Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 13

Fitz's P.O.V.

"Biana, why are you acting so strange?" I asked my sister. All morning, she had been pacing around the room, disappearing into the closet, then reappearing in a new outfit - which she changed every 12 minutes. It was all extremely... Peculiar. 

"I'm not acting strange!" Biana claimed. I sighed. If she went on like this, I'd just have to assume she was planning on committing another crime. 

"Come on, Biana! Tell me what's going on!" I exclaimed. "I don't want you ending up in jail again." 

"I'm not going to end up in jail this time," she informed me, matter-of-factly. "But we do have to leave." She glanced at the clock, which read 10:30. "Hurry up, Fitzy!" 

"What am I hurrying to?" I questioned. "Give me some information!" Biana shook her head firmly. 

"It's a surprise! But it's a really great surprise. And dress nicely!" 

"Fine," I sighed. There really was no point arguing anymore. So I got dressed as "nicely" as possible, then we got in the car. 

"Where are we going?" I asked. Biana laughed. 

"Ha! You don't think I'd make it that easy? I will be driving us." My eyes opened widely. 

"No! Biana, you can't," I told her. "The last time you drove, we almost crashed and died!" 

"Okay, that was ONE time," Biana pointed out. I rolled my eyes. 

"Yes, one time we almost died. So you are definitely not driving." Biana made a point of sighing as loudly as she could. 

"FINE! But I'm giving the instructions!" 

"How in the world is that going to work?" I asked. If Biana was even a second late, we could miss the entire turn and have to circle back - which would take significantly longer. 

"It'll work," Biana assured. "Now, drive! Forward." I sighed but obeyed and slowly started driving forward. 

"Faster!" she exclaimed. I drove a tiny bit faster, but it didn't seem to satisfy my sister. "Fitzy, come on! We have places to be!" 

"Yes, places I don't even know," I murmured under my breath, but I started driving faster. 

Biana kept shouting random directions and I kept thinking that we were going to crash with the next turn. But miraculously, we didn't. And eventually, when we reached the parking lot of the mall, I realized that we were going to the mall. 

"Seriously, Biana? The 'surprise' is shopping?" I asked. Biana grinned that smile that told me her plan was much grander than I would ever expect. 

"It's... Part of the surprise," was all she told me. We got out of the car and Biana started urging me to go faster. 

"I'm walking as fast as I can!" I told her. "Stop pushing me!" Biana rolled her eyes at me. 

"Then run!" she exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It took some time, but we finally reached the front of the mall at last. There was a huge water fountain surrounded by blue benches with small flower gardens in between. 

"Okay, we're here!" she said. Biana glanced at her watch. "The others should be arriving any minute now..." 

"Others? Who are you talking about?" I asked. But Biana refused to answer me. So I sat on the bench and waiting 206 seconds before finally understanding her full plan. And I was definitely not amused. I wish she would've given me a heads-up for something! Especially since without proper time to think about it, I would probably mess everything up with Sophie. 

"HELLO!" a girl exclaimed. "IT'S SO GREAT TO MEET YOU!" 

"Jeez, Linh, stop shouting," another boy muttered. The two were probably siblings since they looked so alike. 

"Everyone, this is Fitz and Biana," Sophie announced. Then she went on to name everyone. "That's Linh, Tam, Marella, Keefe, and you've already met Dex." Biana went around hugging and shaking everyone's hands. 

"Eek! This is so exciting!" she shouted. "I love meeting new people!" 

"Me too!" Linh exclaimed. I had a feeling they were really going to get along. 

"So why are we at the mall?" Keefe asked. Biana grinned micheiviously. 

"I have a few ideas..." she said mysteriously. "But the main thing to remember is this is going to be so much fun!" Tam narrowed his eyes skeptically. 

"Are you sure?" he asked. My sister crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

"Absolutely," she replied. Tam might've smiled, but I wasn't sure since it was the smallest smile in the entire world if he did. 

"Okay, so what are we doing first?" Marella inquired. "Does it require a lot of walking?" Biana thought about it. 

"Um... I'm not sure. Maybe? Depends on how dedicated you are." 

"Excuse me? Dedicated?" Marella repeated. 

"I'm very dedicated," Keefe claimed. "We'll do just fine." Marella rolled her eyes but smiled. 

"So is this like a team thing?" Dex asked. 

"Uh... It can be!" Biana exclaimed. "In fact, that sounds like more fun!" Marella jumped on Keefe's back. 

"I call Keefe since he'll probably end up in the hospital without me," she remarked with a grin. 

"I can manage just fine," Keefe protested, then almost tripped on his shoelaces. 

"Careful!" Marella scolded. "I'm up here, remember?" 

"Right... Can someone tie my shoelaces then?" 

"Ooh! I can do that!" Linh told him, then bent down to tie his shoelaces. Tam rolled his eyes and sighed. I had a feeling this was a really interesting group... 

"Um, okay then!" Biana said, trying to get things going again. "Dex and Linh can be a team then since they're a couple." Linh stood up, finished with tying Keefe's shoes, then went over to Dex. 

"This sounds like so much fun!" she told him. Dex nodded, a little hesitantly. Biana grinned. 

"Sophie and Fitz can be a team, and then I'll be with Tam. Everyone good?" I sighed inwardly. I really wished she would talk to me before she did stuff like this. 

"Can I choose to not participate?" Tam asked. Biana shook her head. 

"Nope, it's mandatory! But it'll be fun since we're totally going to win," she claimed. 

"The winners are clearly us," Marella said, Keefe nodding along. 

"Um, what exactly is this whole... game?" Sophie questioned. Biana smiled. 

"We're doing a series of events today, but it starts with a scavenger hunt," she informed us. "After you gather all the items on the list, go to the center of the mall." 

"Wait, a series?" I asked my sister, but she ignored me and started passing out the scavenger hunt papers. Which I wasn't sure when she had found the time to make. 

"Okay, everyone ready?" Biana asked. Everyone shouted "yes!" except for Tam. 

"Everyone be safe and have fun," Linh quickly added before Biana started the countdown. "And no cheating!" Marella and Keefe seemed a little disappointed by this, which I was confused by. How could you possibly cheat in a scavenger hunt? 

"Alright, the game is about to begin!" Biana exclaimed. "3... 2... 1... Go!"