Emma and the Minotaur by Jon Herrera Page B

ended up here.”
    “Maybe you were distracted,” Will said.
    “Me? You were the ones not paying attention!”
    “Well,” said Will. “We have to go back anyway. Time’s up. We’ll just have to pay better attention tomorrow.”
    They went back home and Jake picked up his backpack before he left on his way to the bus stop.
    They repeated their search the next day but this time, before they left the house, Emma went to the lunchbox under bed and took out an old compass. It was a clunky, metal thing on a yellow and black lanyard.
    She pulled it over her neck and ran outside to where Jake and Will were waiting.
    “I got this thing,” she said. “We won’t get lost with it.”
    This time, in the forest, Emma looked at the compass every so often to make sure that they were following the needle. The two boys kept quiet, but they jostled with each other now and again.
    “Are you sure you can handle the compass?” said Will. “Big responsibility.”
    Emma ignored him.
    They came across an enormous log that lied across their path. Jake and Will climbed on top of it and pushed at each other. Emma rolled her eyes, but soon she climbed up as well.
    She stood at the end of log and tried to get a better look at her surroundings in order to memorize any landmarks that she could see. A few metres ahead, a small rabbit was sitting up on its haunches. It was staring her and, presently, it cocked its head to the side before it ran off into the forest.
    “Hey, I have an idea,” she said.
    “What?” Jake asked.
    “Well,” Emma said. “This is weird. I’m sure we’re going north but something’s off. This area doesn’t look familiar. But what if we mark the places where we’ve been?”
    Will jumped off the log. “Let’s bring a knife and carve arrows into the trees next time,” he said.
    “No,” Emma said. “Don’t hurt the trees. I have a better idea.”
    They continued to search and, as they went, Emma began to look at the compass more often. Eventually, she ended up holding it in front of her as she walked.
    A while later, she stopped them. “Oh no,” she said.
    “Are you sure you can use that thing?” Will said.
    “We’ve been following the arrow the entire time!”
    There was a soccer field ahead of them beyond the trees. Past it, there arose familiar buildings that were part of the University of Saint Martin. To the right of the field, there was an enormous parking lot.
    “What’s the matter?” Jake said.
    “We can’t be here if we’ve been going north this entire time,” Will said. “There is just more woods to the north and eventually a lake. To get to the school you have turn west at some point.”
    “Huh,” Jake said. “That’s weird.”
    “Really weird,” Emma said.
    “Impossible,” said Will. He looked at his watch and then turned them around to head back on home. “We’re doing something wrong,” he said.
    “Yeah,” Emma said, nodding. “I have another idea though. But I need to get some things. I’ll do it tomorrow after school.”
    “What are you going to do?” Jake said.
    “We’re going to get organized.”
     
    The next day after school, when the bus dropped her off, Emma walked up The Hill to the University of Saint Martin. It was hot and sunny, and the road was busy.
    On her way up The Hill, Emma passed university students who were walking both to and from the school. The journey didn’t take her as long this time as it had in the rain and soon she was under the shade of the building housing the geography department. At that time of day, there was plenty of commotion in the hallways and she received more than few odd looks and smiles. She was out of place, being only eleven and small for her age on top of it.
    Her destination was on the second floor of the building. In the middle of the hallway, there was a doorway that was flanked by rows of big windows. Above the door, there was a sign that read, “Map Library.” She peeked inside and saw that there were maybe