THE BIG TRADE -submission for 24 hour story contest

Billy pulled the object carefully out of the soil. From over his shoulder, Pam and Roderick looked on, but they both stood back a bit, waiting to see what might happen next. With intense concentration, Billy managed to get the object loose and held it up to the light of the sun that shone fully down onto the backyard of Pam's home.

All three of them gazed at the thing that Billy held in his grasp, their baseball gloves cast aside and forgotten, the bat thrown up against the wooden fence. After a few seconds, Pam took a breath and leaned in closer, her eyes squinting at the strange object in Billy's hands. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Billy whispered, gingerly cradling the object. It was actually about the size of a baseball, and perfectly round as well, but covered with strange symbol like glyphs. He couldn't feel any markings against his fingers, and in fact the surface felt strange to the touch. "It's perfectly smooth…"

Roderick spoke up. "It's in mint condition!"

Both Billy and Pam turned around to look at Roderick. Roderick cleared his throat and straightened up, his face beaming with pride.

"I recognize that. It's from the manga series TOTAL EMOTO DESTRUCTO BOTO. That's a collectable." He pointed a chubby finger at the gleaming silver ball.

Billy gazed anew at the treasure before him. It seemed to hum beneath his fingertips, bristling with latent power. He only became aware of Pam's presence next to him when he felt her shoulder press up against his own.

"It's the Emoto Boto's secret heart…" Roderick breathed from behind them. Billy turned the ball over in his fingers, marvelling at the way the patterns caught the late afternoon light. He looked over at Pam, expecting to see her staring wonderingly at the ball, as well. But she was looking at him instead, an expression of grave concern etched across her face.

"We could get a lot of money for that in a few years…" Roderick intoned wistfully, then suddenly piped up. "Hey! You guys wait here!"

And with that Roderick bounded away, running awkwardly around the side of Pam's house and towards his own home a few doors down. Billy looked back at the ball in his hand. He was certain that it felt warm, somehow.

"Do you want to hold it?" he asked Pam. He was curious to see if she also thought it was warm. But Pam just shook her head and rose back up to her feet. After a few seconds Billy set the ball back down in the grass, next to the small hole it had made in the lawn. Then he stood up and looked at Pam, trying to smile at her confidently.

"So you ready to get rich?" he exclaimed, the words coming out a little too loud and fake even to his own ears. She glanced quickly at him then looked away, shrugging her shoulders. He noticed that she wouldn't look at the object at all, now.

"I dunno…" She mumbled, looking at the back door of her home, through which they could see her dog Mittens, curled up in a sleeping fur ball on the floor. Sporadic white clouds moved by as reflections in the glass; it was a windy day, which was why they'd decided to play in the backyard instead of at the park. "I guess Roderick would know about that stuff."

"Yeah, even his Mom's an avid collector…" Billy tried to chuckle this last part out, but the way Pam was looking away from him made him stop. She kept brushing at the grass stains on her overalls, like the stain somehow bothered her now.

They stood together awkwardly like that for what felt like a long time. Billy thought about how long he'd known his friends. All three of them had grown up as neighbours living side by side in their town homes, all part of the same building, really. That was probably why they'd all been so close. But Pam had always seemed lonely living here at the corner, with just her Dad and their dog.

And now with the first year of middle school just a month away, Billy could sense things beginning to change between Pam and himself. Like they were both pushing away and pulling together…

"Got it!" Roderick came bounding back around the corner. In his hand he was holding a cardboard box with a plastic window on it's front. He stopped abruptly when he saw the ball sitting in the grass.

"What are you doing?" He cried, dropping to his knees and setting the box down next to the ball. He gently picked up the ball with his fingertips, and it was at this point when Billy noticed that Roderick was wearing thin white gloves. After inspecting the ball for a few seconds, Roderick slowly settled it into the box, nestled snugly amongst a bundle of crepe paper.

"There." Roderick said with a sense of satisfaction, looking up at his friends with a wide smile. He then picked up the box and stood to face them both.

The ball sat gleaming in its nest of paper. Pam was looking straight at it now, her expression completely unreadable to Billy. Roderick cleared his throat nervously.

"Umm… So who's going to keep it?" His gloved fingers seemed to be squeezing the box. Billy stared at Roderick's hands. Gloves? Really?

"Well, we found it in Pam's backyard…" Billy said, looking over at her.

Pam shook her head. "I don't want it." She leaned in closer, peering at the object in the box. Then she stood up straight and folded her arms. "In fact, I think we should take that thing down to the beach and throw it in the ocean."

