For the next few minutes, the Trackers wandered around the lab and examined the students’ work. One prosthesis was constructed from the blocks of wood. The students had painted it with a pattern so that it appeared lifelike. It was just the right size, but….
“This one looks a little clunky and heavy,” Maya said. “So it might be hard to attach.”
Another prosthesis was made of tin foil.
“Well, this one is much lighter than the wooden leg,” Jamal began, “but it looks like it might collapse if the giraffe walked on it.”
The third prosthesis was made from cardboard, and Chelsea noted that it did not look like it would last very long. “The giraffe could never go out in the rain with a cardboard leg,” she added.
Cooper was examining a prosthesis made from parts of a plastic water bottle. He was thinking about how awesome it would be for the environment if water bottles could actually be recycled for prostheses. Then something caught his eye. There was a small chalkboard hanging on the wall in the front of the lab. Written on it was the following—
10 + 58
And most importantly, it was written in purple chalk!
He pointed it out to the others, who were just as excited. When Dr. G was told why this was a big deal, he seemed excited, too!
Then, in a more thoughtful voice, Cooper said, “Hang on…10 plus 58? That’s ridiculously easy for college students. I know first graders who could figure that one out.”
“I agree,” Gabby replied. “It’s really simple. Too simple, in fact.”
“So maybe those numbers don’t simply represent the numbers themselves,” Simon opined. “Maybe they represent something altogether different.”
“Right, right,” Maya agreed. “You know what it reminds me of? One of those escape rooms, where the clues are there to be found, really close by.”
Everyone began looking around the room for anything that might correspond to those two numbers.
