Page 47 of Buzzer Beater

A sudden jolt caused me to hit my head and I opened my eyes. The scenery hadn’t changed and at first, I didn’t know if I’d been asleep for a minute or an hour. I looked at my phone and groaned. It had been almost two hours since we left the resort.

“Do you know how much longer?” I asked Chloe and she looked up from the magazine on her lap.

“Alma?” She nearly shouted to be heard from the rear.

Our guide turned and smiled. “Yes, señorita?”

“How much further do we have?”

“Ten minutes.”

There were a few murmurs from the rest of the group. I wasn’t the only one ready to get out.

Alma was right, we arrived within ten minutes and were walking through the rusted, metal gates.

I looked for Amber and the rest of the girls, but I got separated and ended up walking with Chloe and Reese.

Tulum was amazing. More than just a temple, there were several structures standing. The jungle had been cleared just enough to reveal the buildings and we were given free rein to explore.

We wandered through the buildings, followed Alma as he explained each one’s purpose and the people that lived here hundreds of years ago. When we reached the temple, we paused as a group. I looked up in awe.

How had they built this without machinery? Without tractors and cranes?

Grant walked up to us and smiled. “Race to the top?”

Suddenly, all the guys took off in a rush. Chloe laughed. “They’re going to regret that later.”

I walked toward the imposing staircase. There had to be hundreds of steps to get to the top. I took a deep breath and started. I tried to ignore the rest of the girls in their cute, matching athletic wear of shorts and crop tops. Madeline and Colby took off racing each other. I soon fell behind the group, losing my breath with each step. My legs were burning, and my heart felt ready to burst out of my chest.

I wanted to stop. This was high enough, right? I looked up and saw the rest of the group cheering at the top. Colby was waving at us. “This is amazing!”

I had to keep going. I took another step and paused when Riley appeared next to me.

“This is the most cardio I’ve done in years,” she said.

I laughed, but it came out as huffs. “I exercise all the time, but I don’t think there’s anything to prepare your body for this.”

She nodded. “Then explain them?” She pointed at the top where everyone else had gathered.

“They’re professional athletes.”

“And the girls?”

“Super human.”

She blew out a heavy breath, and we kept going. After a few more minutes we made it. There was a sketchy rope and ladder to get to the very top, but I decided that if the climb hadn’t killed me, neither would this.

The view from the top was breathtaking and completely worth actually losing my breath. We could see lush, jungle treetops for miles in every direction. It felt like we were on top of the world. The ruins of the city below us made sense from up here. I could envision people living below, surrounding by this beauty.

Our guide walked to the front of the platform and began pointing. “If you scan the horizon you will see small bumps or hills.”

I looked where he was pointing, seeing a barely noticeable difference.

“Those are more temples and buildings that haven’t been uncovered yet.”

“There’s more?” Madeline sounded excited.

Alma nodded. “There are dozens, maybe even hundreds of villages like this that haven’t been touched.”