CHAPTER SIX

Scavenger Hunt

“Zayn, would you please get to work?” Ibrahim asked his cousin for the fourth time that morning. “Mariam, Yusuf, David and I are all looking up our items. You need to work as part of the team.”

“Okay, okay,” said Zayn, reluctantly getting off his chair in the dimly lit library. The library was actually a cabin, similar to other cabins at Camp Chimo, but instead of being full of beds, bookshelves lined the walls, filled from end to end with dusty books. In the middle of the room was a round wooden table, surrounded by worn leather chairs. There were several lamps around the room, but heavy curtains prevented the natural light from coming through the windows.

“I wonder if we’ll find any arrowheads?” Zayn mumbled to himself, making his way to where the others sat.

“Finally,” said Ibrahim, when he saw that his cousin had opened a book at last. “ ‘The Mystery of the Haunted Lake?’” asked Ibrahim, when he noticed the title. “Zayn, you’re supposed to be solving your scavenger hunt riddle, not reading ghost stories!”

“No listen,” said Zayn. “It says here—”

“I don’t want to hear what it says,” Ibrahim snapped. “The rest of us have figured out our items and are ready to go canoeing. When you’re done, you are more than welcome to join us.”

Surprised by his cousin’s outburst, Zayn simply stared as the rest of his team walked out the door, leaving him to read his ghost story and finish his work.

***

That afternoon’s lunch was a very bright green ‘Pot-o-mush,’ and both the vegetarian and meat options were suspiciously similar looking. Though the Khan boys sat together, neither one spoke to the other.

“Are you sure this stuff is even food?” Zayn asked Yusuf, making sure Ibrahim knew he was ignoring him. “I can’t tell if it’s animal, vegetable or mineral!”

“Well, it’s approved as part of our vegetarian meals so it can’t be animal,” said Ibrahim, with a smile. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, Zayn,” he apologized. “You were in that library all morning. I should have come back and helped you.”

“I forgive you,” said Zayn, smiling back. “You know I could never stay mad at you for long. It actually didn’t take me that long to figure out what my item was, but I did find some interesting reading material.”

“Zayn Khan reading on vacation,” Ibrahim laughed. “That’ll be the day! Now, come on guys, let’s finish our lunch so we can splash around in the lake.”

“I think I’ve had all I can eat,” said Yusuf. “When is Billy going to make something edible? I’m already running low on Halal Hassan’s Marshmallow Treats.”

“You brought Halal Hassan Treats?” yelped Zayn. “And this is the first I’m hearing of it?”

“I thought you brought your own snacks!” said Yusuf.

“I’m on my last few,” said Zayn. “I’m going to need to restock soon!”

“However did you convince your parents to give you all that junk food?” asked Ibrahim.

“I think they were just sad I’d be gone for so long,” said Zayn. “Also, I was supposed to share with everyone else, but with all these food disasters, it’s all I have to survive!”

“It is a little odd that a trained chef would make as many mistakes as Mr. Jones has,” said Ibrahim. “I guess it takes time getting used to a new kitchen.”

As the boys cleared their table, they didn’t notice the figure standing in the shadows of a nearby pine tree, listening in on their conversation.