"So I learned something interesting about you," Parker informed me, as I slathered my blueberry bagel in cream cheese.

"And what's that?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.

"Let's just say that I'm going to have some fun with this one."

"What?"

He nodded towards a package sitting on the counter, wrapped in wrapping paper.

"Is that for me?"

"No it's for the other Emily Winston in the apartment."

"You're such an asshole."

I abandoned my bagel, heading over to my present. There was a note attached to the top of it.

You're going to need these for the long distance.

"What?"

He just smiled at me.

I opened my present to reveal shoe box, and inside were a pair of black Converse.

"I'm confused," I admitted, raising my eyebrows at him. "I love them, but I'm totally lost."

"Hang in there," he advised, patting my arm. "And finish up your bagel, we're leaving in five." And then he headed back to his room.

I picked up the note again, rereading it before staring at the shoes.

What long distance?

~*~

"This is so exciting," Michelle said, a smile spreading across her face. "It's like we're on Law and Order or something."

"And how do you figure that?"

"We're putting all the clues together," she defended. "What was today's clue?"

I passed her note that was attached the pair of khaki shorts sitting on the counter this morning.

You're going to need these so you won't burn up in the sun.

"So we know you'll be walking a long distance and it'll be hot, so it's obviously outside," Michelle stated.

"Is it like a hike?" I asked. "Is he taking me on a hike?"

"That doesn't sound very romantic."

"I know," I agreed. "I'm not an outdoor hiking-type person. And I don't think Converse are hiking shoes."

"And cute khaki shorts are not meant to be ruined in nature," Michelle added. "So definitely not a hike."

"So what else involves long distance and outside?"

"It's Florida," she pointed out. "So everything."

"Well we know it's not the beach," I said, taking another bite of my salad.

"Good detective skills, you can't wear tennis shoes to the beach."

"Well you could but that would be awkward."

I crossed my right leg over my left, resting my chin in the palm of my hand. "I'm not good at solving mysteries."

"It's only day two," Michelle pointed out. "We don't have enough clues to solve it yet, only eliminate things."

And then Emmett walked by our table, absorbed in his phone.

I grabbed his arm, pulling him down into the seat next to me.

"Well hello there."

"What does this mean?" I asked him, handing him the note Parker had left me this morning.

"That the Sun is hot?"

I rolled my eyes. "Where is Parker taking me?"

Emmett smiled. "I have no idea dearest sister."

"Shut up. I know you're the one that told him whatever he found out."

He patted the top of my head. "Good luck." And then he left.

"Maybe he's taking you to like a race track," Michelle mused. "That's outside and hot."

"A race track? Like with cars?"

"Well there's ones with horses, or dune buggies." Her eyes lit up. "Maybe he's taking you dune buggie racing!"

I stared at her for a couple of moments. "You're absolutely useless to me, you know that?"

"But you love me anyway."

~*~

"Have you asked Parker at all?" Michelle asked me, as we sat down on my living room floor.

"He's been avoiding me so I can't ask him questions, that sneaky little asshole."

"Okay, so let's review the clues," Michelle suggested. "Day 1, a pair of black Converse."

"Because we'll be walking a long distance," I added.

"Day two, khaki shorts."

"Because it'll be hot out."

"Day three was a super cute Michael Kors cross-body purse that I will steal from you."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It is adorable," I agreed. "And the note read you're going to need this because you'll want to pack lightly."

"And then today, day four, was a disposable camera," Michelle finished.

"And the note read you're going to need this to capture the memories."

"A disposable camera?" Michelle asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I know," I said, shaking my head. "Can I not use my iPhone?"

We sat in silence for a few seconds, staring at the four clues in front of us.

"Maybe he's taking you to the Everglades," Michelle suggested, after a few moments of silence.

"The what?"

"I don't know," she defended. "I'm stumped."

I let out a sigh, leaning my back against the couch behind me. "Honestly I'm still stuck on the hike thing. Like maybe he finds nature hikes romantic."

