Is this destiny?

~ Texas, The White Rock Lake ~

10:07 AM

Everyone at the villa went to be late on the previous night, due to the test of courage, so most of the kids skipped on training before breakfast.

After breakfast, they created teams for the scavenger hunt which begins at ten o\'clock.

They allowed teams to be formed at will, with a recommendation that there are no more than six people in the team. Also, Sarah added a condition that each team should have at least one new girl and one kid who is with Sarah and Aiden for a longer time. Sarah said that this condition is to promote kids getting to know each other, but actually it\'s because they wanted to make sure that each team has at least one \'regular\' who can perform more physically demanding tasks.

The game is designed that it starts with a clue in the form of a riddle or some other task which they need to figure out in order to know where to go next. One clue will lead them to another, and in the end, they will find an item that proves that they solved each challenge.

Before the game started, one-by-one a representative from each team, in the order they registered for the game, approached the table to pick their first clue. The table had fifteen envelopes of different colors on it, and Nala explained that when they pick a color, all their clues will be in envelopes with the same color.

Every clue is in an envelope, so no one can see in advance what they are picking.

To keep them from finding out solutions from each other (aka cheating), every team has different clues and the item they need to retrieve at the end is different as well.

Other than using their heads to solve riddles, the kids will need to use their knowledge in math and science, balance, climb, crawl, and maybe even swim to get their next clue. Exciting!

Back to the present…

Oni, Michael, Haru, Sarah, Aiden, and Master Hollow are in the study. The seven of them are enjoying snacks and beverages while observing the progress of the scavenger hunt on the screens which are showing live feeds captured by the drones.

Oni and Michael said that they will not participate because of their injuries.

Haru wanted to stay with Master Hollow. He feels guilty that since they arrived here, he is busy with the events and having fun, and any free time he has, Haru is spending with Nala and neglecting his master. Nala decided to join in the event so that Haru can talk to Master Hollow freely, if he wants to.

Sarah and Aiden can\'t participate because they came up with riddles and helped in setting up everything. If the two of them play, they will have an unfair advantage.

A total of twelve teams got their first clue and spread out while trying to figure out where to go next.

Master Hollow wanted to go and see things in person. This room with a lot of screens is uncomfortable and suffocating for him. Haru pushed his wheelchair out and they went on the back terrace.

Sarah leaned into Aiden\'s embrace and smiled while watching Ade and Hande who sat on the stairs of the main entrance to brainstorm their clue. The two of them didn\'t team up with anyone else.

…

"I can be yellow, orange, pink, or white, but on Valentine\'s day giving a red one is just right.", Hande read the riddle at loud.

"Waah! Why did we end up with a lovey-dovey one?", Ade whined. Everyone is all about love and dating, and last night Jamari sat on Ade\'s bed and was talking about how he and Imani held hands so much that Ade thought his ears will start bleeding… or maybe his brain will turn into mush before his time comes.

Ade was confident that teaming up with Hande (again) will save him from all that romance nonsense, and now their riddle became this!? He felt like crying.

Hande blinked in confusion. She does not know what to think of Ade\'s expression. He looks like he is in agony. "How is this connected to love?"

Ade gave her a knowing look. "Valentine\'s day."

\'Valentine\'s day…\', Hande mused. Her parents were never into such things as romance, and Valentine\'s does not agree with their religion, but she watched a movie, and she remembered how it\'s a day in February where people confess their love toward each other and do romantic things.

"Oh, then it\'s easy!", Hande exclaimed. In the next moment, her enthusiasm dampened. She is clueless about Valentine\'s. "What red do you give for Valentine\'s?"

Ade shrugged. How is he supposed to know? "Chocolates."

Hande narrowed her eyes. "Chocolates are brown, and they don\'t come in other colors. Here it says red and yellow and orange…"

Ade rolled his eyes. He didn\'t mean chocolate-chocolate. "It can be a wrapper of chocolates. The boxes are usually heart-shaped and red.", Ade said matter-of-factly. He paused for a second and then his face lit up. "Flowers! Girls get red roses from their boyfriends and roses can be in different colors."

Hande thought it makes sense. "Then our next clue is in the garden."

"But it\'s a big garden.", Ade mumbled while standing up.

"We should look for a yellow envelope. And the roses are only in the central part of the garden. It can\'t be that difficult.", Hande encouraged him. She stood up as well and started walking toward the garden.

Ade thought that it makes sense. He told himself to pay more attention to his surroundings, and flowers. In three quick steps, he caught up with her.

"You have great observation skills.", Ade praised Hande. "I didn\'t notice that roses are only in one section of the garden."

Hande\'s eyes widened in surprise at this unexpected compliment and she was unable to suppress her grin. Ade said that her observation skills are great!

…

Tejan, Rosa, Daniel, and Xiaohui teamed up for the scavenger hunt.

Daniel and Xiaohui held hands and both had foolish grins on their faces, but Tejan didn\'t find it annoying anymore. Tejan was confident that this change came either because he became immune to Daniel\'s love-stricken behavior or maybe it has something with Rosa. One of those two.

The four of them found a jigsaw puzzle in their red envelope. They sat around the table on the back terrace and started assembling it. Well, mostly Tejan and Rosa worked on the puzzle because Daniel and Xiaohui were staring at each other.

Their completed puzzle showed a boat. The four of them headed to the dock, to find their next clue on one of the boats.

…

Femi, Pari, Merve, Masika, and Zack were in one team.

Pari read their clue which is a riddle from a blue envelope: "I am not alive, but I grow; I don\'t have lungs, but I need air; I am always hungry, I must be fed; the finger I lick will turn painfully red."

They all paused and looked at each other before they started thinking about the possibilities.

"Fire!", Masika exclaimed gleefully.

Femi, Pari, Merve, and Zack looked at Masika in approval.

"Where do we find fire?", Femi asked. The weather is warm and it\'s daytime, so there is no fire for heat or light. 

Zack remembered: "There is a fireplace in the living room."

They all agreed on how that is a possibility. Well, they had no other clue. 

…

Nala, Francisca, Chione, Patricia, and Esma found in their purple envelope seven equations that they needed to solve. Each solution is a number between one and twenty-six, representing a letter in the English alphabet.

It took them a while to figure out that each letter matches a position in the alphabet. Once they understood that part, it was easy. After deciphering it, they got a word: \'K-I-T-C-H-E-N\'.

…

In the study…

"They are into it…", Sarah said with a content smile.

Aiden hummed in agreement.

A second later, they got a notification on their Eve-lens that their neighbors entered the property.

"Hehehe…", Sarah snickered. "The Payne family is here."

Aiden stifled a laugh. This evil-Sarah is super-cute. "Let\'s go and welcome them."

Sarah looked at Aiden who is dressed in a t-shirt and cargo shorts before glancing at herself. They are both wearing comfortable clothes that allow them to move freely. "Should we change, to look classier?"

Aiden nodded in agreement. "I will tell the butler to lead them into the sunroom."

Michael and Oni confirmed that they will keep an eye on the screens. 

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