The Great Scavenger Hunt (7 page)

“Am I the only sane one here?” she wondered out loud. When no one answered, Betsy reluctantly pushed her bike into the brush.

After fifteen minutes of wandering about, one thing was for sure—that silly little sandpiper was long gone—and
nobody gave a hoot
. Fabiana and Isabel were constructing dandelion crowns, and Maeve, Riley, and Danny were involved in a hard-core game of leapfrog.

“Hey, Betsy, we need another frog!” Maeve called.

Betsy primly shook her head, rattling her long braids. “All that grass is probably
full
of deer ticks! They're really dangerous this time of year and they carry Lyme disease. Those tiny black bugs latch on to your skin, like mosquitoes, only ticks stay there for three to five days! When I was seven I read an article all about it.”

Isabel inspected her dandelion crown with horror.
Ticks? Am I putting bugs in my hair?

“And Lyme disease is super serious. It starts like a fever, but if it gets into your nervous system—”

“Betsy!” Danny interrupted. “You know that as long as we're really careful to check for ticks after, we'll be fine.” He sounded like somebody's dad.

“What about those blackberry prickers? You're getting covered with scars playing this ridiculous game!”

Riley glanced at his leg, which was covered in tiny white scratches. “These aren't scars,” he noted. “They're battle wounds!” He raised his arm in a cheer.

Maeve gave Riley her brightest smile. “I love a guy who can think positive,” she said. Isabel thought Riley looked like he had just been sprinkled with fairy dust.

Fabiana flitted over with a yellow bouquet in her hands that she tenderly bestowed onto Betsy's matted braids. “That supposed sandpiper is long gone,” Betsy complained feebly. “Don't you think we should try to find Rock Harbor?”

“Betsy,” Fabiana soothed. “Sometimes life isn't about the destination…. It's about the journey.”

Betsy sighed, “Well, I already know my journey. My journey is to win this hunt and no one here seems to be interested in that!”

Just then her plan was interrupted by the sound of Danny's voice from behind, hollering, “INCOMING!”

Maeve watched, giggling, as Danny Pellegrino whizzed through the air like a flying squirrel, straight at Betsy. She dropped to the ground and curled up, turtle-style, just in time for Danny to bounce off her back and into the air.

“Your turn, Betsy!” Maeve huffed. “Keep the chain going.”

“I am not a human trampoline!” Betsy protested.

The group froze for a minute, anticipating that Betsy was going to yell at Danny for leapfrogging her without permission, but instead the oddest thing happened.

Betsy began running, jumped into the air, and pounced on Maeve, then Danny, then Riley, and finished by making a running leap for Isabel who curled up and instantly joined in the game.

As Betsy played she kept one hand securely on the dandelion crown that Fabiana had made for her. Before long, every person had completely forgotten about the sandpiper, the bike path,
and
the scavenger hunt, and they were all lying on their backs in the grass.

All of a sudden Fabiana's stomach began to growl. First it was just a little grumble, and then it grew into a big rumble. Everyone was silent until Fabiana bellowed, “Feed me!” There were cheers all around when Danny Pellegrino took out a package of Oreo cookies, which he and Maeve claimed were the most delicious not-homemade cookies that money could buy.

As they snacked and chugged on their water bottles, the girls took turns inspecting each other's legs and ankles for tiny black ticks. Betsy instructed the boys to do the same. Thankfully, all the Boggers found were twigs, leaves, and specks of dirt. The Boggers were officially tick free.

“Maybe we should head on to Rock Harbor,” Betsy suggested. Maeve was surprised to hear a little hesitation
in her voice.
I think Betsy was actually having fun procrastinating!
Maeve suddenly felt proud of her group for bringing out the fun side of Betsy Fitzgerald—a side that until today, no one at Abigail Adams Junior High had ever seen.

“Um, guys,” Danny started, poised on his bicycle, “do any of you remember which way we came from?”

“Yeah, we definitely came from that way.” Betsy pointed to the left.

Fabiana tilted her head. “Not to interfere, kids, but I'm pretty sure we came from that way,” she countered, pointing towards the right.

“How sure?” asked Isabel.