"I don't think you go hiking in Converse and khaki shorts with a Michael Kors cross-body," Michelle pointed out.

I let out a groan.

"Maybe all of this stuff is bullshit and he's taking me to the movies."

Michelle laughed, and pretty soon I couldn't help but join in.

Parker Adams had bested me. I had absolutely no idea what he had up his sleeve.

~*~

I bolted upright in bed as the morning rolled around.

Today was day five, the day I finally found where Parker was taking me on this mystery date.

I quickly got ready for school, my mind racing with endless possibilities.

To say I was excited would be an understatement.

I raced out to the kitchen, and as usual Parker was already gone.

And there was a single note on the counter, no present attached.

So this was it then, the note must tell me where we're going.

I held the note in my hands for a few moments, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly to calm my nerves.

I really hope it wasn't a nature hike. I'm not a nature kind of girl.

Maybe it was an art museum, like the grand opening of some special art museum that he'd been dying to go to.

I flipped the note over, the anxiousness killing me.

It's time to have a little fun on this run, not to be mean but it's time to come clean. So get up that rope, and afterwards use some soap.

I stared at the note for a couple of minutes, unsure of what it was trying to tell me.

It must be a clue of some sort, but what the hell was it supposed to mean?

So naturally I called Michelle and read her the clue.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, with a laugh.

"Do you know what that means?" I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Not a clue."

And then Emmett came into the kitchen, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Call you back," I promised, before hanging up my phone.

"Hello bestest brother," I said, with a smile.

"No," he declined, with a shake of his head.

"Just read this and tell me what you think."

He took the note from me, scanning it and then chuckling to himself.

"What?"

"It's so obvious."

"Because you know where it is."

"Yeah, because it's obvious."

"Yeah, and because Parker already told you."

"Nope," Emmett said, handing the clue back to me. "I know where you end up, but I don't know your stops on the way."

"So help me out."

He sighed, sipping his coffee. "Well obviously he's trying to get you to school."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because he's not trying to have you skip school today for some scavenger hunt," Emmett pointed out. "That's common sense."

Right.

"So he's telling you that it's time to come clean."

"So like the school bathroom? Gross."

"And then he mentions climbing a rope. Do you climb ropes in the girl's bathroom at school?"

"Shut up."

"So you climb a rope and then go and get clean. Just let that sink in."

I scanned the note for a moment, letting the information process.

"So the girl's locker room?"

"Right," Emmett agreed, with a nod. "At least that's what I take it to mean."

"Thanks you're the best." I kissed his cheek before running out of the apartment door, my keys in hand.

My next clue was waiting for me in the girl's locker room, which was sort of gross but totally worth it.

By the end of this hunt I was going to know my mystery date.

Michelle met me at the locker room when I got to school, and we hunted around until she found it taped to one of the shower walls.

I don't even want to know how Parker got that in there.

"Okay, what does it say?" I asked, eagerly.

"I get bigger when I eat and weaker when I drink," Michelle read out loud.

We exchanged confused glances.

I took a seat on one of the benches in the locker room, letting out a sigh.

"Bigger when I eat, weaker when I drink," Michelle repeated.

"What are you girls doing in here?" Coach Gingras asked, coming into the locker room with papers in her hand.

"Can we ask you a quick question?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"Once you answer mine."

"We're doing a scavenger hunt," I explained. "And our first clue was in the locker room."

"Oh, Parker's scavenger hunt?"

"Wait you knew?"

"You didn't think I'd let Parker Adams into my locker room?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"I taped the clue up."

"Great, so you can give us a hand then," Michelle said, with a smile.

"What does it say?"

Michelle read the clue off to her.

She leaned against her office door, mulling over the question.

"I just keep thinking of a platypus," I admitted.

Both of them stared at me.

"They probably get stronger when they drink though."

"You're a strange one," Michelle said, with a shake of her head.

"I think I've got it," Coach Gingras informed us.

"No way," I said, a smile spreading across my face.

"What gets stronger when you feed it oxygen, and weaker when you douse it with water?"

