The scavenger hunt

Part 4

Our last lunch is not a special one. Not at all. It is a sandwich with some chicken, salad, cheese and mayonnaise. We had a similar one last week and it was not the best sandwich ever. I have had better ones in my life. Once, I went to a restaurant and I’ve ordered a sandwich, as nothing else was appealing and it was just magic. Pure magic. Anyway, it’s just a detail. We are so excited to start searching that we are eating everything within like ten minutes: the sandwich, our drink and our fruit, which was either an apple or a banana. I chose the banana. I hate eating apples. It is like you’re going to lose at least four of your teeth as it is so hard to bite.

Everyone has finished eating. We are all waiting for the rules to be explained. There is not a single person who is standing calmly and wisely on their seat. We are all impatient. I guess that in general, before starting any activity, people are not used to waiting patiently. I don’t even know if that’s their first time here. It would explain lots of things, such as the fact that our activities are, nine times out of ten, annoying.

Whatever, let’s stop talking and just listening to our dear monitor.

“Okay guys, attention please” he said while clapping his hands.

“So as you know, today is our last day here and so we have set up a huge scavenger hunt in the forest. It’s a huge place so when you walk through it, you’ll probably see us just watching you in case something happens. We won’t give you any advice or clues, so don’t waste your time by trying. We are asking you to be responsible here. Even though we’ll be monitoring you, there will be times when you’ll be on your own so don’t be stupid and just follow the rules. You will always have to be with your group. Never split! I know it’s boring but it’s safer if you’re together. I don’t want to be telling to your parents that you’re at hospital or dead.”

“You’re a little dramatic here, it’s a scavenger hunt, we’ll…”

“No I’m not Simon. You never know. Better safe than sorry. And please guys don’t interrupt me again, if you have some questions, you’ll ask them when I’ll be done explaining. So, where was I? Oh, yes I was talking about safety.”

“I think they understood Kevin, you can move on.” Another monitor told him.

“Yes you’re right. So now is the funny part, we will explain how it works, how you can find clues. As you know, there are lots of fireflies and the weather is not so great today, hence we decided to put some of them in a jar. Don’t worry, they are able to breathe. Therefore, you’ll have to find one and search around it. It can be just two centimetres away or two feet away or two meters. That is why you have to search everywhere. It’s in the area. The thing is that you have to be able to see the firefly from where the clue is. I hope it’s clear, if that’s not the case then tell me and I’ll try to explain it better or someone else will do it. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, I do. I understood perfectly well the searching thing part though when you’re talking about clues, what is it? A sheet of paper with a sentence? An enigma? Or another object?” A student of the other group asked.

“Yeah, good question, I forgot to mention it. It’s going to be an enigma. The sheet of paper isn’t going to be white every time though…” Kevin replied smiling.

I was thinking about the prize so I decided to ask what was bothering me.

“I have another question, what is going to be the reward at the end?”

“It is actually a surprise. And a good one, I promise you guys.” Mentions Sandra, another leader.

She was doing the activities with the other group so if she’s saying that it is a good surprise then I believe her. After, some other guys asked questions but they weren’t really relevant.