Copyright Published by Italics, Hillcrest Christian College, 21 Bridgman Dr, Reedy Creek QLD 4227. Taylah Britz, Caitlin Brodie, Charlotte Grinceri, Rachel Keith, Alice Mackenzie, Elise McGeorge, Aanika Riddell, Emma Rings, Samantha Werder.
Copyright © 2021, Hillcrest Christian College.
All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher.
Writers: Caitlin Brodie, Rachel Keith, Elise McGeorge, Emma Rings Illustrators: Charlotte Grinceri, Alice Mackenzie, Elise McGeorge, Aanika Riddell, Samantha Werder. Editor: Taylah Britz Dedication: Dedicated to the amazing kids out there that happen to be reading this book.
Chapter 1- The Chalkboard “Would you like anything to eat?” Jordy smiled up at the waitress and shook her head. “No thanks.” The waitress nodded and moved on to another table. Jordy tapped her foot impatiently, gazing at the café door. Jordy’s coffee was warm in her hands, her nervous fingers gripped the mug with a force that could crush diamonds. Her eyes drifted from object to object around the café. Jacob had told her to meet him here. He said he could help. Jordy hoped with all her heart he could. Though she hadn’t seen her twin in years, Jordy wasn’t as excited as she thought she’d be. She knew, years ago, that her work would take her all the way down to Tasmania, far from her family. She was prepared to do anything that would boost her chances at a front-page story in the local paper. Jordy glanced around the café, taking in the sights, and breathing in the heavenly scent of fried eggs, toast, and bacon. At this time in the morning, the café was often filled with surfers coming in from Byron Bay’s local beach, sunburnt and exhausted. Jordy couldn’t understand where they found the time. She remembered she had loved surfing as a kid, but now, her work took up way too much of her time. Not that she regretted it. Not at all. Jordy’s attention was drawn to the entrance as the door chimed. She sighed in relief and smiled as she saw Jacob, looking lost. She watched him step around the tables of laughing customers and waved. Jacob spotted her and grinned. The late morning light illuminated his sun-bleached hair, so it seemed to glow, and his light blue eyes flashed with warmth and fun. The pair grinned awkwardly as Jacob sat down and dumped his tennis bag on the floor next to him. He immediately ordered a water. Jordy watched him reach for the large fruit bowl and tip it onto the table. “Sorry I’m late, one of my students needed extra help.” Jordy gritted her teeth. “That’s fine.” He organised the fruit by type and began stacking the apples together. Jordy cleared her throat. She wanted this project completed as soon as possible. “So, you said you could help me?” Jacob frowned and looked up from his artwork. “Hang on, Jordy, we haven’t seen each other in years, and that’s your first question?” “I know, but you said-”
“Listen. We have hours. Days. Relax. Spend some time with your favourite big brother.” Jacob poked his tongue out in concentration as he attempted to balance a pineapple on three mandarins. Jordy flinched as the pile toppled, and the fruit rolled off the table and onto the floor. Jordy looked out the window to hide her embarrassment. “Sorry everyone!” Jacob dropped to the floor and gathered the fruit back into the bowl before returning to his seat. Jordy glared at him. “Can we please focus?” Seeing Jordy’s expression, Jacob’s grin faltered. He strategically moved the fruit bowl to the other side of the table. “Fine. Go on.” “Ok, so I’ve wanted to write a cover-worthy article for a newspaper ever since I became a research journalist, and there’s this missing jewellery rumoured to be around Byron Bay. I thought, since you were a local, you could help me find it and my article could finally make the front page.” “Wait-” Jacob began, but Jordy cut him off. “And since my research assistant quit, I figured you could help me research as well.” “But Jordy-” “And if I make the headlines, I promise to give you some credit.” “Jordan!” Jordy paused, and only then realised she was standing up and leaning over the table. She sat down and swirled her mug of coffee. No one, No one called her Jordan unless they were upset with her. “Jordy, there will be time for that later. I actually organised a-” “I’m sorry, Jacob, but we don’t have time. I want to get this project finished.” Jacob sighed. “Ok.” Jordy noticed the change in his mood but didn’t want to bring it up. Instead, she gazed around the café, and tapped her fingers on the side of the mug. It was around midday. The café was beginning to empty as the temperature rose and the sun’s intensity increased. The back of her neck burned from the sun through the window. Jordy looked to her right and glanced at the wall paused. She squinted for a second and pulled her glasses from her pocket and peered through the silver frames to the board. Jacob frowned at her. “What are you looking at?” “Over there, on the menu.”
