The Amanda Project: Book 4: Unraveled by Amanda Valentino, Cathleen Davitt Bell Page B

day has been set up as a scavenger hunt. You’re going to be divided up into groups of four, and each group is going to find all the landmarks on the list. Take pictures. We know most of you have cameras on your phones. If you don’t, grab a disposable camera from the front seat on your way out.
    “When you find the landmark, write a few lines on the paperexplaining something about it—its function, how it was built, what it represents, some of the inscriptions you read there.” He checked his watch. “By the time we get out of the bus it should be just about nine thirty. We’ll meet back here at noon and again at three. Here is a list of the cell phones numbers for me and the other chaperones, as well as your classmates, in case you are running lateto the rendezvous point. Use it only in an emergency. I don’t want calls asking me where to find the restrooms or snacks or other nonsense.
    “If you miss any of the check-ins or if you fail to find every landmark on your scavenger hunt sheet, you will be required to create a bulletin board for the History Club. These are time-consuming bulletin boards and you can expect to spend a full weekendon the project. You will also receive a letter home to your parents.”
    There were shouts and complaints, calls of, “No fair! That’s crazy.”
    “Hey, don’t look at me,” Mr. Fowler said. That’s another one of his favorite tricks—to try to be friends with us, acting like we’re all on some big team and the other teachers are the ones who are making our lives hard. “Mr. Thornhill planned this whole thing.And obviously, he’s not here to complain to, so just keep it to yourself. Any questions?”
    The four of us stared at Mr. Fowler. Then turned to each other.
    “Thornhill planned this trip?” Hal said.
    “Is the whole scavenger hunt a clue?” Callie asked.
    “Amanda was still here when he put the trip together,” Nia said, thinking out loud. “He wouldn’t have had much of a chance to make changes sincehe was assaulted not long after she left.”
    “That’s right,” Nia said. “He must have planned this trip with Amanda in mind.”
    “Great,” said Callie. “So now, not only are we supposed to be decoding Amanda’s clues, we’re also supposed to be cracking the code someone else has left for her?”
    I took the pendant out from under my shirt and ran my fingers over the filigree.
    “Do you guys think Amanda’s in D.C.?” Hal asked. “Do you think she’s living here now? Has she left Orion for good?”
    “Obviously, we don’t know,” Nia said. “But it would make sense. Thornhill planned this trip before he knew Amanda was going to disappear. He’d have thought she’d be on it. He must have wanted to lead her here—”
    “Listen up,” Mr. Fowler said, raising his voice to quiet us all down—everyone was talking loudlyat this point. “I’m going to read out the groups.”
    Suddenly: silence. Forget the bulletin board. Forget the letter home. What would be worse than anything was getting stuck for the day in a high-pressure scavenger hunt with someone you could not stand?
    “Group one,” Mr. Fowler began. “Jerry Miller, Hank Albright, Stef Stone, Kendall Minovi. Group two,” he continued, working his way down the list.As he read, there were whoops and groans as people registered their fates. I noticed two important things. Number one: friends were generally being split up. That was not good for us. Number two: the I-Girls got to be together as usual.
    Mr. Fowler had gotten about halfway down the list when he read, “Nia Rivera.” I don’t think he actually paused before moving on to the next name, but at the time,I felt like the moment between when he read Nia’s name and when he read mine lasted an hour. “Zoe Costas, Henry Bennett, Callista Leary.”
    Almost immediately my sigh of relief transformed into a lump in my stomach as I realized what our names being together meant.
    Nia must have had the same thought, because she