Little Dove | Daniel Hayward

30.

"I want you to all turn in your Louie's," Louis says, folding his arms expectantly.

A chorus of questions break out across the students. I glance at Brooke in confusion, hoping she might know what her father is planning. She notices my questioning look and shrugs.

"This is a navigation and teamwork challenge. You're all gonna be hiking in the Santa Barbara Mountains for the next two days," Louis says.

"Is that even legal?" Parker whispers to me. I shrug, "I don't know, but surely there'll be a chaperone there."

"Three flags for each house have been hidden along the trail. The first house to find all three flags wins," Louis explains. I place my Louie into a tin, along with the rest of my peers.

Louis continues, "the house that loses has to clean and clear the entire Greenhouse grounds, since we haven't had a groundskeeper for the last month. The winning team gets to enjoy a day at the beach."

Parker holds up a map, "what is this?" I turn to him, "are you serious?"

He looks away awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. I sigh, "it's a map, smartass. That's what we'll use to find our way."

While Louis calls up the captains to receive walkie-talkies, I take the map from Parker. I study it silently. Daniel peers over my shoulder, "you think we'll be okay?"

I scoff in amusement, "we're the most athletic house. Take a wild guess."

"Everybody do what you have to do. Get ready and pack your bags. The bus leaves in ten minutes," Louis says.

My eyes widen. "Ten minutes?" I ask in sync with the rest of the students. Louis nods as I rush upstairs to pack.

When I get onto the bus I sit at the back, between Sophie and Daniel. Daniel lays his head on my shoulder and closes his eyes.

"You okay?" I ask. He doesn't stir, but simply mumbles. "If I had known that we'd be hiking for two days, then I would have went to sleep sooner."

"Poor you," I say playfully. "At least you can get some sleep now- our bus won't arrive for another couple of hours."

He nods and and interlocks our finger, rubbing his thumb against my hand.

I look at Sophie, who's teaching Parker to read a map. Parker catches my eyes and I glance between him and Sophie, wiggling my eyebrows.

He looks away and shakes his head, a flustered smile plastered on his face.

After a couple of hours, the bus pulls up at the base of the mountains. I nudge Daniel gently, "we're here."

His eyes flutter open and he sits up, looking around. "Already?"

I nod, standing up and grabbing my bag. I grab Daniel's hand as we walk out of the bus.

The Eagles and Ravens go their seperate ways. Parker groans, "I can't feel my legs."

Alex sighs, "I can't breathe."

"Come on, you guys. We have to keep going. I know we're close to our first flag. I can feel it," Sophie tries to encourage us but everyone begs for rest.

"Can't we just rest for a bit?" Brooke asks. "I'm exhausted."

"Says the girl whose dad put us here," Parker scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Alex stops, "don't blame the spawn of Satan, blame Satan."

We chuckle at the joke. Brooke frowns, "did you just call my dad Satan?"

"It's just a harmless metaphor," I chip in. "Nothing personal."

"We can stop, but just for five minutes," Sophie gives in. "Let's make some quick sandwhiches and get our energy up."