“Uh…pretty sure…” Fabiana raised an eyebrow and held up the yellow wreath in her hand. “Dandelion crown?” she offered one to Maeve.

“Are we lost?” Maeve replied, bending over to examine her reflection in the mirror of her bike. “On the bright side, this flower crown thingy looks faaabulous on me!”

As Fabiana took out the map and puzzled over a solid green splotch near the bike trail to Rock Harbor beach, Isabel held her breath and the boys kicked at the grass.

Betsy looked nauseous. “We definitely came
this
way,” she insisted, turning her bike around and pushing it into the weeds.

“Shouldn't we wait for Fabiana to figure out where we are?” Maeve called out,

“That map won't help at all!” Betsy turned around and put one hand on her hip. “I happen to have a very keen sense of direction.”

“I think Betsy's right.” Danny chipped in. “That tree over there looks familiar.”

“Come on,” Riley urged Maeve. “We've got a scavenger hunt to win!”

But as they rode farther and farther into the woods, Maeve began to wonder,
Are we ever going to find that bike path?
Isabel looked anxious, and Fabiana concerned. Still, Betsy pushed on, an eager Danny right behind her.

K
atani pedaled furiously with the rest of the Salty Cods out of Nickerson Park to the Orleans Rotary. She felt herself being pushed, and it wasn't from biking so hard. It was her patience—her patience with Patrice in her role as super coach to the Salty Cods to be exact—that was pushing her to the edge.

“C'mon, guys, is that all you got? Let's pump it!” Patrice cried, “We are the team to beat! Ooh yeah yeah, ooh yeah yeah…” Patrice began to mimic Sugar-N-Spice's old-school hit. It took every ounce of strength Katani had to keep up with her excited teammates.

Nick and Dillon were working the pedals like they were in the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong, the greatest speed biker in the world, was coming up fast. They were also chanting, “PUMP IT! PUMP IT! WE ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT.”

I can't believe they're actually enjoying this!
Katani looked around.
Even Charlotte looks like she is having the time of her life!
Katani stared at her as she pedaled like the energizer bunny. All the Cods were biking so fast there was no time to appreciate the beautiful bike path and views of the ocean.

I was right from the beginning. I shouldn't have come on this ridiculous scavenger/survivor trip
, Katani thought. Surely she wasn't the only one who found Patrice's triathlon mentality aggravating. Katani was pretty sure she'd heard Dillon grumbling to Nick that he couldn't believe they'd wandered around the park for a half an hour and didn't even find that “stupid fox.” But as they pedaled, the guys were acting like Patrice was the best trip leader ever.

By the time they reached the Orleans Rotary, however, the only one who still seemed to be exerting energy was Patrice. As Katani rolled up, she saw that Dillon's and Nick's faces were bright red, and there was so much sweat on Charlotte's face she looked like she had just stepped out of the shower. Katani could feel her own hair turning into a giant fuzzball.

“All right, then!” Patrice clapped her hands. “Shake it out, group, shake it out. Let's take a quick breather and then push it to Orleans Beach.”

Katani pulled at her frizzy ponytail. “I don't know, Patrice,” she objected. “The clue says something about the harbor's rocky shore. I think we should check out Rock Harbor.”

“I kinda think Katani might be right,” seconded Nick.
“Sorry…” he mumbled when he saw the disappointment on Patrice's face.

“Yeah, me three,” Dillon echoed his friend.

Charlotte's eyes danced between the Summers sisters. As a very observant only child, she knew better than to interfere when there might be a sibling disagreement.

Katani couldn't even celebrate the boys siding with her against her sister because Patrice looked so stricken, like her whole team had let her down. Katani didn't want Patrice to think she was trying to instigate a revolt. She just wanted her sister to SLOW DOWN.

Suddenly, Patrice smiled. “That's cool.” Then she asked in a super mellow voice, “You guys ever been to Orleans Beach before?”

Nick and Dillon and Charlotte looked at one another sheepishly and shook their heads no.

“Oh, really? So then maybe you don't know what it looks like…. Do you?” Patrice asked innocently.

“Uh, no, but if the clue says rocky shore…” a suddenly unsure Nick tried to defend the team's choice.

