The Great Scavenger Hunt Read online

  Suddenly, Charlotte burst out laughing. “Guys, those tents are called yurts.”

  “I thought Yurt was just Henry’s last name,” Dillon said.

  “Yurts are also what the Mongolian nomads called their homes. They are like huge tents that can easily be set up and taken down. The Mongolians were nomadic, which means that they liked to move around from place to place,” Charlotte explained. “I guess this campground set some up as, like, a tourist attraction.”

  “‘One is big, the other small, and neither a precipice at all. Near these places, in the dirt, get ready for a yurt alert!’” Patrice read the first clue aloud again.

  “Hey, check it out! There’s a flag in the middle!” Dillon cried as he ran over and plucked the red flag from the ground. In the middle of the flag someone had stamped the letters AAJH—Abigail Adams Junior High.

  “Cods, it looks like we just got ourselves three points!” Patrice announced proudly. “Let’s take a picture and move on down the road,” she said with a little Wizard of Oz shuffle for emphasis.

  Charlotte took out her digital camera and captured the yurts in the clearing. As the group examined the snapshot on the screen, Katani noticed a little orange blur in the woods out of the corner of her eye. “Hey, isn’t that a—”

  “FOX!” Nick finished, pointing at the tiny fiery flash taking off into the woods.

  Patrice began running. “Come on, guys, what are you waiting for? That fox was part of the bonus point list.”

  Charlotte, Dillon, and Nick took off after her. Katani was left standing alone to watch the bikes. “Hey, guys, a fox is only worth one point, and isn’t the goal of this thing to be the first team to finish?” she cried after them. “Besides,” she added, “it’s not safe to chase wild animals.” But there was no one there to listen to her warning.

  Barnacle Wishes

  For creatures famous for their ability to stay put on a rock or seashell for their whole lives, the Beach Barnacles were definitely not living up to their name. As soon as Avery climbed on her bicycle, she was off like a rocket.

  She couldn’t understand what all the other teams were making such a big deal about with the maps and the clues. The scavenger hunt had to be super easy if the first clue was Henry Yurt! In her opinion, the most important, nobrainer reason to have a weekend trip to Cape Cod was to go biking.

  As she pedaled her feet at warp speed, churning through the gears of the bike, Avery felt like she might actually lift off the pavement and fly into the air. Now that was a great idea…flying bicycles…just like in E.T the Extraterrestrial! Why hadn’t anyone invented one of those puppies yet?

  “C’mon, slowpokes!” Avery taunted. “Last one to the beach is a rotten snail. Get it?” She consulted Henry Yurt, who was the only person on the team riding next to her.

  “On top of it, Ms. Barnacle,” he retorted and adjusted the setting on his, like, 120-speed bike as he raced by her. Henry and his dad were avid bikers and could be seen all over Brookline with their matching father-and-son frizzball hair poking out of their bike helmets. Just as Henry was really taking off, who went whizzing by him and Avery but Mrs. Moore—on a cow-painted bicycle no less.

  “Woo-hoo! See you at the barbecue tonight!” she teased as she passed the two bewildered students, leaving them in a cloud of dust. Avery and the Yurtmeister heaved and huffed to go faster. Not wanting to look like the loser of the group, Kiki stepped up her game and quickly caught up to the other two.

  “Whoa, looks like I’m going to have to break a sweat after all,” Ben Briggs remarked. Ben was the type of kid people called “big-boned” who really was big-boned. There was nothing tiny about Ben Briggs. In fact, Ben was one of the strongest underclassmen on the high school varsity football team. When he kicked his bike into high gear, he was soon at the head of the group.

  The only one who didn’t feel like going quite so fast was Chelsea. Actually, it wasn’t so much that she didn’t feel like it…. It was just that no matter how hard she pushed down on those pedals, it just didn’t seem to make her bike go as fast as her teammates’.

  By the time she finally caught up to the group, Chelsea’s heart was beating like a drum solo. A year ago she might have felt bad that she was last, but now her attitude was, I’m in the game and that’s what counts! She gave herself an imaginary pat on the back for keeping up.

  Still, she suggested to her brother, “Hey, Ben…maybe we could slow down a bit. I’ve passed, like, three things on the bonus point list already. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to stop and take a few pictures?” Chelsea gulped.

  “Chels, are you crazy? If we slow down now, we’ll lose our lead. And that’s the one edge we have in this competition!” Avery argued.

  “Avery’s got a point, kid,” Ben agreed. “Just hang in there. It won’t be much longer.” Betrayed by my own flesh and blood! Chelsea couldn’t believe it. After what seemed like an eternity, the bike path finally merged with civilization—and there was the adorable little town of Orleans.

  “So are we still looking for a yurt alert or not?” a frustrated Kiki asked. She had a valid point. In Chelsea’s opinion it was a genius point. The group had biked for miles and they had no idea if they were even headed in the right direction or what they were looking for.

  “Hey, dude, I’m aaall the Yurt alert you’ll ever need,” sang Henry Yurt. He got off his bike and did a weird little Yurt dance around Kiki, who stared at him with a horrified expression on her face. The group cracked up at the antics of their class president and Kiki’s reaction to him.