Chapter 2- The First Clue Jacob spun around to face the area Jordy had pointed to, confusion etched across his face. The café chalkboard menu sat high above the ground; the Saturday Special written in large, clear letters. At the bottom, in a free space of board, something was scribbled in smudged handwriting. Jordy walked over to the chalkboard; an intense expression of concentration clearly written on her face. Jacob followed her and they both stared at the unusual writing. “Where the land meets the sea and calmness is free, there the lost jewellery will be,” the chalk board read. Jordy and Jacob continued to stare at the riddle trying to analyse it looking for any clues about its meaning. “This writing seems familiar in a way I just can’t...” Jordy contemplated as she touched the dark dusty surface. Though she assumed the customers must’ve been staring, she didn’t care. She might have a lead. “What could it mean?” Jacob questioned. Jordy continued to study the writing. Her eyes lit up in excitement. “It’s about the jewellery!” She frowned again. “Land meets the sea… calmness is free…” she mumbled thoughtfully. Jacob just stood there, trying to work it out for himself. “Of course!!” she yelled in victory. “What?” Jacob asked not catching on to what Jordy was saying. “Calmness is free that must mean somewhere to relax... it must mean someone’s office or library! But who?” Jacob looked at her as if she was crazy. “Really? That’s your idea of relaxing?” “What?” “The beach, that’s what the clue is talking about.” “Oh.” Jordy began to walk away from the chalkboard, towards the exit. “Where are you going?” Jacob ran to catch up with Jordy. “Byron Bay beach, it’s obviously the place the riddle mentions. I finally have a lead on the jewellery; my boss will be so proud,” Jordy’s speech rushed, as she ran out into the small carpark of the café. With Jacob not far behind.
“I’m coming with you.” “No, you’re not. I figured it out, I’ll be fine on my own.” “Yes I am.” Jacob’s voice held a certain finality to it that Jordy could not disagree with. But she didn’t understand why he would waste his time helping her. The two of them walked to Jordy’s old van, in the carpark. And with a click of Jordy’s keys the doors unlocked and the two got into their respective seats. Jordy in the driver’s seat and Jacob in the passenger seat. “You ready?” Jordy asked a very excited Jacob. “Yep!” Jacob replied trying to keep his huge smile at bay. It had been years since he had spent time with Jordy, she had been stuck in Tasmania as she never stopped working. He noticed her light blue eyes, which were the same as his and were always creased in a frown. Of course, his tennis coaching job took up a bit of his time, but he couldn’t even imagine working as hard as she did. He admired her for that, but he missed her playfulness. It had disappeared into a fourth dimension when she graduated. Jordy turned the key in the van’s ignition and the van gave a big jolt as it came to life. Turning the wheel, Jordy drove the van out of the parking lot and onto the main road. After a couple of minutes, neither Jordy nor Jacob had spoken a word to one another. When Jacob spoke, Jordy was completely focused on the road, a look of determination sealed on her face. “So… how has the job been lately?” Jacob asked trying desperately to lighten the mood. “Good, I guess. I’m the top reporter of my division, and if I manage to cover stories like this one, I might manage a headliner and be accepted to work for The Swooping Magpie Daily.” Jordy spoke, her voice laced with pride. “Wow, that’s amazing Jordy!” Jacob said with enthusiasm. “Thank you…” she replied earnestly. She appreciated the compliment. “How’s work on the tennis courts?” she tried to sound interested but she really just wanted to find the jewellery. “It’s been great, the players have really upped their game recently, but I really miss you sometimes.” He said sadly. “I’ve missed you too, Jacob. If only work wasn’t so busy…” They both suddenly were interested on the road ahead of them as the car seemed to fill with an awkward tension. Jordy hated the tense air between them, so she decided to cut it.