"Are you crazy?" Roderick stepped back, clutching the box protectively to his chest. "Do you realize what this could be worth someday? We could all put ourselves through college with this!"

Pam frowned at him. "Well then why don't you keep it?"

Roderick looked down at the box in his hands. "Well, I would…" He looked back up at Pam and Billy. "But I can't. My Mom would take it away. She's still pissed at me for removing her original Spawn action figure from this box last year and playing with it." He started to jiggle the box a little but then checked himself with a tight breath. "That's how I got this box." He added sheepishly.

They both looked at Billy. "Well, I guess that leaves you…" Pam said dryly. Billy stepped forward and accepted the box.

As he held the box in his hands, Billy thought he could sense the power emanating from the orb within. But that was ridiculous. It was just his imagination getting away from him.

"We all split the proceeds equally." He said, looking up at his friends.

Pam shook her head. "Not me. I don't want any part of this." Then she turned on her heel, pulled the back door open, and stepped inside, casting one quick look back at Billy as she went.

After she had left, the two boys both looked at each other in wonder. Roderick shrugged his shoulders, while Billy held the box and thought about what had come between them. But he knew that he was still going to keep it.

That night, Billy lay in his bed and stared at the box as it sat on the top of his dresser drawer. The orb seemed to almost glow in the darkness of his bedroom, but he figured that was just a trick of the moonlight casting in through the window.

He looked over his shoulder at the wall behind his bed - the wall that his bedroom shared with Pam's. They sometimes would have conversations in morse code, tapping out their secret thoughts through this wall. But he figured tonight she wouldn't be into any of that. And so he settled back into bed and thought about what changes the future would bring for them.

He knew that Pam was afraid of it. The future, that is. And this was understandable, considering how she'd lost her Mom and all… But that didn't mean Billy had to be scared, as well. If anything, it meant he needed to be even more brave. For her sake, and Roderick's, too.

Billy gazed through the plastic window of the box, at the orb inside, slowly fading into shadow beneath the waning moonlight. They were going to be rich. He would buy them all houses of their own, side by side, just like here, only nicer. And Pam, once she'd seen what the money could do for them, she'd come around and accept her share. Change was good.

And so Billy drifted off to sleep, beneath the watching eye of the orb, and his dreams were filled with all of the ways that he was going to take care of his friends.

---

Major LGrik.5% pulled back from the view screen and tooted in disgust through her methane tubing apparatus. What a profound waste of time. They'd been expecting the orb to be delivered to a place of authority and power of some sort, where it could gather the relevant data they needed as to this inhabitants various capabilities and breadth of knowledge. But instead they had… this.

As the Major prepared to turn fully away from the offending view screen, she could already sense the approach of the Grav Council. Well it was best to get this humiliating report over and done with.

The Grav Council stopped before the Major, it's disks turning in perfect synchronicity with the various triangles that spun around the orbit of it's carapace.

There's no need to report, Major. I am already fully appraised.

A sharp spike of fear ran through the Major's frame. While still in orbit around this planet, they were outside of Federation jurisdiction. The Grav Council was the only law on this vessel.

Have no fear, Major. The Grav Council intoned. All is going according to plan.

It is? thought the Major, taken somewhat back by this news, yet still wary.

Yes… Keeping in mind that it is an adjustable plan… The Grav Council rotated past the major, over towards the main viewing screen that showed this bright blue orb orbiting in space before them.

The Grav Council send a single disk over to the screen where it subdivided into several hundred, and as this happened the image of planet Earth flattened out into a two dimensional map. The hundreds of disks relocated into various spots all over the map.

I want you to send orbs to all of these locations.

The Major straightened up and saluted. Yes sir. Permission to make inquiry sir.

The Grav Council flipped a triangle upwards towards the Major. Granted…

May I ask, Grav Council, what data did we receive from this first probe that determined this decision?

With a tinkling of bells and beeps, the Grav Council chucked to itself. Didn't you hear what they were planning to do with the orb, Major?

Sudden realization flooded the Major's sub atomic plumage. They were going to use it for trade…

As currency… The Grav Council rumbled, pleased with it's student. And you and I both know, Major, that when you control their money…

You control their world… the Major finished, and her fear for the Grav Council blossomed into a soaring admiration. To think of how much she had hated it's wisdom!

The two would be conquerors turned to face the main view screen, and joyfully reflect upon the plunder to come.

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Written for the 24 hour short story contest.
Writing and image by Greg McCann, the author of this post and owner of this Steemit Channel. To view more of my work, please visit www.fireawaymarmot.com.