Proboscis monkeys are excellent swimmers added Professor Luben His fingers and toes are partially webbed They help him out swim crocodiles one of his main predators Once the monkey had finished eating he reached for a shaggy vine Pushing himself off the V-shaped trunk he swung his bulging potbelly toward another branch stretched a thin hairy arm out to catch it And missed This time Professor Ishikawa didn’t attempt to quiet their laughter They’re not always as graceful on land he said Cruz spotted another smaller monkey on the second tree It had a much shorter nose There’s a female whispered Professor Luben When momentum brought the vine back the female caught the male by his leg and pulled him onto her limb The pair began to climb and were soon lost in the dense foliage of the canopy As the group continued on Cruz glanced back looking for Aunt Marisol’s tan-and-pink safari hat He was close to the front while she’d brought up the rear There she was yep still near the back All their teachers had joined them for their hike through Borneo’s Kinabatangan River Basin Cruz suspected it meant they would be breaking up into teams for a mission His hunch soon proved correct Another half mile up the trail Monsieur Legrand who was leading them stopped next to a grassy bog We’ll take a short water and snack break here then hand out your assignments he announced Cruz rested his backpack against a cracked log which was being used as a freeway by a line of busy termites He pulled off one glove to pop open his water bottle lifted the aluminum canister to his lips and let the icy water flow down his raw throat The chill that hit his stomach stomach sent a welcome shiver through him Ahhhh Catching a whiff of lavender Cruz watched Sailor take the top off the bottle of Fanchon’s organic mosquito repellent You’re really layering that stuff on he said taking another swig You can’t be too careful Sailor lifted her chin closed her eyes and spritzed 8
What is that four layers now teased Cruz Five When he laughed she said Don’t come crying to me when you’re covered in welts You do know it has catnip in it don’t you said Emmett Sailor’s eyelids flew open It does It’s one of the active ingredients Great grunted Dugan You’ll repel the mosquitoes but attract the leopards Cruz laughed nearly spitting water all over Bryndis She dodged out of the way in the nick of time but was laughing too Professor Ishikawa was signaling for them to gather round You’re standing deep in the heart of one of the oldest rainforests on Earth he explained The jungles of Borneo are home to more than two hundred species of mammals and four hundred different kinds of birds that we know of It’s one of the few places in the world where elephants rhinos and orangutans all live together He scanned the semicircle of students But your task is not to seek the obvious Today your mission will be to look for the rarely seen even the unknown On our hike you’ve probably trekked past hundreds of creatures without realizing it spiders ants snails frogs and so on They may have been under the leaf litter tucked into a knothole or perhaps he nodded to a light-pink-and-white orchid next to him in plain sight Professor Ishikawa bent to lightly touch the flower and several petals shrank from his fingertips There was a collective gasp as the flower began to move Say hello to the orchid mantis said their teacher This insect camouflages itself as part of the blossom in order to catch a meal He’s pretty good at fooling bees flies and by your expressions explorers Come take a look Upon closer inspection Cruz was able to make out the bug’s long triangle-shaped head whisker-thin antennae and six petal-like legs But it wasn’t easy The soft blend of pale pink and white on its body so perfectly matched the flower that it was hard to tell where the orchid ended and the mantis began 9
Wow Emmett’s magnifying emoto-glasses were yellow spirals of amazement Professor Ishikawa how did you ever see him Their professor gave a knowing grin Practice Which is precisely the point of today’s mission Here’s how it will work Each team will be assigned a small section of the rainforest to explore Use your mind control cameras to take photos of the animal and plant life you observe in your area Your cameras are linked to the Academy’s library database and will help you identify what you find Unless of course you uncover a new species His grin widened Wouldn’t that be something Be sure to take good field notes on your tablet as well for your team field
report Those are due at the beginning of class on Monday Professors Modi Coronado Luben and Benedict will lead the teams Monsieur Legrand and I will circulate to check on your progress Each faculty leader has already been assigned a search area All that’s left to do is match the faculty to teams Monsieur Legrand All eyes went to their survival instructor who was lifting a small black velvet bag from his pack The explorers knew it well They were going to draw for assignments Remember your survival training said Monsieur Legrand He was shaking the fabric pouch to mix the chips inside Stay alert Step carefully Don’t wander away from your team Keep hydrated Have I forgotten anything Bug repellent called Sailor When their teacher said Oui Merci Sailor she gave her teammates a look of satisfaction Monsieur Legrand was holding the bag out to Professor Benedict The team that gets Professor Benedict will have the best photos Emmett said to Cruz She’ll have good tips for macrophotography Emmett was right but Cruz was hoping they’d get Aunt Marisol The journalism teacher plunged her hand into the sack and brought up a chip Team Earhart she said Professor Modi was next Cruz held his breath waiting for the verdict Galileo That left Aunt Marisol and Professor Luben who was rubbing his gloves He dipped a hand into the pouch I’m with Cruz’s pulse quickened Come on Aunt Marisol Lifting his arm Professor Luben glanced up at the chip in his palm Team Cousteau So close Dr Coronado that means you’re with Team Magellan said Professor Ishikawa As Aunt Marisol passed Cruz she flipped up the brim of her hat and gave her nephew a smirk that said One of these days Cruz gave her an I-sure-hope-so grin in return 11