“Well, at least I’m driving. Wouldn’t want you to drive into a tree again.” She joked, thinking back to the time when they were 17 and Jacob had just got his license. During his first attempt at driving on his own, he swerved of the road after noticing a duck crossing the road and almost crashed them into a tree. Her smile faltered as she realised how little she remembered from her childhood. Jacob laughed at the joke; a big smile plastered on his face. It was just like when they were kids. They kept driving for another minute before reaching the entrance to the beach carpark. Jordy turned the car into the entrance of the beach carpark and the two of them began scanning for an empty park. Jacob saw a car leave a park not far from them. “Over, there.” He said, pointing to the now empty space. Jordy made a U-turn and reversed into the spot. “Let’s go,” Jordy spoke seriously as she and Jacob got out of the car. In the early afternoon sun, the air was hot and muggy, and filled with the cries of seagulls and the far-away whisper of the waves rolling onto the beach. Jordy and Jacob squinted trying to block the intense glare of the sun as they left their car, entered the shade of the pine trees, and headed to the sand. The twins stepped onto the beach, and Jacob hopped for a few minutes as his feet adjusted to the heat of the sand. Jordy wisely hadn’t left her shoes in the car. They walked around the slightly crowded beach looking for any clues that could lead them to the lost jewellery. After around 20 minutes of searching, Jacob spotted something. “Jordy, over here!” he yelled across the beach. Jordy excitedly ran over, as soon as she heard him. “What did you find?” Jordy asked.
Chapter 3- The Lighthouse. “Well?” Jordy looked over to Jacob in excitement before jogging over towards the chalkboard. Jordy squinted, whoever wrote the message on the chalkboard had dreadful handwriting. The letters displayed were all scribbled and uneven. She pulled her glasses from her pocket and the letters slowly focused. “Where the land is flooded by sea, memories will unlock to… thee.” Jacob trailed behind his sister, watching as she jumped up from next to the chalkboard and wrote something down on her notepad. Finally, things started coming together. However, ‘where land is flooded by sea’…where could that be? Byron Bay was quite a large area to cover, but only a few places could be described as ‘flooded by sea,’ as the beach itself was too obvious. “Rock pools? No… they’re too shallow.” After a moment of thinking, Jordy deduced some areas that the riddle could be describing. “Jacob, get the car. I think I know where this clue is leading us to.” …silence. “Jacob?” Jordy turned around, nothing was behind her except the bustling city and sand. Jacob was nowhere to be seen. Was her brother this unreliable? One would think he could stay focused for five minutes, apparently not. He would be around here somewhere, Jacob used to disappear all the time when they were kids, only to be found risking his life clinging to trees and swinging on ropes. Huffing in frustration, Jordy trekked around the lifesaver tower but to no avail, Jacob had truly run off. She was about to start the hike back up the beach when suddenly she heard a voice drowned out by the wind, shouting gibberish. Gazing around in the direction the voice came from, Jordy squinted into the sunlight. There was a figure on the beach ushering her over. Jacob? Had he found something? Maybe he was reliable after all. Smiling to herself, Jordy walked towards where Jacob was sitting on the beach. He was digging out the sand, this must be a good find. Eager to see what her brother had found, Jordy leaned down and… “Jacob.”
