Friday Flash Fiction - Scavenger Hunt
‘Nearly, nearly. Don’t let go.’ Arjun is dangling over the pier, arms reaching down as he tries to reach the bit of driftwood in the flotsam. Lucas is admiring Arjun’s arse as he hangs onto his friend’s ankles to prevent him from tipping headfirst into the river.
Has Arjun been flirting with him all day, or is it just his usual outgoing personality, friendly to everyone, particularly the newcomer to the city, the poor lost corp boy who needs to be shown around? He had used that excuse to grab him when they were all pairing up for the scavenger hunt earlier, grabbing Lucas’ arm and announcing that he’d show Lucas all the sneaky, hidden-away spots to find treasure. There had been a chorus of ‘I’m sure you will’ quips and laughter, so he didn’t think he was misreading the situation.
‘Got it!’ A triumphant Arjun hauls himself onto the pier, clutching a sturdy piece of driftwood. ‘K, what’s next on the list?’
‘A zine, a poem written by a stranger or a sketch of an art installation. How good are you at drawing?’
Arjun screwed up his face. ‘Pretty shit. Do we have any of the photos left to do?’
‘Nah, got ‘em all. Also got all the rainbow of fruit, the leaf rubbing, my Aunt’s mango beer recipe, and the 3D printed chess piece. I’ll give the sketch a go – where’s some good art?’
They pick up their backpacks and head back through the streets into the western cluster in the fading evening light, weaving in and out until they are standing in front of… what?
‘I don’t understand; what should I be sketching here?’ Lucas pretends to turn upside down to look at the installation. ‘It just looks like a bunch of metal sheets stuck together.’
‘Just wait until it powers on.’
Soon, the first lights flicker within the panels, casting glowing shadows across the waves. Complex patterns in reds, oranges and yellows dance across in a mesmerising display.
Lucas is unconvinced. ‘That’s just flashing lights. Surely there’s something more arty I can draw? And I’ve only got a pencil.’
Arjun doesn’t respond. He is uncharacteristically quiet, watching the display intently. Lucas sighs and starts rustling about in his backpack for pencil and paper. He looks up when a murmur goes through the small crowd gathered to watch. The tree opposite the shimmering lights is beginning to flash. Small dots of light flash in and out in time to the waves on the metal.
‘Fireflies. They do this dance every night.’ Arjun takes Lucas’ hand in his.
Lucas watches as the fireflies flicker among the leaves; their gentle glow mirrors the dancing lights of the sculpture opposite. He begins a simple sketch on auto-pilot. Outlines emerge in the graphite – the angular scaffold, the tree and Arjun watching.
Later, when it is fully dark, and they rejoin the others at the centre for the end of hunt gathering, he will slip the drawing into his back pocket to take home, and Arjun will slide it back out and stick it on the wall with the rest of the scavenger hunt art and whisper in his ear that there will be plenty more opportunities for Lucas to sketch him.
But now, in the flickering light of the fireflies, he plucks up the courage to ask, ‘So, is this a date, then?’ Arjun’s thumb lightly strokes over his hand, sending waves through Lucas. Leaning in, he replies, ‘If you like.’