend underneath a big part of the broken floor. "Ashley! Don't worry, I'll... get you... out..." she strained, unable to lift the huge debris on top of her friend.

Joe ran around the mansion, opening the doors, trying to find the way down to the basement until one of the doors had a mysterious and single piece of paper laying alone on a table. Joe quickly grabbed the paper and resumed looking for the way to the basement. Eventually he found a door that led to a staircase going down. He smiled and carefully but quickly walked down the stairs. Clara still struggled to lift the debris as Joe made it down to the basement as he saw Ashley in trouble and he shouted, "Ashley! I'm coming to help!" He grabbed the debris and the two together lifted the floorboard off of Ashley.

Clara and Joe knelt down to Ashley, "Ashley... I'm sorry. This was all my fault... If I wasn't so big and heavy, this wouldn't have happened to you." Clara cried. Ashley struggled to sit up and shook her head, "D-Don't beat yourself up about this... This mansion is old and weak... Even if you were light, we would still be in this situation... B-Besides... I'm okay..." Ashley replied, using her arms to help herself up.

*CRACK*

"AHH!!! Ashley White is not all right!" she shouted in pain as she fainted. "Ashley? ASHLEY!!!" Clara cried out, tears dripping down from her eyes, thinking the worst had happened to her best friend. Joe looked closely at the unconscious Ashley and could see that she was still breathing. He let out a sigh with relief and grabbed Ashley's left arm and tried to help her up. Ashley winced in pain and moaned causing Joe to let go of her arm. "Ashley..." Clara sobbed, unable to see Ashley in this state. Joe put Ashley's right arm around his neck and lifted her off the ground. Joe walked to Clara and put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't cry, Clara. She fine. Her left arm is broken but s-" "WHAT?! Y-You call that fine?! How could you be so heartless..." Clara interrupted, crying even harder than before. "N-No it's not like that! I'm just saying that it could be worse. But we need to take her to the hospital." Joe replied calmly. Clara nodded, rubbing her eyes as the two went upstairs.

They made it to the entrance of the mansion as Clara looked at the hole and the window and asked, "So... how do we get out?" Joe crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking of a way to do this. "Hmm... Well the windows out of the question since there is no floor around it, and a tight squeeze is the last thing Ashley needs, so..." Joe set Ashley down and walked away from the door. When Joe was far enough from the door, he yelled and charged towards the door. *CRASH* The weak door fell apart as Joe turned back, panting. "Well... T-That's one way to get out." Clara said, surprised. Joe walked back to Ashley and tried to lift her. But after breaking down the door, Joe lost his strength to do so.

Clara ran over to them and took Joe's place and carried Ashley. "I think you've had enough." Clara said to Joe as he nodded slowly. Clara and Joe began to find their way out of the forest. Since there was a dirt path in the forest, Clara and Joe made it out quickly. The two ran to the hospital as fast as they could to help Ashley...

To be continued...