The letter was from ancient times, a note written in the scrawl of a middle school kid.

“How did it not bio degrade?” asked the apprentice archeologist. “Paper was a source back then that was sensitive to the elements. It has always disintegrated or burned. I remember studying it all in the book burnings of 2012.”

“We must have been supposed to find this one,” said the master archeologist, Tristan.

They moved bricks and stones, sorting through plastic chairs warped from the weight of broken walls, when another locker was found. Tristan took his crowbar and pulled it open. Lockers were not rare, and keeping them unscathed was not a priority. Inside, he found a red plastic lunch box with more notes in it. He sprung the loose locks and dumped the remaining yellow papers, folded in triangles, into a large container and sealed it such. Those would be gone through at a later date.

“What are you hoping to find?” asked the young apprentice.

“Why this age of middle school children suddenly became deceased.”