Shatterproof

by Jocelyn Shipley

  “Oh, come on,” she says. “You’re him. But don’t worry—we won’t invade your privacy.”

  “No, really, I’m not.”

  She gives me a flirty smile and fluffs her hair. “I heard that Shatterproof is filming in North Van next week.”

  “So?”

  “So that’s why you’re in town. And you’re from here, so it all makes perfect sense.”

  “Well, it would if I was Bo Blaketon. But I’m not.”

  The girl touches my arm gently. It feels like an electric shock. “It’s okay,” she says. “We won’t announce it to the whole world. But can you get me on your show?”

  “No way!”

  “So you are him!”

  “No, I meant I can’t get you on that show. Because I’m not Bo Blaketon.”

  “Oh, please?” She actually flutters her eyelashes and pouts her lips. “Just as an extra?”

  Lug butts in. “Hey, he might be able to make that happen.”

  I frown and shake my head at him. “What are you doing?”

  “He-he,” Lug says. “Can’t blame these pretty things for trying.”

  “But I’m not Bo Blaketon!”

  They all stare at me like I’m lying.

  Even Lug.

  “Let’s go.” I stride away. “This is ridiculous.”

  The girl follows, her friends behind her. “Look, I’m sorry,” she says. “I should have respected your privacy. But can you please just sign my arm?” She pulls a purple marker out of her purse. “Then I promise I’ll leave you alone.”

  She’s wearing a flowery shirt, open over a tank top. She slips one sleeve off. Thrusts her shoulder at me. Points at her bicep. “Here,” she says. “Please?” She hands me the marker.

  I can’t not take it. And then I’m scrawling on her smooth skin Bo B. It kind of looks like BoB, which makes me laugh. It’s a nervous laugh though. What was I thinking?

  “Omigod!” She actually starts to cry. “Thank you so much!”

  Her friends gather close to take pictures. Lug steps in and shields my face with his hand. “Ladies, please! Privacy!”

  The girl wipes her tears and grabs her marker back. “If you change your mind about me being an extra, here’s my number.” She writes it on my hand.

  “Sorry, but we have to go.” I pull Lug away with me.

  The other girls call after us, “Hey, Bo, come back! Sign us too!”

  I break into a run.

  Chapter Four

  When Lug catches up with me he says, “What the what, dude? That was brilliant!”

  “That was wrong!” I can’t believe I did that. I think I might throw up. I should go back and find that girl. Tell her the truth.

  But then we enter RadRide, and I’m totally distracted. It’s the best store on the planet. You used to have to go to the States to shop at one. But they’ve finally opened a store here in Vancouver. I hope they open one on the Island soon.

  They’ve got longboards, cruisers—every kind of skateboard. They even have kits and parts to custom-build your own. Plus they carry all the coolest brands of clothes, shoes and accessories.

  I want everything!

  For a while I’m overwhelmed with looking at the stock. So is Lug. We don’t talk. We just sigh and drool.

  And then I see it.

  A Globe Bantam Galaxy Cruiser. Black with an orange-and-green-and-blue-universe print. Gradual kickboard. Simple but sweet!

  Lug notices me admiring it. “You like?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Better than that chick whose arm you just signed?” He points to my hand, where she wrote her number. I stick my hand in my pocket. I need to go scrub that off as soon as we’re done in here.

  “Yup. She was just some girl. But this is my dream board.”

  “So buy it.”

  “I wish! It’s ninety-five bucks. Can’t afford it.”

  “That sucks.” Lug studies sets of wheels. “Hey, why don’t you ask your old man? He’s loaded, right?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” Lug knows what happened with my parents. He knows how pissed off I am at my dad.

  “So he’s a jerk. You can still spend his money.”

  I think about that for a minute. It might be satisfying. I could pretend I want to see him, then change my mind once he buys me the board. “Nah. I’d have to actually speak to him.”

  “Okay, I get it,” Lug says. “How about this? That girl wanting to be an extra on Shatterproof gave me an idea.” Uh-oh. Lug’s ideas always end badly. “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  “Just listen, okay? You pretend to be that Bo Blaketon guy, and we sign girls up to be extras for the Shatterproof shoot next week. They pay us twenty bucks each up front. For their application, like a registration fee.”

