So, the craziest thing happened at work this week and I have to share it with all of you. It was just too cool not to tell anyone. Some of you may not believe me – because it was THAT crazy – but I promise it happened.
The first half of my week was pretty busy, but it slowed towards the end of the week like it usually does. On Thursday afternoon, I had nothing pressing to work on, so I decided to clean out my office. There are still a bunch of files in here from the last person who held my position, so I decided to finally go through them all and decide what should be kept and what could be thrown away.
I was cleaning for maybe 30 minutes or so, going through the only filing cabinet in my office, when I came across a small folder that immediately caught my attention. There was nothing on the outside of it, but when I opened it up, there was one piece of paper in there that was titled \”Those who know about my hiding spot.\” Talk about weird! I only recognized one name on the list, so it had clearly been in there for a while. My first thought was that this was some sort of activity they started to plan, and maybe it never took off or they hit a dead end. But what kind of activity involved a hiding spot? Eventually, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided I needed to ask someone.
So, I called up that person who\’s name I recognized on the list. She wishes to remain anonymous, so I will just call her Jane Doe. I asked her if she remembered what it was about and if it was related to some kind of activity, because if so, I wanted to see what I could do with it. She got real quiet for a long moment, and I almost thought she hung up on me. Eventually, Jane came back on the line and said: \”No, it\’s not an activity. This person gave me a clue that would ultimately lead to a \’secret hiding place\’ – at least that\’s what they called it. I never did find out where or what they were supposed to be hiding. I thought it was harmless fun, so I went along with it.\” I asked her if she remembered what the clue was and she said the person gave her a note that read: \”The next clue can be found where the fizzy drinks cool.\”
I immediately knew what they were talking about. In the kitchen, there\’s a walk-in fridge where one shelf is dedicated solely to boxes of soda. That would have to be what the clue meant. Now, my curiosity was really getting the best of me. This was like a scene out of a movie! Obviously, I had to go find out if the clue was still there. This was just too wild to stop now.
I went to the kitchen, and went into the walk-in fridge. I go in there a lot to get things for student activities, so no one really questioned why I was in there. The soda was on the far side of the fridge, and I immediately went there to start looking around for a potential clue. I moved boxes around, and felt along the shelving to see if there were any signs of a hint. After a few minutes, I was getting cold, and hadn\’t found anything. I wasn\’t even entirely sure what I was supposed to look for, or if there was even anything TO look for. Piling the boxes back into their places, I was about to admit defeat, when I saw something taped to the wall behind the shelving. Removing it from the wall, it was a piece of paper with a picture of a book on it.
Was this my next clue?? It was all I had, so I went with it! I was getting excited now. This would already make for an awesome story – no matter what the outcome turned out to be. It definitely wasn\’t going to be a boring work day.
At the library, I stared at the rows of bookshelves and had no idea where to start. Would I have to look through every book? I looked at the picture again, hoping for a clue. The only thing on the book was a big $ sign. So, I decided to check out the financial studies text books. There were a bunch, and it would still take a long time. I looked at the picture again, and decided the blue coloring on the picture might also be a hint. I perused the book shelf and found a very old-looking blue text book sitting right in the middle of one of the shelves. Opening the front cover, there was ANOTHER piece of paper with a hint on it. It read: \”Final Clue: The GREEN X Marks the Spot.\” It included a picture of a tree, but nothing else.
I haven\’t done very many escape rooms, but from doing a handful, I know to look at every clue very carefully. The GREEN in all caps had to mean something: The Campus Greens! And there were trees out there! That had to be where the hiding place was.
If you\’ve made it this far on my journey with me, stick with me until the end. This is where it gets REALLY crazy.
I\’m out on the campus greens, inspecting every tree for the X that would mark the spot. It surprisingly didn\’t take me long. It was the thickest tree, and it had a little X carved into the base next to a hole in the tree that some kind of critter must have created. Was this supposed to be the hiding spot? I felt like Nicholas Cage in National Treasure 2, where he had to reach into an opening in the stone for a clue to find the treasure. It was necessary to reach in, but it made me nervous for what I would find!
Finally, I took a deep breath and decided to go for it. I\’ve already come this far, I might as well find out if there was anything in there, right? So, I reached into the tree, and sure enough, there was something there. It was solid and felt like it was made of old wood. I managed to wiggle it free, and pulled it out to see that it was a box. Maybe a jewelry box of some sort? It wasn\’t very big, it easily fit into the hole in the tree after all. I was dying to find out what was inside. Obviously, it had to be something pretty crazy if this person went to these lengths to hide it, right? So, I slowly pulled back the lid, and inside the box was… money. A LOT of money.
Does this seem to too good to be true? If you said yes, then you are absolutely right. It is too good to be true. I didn\’t find no mysterious folder in my office. I did find a good handful of quarters though, so the ending wasn\’t entirely false. 😉
My week was pretty uneventful, as you can probably guess if you read all this nonsense. But hey, it was fun to make up this story I suppose!
Stay warm!
Until next time! 🙂
Megan Reiffenberger