“Want to play hide-and-seek?” HimaLaya inquired.
“Isn’t that for little 5-year-olds?” Everest retorted.
“Yeah, but, it’s nice to be a little kid once in a while.”
“That’s true. You go hide, and I’ll seek. Ready?”
“Ready.” When Everest turned around to count, HimaLaya started to search the park. She looked at the slide, the twirl-a-booth, and the big log, but decided to hide behind the tree, which faced a mini forest.
After Everest finished counting, she started looking for her. After searching in 10 hiding spots, she finally went to look behind the tree. But all she found was a note.
Everest picked up the note, and read it:
If you see this note, HimaLaya is unharmed. For now. I will not tell you where she is, but I think we should play a game. I’ve placed cameras where the clues would be. You will have to find them. You have 5 school days. Your first clue is: “The place most children dislike.”
“Okay,” Everest said. “Remain calm.” Everest began to hyperventilate. As she continued to panic, she closed her eyes, counted to 20, and took her iPhone out.
"What in the world do I do?” Everest thought aloud. “Mom would be super mad at me. Better just get it over with. Or not.” She texted her mom she would be coming home.
“Hey sweetie. How was the park?” Rocky, Everest and HimaLaya’s mom, said as Everest arrived.
"Fine. Why did Grandma name you Rocky, and our last name is Mountain?” Everest asked, trying to avoid telling her mom that HimaLaya was missing.
“The same reason I named you Everest Mountain. Where’s HimaLaya?”
Everest showed her the note she saw behind the tree. Rocky’s eyes grew wide. “We need to call the police.”
"Mom, it’s okay. She’s my twin, I’ll handle it.”
“‘You will handle it.’” Rocky echoed, raising her voice with every word. “WHY?! HOW?!”
“Mom, it’s not my fault. We were play-”
“You were playing. Of course! You will be disciplined later. I am calling the police to file a report. You will NOT, I repeat, NOT interfere.”
“WHAT? THAT’S NOT FAIR!”
“You are only 15! Fifteen, I REMIND YOU! GO TO YOUR ROOM, NOW!”
Everest screamed aloud, and stomped upstairs. As she slammed the door behind her, she looked in her mirror. Her jet-black hair with copper streaks looked like she suffered a bad hair day. Her caramel skin looked like it was going to melt. After staring for 5 minutes, she put on her stealthy outfit. This consisted of a slim black shiny jumpsuit and shiny black boots. Everest wrote a little note to her mom, apologizing for yelling at her, and departed the house to save her twin, using her window.
Where is this place? A place most children dislike, Everest thought, when she got outside. Then an idea popped into her head. Before she knew it, she was heading for Baltimore Educated High, her high school.
When she got there, she noticed it was locked. She tried the back door. Locked. She tried jumping to a window, but she was too short. She found a ladder hidden behind a tree, and placed it against the window. Since the window was locked, she grabbed a rock, and threw it at the window. The rock made a big crack, a big enough hole for her to fit in. She climbed the ladder, and got inside the school. When she got inside, she looked to see if there was security. Sure enough, there was. Great, Everest thought. They probably heard that. I better be careful. She got down from the window quietly, and tried to look for open lockers or classrooms. No luck, she thought. She then saw a little light. She followed it, and the door to the classroom was unlocked. She opened it, and started looking for a camera. Once she found it, letters and numbers appeared on it:
