The excerpt below is reprinted with permission and from Scavenger Hunt, by Michael Raz.
The scene is Central Park in New York City. It is the early summer (late June) of 2023. It is
noon on a Saturday. Ten people congregate on the Great Lawn for a scavenger hunt. They must
find ten items on a list created by the event organizer. They have twenty-four hours to find
everything. The winner gets $10,000,000. No one knows the identity of the mastermind.
Everyone responded to an online ad containing sketchy details of the contest. They all look at
each other in amusement as they discover a Post-It note on a lounge chair with a sign on the seat
reading Stranger Meetup. Maggie, 18, a pretty white upper class girl from the upper east side;
John, 18, a handsome poor street-wise black boy from Harlem; Cheryl, 50, a plain-looking
married housewife from Queens; Steven, 55, a divorced Latino man from the Bronx; Min, 28, a
Chinese exchange student from Shanghai; Vladimir, 47, a single Russian immigrant taxi driver;
David, 75, a retired college professor from South Africa; Jim, 63, a serious Texas banker; Cindy,
21, a model and aspiring actress; and Earnest, 35, a gay black librarian comprise the contestants.
“What the hell is going on here?†exclaimed Jim.
He walks distrustingly away from the others as the reality of the situation begins to sink in.
“I have no clue,
†said Cindy
She preens her tank top and blue denim shorts attracting the attention of John.
“What the hell are you looking at?â€
“Not much,†said John, sizing up Cindy.
Maggie shyly stifles laughter as the scene unfolds before her. John smiles and walks over to her.
“I’m John. Nice to meet you,†said John, extending his hand.
“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Maggie,†said Maggie, smiling.
“I’m Jim. I’m from Houston. This is my first time in New York. This is crazy town,†said Jim,
chiming in abruptly.
“It’s not so bad once you get used to it,†said Vladimir (with a noticeable, but not thick Russian
accent).
“Yeah. It’s not so bad. I like the fresh air here in the park,†said Min (with thick Chinese
accent).
“Yeah. It’s good to be outside. I’m usually cooped up indoors all day,†said Earnest.“What do you do?†asked Min.
“I’m a librarian,†said Earnest.
Min nods in acknowledgement.
“I’m Steven. It’s great to be here. I love meeting new people,†said Steven, enthusiastically
addressing himself to the rest of the group.
“Me too. Since I retired from teaching, I’ve had a great need to socialize,†said David, with a
South African accent.
“It’s quite a group we have here,†said Steven.
“Very diverse,†said Earnest.
“Does anybody know who the organizer is? Where he is?†asked John.
“How do you know it’s a he?†asked Cindy.
“I don’t,†said John.
“Oh OK,†said Cindy (confused).
“I’m feeling a little lost myself, but happy,†said David.
“Yeah. I love playing games. That’s what this is, right? A game. Some kind of contest,†said
Vladimir.
“Sure is. That’s why I’m here. To win the prize money,†said Jim.
“I’m just happy to hang out with new people. Money is cool, though, don’t get me wrong,†said
Steven.
“Sure is,†said John.
“I come from a rich family, but have none of my own. I’d like some,†said Maggie.
Cheryl has been quiet up to this point observing everything. She breaks her silence now.
“Sorry to be so suspicious everyone. I’m a sheltered housewife from the suburbs. I’m a little
leery about all this,†said Cheryl.
“What does ‘leery’ mean?†asked Min.
“Cautious,†said Earnest addressing Min.He turns to face Cheryl.
“Totally understandable. This is a little strange.â€
“We are strangers,†said Cindy.
“I guess that’s the point. Looks like some kind of social experiment on the part of some rich
guy.†said John.
“How do you know it’s not AI,†said David.
“I don’t,†said John.
“What’s AI?†asked Cindy (confused).
“Artificial intelligence,†said John.
“Crazy,†said Cindy.
“I think that the organizer is real. He could just be some nice guy who wants to do good while
remaining anonymous,†said Maggie.
“I hope so,†said Cheryl.
“Anyway, people, we’re all here. Let’s make the most of it,†said Steven.
The rest of the group introduce themselves. Earnest looks closely at the lounge chair and
discovers another Post-It note. He pulls it off and shows it to the others.
“Look what we have here. A list. With ten items on it to be found,†said Earnest.
“A scavenger hunt,†said John.
“Cool. I love games,†said Steven.
“How do we know that this prize money exists? That these items have been placed strategically
for us to find them? That this event organizer even exists?†asked Jim.
Everyone in the group becomes quiet for a few moments. Then John decides to speak up.
“We don’t,†said John.