Cryptid Quest: Shadow Under the Lake

Chapter 1: Rook's Assignment

"What's up cryptid hunters! Rick Arbuckle here, with another cryptid update!" said the excited boy, as he held out his phone to capture his face on video. "So for all you new followers... All Two of you... A cryptid is an undiscovered animal, like Bigfoot, Yetis, or the Loch Ness Monster. So here's the deal! There have been reports of a lake monster in Bish Bash Lake. I know a section of woods that's close to the lake. For this blog, I'm going to check out the trap I made yesterday and see if anything took the bait! Will I find something? I sure hope so!"

Lost in his monologue, Rick hadn't noticed a long, blonde-haired girl walking up behind him. She wore the school's optional uniform, as well as large, rectangular glasses. She stood behind him, arms folded and staring at the back of his head with disgust.

"I'll keep y'all updated once I get there!" said Rick, ending his blog.

"Oh really? And where do you think you're going, Arbuckle?" yelled Caroline, which caused Rick to jump around.

"Oh... Hello Caroline," hissed Rick while turning off his phone. "Shouldn't you be in debate class?"

"I'll have you know that my debate team wrapped up, so I've taken an early start on my hall monitor duty." Explained Caroline, folding her arms as she does. "Speaking of which... Should you be in Special Ed?"

"Ha-ha-ha... No," said Rick. "As a matter of fact, I was on my way to biology".

"Oh really?" questioned Caroline. "Then where's your hall pass?"

"Um... I got it right here." Said Rick, as he fumbled through his jean pockets. He then pulled out a gum wrapper and some pocket lent.

"Really? A gum wrapper? That's your hall pass?" said Caroline.

"Yeah..." explained Rick, though a bit nervous. "You know how weird Mr. Worechester is."

Caroline looked Rick up and down. Then she thought about it. It made sense. She folded her arms again and turned away from him.

"Okay. Fine. Whatever!" She said, frustrated, for she knew the story checked out. "Get out of my sight".

But before Rick could turn around, Caroline had one last thing to say.

"Oh and Rick... Pay attention in biology... You're going to need it". She laughed as she made her way back down the hallway.

Rick was on the verge of a rage out, but he had no time to waste on Caroline's quips. He walked up to the exit and checked over his shoulder to make sure Caroline wasn't still spying on him. As soon as he saw that the coast was clear, he dashed around the door and snuck his way outside.

"That was a close one" thought Rick as he took a step outside. He had been cutting class all semester, yet Caroline hadn't caught him once. She nearly did that time, yet he was able to outsmart her. Looked like she had to wait another day to get Rick expelled.

As far as Rick could remember, he and Caroline had always hated each other. It might have started in the third grade, when he first learned about the existence of cryptids through a group reading project about the Loch Ness Monster. Since then, he'd been obsessed with anything related to the subject. It was also around that time that Caroline discovered she really didn't like cryptids, or any form of outlandish claims, such as ghosts and aliens.

Rick and Caroline had their first argument in the fourth grade, when they met at the monkey bars to debate the existence of Bigfoot. They were still young, so it wasn't an intellectual discussion. But it ended just the same, with Rick having a hissy fit and Caroline poking fun at the size of Rick's brain. That prompted Rick to throw wood chips into Caroline's face, causing the playground supervisor to break off the fight. Since then, they've been rivals.