**"The Treasure Map and Teamwork Tales"**

### Waves, Whispers, and Wildcards

The chest wasn’t supposed to mean anything. It had been shoved behind old dog crates in the storage room of the animal shelter where Leighton and Jeannine spent most of their weekends cleaning kennels, walking dogs, and dodging the grumpy calico cat that refused to leave its perch.

But when Jeannine pried the lid open with a crowbar she’d borrowed from the maintenance closet, the paper inside practically screamed for attention.

“Whoa,” Leighton whispered, brushing the dust off the rolled parchment. “It’s a map.”

Jeannine leaned in, her ponytail flicking his shoulder. “A map of what?”

He unrolled it, revealing faded ink and jagged lines that looked like something out of a pirate movie. At the bottom, in scrawled script, were the words: *The treasure waits where the dragon slumbers.*

Leighton grinned, his heart hammering with the kind of excitement that usually came from scoring the winning goal during a soccer game. “You know what this means, right?”

Jeannine raised an eyebrow, skeptical as always. “That someone with too much time on their hands tried to create an elaborate joke?”

“No,” he shot back, his grin widening. “It means we’re going treasure hunting.”

---

By the time they reached Dragon Rocks, the sun was dipping into the ocean, casting long shadows over the jagged formations that gave the site its name. The rocks jutted out of the sand like the spines of some long-dead monster, their surfaces carved by centuries of wind and waves.

“We’ve been here a hundred times,” Jeannine said, squinting at the map. “What are we even looking for?”

“Clues,” Leighton replied, scanning the rocks with the intensity of someone determined to win. “Look, the map says something about the dragon’s tail pointing the way.”

Jeannine rolled her eyes but followed him anyway. “This isn’t a competition, you know.”

“Everything’s a competition,” he said without looking back. “That’s how you make it fun.”

Jeannine muttered something under her breath but didn’t argue. She’d learned long ago that Leighton thrived on challenges, whether it was sports, grades, or even who could shovel the most dog poop at the shelter without gagging.

They wandered between the rocks until Jeannine spotted something unusual—a deep groove in the sand beneath one of the largest formations. “Hey,” she called, kneeling to brush away the grit. “Is this the tail?”

Leighton jogged over, skidding to a stop beside her. “I think so. Look, it points toward the cliffs.”

They followed the line of the “tail” to the cliffside, where they discovered a narrow crevice just wide enough for them to squeeze through. On the other side, a cave yawned open, cool and damp.

Jeannine hesitated at the entrance. “Are we sure about this?”

Leighton was already stepping inside, his flashlight cutting through the dark. “Only one way to find out.”

---

The cave was filled with riddles: carvings on the walls, stones arranged in strange patterns, even a small wooden box with a lock that required them to solve a puzzle to open. Leighton loved every second of it, his competitive spirit driving him to solve each challenge first.

But Jeannine wasn’t having as much fun. She felt the tension simmering between them, the way Leighton’s impatience flared every time she suggested a different approach or questioned his decisions.

At one point, she grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. “Leighton, this isn’t about who’s better at solving riddles. It’s about working together.”

He pulled away, frowning. “I *am* working with you.”

“No,” she said, her voice firm. “You’re working *against* me. And if that’s how you want to do this, fine. But don’t expect me to keep following you blindly.”

Her words hit harder than she expected. Leighton stared at her for a moment, then looked away, his jaw tight. “I’m sorry,” he said eventually. “I just… I don’t want to mess this up.”

Jeannine softened, realizing that beneath his bravado was the same kid who once spent an entire afternoon helping her learn to ride a skateboard, even when she kept falling. “You won’t,” she said gently. “But we have to trust each other.”

---

When they finally found the treasure, it wasn’t what they expected. There was no chest of gold, no glittering jewels. Instead, they uncovered a rusted tin box filled with