Seeing the looming shadow of his sister cast upon the sand, Jacob turned his head, smiling brightly. There lay a sandcastle, complete with shell windows and carved sand doorways, dazzling staircases, and a surrounding lake, dug out perfectly. “Pretty neat, yeah? I was thinking that we could catch crabs later and see-” “Jacob, we have work to do.” Jacob’s smile dropped slightly. It had been ages since the twins had seen each other, yet Jordy didn’t seem to care much. His sister was always like this, consumed by work with no time to have fun. Sensing the drop in her brother’s mood, Jordy sighed and dropped to her knees next to him on the beach. “Here, the staircase isn’t even.” Grabbing a handful of sand, Jordy started carving away at the stairs. Jacob was amused, watching his sister’s inner perfectionist fix the stairs using insane intricacy. “Where should we go next?” asked Jacob. Snapping her attention back to her brother, Jordy pondered for a bit. “How about the lighthouse? The one we used to play near as kids?” “The lighthouse?” Jordy blinked, did Jacob not remember? “Yes? The one we used to play hide-and-seek near?” “So, you do remember!” Many fond memories were shared at the lighthouse; their parents would take them there during weekends and they would play all day. “I was starting to think you had forgotten!” Jordy sat up and dusted her jeans free of sand, walking towards the carpark. “Let’s head over there then, we don’t have all day.” Jacob walked towards her and grabbed her hand, leading Jordy back along the beach. “Let’s walk there! It will give us time to look for clues on the way.” Jordy was going to refuse, but the look on her brother’s face was too sweet to shatter. Reluctantly, she agreed and followed her brother along the beach.
Jordy slowly grew more impatient as more time passed. She could practically smell the fine ink printing of The Daily Sizzle; her name would be plastered right in the middle of Australia’s most popular magazine. She had been struggling to write a good story for weeks, however, that was going to change once she had her hands on the ancient treasure. Once she debuts on the front page of The Daily Sizzle, who knows where her career would take her. Soon, even The Swooping Magpie Daily might employ her! They finally arrived at the rickety white lighthouse; it was clear that the structure had seen better days. Rust had climbed its way up the lighthouse platform. The grass was overgrown and had started hiding the stairs leading up to the lighthouse. Jordy cringed at how rundown the lighthouse was. “It’s been a while since we’ve been here.” Jacob treaded carefully through the long grass and helped Jordy step up onto the platform under the lighthouse. “You can see the entire coastline from up here.” Jacob sat down with his legs hanging over the side of the platform, admiring the view. Jordy was standing next to him, looking for possible locations that could hide the treasure. Jacob smiled. “Jordy, come sit down. The sun isn’t setting yet, we have all the time in the world.” Jordy ignored her brother’s comment, time was limited. If she didn’t have her story in by tomorrow, she wouldn’t have the headline. Jacob sighed at the silence. “I’m sure we will find your treasure by the end of the day. Come on, let’s relax for a bit. We walked all the way here and I’m tired.” Jordy stopped her search and turned to her brother with an unimpressed look. “It was your idea to walk here in the first place.” Jacob smiled. “You enjoyed spending time on the beach though, admit it.” Jordy smiled at her brother before returning to her search.
Chapter 4- The Blue Bottles “This is unacceptable! Plain and simple!” Exhausted from searching the beach below with no ‘depths of the sea’ to be sighted and no lost jewellery to be found. Jordy slumped down with a thud, her back against the base of the old white lighthouse. “Hey look down there!” Jacob exclaimed, pointing downwards towards a dark clump of rocks. Jordy leaned over the railing and gazed down below. Her eyes sunk once again as she sighed in hesitation, “Oh look, it’s just another lousy cave.” Jordy clicked her tongue and gave up, feeling defeated. “We’ll only finish searching this more miserable than before.” With a last attempt to make headlines, Jordy picked up her pace and pushed her way down the hill in the direction of the cave, until she hit the creek that blocked the cave’s entrance. Stumbling behind, tennis racquet in hand, Jacob followed using his practiced tennis skills to slash spider webs out of the way. The cave nearly swallowed them up, while they stood side-by-side at the mouth. Jordy let out a shrill screech and scrambled behind her big brother, clumping his loose, sweaty singlet in her fist. As she peeked slowly from behind his tall silhouette, she screeched loud again. “Look! Blue bottles in the creek! Lots of them! Get them away from me!” Jacob pried his shirt away from her grasp and stepped forward, bravely peering down at the creek they named ‘Blue Bottle Creek’. He looked slowly back and forth. “Hey Jordy? Isn’t this our old pirate ship? See the rock up there? That was top deck! I was the captain, and you were first mate! The battles we used to fight, the treasure we used to find… Now it’s all just a foggy haze, memories left behind.” Jordy’s ears perked up; her eyes twinkled with delight. “Oh, I remember now! You rescued me from the evil king of the blue bottle tribe! We found ancient treasure and old silver coins! The times we used to have… but it’s all faded away, just like that…” Jordy’s voice trailed off as she gazed ahead, her eyes almost as dull as the grey in the sky. She brushed her fingers though the surrounding shrub. “But now, if I remember correctly a long-woven rope hangs from a tree not far away. Yes! The rope is the way over the creek!” Jordy gestured for her brother to follow. Jacob and Jordy retraced their steps they had taken many years ago, until they gazed up the old gum tree that hung over Blue Bottle Creek. Jacob hurried Jordy along, lifting her up, up into the tree. With the help of Jacob’s boost, Jordy climbed to the top of the tree with ease.