  The way Lug’s mind works kills me. “And we’d get their phone numbers too?”

  “No, we’d just ask for an email address. So it wouldn’t sound like we’re hitting on them or anything. It has to seem legit.” He smirks. “But if they want to give us their numbers, we’d be okay with that.”

  “And why would they believe us?”

  “Because all girls want to be on TV.” Lug runs his hand over the Globe Bantam Galaxy Cruiser’s deck. “Nice,” he says. “Can’t you just see yourself on this?”

  “No, because I can’t afford it.”

  “Then let’s try my plan.”

  “No, thanks.” I can’t do that. “Sure, girls might give us money,” I say. “But it would be a crime. We’d be committing fraud.”

  “Don’t be such a wimp.”

  “But what if we get caught? Like I said earlier, I don’t want my mom getting a call from security.”

  “We won’t get caught,” Lug says. “If you can fool Dakota, you can fool anyone.”

  “But I didn’t fool Dakota. She just said I kind of looked like Bo Blaketon. Not that she thought I was him.”

  “Still,” Lug says. “Those girls thought you were.”

  I check around the store to make sure those girls aren’t in here. Then I take another look at the wall of shoes. There’s a pair of Vans I’d love. “That’s because they wanted to believe they were meeting a celebrity.”

  “So we let them have their wish. We let them enjoy a fantasy that they’re going to be discovered. We’d be doing them a favor.”

  “I don’t care. I’m so not doing this.”

  “C’mon, Bo,” Lug says. “You could make enough in an hour to buy that board.”

  “I don’t want it that bad.”

  “You know you do.”

  He’s right. I do. But I’m not scamming girls. Mom would go nuts. “Forget it,” I say. “I’ll ask my dad for the money.”

  I take out my phone to call him. I’m hoping he’ll be so happy to hear from me that he’ll say yes. He might even ask what else I need from RadRide.

  My dad answers right away. “Nate!” he says. “Good to hear from you! What’s up?”

  The sound of his voice almost makes me cry.

  I hate him so much.

  But I miss him too. It’s confusing.

  “Um, hey, Dad,” I say. “How’s it going?”

  “Great. I’d really like to see you. Would you consider coming down for a weekend? Even a day? Jewel would like that too. She’s eager to meet you.”

  Someday I might agree to see my dad. But I want nothing to do with Jewel, the hot young TV weather girl he’s dating. “Maybe,” I say. “So anyway, I’m in this skate store? And there’s this board I really want. And since you missed my birthday and all, I was wondering if you could call the store and give them your credit-card number?”

  Silence. Then my dad says, “I’d be happy to work out a financial arrangement for you, Nate. But I have to run it by your mom first.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want her to accuse me of trying to buy your affection.”

  He’s right. That’s exactly what she’d think. “Oh, I’m sure she wouldn’t min
d.”

  “And I’m sure she would. Where are you anyway?”

  I name a mall in Victoria, just in case he tells Mom I called.

  “Really? Let’s meet for lunch. I could be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Sorry, but I’m with the cross-country team. We have a meet this afternoon. We just stopped in here for some snacks.”

  “Where’s your meet? I’ll come see you there.”

  “Bye, Dad.”

  I feel like crap after I end the call. It hurts so much that he left us. I take another look at that board. “Okay,” I tell Lug. “We’ll ask one girl to sign up and see how it goes.”

  Chapter Five

  “You won’t regret it,” Lug says as we leave RadRide. “It’s gonna be easy money.”

  Something tells me that I will regret it. Big-time. “Yeah, but it’s still a scam.”

  “Too right. It’s a Shatterproof scam!”

  I groan. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” I say.

  “Hey, if girls are stupid enough to believe us, that’s their problem. Not ours.”

  “I guess.” I’m so conflicted. I want the money. But I know it’s wrong. “What if we take money some girl really needs?”

  “Needs for what?”

  “I don’t know.” I think of all the stuff I need money for. “Like maybe bus fare, school lunches and trips?”

