Page 65 of The Big Race
The cave had been designed to test our ability to work together under pressure. But it had taught us something more valuable: that our differences didn’t have to be obstacles. They could be tools, if we learned to use them together instead of wielding them against each other.
Chapter 28
On The Rocks
Cody was waiting for us when we headed toward our car. He jumped in the front seat and filmed us as we drove back down to Nice. When we parked at the designated spot along the Promenade des Anglais, I saw we were still first to arrive. The iconic walkway stretched before us, but I had no time to appreciate the view.
Unlike the sandy beaches back in Florida, Nice's shore was covered with smooth, rounded stones that shifted and clacked beneath our feet as we hurried down the stairs to the marked-off section.
"The clue said to look for a rock with both our astrological symbols on it," I reminded Ray, already scanning the pebbles. "I’m a Virgo and you’re a Cancer."
“If you say so.”
Above us on the Promenade, spectators had gathered, some calling out encouragement in French. The beach on either side of our marked area was dotted with sunbathers stretched out on colorful towels, seemingly unbothered by the pebbled surface beneath them. Locals had clearly mastered the art of comfort here, with many using specialized beach mats or low reclining chairs designed for these unique conditions. Despite the stones,the beach was packed—the clear Mediterranean waters too inviting to resist.
Above us on the Promenade, spectators had gathered, recognizing us from the red and blue race signage. Some pointed cameras in our direction while others called out encouragement in French and broken English.
“Allez, allez!” a woman shouted, clapping her hands.
“The Big Race! We watch on television!” a man with a thick accent yelled, giving us a thumbs up.
I was focused on the task and the growing sound of car doors slamming behind us.
"Damn," Ray muttered, glancing back. "The military couple just arrived."
Sure enough, Fletcher and Adrienne were jogging toward the beach stairs. Behind them, I spotted another car pulling up.
"We need to find this fast," I said, dropping to my knees to examine painted stones more closely. "Turn over any rocks that match other teams so they'll have trouble finding theirs."
Ray was already doing that, flipping a stone painted with what looked like Gemini symbols. "Smart thinking."
Twenty minutes in, with sweat dripping from beneath my arms in the Mediterranean heat, we still hadn't found our combination. Fletcher and Adrienne were methodically working their section, while Alex and Ross had arrived and were frantically searching nearby.
"I've got it!" Ray called, holding up a stone with the Cancer symbol. But when I examined it closely, the other symbol was wrong—an M like Virgo, but with a pointed tail instead of the curved one.
"That's not right," I said. "The Virgo tail curves back, like a loop."
"Are you sure?" Ray asked, frustration edging into his voice as more teams arrived behind us.
"Trust me. I used to doodle that symbol in notebooks."
“This is crazy,” Ray muttered after twenty more minutes of searching. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
A small crowd of onlookers had formed on the Promenade, many of them clearly tourists enjoying the unexpected entertainment of watching race contestants scramble along the beach. Some called out whenever they spotted a painted rock, sending us running in multiple directions, often for stones that had nothing to do with zodiac symbols.
Another twenty minutes passed. The crowd above us had grown, and now most of the remaining teams were on the beach, spreading across the pebbles in a desperate search. The familiar tension between us threatened to resurface—him thinking I was overthinking, me thinking he wasn't careful enough.
But then I remembered Dr. Lieber's advice about making the race a classroom.
"We're learning," I said, catching Ray's eye as Gemini squealed with apparent success nearby. "Together."
Ray nodded, his expression softening. "Together."
Five minutes later, he pulled up the correct rock—both symbols painted clearly on the smooth surface. "Got it!"
We raced toward the race official as Fletcher and Adrienne found theirs just seconds behind us, the elimination pressure pushing everyone to move faster.
The Mediterranean sun beat down on us as we handed the painted pebble—both our zodiac symbols intricately rendered on its smooth surface—to a stunning woman in a sleek black bathing suit. A bright blue sash across her torso proclaimed “Alpes-Maritimes” in elegant script. Her smile was as dazzling as the sea behind her as she inspected our find.