She didn’t dare look down, instead she balanced herself next to an egg-filled nest, hands firmly grasping the tree’s branches. With a jump and a grab, soon Jacob was clinging onto the tree’s spine. They both knew what they had to do, as they had done it many times before. But it was long, long ago, so now they were unsure. With a sigh and a pale face Jordy looked down at the blue bottle-filled creek and squealed at the sight. “Jacob, I don’t want to do this, I’m scared of Blue-Bottles! They are evil, scary and filled with spikes!” With fear in her eyes, she begged Jacob to go back. “I give up! I don’t care about The Daily Sizzle anymore! I just want to go home, where there are no blue bottles, only a warm cosy fireplace and a mug of hot milo.” Loving eyes looked down at Jordy, begging her to not give up just yet. But Jordy was persistent as she started to lower herself from the tree. “Jordan wait!” Jacob pleaded, holding her arm, keeping her from climbing down. “Remember that time when we were surfing; you loved the waves and so did I, but that wasn’t always the case. We both hated the water when we first tried surfing, but we grew to love it the more we went out. Eventually mum and dad could never separate us from the beach, no matter how hard they tried.” Seeing what Jacob was trying to say, Jordy slowly remembered how much she loved swinging on the rope when she was younger. Squeezing her eyes tight, she reached forward and firmly secured herself onto the dangling rope. Holding onto her newly gained confidence she leaned back and started counting, “3, 2, 1!” Eyes squeezed tighter than ever before, she swung forward, the rope launching her over Blue Bottle Creek. With a whoosh and a gentle thud, Jordy landed gracefully on the opposite bank. “Look Jacob! I did it! I made it over Blue Bottle Creek!” Chuckling slightly Jacob steadied the swinging rope, clinging on, he jumped, soon joining Jordy on the other side. Jordy gasped as she had almost forgotten what she was there for. “The treasure!!” A blink of an eye later, Jordy had disappeared from sight, as she vanished into the cave. In slight shock and worry, Jacob followed his sister into the deep, dark, dripping cave that awaited them both. Engulfed in complete darkness, with only the sound of hurried footsteps and water dripping to guide them, they ventured deeper into the cave. “Ouch!” Jordy’s muffled voice echoed around the cave. Jordy looked down, searching for what her foot had hit. A shout of delight pieced the darkness, “something’s here!” Startled, Jacob rushed over, searching though the loose stones, shells and sand until his fingers hit a cold, hard, wooden box not much bigger than the size of two pineapples. “Jordy! Help me lift this box out of the sand, its wedged under a rock!” Slowly the twins worked together to heave the sunken box out of the sand.
With the box free and Jacob and Jordy huffing and puffing, sweat dripped down their faces as they doubled over with exhaustion after dragging the box out of the cave and into the warm light of the setting sun. Ready to finally get the headlines she had dreamed of, Jordy pried open the box, sounds of splintering wood filled the air. With a satisfying click, the hinges gave in, and the lid came off with a slight nudge. Before peering into the box, she shared an excited glance with Jacob. “This is it, the long-lost jewellery. ‘The Daily Sizzle’ headlines, here I come!” Almost jumping out of her skin with excitement, Jordy examined the contents of the box with eager eyes.
