"Hollow?"
I froze, and a second later the excitement hit me all at once.
I'd finally found it.
I wanted to grab a hammer or something and break the wall open to see.
But after searching the whole place,
all this house had was a few tables, chairs, stools, and a bed frame.
Nothing else.
There was no help for it.
I'd have to go home for tools.
But the moment I walked in, I saw Phyllis sitting on the couch, crying.
My parents' faces were darker than dark.
The second they saw me,
they shot me a vicious glare.
Phyllis shot to her feet and threw a handwritten agreement at me.
"Theo Simmons, I've had enough of you."
"Sign it."
"After this, we never see each other again as long as we live!"
I glanced over what it said.
The gist was that she wanted to break up.
She'd keep the baby.
But she'd raise it alone.
And I was never to come around and bother the child again.
I balled the agreement up and tossed it in the trash.
"What are you doing?"
Phyllis glared at me.
"Phyllis, don't be silly. How could I ever break up with you?"
"We've already set the wedding date."
"You don't even want to marry me. So what if we set a date? We'll just cancel it."
"No. I've told you, you're the only one I'll ever marry in this life."
My parents jabbed a finger at me and let loose a torrent of cursing.
I almost told them my plan.
But I hesitated, and in the end I held it in.
What if there was no money in that second-hand house's hidden compartment?
How would I explain that?
"Phyllis, there are some things you probably won't believe even if I tell you."
"But we're about to get married, and I don't want to keep it from you."
"Come with me. Just once."
I found an iron hammer in the storage room, then grabbed Phyllis and started for the door.
My parents scrambled to stop me.
"Have you lost your mind? You want to bash Phyllis to death with that hammer?"
"Son, are you sick in the head?"
Phyllis yanked her hand back too, scared.
Faced with how badly they'd misread it, all I could do was give a bitter laugh.
"Mom, Dad, stop making this worse."
"I'll explain everything to Phyllis myself."
"Just wait until we're back!"
I dragged Phyllis out of the house by force.
Then we rushed straight to that second-hand house.
When we got there,
Phyllis wrenched her hand free of mine.
She looked at me with an expression that was equal parts shock and disbelief.
"Theo Simmons, have you actually lost it?"
"You're telling me some kid whispered in your ear,"
"telling you this house is hiding a lot of money?"
I nodded hard. "Yes. And when I came earlier I already found the hidden compartment. Once I break the wall open, we're going to be rich!"
Phyllis touched my forehead, uneasy and unsure. "Stop scaring me. You don't even have a fever, so why are you talking nonsense?"
"I know this is hard to believe."
"Seeing is believing."
"Come on, I'll break it open and show you."
I took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom.
"Phyllis, step back a little."
"I'm about to start swinging!"
