Treasure Hunting 101

Chapter VII

Skylar

Music: Sky Station Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy 2

Look, I love my friends. Regardless of how frustrated they make me sometimes, that will remain a true fact. They're some of the greatest people I know.

Unfortunately, they can also be some of the most annoying people I know.

Let me repeat my point from earlier: They make me very frustrated sometimes.

I'm mostly referring to Heath and Luke. Both of them are great guys by themselves, but when the two of them are together? Welcome to hell. For me, at least.

Ever since we took flight, the two of them have been going nonstop at how hyped they are for this quest. I get it, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it's exciting, but JESUS. These two really don't understand the concept of "keeping it down". And, of course, I have to be the only one who puts up with them. Sam and Elle are at the control panel together, and Avery and Brea are busy trying to find out as much information as they can about the Kaori's Treasure.

"Dude, imagine if we run into, like, mummies in a pyramid or some shit," Luke says, grinning like a stupid little kid. "How dope would that be?"

"No one would believe us if we told them," Heath laughs.

"Man, we're gonna need to take a lot of pictures," Luke says, and the two of them start giggling. I cover my eardrums to ease the pain that is the annoyance they bring together, and it still isn't enough.

Then, as if to spite me, they both start pumping their fists in the air and yelling, "TREASURE HUNT! TREASURE HUNT!" over and over again. Avery and Brea glance in their direction for a brief second then look away, and Sam and Elle don't even seem to notice.

Finally, I decide that I've had enough. "Hey, guys, I've got a little bit of advice for you two," I hiss at them, fake-smiling at them.

"What's up, Skylar?" Luke asks.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

Luke mutters something under his breath and turns away. Heath, on the other hand, gets my message and sheepishly mutters, "Sorry." I reach into his air to tussle it, and despite the efforts he makes to prevent me from doing so, I come out successful.

"Yo, Sam, are we there yet?" Brea asks.

"Just a few miles away, yeah," Sam replies, keeping his eye on the map displayed on the hovercraft's monitor. The green dot that represents us is right at the line where California and Nevada meet.

"Good, because we've finally got a lead on what the 'House of Misfortune' could be."

At the sound of this, Sam puts the hovercraft on autopilot, and the rest of us gather around Brea, who has another news article pulled up on her phone. "So, there's this old abandoned house somewhere in Sacramento that belonged to some old fortune teller back in the '70s. She was known for always giving people bad fortunes and then asking for money so she could 'wish their bad luck away'."

"Apparently, people TP'd her house often," Avery adds. Not sure why she felt the need to mention that, but good to know, I guess.

"Wait, if she lived there in the '70s, how could Prince Kaori have known about that house?" I ask, puzzled by this information. "Something isn't adding up here."

"Prince Kaori gave instructions to his family so that each generation would switch the clues around, allowing the challenge to require more and more travelling over time," Brea answers. "Since he's long gone, whoever the oldest generation currently alive is currently claims responsibility for the treasure."