Chapter 5- The Reunion Even though the sun had almost set and was casting an orange glow over their faces. Jordy’s face paled as she fumed. “This can’t be it! There must be more! How on earth will I make the headlines with this?” She spat out. Jordy lifted out her old, ragged teddy bear. Her face started to darken as she exchanged glances between the bear and Jacob. “JACOB!! You absolute… WOMBAT! YOU SELFISH WOMBAT!!” Hurt and confused, Jacob stared blankly at his sister as she furiously muttered under her breath. “Jordy…” Jacob tried to comfort his sister, but she simply wouldn’t listen. “NO! Be quiet! Y- You- You… YOU LYING MAGPIE! You tricked me! You wasted my time!” Feeling hurt by Jordy’s words, Jacob tried to interject but Jordy wasn’t finished. “You’ve ruined my chance to make headlines! Now I’ll fail, and I will be fired! This is all your fault!” Jordy’s face was red, and tears brimmed her eyes waiting to fall. “Jordan. Listen to me! You will make headlines, I promise. I will help you find a way!” Jordy sniffled quietly as she knew her brother meant every word he said. He never called her by her full name unless he was serious. She wiped her eyes, letting the salt sting her flushed cheeks. The corners of her mouth wobbled upwards, and a weak smile appeared on her face. Jacob suddenly felt ashamed, opening his mouth to speak he knew he had to tell her the truth. “Look… Jordy, I have something to tell you, please… hear me out, just this once.” Nodding slightly, Jordy listened closely to what her brother was about to say next. “I’ve missed you, Jordan. Ever since you left Byron Bay, I’ve felt so lonely without you. You were always there for me and ever since we started working, we parted ways and grew more distant. We haven’t seen each other in years, and I miss all the adventures we had as kids.” In need of breath, Jacob paused, also taking the chance to glance at his sister. Her face was hidden as she had her eyes fixed on the ground. Breathing in deeply, he continued.
“The real reason I offered to help you was…” Nervous to continue, Jacob paused again to gather confidence. “Was….?” Jordy prompted, filling in the silence as she waited for him to continue. “It was so I could take you to all the places we went to as kids and re-live those adventures. I wrote the clues on the chalkboards to lead us here, to this cave, our old pirate ship. I’m sorry there was no treasure or lost jewellery, but I hope you’re happy that I could help you find your favourite teddy bear.” Jacob let out a sigh of relief as he had finally come clean with the truth. The whistling of the wind through the trees became silent, as if it was waiting in anticipation for Jordy’s reply. Jordy looked up, her mouth trembling and her eyes had spilled over, mascara streaking down her cheeks. She attempted to form a sentence, but instead burst into tears, smudging her mascara even more. She hugged her newly found teddy bear and took a deep breath in. “I- I’m Sorry Jacob… I messed up; I didn’t mean to yell at you! I miss the times we had when we were kids too. I want to go on adventures like we did when we were kids.” They both sighed their relief, thankful that they could share old memories together again. Jordy’s wobbly smile slowly transformed into a grin as she stood up to hug her brother. Sharing wide smiles, they walked together towards Blue Bottle Creek, the way back home. Before they crossed the creek, Jordy had one last confession to make. “Jacob, I had a lot of fun today with you and I want you to know that I don’t care that I won’t make headlines. There is always next time.” With a smile, they both swung back across the creek, not even a second thought about the blue bottles that infested the water below. Arm in arm they walked back together, while the sun melted into the horizon ahead. Jordy left the following night to fly back to Tasmania, but before they waved their final goodbyes, they exchanged promises. Jordy promised to fly up to Byron Bay to visit her family more often, while Jacob promised to fly down to Tasmania and help Jordy get better at tennis. Satisfied with the time spent together, Jacob drifted into a deep sleep, exhausted after a long but fun time adventuring with his sister. But before Jordy could even think of closing her eyes to get a well-earned sleep, she sent a long email to her boss. In the email she explained all the events of that day and she apologised for not finding anything worthy to make headlines. Little did Jordy know she would wake up famous, her heart-warming article published in The Daily Sizzle’s best-selling paper, with her article presented on the front page.