“No, it's totally cool,” Patrice replied, her smile growing wider, into—in Katani's expert opinion—a smile that meant:
I know something that you don't
.

“I just thought you guys were too smart to fall for the oldest trick in the book. Why would the clue just tell you exactly where to go? Haven't you heard the expression ‘if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is'?”

Dillon smacked his head and turned to Nick and
nodded. “Ohhh, dude. I forgot about that one!”

Charlotte and Nick looked at each other like they were a pair of kindergarteners who'd just spelled cat with a
k.

“Patrice has that effect on people,” Katani mumbled under her breath. Charlotte chewed on her lip.

Patrice stood in front of her team with her arms folded. “Well, I happen to know for a fact that Orleans Beach has a very rocky section.”

Nick shrugged. “Cool. I mean…whatever. What do you think Char…Katani?”

Charlotte looked at Katani with a tentative expression that read
What am I supposed to do now?
Char said quietly, “Well, I guess we better follow the leader.”

Katani opened her mouth to object, but Patrice spoke too quickly. “Sweetness! Let's go, team!” She hopped on her bike and began to zip away. Charlotte, Nick, and Dillon leaped on their bikes and zoomed after her with seemingly renewed energy.

Katani followed right after them but soon discovered that her gearshift was stuck in low gear, making it almost impossible to pedal with any speed. As the Salty Cods sped up, Katani cried out, “Patrice, STOP! My gears…”

Patrice looked over her shoulder and, seeing her sister struggling with her bike, circled back to her. “Kgirl, would you take a chill pill?” But then her volume dropped and she added, “You can do this, little sis. Just hang on. It looks like there's a gas station ahead.”

“Okay.” Katani sniffed. She felt better that her sister at
least recognized that she wasn't trying to be a poor sport or anything.

But then Patrice ruined the moment by adding, “Just don't be a crybaby.”

“You big…” Katani pedaled faster, unable to think of anything to quash her annoying big sister.

“Big
what
?” teased Patrice with a wicked twinkle in her eye.

“Big…” Katani could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her like hot magma, and she bit her tongue to stop the mean words from spewing out. “You know what? Never mind. You know what you're being and I'm not going to say it because you would just tell Mom later and get me in trouble.” Katani concluded, “SO THERE!”

“Oh,
that
was mature,” scoffed Patrice.

“Just shut—” Katani began.

“Shut what?”

Katani put her head down and pedaled like there was no tomorrow.

“No, tell me. I'm sure Nick, Charlotte, and Dillon are curious. Right, guys?” Patrice turned to the rest of the Cods who had pulled up in front of the gas station.

Charlotte wished Mr. Moore were around to put a stop to the sister insanity. Though she was usually way jealous of her friends with siblings, today was
not
one of those times.

The funny thing was that Patrice didn't seem to be bothered at all by her tiff with her sister. Charlotte wondered if she was just being an oversensitive only child.
Nick and Dillon seemed okay, and now that Patrice was helping Katani walk her bike to the garage mechanic, Katani seemed fine too. Charlotte sighed. She would never understand the whole sibling thing.

Suddenly, she had a great idea and ran over to Patrice.

“Hey, Patrice, maybe we should talk to some locals and see which place is rockier,” Charlotte suggested.

Patrice looked at Charlotte like she'd just invented the cure for the hiccups. “Why, Charlotte Ramsey, no wonder they say you're so smart,” she complimented her.

Charlotte beamed. “Thanks…”

As Patrice walked into the gas station convenience store to ask about where the rockiest shore was, Katani asked, “Charlotte, are you siding with Patrice over me?” Katani heard her voice crack and prayed that tears would not follow.

“No way, Katani, I would never do that! But I do think that you and Patrice are getting on each other's nerves and it's not all that fun for the rest of us,” Charlotte confessed.

“Yeah, me too!” Nick said. “You two need to calm down.”

“
I
need to calm down?” Katani balked. “But she's the one—”

“I'm hungry,” Dillon interrupted, turning to Charlotte and Nick. “You guys want to eat lunch down at Rock Harbor? That looks like a sandwich shop right over there by the beach,” he said, pointing. “We can get some cold drinks.”

