Wings of Fire: Jade High School

Scavenger Hunt

Kinkajou

    Kinkajou watched the happy couple from afar, with there arms draped around one another and her head resting on his chest. It wasn't fair. She usually never cared about this kind of thing and found plenty of joy in playing matchmaker, but for some reason seeing everyone pairing off had triggered something. For the first time in a long time, she wanted a hand to hold. Of course, her feelings of defeat would quickly fade just like they always did: with a decadent sundae and a chick flick.

She leaned against the lamppost waiting for the school bus to come and take a few other students home, but it was a lot later than usual. Kinkajou's head perked up when she heard hurried footsteps crunching in the snow behind her and she whirled around to see the breathless face of Moon. Her friend paused for a moment to catch her breath before she spoke. "Good, you're still here," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"Yes... why?" Kinkajou asked slowly, slightly worried. "Is everything alright?"
"Of course! You just can't leave yet, I have something to give you. Don't worry, I can take you home."

"Wait, what?" Kinkajou furrowed her brow as Moon took a tiny pink envelope from her pocket and slipped it into the palm of her glove. "What's this?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the object in her hand.

"It's your first clue! I can't tell you who it's from, you'll know by the end of the game," Moon said, beaming. "I'll be waiting for you in front of the school!" Moon dashed off before Kinkajou could say a word, and she was left standing by the lamp post with a few intrigued looks from the people around her.

Okay... That was odd, Kinkajou thought as she peeled opened the envelope. It was a small card with a clue written in a curly font. "If you want to know more, head to the east door," Kinkajou mumbled. She assumed that by "east door" whoever wrote this meant the east entrance to the school. Kinkajou felt giddy as she skipped away from the bus stop towards the doors.

The game was afoot!

She came upon the doors, looking over every brick until she found another envelope taped to the wall. "Congratulations, you did it! Next, go to the fountain to find where I hid it," Kinkajou read, her voice rising with excitement. She raced off towards the trickling water in front of the school.
   
After about 5 or 6 more clues, she was at her second to last envelope. She shivered under her coat, the cold starting to sink in. She was having to much fun to care, but it would have been nice if they could have made this indoors.

    "Alright, just one more to go! Go to the place where Silver decided to lay low." Silver? Her cat? She ran through the last couple of years in her head, trying to think when her cat would ever have come here. She could only think of one. She'd left the door open after a rush to get out of the house a few months ago, and came home to her cat missing. Kinkajou, not knowing what else to do, called the person who was closest: Turtle. He had helped her search all evening until they came across the cat in the oak tree out behind the school. That had to be it.

    As she trekked through the snow, her mind started to connect the dots. The only person who knew about that was Turtle. Mixed feelings bubbled up inside her as she came upon the old tree. Sure enough, standing below its bare branches, Turtle stood, shuffling his feet. When he saw her, his eyes lit up.

    Kinkajou didn't know how to feel. He'd been one of her closest friends for years, and she'd honestly never thought of him as anything more than that. She eyed him as she walked down the hill and tried to imagine his arms around her.

    She came to stop in front of him, her heart pounding in her chest as she awaited his next words.

    "Did you like the game?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.

    "I thought it was fantastic! I loved it, I really did. Thank you," she said.

    "It's not over yet," he said, reaching into his coat pocket to pull out one last envelope. "This is your final one."

    Kinkajou took it carefully from his hand, butterflies in her stomach. She peeled it open, her eyes scanning over the words. "Willl you go to the sweetheart dance with me?" Turtle asked, echoing the words on the card. She hesitated, looking up at him. It had to be the right decision because she felt something, not because she was desperate. This was a different side of him and... well, she liked it.

    "Yes, I'll go with you," she said, her mouth titling upward into a smile. Kinkajou went stiff as Turtle reached forward, enveloping her in a hug, before giving in and squeezing him back.