•Hidden Ville High•

Chapter 3: Hollowbrook Park

Chapter 3: Hollowbrook Park

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"5.30 pm on the dot." Jake read his analog watch. He turned to face the gathered students and the teachers. They stood at the front of the park, surrounded on freshly cut grass that swayed in the gentle breeze. A few wooden benches rested on the grass, and a few students were seated on them, resting. Various monuments dotted the loan and added to the significant beauty of the park.

Jake lifted a microphone to his lips." Okay, Villers. Today, we have half - and a little extra of the park to ourselves.  So let's put this opportunity to use. The most important thing here is to have fun!" His voice rang through the microphone, sparking a ripple of excitement among the students.

"For anyone who's not familiar with the events for today or hasn't checked the news app." She added." There's a board showing the hosts will be located." Emilia pointed at a wooden board - neatly written in a thin strip of black paint lettering. On it where names of the hosts, the activity they are hosting and their location." Villers. Thank you all for coming. Let's have fun!" She screamed the word fun into the microphone. Drawing applauds and cheers from the students.

"So where do you wanna start first, Kaylee?" Vicky questioned while looking at her. Kaylee tapped her cheeks thoughtfully and pursed her lips.

"Hmmm, let's grab drinks first. Then we can go on a Nature Hunt hosted by Cole and Bryce." Kaylee spoke, and Vicky wrinkled her nose the moment she heard Kaylee say Bryce's name and gave a little shrug.

With a concerned look on her, Kaylee shifted her gaze on Vicky.

"They are both in the basketball team called Tigers. Cole is the captain, and I'd rather hang out with him than Bryce... ." Vicky replied in annoyance. "To make things worse, Bryce is with that stuck-up Bianca." She spoke the last sentence with an irritated tone.

"Don't tell anyone this."

She looked around curiously and then leaned closer to Kaylee.

"Hey, listen, everyone in Hidden Ville knows that Cole and Victoria aren't actually together. They recently just broke up, and Victoria just hangs around him sometimes- to satisfy herself and to boost her eestem." Vicky whispered to her.

Kaylee grinned and stood on her tip-toes to whisper back. "You know I think you might like Cole. Why not give it a shot?"

Vicky's eyes widened as she clapped both her hands over her mouth.

"No way! He seems like a cold person." She responded with a frown on her face." Anyways, let's begin the nature hunt." Her face brightened.

The nature hunt was south to the entrance of the park. A small wooden sign was nailed to one of the tall trees. It was written in thin black paint. " Nature Hunt with Cole and Bryce Location: South." For this game - the goal was to spot four hidden different objects and in additional of one special object all scattered among the trees. A picture of four objects was posted on the corner of the board, and a question mark appeared on the fifth object. There was a reward if all five objects were found.

Kaylee and Vicky nodded at each other and began strolling down a narrow concrete path. Overhead tall green trees arched their leaves overlapped on each other, creating a cool shadow and an earthly scent of nature.Soft, sweet, harmonic music played from the hidden speakers as they walked down the little path - each time, one of them spotted one of the objects. They would tap on each other's arm and excitedly point at it.

"Okay, one more to go, Vicky." Kaylee spoke as she counted the photos on her phone.

"Right! Can't wait to see what this reward is!" Vicky spoke excitedly.

But her excitement quickly faded as she noticed a small shadow casting over a bush further behind the trees. Her breath stopped. She took a quick glance at Vicky, who was still focused ahead and carefully sauntered towards the shadow. Kaylee slowly stepped towards the shadow. As she drew closer, it became larger. Leaning closer to the ground. She exhaled to herself before she parted the leaves and peeped through. There, a flower with peach petals made it stand out. Its delicating beauty casts an enchanting significance. Quickly, she took a snap shot.

"Vicky! I found the last one. Come over here!" She called out ,waving her hand.

"Wow! It's beautiful." She marveled as she joined her." Let's go and show Cole and Bryce."

They strolled a bit further till they saw a small monument with crystal water streaming down from its edges. There, Cole sat on the edge of the fountain. His dark chocolate tousled hair, his hair fell over one of his sides . He wore a classic jacket and a pair of jeans. At the sound of their footsteps, he glanced up and instantly locked his gaze on Kaylee with his blue piercing eyes. A warm, welcoming smile spread across his face, showing his dimples.

"Hey Cole!" Vicky called out his name with a bubbly tone.

"Kaylee, the new student." He spoke with a smile on him. "Welcome to Hidden Ville High. It's unfortunate you arrived at a time like this." He added on. Then he turned to face Vicky.

"Vicky! Good to see you." Then he leaned to talk to her. "How's it going? Missing Lee already?" Vicky's cheeks reddened.

"He isn't my boyfriend!" She insisted.

Cole chuckled a teasing laugh at her. "So you found everything?"

"Yeah!" Kaylee responded as she showed him the pictures they took of the objects.

"You even found the special object." He spoke. "Nice work!" He reached into his pocket.

"Here's your reward." He handed them each a cheque of five hundred dollars.

Both girls stared at each other in disbelief.

"And by the way." Cole continued with a warm smile on him as he glanced at Kaylee." If you are up for a second round, it will be much harder."

"Lucky for you, I like challenges." Kaylee spoke, and Cole's smile widened. He stepped closer to Kaylee, leaving a small gap between each other.

"We'll see if you can handle the final round."

"Bring it on." She responded with a smirk on her.

At the front of the park, Bianca sat on one of the benches in the park with her earphones plugged in. She softly bobbed her head as she enjoyed the harmony of the song - her pink lips mouthed to the lyrics, and her fingers steadily tapped on her knee.

Then, a notification appeared on her phone, disrupting her song. Irritabily, she glanced down. Her expression quickly changed, and she glanced around, examining her surroundings. Everything there seemed to be at place and nothing unusual. She clapped her hand over mouth as she glanced to read the message again.

"Bianca, Bianca. Beauty and Brains. A role model. But no one knows your little illegal secret. Druggie."

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