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
Explorers compared to your other missions I know this may seem easy said Professor Ishikawa But don’t take it for granted A good explorer needs sharp observation skills It takes patience to learn to look beyond the tip of your nose but when you do he motioned to the orchid mantis it can make all the difference Did he say tip of your nose Lani nudged Cruz We should name this mission Operation Proboscis Splendid idea Lani Professor Ishikawa swung around That’s what we’ll call it Operation Proboscis Lani smiled so hard her eyes disappeared Leaders you may depart when your team is ready instructed Professor Ishikawa We’ll meet at the lodge at four this afternoon Team Cousteau Professor Luben motioned for them to gather round I have our search coordinates Dugan don’t forget your hat Cruz be sure to put your other glove back on That goes for the rest of you Keep as much of yourself covered as possible We don’t need anyone coming down with dengue fever or malaria Cruz tucked his water bottle into the side pocket of his pack pulled up his socks and slipped on his other glove Some of the teams were backtracking but Professor Luben was leading Team Cousteau farther along the trail Slinging his pack onto his shoulders Cruz fell into line behind Emmett who was following Sailor Bryndis and Dugan Lani brought up the rear After hiking for about 10 minutes they took a fork The path quickly narrowed Thick broadleaf bushes hugged the trail so tightly that they had to turn sideways in some spots to make their way through As he wriggled past a plant with long purple nettles Cruz was glad Professor Luben had been so insistent about protecting their skin I’ve been thinking Lani whispered into Cruz’s ear about the clue Cruz had been thinking about it too Constantly Not quite two weeks ago they had unlocked Cruz’s mom’s journal for the latest hint To find the seventh cipher you must seek both the ordinary and the extraordinary extraordinary in an object we both hold close to our hearts a holographic Petra Coronado had directed Something others use to forget the past will 12
reveal your future Your destiny is yours to write Cruzer The cipher Cruz Emmett Lani and Sailor had agreed the solution had to be the cipher It was the most extraordinary thing Cruz had that his mom also held dear But what was ordinary about it They carefully studied the engraved black marble cipher from every angle snapping apart the wedges to inspect them individually However they didn’t find anything that would lead them to the seventh piece Sailor suggested that Cruz’s mom might be referring to his silver holographic dome After all it had contained the first fragment of the cipher Cruz had examined it as well but found nothing He had drawn the line at taking apart the holodome holodome Although Emmett had assured him he could put it back together Cruz was not willing to take the chance Cruz worried that his mother could be talking about something she’d given him a long time ago Most of his stuff was back home in Kauai Cruz had his father search his bedroom for books toys games robotics surfing gear anything that might fit the description of being both ordinary and extraordinary Unfortunately his dad had come up empty He’d promised to keep looking Cruz hoped it wasn’t something he’d had when he was really young like a stuffed animal or a picture book If that was the case it was likely long gone Cruz glanced at Lani as they scooted shoulder to shoulder down the trail What is it She said your destiny was yours to write What if she was referring to one of the pens in her box Maybe it writes with a special ink or has a clue rolled up inside We thought of that replied Cruz Emmett and I checked the pens As far as we can tell they’re all basic pens well with the ink dried up of course One of them was a paintbrush It has an angled tip like you’d use for calligraphy Nothing special about it that we could see Lani sighed I thought I was onto something What about you Any ideas Nope said Cruz I’m hopeless 13