Charlotte felt a wave of relief wash over her. “That sounds like the most brilliant plan of the day!” Charlotte pronounced.

“Wordage,” Nick agreed.

“We'll meet you at the shore!” Charlotte called out as the three of them took off on their bikes, leaving Katani and Patrice, who had just walked up, confused. The sisters watched as Charlotte, Nick, and Dillon laughed their way down to the harbor.

“The locals say
both
beaches are rocky. I doubt we'll find anything down there, but whatever.” Patrice shrugged at Katani and hopped on her bike. Katani followed, testing her newly adjusted gears. They seemed to work just fine now, but somehow, it didn't make her feel any better.

Finally Patrice muttered, “Are you gonna sulk all day?”

Katani ignored her sister.

“Oh, I get it. You're doing the whole silent-treatment thaaang. That is
so
cute!”

Katani was not doing the silent treatment thing, she was doing the ignoring thing. As Patrice blathered on and on about absolutely nothing, Katani did her best to pretend she was totally alone. She knew Patrice was trying to be friendly, but Katani needed time to chill out before she could deal with her sister and her win-at-all-costs attitude.

As they rode down toward the beach, Katani noticed that Charlotte and Dillon were shouting on the boulders ahead—shouting and jumping up and down. She felt a
rush of panic in her throat hoping that no one was hurt. In spite of her annoyance with her sister, she stole a glance at Patrice, whose eyes also were also filled with worry.

“Where's Nick?” asked Patrice. She hopped off her bike and ran, her long legs moving at the super speed she usually reserved for sprinting on the track field. Katani followed quickly behind her.

When they reached the top of the stony hill Charlotte jogged over and gave her hand a friendly squeeze. “We found it! Clue number two!” Charlotte beamed triumphantly and read the clue again for everybody. “‘From the Orleans circle round, toward a coastal town you're bound. There is much for you in store at the harbor's rocky shore.'”

“It
is
Rock Harbor,” Patrice said. “Which means…”

“I was right,” Katani couldn't help smiling.

“Good job, Sis,” Patrice admitted. “Sometimes I let the power go to my head a bit,” she joked.

“Ya think?” Katani shook her head.

Charlotte leaned in and added to Katani in a whisper, “Family trait?”

Katani grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry I snapped at you before.”

Charlotte shook her head and gave her friend a forgiving smile. “Water under the bridge. The Salty Cods are on fire! I vote we charge ahead and try to get some bonus items while we're on this beach.”

“Agreed!” cheered Nick and Dillon.

“On one condition,” Katani added. “Please, can everyone not
ever
say ‘pump it' again?”

“No problem,” the rest of the group shouted cheerfully.

She placed her arm in the center of their circle. “Everybody in!” she ordered, and the rest of the Salty Cods followed. “1…2…3…WIN!” they yelled.

Katani's face brightened. She loved winning way more than fighting with Patrice, and that word coming from her friends' mouths sounded like the most glorious thing she'd heard all day.

“I'm starving!” Dillon suddenly announced. “Who's ready for some grub?”

Actually,
that
was the most glorious thing Katani had heard all day.

What Bog Are We In?

Normally, Maeve wouldn't have minded being lost in the woods. Pretending that she was a lost princess waiting for a fabulous prince driving an all-terrain vehicle to her would be sooo fun. In fact, “let's pretend” was #1 on Maeve's list of favorite things to do. There was that time just a month before when she and Sam got lost in the grocery store and pretended they were space aliens from Planet Pickle-sausage who could survive only on the human super power fuel foods of chicken sausage and dill pickles.

Of course, that little fantasy had only lasted for ten minutes, until their mother found them and demanded that they replace the six jars of pickles and four packages of sausages that they were toting around with them. The problem was that this time, in these woods, the person in charge was also lost!

And Betsy's insistence that they were heading in the right direction when they were so obviously not was making Maeve too nervous to get her fantasy groove on. Instead, she chewed on her finger as she watched Fabiana trying to keep her cool.

Unfortunately, Fabiana kept scrunching her eyebrows together and checking her cell phone every two seconds—which was a dead giveaway that they were totally lost. Even Betsy finally stopped talking and looked at Fabiana, who said feebly, “Maybe we should turn around.”