"Fire," Michelle and I both shouted in unison.

"Right," Coach Gingras agreed. "At least, that's what I'd think it meant."

"Thank you," I said, before running out of the girl's locker room.

"Where are we going to find fire?" Michelle asked me.

I slowed to a stop. "No idea."

We both paused, thinking for a moment.

"Isn't the Senior Chem lab doing the fire lab today?" I asked Michelle.

"I have no idea."

"They are," I said, with a nod. "Parker was talking about it. Their teacher is going to light a fire today in lab and essentially let the kids play with it."

"Is that even legal?"

I shrugged, already set off for the Senior Chemistry lab.

The door was unlocked, and the teacher was sitting behind his desk on his laptop.

"May I help you?" he asked, studying the two of us.

"I'm Emily," I introduced. "And this is going to sound crazy, but I think there might a note in here for me."

The teacher stared at me.

"Can you tell me where Parker Adams sits?"

He pointed to the barstool in the far back right of the classroom, and Michelle and I headed back there.

I found the note taped underneath his desk.

I reached over and high-fived Michelle before unfolding the note, right as the first bell rang.

"Read it quick," Michelle urged.

"People climb me, cut me and burn me," I read out loud. "They show me no respect. My rings are not of gold, but they do tell my age."

I exchanged glances with Michelle.

"That's easy," I said, tucking the note into my back pocket. "A tree."

"Oh, good one."

We exited the Chemistry lab, heading to Homeroom.

"Which tree do you think it is?" Michelle asked me.

"I'm going to go with the giant ass tree in the courtyard," I suggested, with a laugh.

"I'd probably agree with you."

We parted ways, and Homeroom seemed ten times longer than usual, my sights on the tree that was visible from my classroom window.

Somewhere on that thing was my next clue.

As soon as the bell rang I shot out of the classroom, Michelle meeting me at the tree.

Together we scoured the tree, getting several strange looks and a laugh from Emmett as he passed us.

And then Michelle found the note. It was stapled to the bottom.

"Okay," I said, as we headed to class. "Hit me."

"A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done," Michelle read to me.

"What?" I demanded, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway.

Michelle read it again, confusion lacing her voice as well.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Um, maybe it's a pregnant lady?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Pregnant ladies have skin," Michelle defended. "And because of their babies, they have more eyes than one. And they're pretty bitchy during the pregnancy because of the hormones, but when they're done they could be nice again."

I cocked my head to the side, absorbing what she said.

"That actually wasn't bad," I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

Parker came up to us in the hallway, slinging his arm around my shoulders. "Good morning."

"Morning," I said, with a smile.

"And how is everything?"

"Fantastic."

Parker peered over at the clue Michelle was holding, chuckling to himself. "Good luck." He kissed my cheek before disappearing again.

"So what teacher is pregnant here at the school?" I asked Michelle, as I reached my classroom.

"Well because it's Parker, it's probably a Senior teacher," Michelle pointed out.

"Smart."

She tapped her head, laughing. "Isn't that one English teacher pregnant, the one at the end of Hallway B?"

I thought for a moment. "Maybe." I turned to look at my American History teacher, who was checking people off of the roll as they walked in the door. "Is the Senior English teacher pregnant? "I asked him.

"Mrs. Tracey?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I guess so."

"Yeah, about 7 months now I'd guess."

"There we go," Michelle said, handing me the clue. "We'll convene after class and find our next clue."

We high-fived before I slipped into American History, excitement pulsing through my veins.

At the end of History, I met Michelle in Hallway B, which was strictly a Senior hallway.

So we got some odd looks as we approached Mrs. Tracey's classroom.

She was standing up at her whiteboard, erasing whatever they'd done in the previous class.

"Wait outside," she instructed, without turning to look at us.

"See?" Michelle whispered to me.

"Actually, we're not Seniors," I informed her.

She turned to look at us. "What can I do for you?"

"This is going to sound strange, but I'm on a scavenger hunt. Can you tell me where Parker Adams sits?"

