He led us back into the study, (since it was the only room with a gramophone,) and switched the record. "Good job to the remaining teams," Aunt Mary's voice rang out, "I'm assuming that Ashe and June were eliminated...call it dead person's intuition. My guess for who finished first is a tie between Gwen and her partner, and Cassandra and Ezekiel. Anyways, you have three challenges left. The next clue is, 'water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.'"
The record stopped and my gears immediately started turning. 'Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,' it sounds more like a poem than a form of story or history.
A snapping noise brought me out of my thoughts, "Don't worry Gwenny, I got this one," Dean said.
I cocked my eyebrow, "no offence, but you currently have a D in english and history, so pardon me if I don't fully trust you."
"Whatever, do you want to know where it's from or not?" I nodded and he continued, "It's from 'the Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samual Taylor Coleridge. I had to read it in English and I got a 90% on the test last week, so ha."
"Thank god you're here, you know how much I absolutely loathe poetry," I said and clasped his shoulder.
The right side of Dean's mouth tilted upwards, "but where is the next object? The poem is about a sailor that is stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by saltwater that he can't drink. It could mean a book, a boat replica, or even the salt pool in the backyard."
"All the clues have pointed to objects, so I'm guessing it is a book of poems...which would be in the library," I thought out loud.
Dean's eyes grew large, "You mean that you have more books than the ones in the study? How much do you people read?"
I gave a small laugh as he grabbed my hand and started pulling me in the direction of the library, "First, those are only the reference books that Aunt Mary uses for business. Second, you constantly tease me about being a nerd and reading too much."
The library was by far my favorite room in the house because of its floor-to-ceiling oak bookshelves and comfy reading chairs. However, at this exact moment, I can't say that I am a fan of the huge bookshelves.
"How will we ever find it here?" Dean asked in awe.
"She has it organized by the author, thankfully not the Dewey Decimal System, or you would be no help," my neck was craned upwards, looking for the desired number.
"Look for C," Dean said as he sat down in one of the reading chairs.
"Wow, thanks for that...and helping," I rolled my eyes as I eventually found the right section. I even had the book, well, books, in my sight, but I was unfortunately too short to reach it.
I felt a presence towering over me from behind. "Need help, Little Miss Short-Stack?" Dean smirked as he looked down over me.
I'd never admit it, but his current stance made me blush a bright red, "It isn't my fault, Skyscraper."
"Whatever," but as soon as he put down his hand with the book, Tom and Harrison burst into the room.
Thankfully, Dean and I got startled and jumped away from the bookcase. They searched for a few seconds, completely disregarding us ...again. Then Ezekiel and Cassandra came in and found theirs; then Jenna and James.
"Everyone is finished, and I'm sorry to say that Jenna and James have been eliminated," Bruce said, as he once again stepped out from some unseen door. I really have to search this place more carefully, but more importantly, where does he keep coming from? I thought.
The mentioned twins started to protest, but Brice swiftly kicked them out of the library, "Back to the study we go."