Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Which wasn’t what I was supposed to be thinking about right now.
The two checkpoints by the gym were fairly easy. The last checkpoint, which was the finish line, was somewhere in the vicinity of the student union.
We passed by the political science building on the way back from the gym, and students poured down the steps, surrounding us. Evidently, a big class or two had just let out. People were everywhere, and I lost sight of Diego.
It felt like I was in the middle of a stampede. I tried to push through, but I kept getting bumped back. Then I saw Diego ahead of me, his hand held out. I grabbed it, and he pulled as he weaved his way through the swarm of people.
When we were free on the other side, we resumed jogging… but didn’t let go of each other’s hands.
As we neared our final destination, I slowed to a walk, scanning the instructions at the bottom of the list. “To finish, we have to find a sign with our names on it, located somewhere on the union grounds. We both have to be in the picture with the sign,” I continued reading. “First team to submit the picture wins."
"The union is a big place," Diego said, tugging slightly to get me moving faster.
"Yeah, but it says it’s outside."
"That’s not much help. The perimeter has all those courtyards, alcoves, and staircases. And the park behind it is practically a botanic garden.
I twisted to face him. "What, do you want to quit?"
"Hell no, we're so close. Come on." He broke into an effortless run again, pulling me along with him.
We were panting by the time we made it to the front entrance of the Union, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw another team run up. It was Tori and Jayden, naturally. Diego dropped my hand, but not before Tori saw it.
She broke into a grin. "It's really down to the wire now.”
I nodded.
"Let's separate," Tori said quickly to Jayden. “We can cover more ground that way. I'll go right, you go left."
Jayden nodded, already taking off.
"Call if you find it!" he shouted over his shoulder.
Diego was behind me, and when I turned to him, he raised his head quickly, looking guilty. Had he been checking me out? That wasn’t the most pressing matter at the moment. “Should we split up, too?”
“What?” For the first time, he seemed to notice that Tori and Jayden were heading in opposite directions. “Yeah. Good luck."
We separated, and I hurried off after Tori.
"Wait up," I called.
She paused with a grin, and said, "Only if you tell me why you two were holding hands."
"Because I nearly got plowed down by a crowd of students outside the political science building."
Tori's smile widened. "You weren't anywhere near political science when I saw you. But come on, we can search together."
I zeroed in on a white poster board sign driven into the ground by a wooden post.
There were names on it, but not any of ours.
"Okay, we know what it looks like. Let's spread out," I suggested.
We crossed a paved area at the base of a large set of steps, and then onto a drive that continued around the side of the building. Trees lined the far side of it.
"We need to cover more ground,” Tori said. "It could be in the woods."
I stuck close to the building, and she moved about twenty feet away, keeping parallel with me. We both found another sign, but it was for another team.
Unfortunately, Diego had been right. The building was huge, and the grounds covered at least twice the area of the union.
I started jogging again, and a moment later, Tori did too. There were more trees now, and the union's glass wall looked out into a beautifully landscaped garden that gave way to a wooded area.
I hopped over a small hedge, found another sign that wasn’t ours, and kept going.
"This could take days," Tori called.
I moved away from the building. With all the trees, rock paths, and fountains, it was too much ground for Tori to cover alone.
Then Tori’s phone rang. She listened for half a second and then squealed, running ahead.
"Good luck!" she called back.
Crap, Jayden had found their sign. I moved faster, zigzagging to make sure I wasn't missing ours, and then my phone rang. Diego had found it—yes! He spoke rapidly, trying to explain where he was.
"I’m on the south side, between these two big evergreens, right by a little rock path."
I was pretty sure I was headed south as I broke into a run. "You mean behind the building, right? The opposite side of the main entrance?"
"Yeah, but we're in the woods back here. It’s like a labyrinth."
"I'm coming," I said, jogging.
Tori was up ahead and still frantically talking on her phone, but she seemed as lost as I was. I resumed zigzagging, but this time instead of looking at the ground, I was scanning for Diego. The tall trees blocked the sunlight and I was afraid I'd miss him in his dark clothes.