"Who?"

"Parker Adams, a Senior."

She shook her head. "I don't have a Parker Adams in my class."

Isn't Senior English a requirement to pass high school?

"You could check with Mr. Hart," she suggested, pointing across the hall.

"But you're pregnant," Michelle pointed out.

"Okay."

I dug the note out of my pocket, showing it to her. "We just thought that the next clue would be in here."

She read over the clue before looking up at us. "Why in the world would you think this clue was connected to me?"

"Because you're pregnant," Michelle repeated.

"This clue has nothing to do with pregnancy," Mrs. Tracey informed us, handing me back my clue.

Michelle and I exchanged glances.

"But it has skin," Michelle pointed out. "And more than one eye."

"Right," she agreed.

"And it's nice when it's done."

"So you think pregnant ladies aren't nice?"

"No," I declined, shaking my head. "We were just trying to fill in the blanks is all."

"It's food-related," she informed us. "Now leave my classroom, I need to let my next class in, and you're going to be late."

Michelle and I left her class, an entire Senior class waiting and chatting in the hall.

We received some strange looks as we exited the hallway.

"Food related?" I asked Michelle.

"I was pretty sold on the pregnancy thing," Michelle said, shaking her head.

I reread the clue, trying to understand where Mrs. Tracey was coming from.

"What kind of food has a skin?" I asked Michelle.

"An apple," she suggested.

"But an apple isn't nice when it's done."

We both thought in silence for a couple of moments.

"A potato!" Michelle announced.

"What?"

"A potato has a skin and more than one eye," Michelle filled in. "And it's nice when it's done."

I reviewed the information as I studied the clue. "That's plausible." I looked back up at Michelle. "But I believed you when we went and interrogated a pregnant lady."

"Trust me on this one," Michelle promised. "At lunch we'll track down a potato with the next clue on it."

"Okay," I agreed, warily.

The next couple of periods were a blur, my thoughts on lunch.

How were we supposed to walk into the lunchroom and ask for a potato? Well, not only a potato but one with a note attached to it.

Michelle was waiting for me outside of the lunchroom, and the two of us headed inside together.

I waited in the hot lunch line, snagging the last salad before locating a lunch lady behind the glass.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"There are no more salads," she denied.

"Okay, well actually I was going to ask you about a potato."

She looked up at me.

"Do you happen to know of a potato with a note attached to it?"

"A what?"

"I'm on this scavenger hunt," I explained. "And my clue led me to a potato, and the only place I can think of to find a potato would be the lunchroom."

Another lunch lady came up behind the one I was talking to, reaching over the glass and handing me a potato with a note attached. "Emily Winston?"

I nodded, accepting the potato from her.

"You'll have to pay for that potato."

"Not a problem, thank you so much."

She nodded, a smile on her face.

"Why is there a note on that potato?" the first lunch lady asked the second one.

I checked out with my lunch, paying extra for that potato, before taking a seat at my lunch table.

"No way," Michelle said, laughing. "You found the potato?"

"I know," I said, ripping the note off the side. "Parker is a strange man."

"What has a head and a foot but no body?" I asked, reading my next clue out loud.

The girls at my table all stared at me with blank expressions.

I reread the clue, stumped myself.

Parker had really outdone himself this time. I thought the potato was hard, but I was absolutely puzzled.

A head and a foot but no body?

"A skeleton?" Michelle suggested. "But like one with only a skull and a foot?"

I rolled my eyes, and Hannah and Natasha cracked up.

"I don't know," I admitted, shaking my head. "This one's a doozy."

I thought on it all throughout lunch, and the entire way to my locker.

"You look confused," Parker said, coming up behind me as I switched out my books at my locker.

"It's your clue," I admitted, turning to face him. "You got me with this one?"

"The skin and the eye one?" Parker asked me.

I shook my head. "Solved that one, it's the next one."

Parker held out his hand, and I delivered his clue to him.

"Oh, the final clue."

"This is the final clue?"