Keepers of Ice

Chapter 7 - Deceived

David yawned as he filled his bowl with cornflakes and milk before carefully making his way through the crowd of sleepy campers. He spotted Estella sitting by herself at a table of four that was situated in a corner and with a shrug, decided to sit down beside her.

"Hey," he said effortlessly, his eyes trained on his cereal as he swirled the contents with a spoon.

"You look tired, rough night?"

"Yeah. I dreamt dozens of arrows were flying towards me. How about yourself?"

Estella giggled. "I slept just fine, thanks." She paused to take a bite out of her warm toast. "Um, David, thanks for saving my life yesterday by the way."

Before he could respond, Gary made his way to the front of the mess hall and held a microphone to his mouth. "Hello? Hello! Good morning campers. I hope you are all enjoying breakfast, but please give me your attention for a moment. In an hour's time, camp quizzes will be running here with fabulous prizes for the winners. All three cabins will be encouraged to participate, and groups should be between three to six people. That is all. Thanks for your attention and on behalf of the Camp Saffron staff, we hope you will enjoy your final day here."

An applause took place shortly after with familiar sounds of metal banging against the tables. Morons, he thought. David glanced at Estella and raised an eyebrow. "We need at least three people in our group."

Estella frowned. "I know. Do you think your sister could team up with us for the quizzes? Or should we try and recruit more people?"

As if on cue, Miranda and Jackson walked up to them with cheeky grins on their faces. "Got room for two more?" Miranda Amici asked.

"Sure," David replied with a smile. He could feel Estella frowning beside him for some reason, but he pushed the thought aside.

An hour later, eager campers had filled the mess hall excitedly in noticeable groups of three to six. David's group of four sat down at a round table, where multiple pieces of paper and a pen sat in the middle. They waited in silence as teenagers continued to pile inside and select a table.

"Welcome everyone! While the rest of you are still busy finding your seats, I'll quickly go over the rules." Gary cleared his throat before continuing. "Eric and Sally will read out the questions. Write your answers on the piece of paper provided and at the end, we will collect them and announce the winner at the end of the day. Cheaters will have their whole group disqualified, so no phones!" There were a few groans at this. "Good luck and may the best team win."

"Who wants to be the writer for the answers?" Miranda asked.

"I volunteer as tribute." Jackson immediately made a grab for the pen and scribbled their names on top of a piece of paper.

David winced at his friend's handwriting. It was dreadful and he wondered if the camp staff would even be able to read their answers. He could have taken up the role as the writer but he did not want to hurt Jackson's feelings.

"Question one, what is the sixth planet from the sun?" Sally spoke with a loud and clear voice, much to their relief, as the mess hall was full of chatter and arguments.

"The answer is Jupiter right?" Jackson asked with a confused tone.

"Saturn. I am certain it's Saturn," Miranda countered firmly.

While scribing down the answer, Jackson replied, "Oh, of course. I knew that." His cheeks reddened slightly, and David could not help but smile.

Sally brought the microphone to her lips. "Question two, what is the world's biggest island?"