  “Let’s check out the second clue,” suggested Chelsea. “Maybe we’ll get somewhere with that one.”

  Ben nodded. “Good idea, Chels,” he conceded, patting her on the back and handing the next envelope over. “You do the honors,” he said and bowed to his sister. Chelsea wanted to bonk him over the head. Ben is so goofy sometimes, she thought as she opened up the envelope and began to read. “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.”

  Avery’s face lit up. “Hey, you guys! Do you have any idea what this means? Orleans circle…coastal town…this clue is talking about Nauset Beach in Orleans, and we’re practically already there! I love that beach!”

  “Are you sure the clue is talking about Nauset Beach, though? Is that the only beach in Orleans?” Chelsea asked.

  “Who cares about the other beaches?” Kiki said dismissively. “Nauset Beach is the only cool one. Besides, I know an awesome shortcut. This way we won’t have to go through the rotary.”

  Avery shrugged. “I’m in. Hey, maybe it’ll put us in the lead.”

  Avery and Kiki were off immediately in the direction of Nauset Beach, and the group followed right behind. Chelsea, who had spent a good amount of her life being on the shier side, knew a thing or two about leaders from observing them in action. People tended to do exactly what the leader said or did without even thinking about whether or not the plan made any sense at all. It could be very frustrating.

  As she followed her team zipping down the bike path to a destination that might have nothing to do with their scavenger hunt, Chelsea was pretty sure that the Beach Barnacles weren’t thinking about the scavenger hunt at all.

  Dandelion Dreams

  When the Cranberry Boggers finally reached the famous Orleans Rotary mentioned in clue #2, the whole team burst out in cheers. “We have to be doing something right!” Betsy chirped to Danny Pellegrino.

  “I agree!” he announced, but then he grabbed his stomach and complained, “I’m starving! When’s lunch?”

  “It’s only ten thirty!” Betsy balked.

  Danny shrugged. “I’m too hungry. I need high octane fuel to ride…. Give me a cheese…burger!

  “Eat an apple and a piece of cheese. We have to figure out this clue first!” Betsy commanded as she pedaled over to Fabiana who was guarding the second clue with new resolve. “Look at that sign for Rock H
arbor,” Betsy directed. “Didn’t the clue say something about the harbor’s rocky shore? I vote we go that way.”

  “I vote we take a snack break,” Danny piped in again as he popped a cheese chunk in his mouth.

  Riley gave him a thumbs-up and agreed, “I’m with you, dude!”

  “He’s kidding,” Betsy persisted. “They’re both kidding. What do you think, Isabel?”

  Isabel, who wasn’t a big fan of being put on the spot, murmured, “I guess that beach sounds like a good idea.” Plus, it was really hard to resist Betsy’s intimidating attitude.

  Maeve, who loved being put on the spot and was disappointed that Betsy hadn’t consulted her, declared in loud voice, “Well, come on, then! Boggers unite! Fabiana, lead the way! NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!”

  Maeve loved being a cheerleader. It was definitely in her future to be on the squad when she got to high school. If she could just get Betsy to loosen up a bit and realize Maeve and Isabel were on her side, they might actually stand a chance to win this.

  “Yeah, Maeve! Let’s go, Boggers!” Riley echoed in a deep singsong voice. As the group took off down the path, he stuck close to Maeve. “I’m really glad Nick switched groups with me,” he confided. “Cranberry Boggers is a much cooler name than Salty Cods! I mean, who would want to be a smelly fish?”

  “I totally agree!” Maeve’s heart thumped in her chest at the way Riley’s hair flew back as he pedaled his bike. “I’m glad, um, Nick had the idea to switch groups too. I mean,” she whispered conspiratorially, “we performers need to stick together.” Then she flashed him her A+ movie-star smile. She was very pleased to see Riley’s cheeks flush and his front tire wobble as he turned away.

  Halfway to the beach, Isabel hit the brakes on her bike. Betsy had to swerve to stop herself from flying off the path and into a thorny wild rosebush. “You guys, look!” Isabel said in a hushed voice. “I think that bird over there might be a sandpiper. Isn’t that one of the items on our bonus list?”

  “Excellent, Isabel!” Fabiana cheered, but just as the words escaped her lips, the bird skipped off into the bushes.

  “Oh, shoot,” an embarrassed Fabiana muttered. “Did I do that?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Maeve assured her. “Pipers are all over the Cape, and I’ve seen my brother track ’em a billion times. I’m practically a professional.”

  Betsy groaned. “A professional piper tracker? Is that even a real thing? Besides, pipers only hang out on the beach, not in the woods….”

  But no one was paying any attention to her. Betsy looked horrified as Isabel, Danny, and Maeve turned their bikes down a little dirt path and took off after the little bird with the Speedy Gonzales stick legs.

  Not even Fabiana, the authority figure in the group, felt like barking any sense into the runaway Boggers. Their fearless leader took her Red Sox hat out of her bag, plopped it on her head backward, giggled, and announced, “When in Rome.” Then she zoomed off behind the kids, leaving Betsy stunned on the bike path.

  “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 defini
tely 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.

  CHAPTER

  6

  The Rock Harbor Patrice Show

  Katani 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.