  Lug veers right to avoid a mom pushing a double stroller. “Girls who shop here are rich. What’s twenty bucks to them? A pair of earrings or new nail polish? A couple fancy lattes and some cupcakes? Big deal.”

  We make our way along the crowded mall. When we reach the food court, I say, “Let’s get lunch first.” The aroma of burgers and fries and pizza is hard to resist. And maybe food will distract Lug from his plan.

  “Nah, let’s eat later.” Lug steers me past the fast-food places.

  I could refuse. I could say I’m starving and I’ll catch up with him after I eat.

  But part of me wants to see if we can actually do it. Signing that girl’s arm was a rush. I need a little adventure in my life. “So how’s it going to work?” I ask. “Shouldn’t we have ID or clipboards or something?”

  “Definitely.” He stops and takes his iPad from his backpack. “Check this out.”

  He’s made a document that looks official. The “Extras Needed” page even has the Shatterproof logo. “Jeez, Lug! When did you do that?”

  “While you were talking to your dad.”

  “You’re evil, you know that?”

  “Know it and proud of it.”

  We walk on until we get to a store called Marlena’s. It’s full of all kinds of girly accessories. Everything in the window is pastel and sparkly.

  Two girls come out with bulging shopping bags, checking their phones. One is blond, the other a redhead. They’re both hot.

  “Hey, there,” Lug says. They ignore him and keep walking.

  “Want to be on TV?”

  They stop, turn and give him their full attention. “Omigod! Yes!” the blonde squeals. “When? How?”

  “This is Bo Blaketon,” Lug says, pointing to me. “And I’m Laurence, his personal assistant. We’re here today to find extras for an episode of Bo’s show Shatterproof. We’re filming in North Van next week.”

  I nod at the girls and try to smile like a star. But inside I’m shaking. What if they realize I’m not Bo Blaketon?

  “Omigod! Omigod! Omigod!” the redhead shrieks. “I love that show!”

  “Me too! How do we sign up?” the blonde asks.

  Lug holds out his iPad. “I just need your email addresses,” he says, “so we can send you the times and locations.”

  “Seriously?” The girls hesitate. The redhead says, “Don’t we have to like, audition or something?”

  “No, no. Not to be extras.” Lug taps on his screen, like he’s searching for information. “It’s a two-part episode, and some of it takes place at a concert.”

  He shows them the screen. I peer over his shoulder and see that he’s opened the official website for the show. There’s a notice about the shooting in North Van next weekend, but nothing about extras. Or about us scouting at the mall. But the girls don’t even bother to look.

  “So that’s it?” the blonde says. “We just give you our contact info?”

  “That’s it.” Lug brings the “Extras” page he made back up. “Oh, and I should tell you that there’s a twenty-dollar processing fee for your application. But don’t worry, you’ll make that back in your first hour. And we’ll need you on set for several hours. So you stand to make good money. Paid in cash at the end of the day.”

  “What about school?” the redhead says.

  “Not a problem,” Lug says. “We’re filming on the weekend. And if you know anybody else who might be interested, please let them know. We need lots of different looks. Lots of diversity.”

  The blonde is already getting her money out. She hands Lug a twenty.

  “Thanks,” he says. “I’ll email you a receipt tonight. And the rest of the info will come in a few days.” He holds out the iPad for her to enter her details. “There’ll also be a permission form and liability waiver for your parent or guardian to sign, scan and return.” He eyes them up and down. “Unless, of course, you’re both eighteen?”

  The redhead giggles and shakes her head. “Thirteen,” she says.

  “We should call Tenshi and Carlotta and Violet,” the blonde says. “They’d love this.” She pulls out her phone. “How long are you going to be here, Laurence?”

  “Only for another hour, so your friends better hurry.”

  “And what about guys? Can they be extras too?”

  Lug pulls a sad look. “No, sorry. Bo has a lot of friends from when he went to school here. He wants to use them.”

  The redhead pays him and enters her details on his iPad. Then she turns to me. “Can I take a selfie with you?” she asks. “And can I have your autograph?”

  Lug steps between us fast, like he’s my bodyguard. “Sorry,” he says. “Not now. We don’t want everybody in the mall to figure out Bo’s here and mob him. We’re trying to keep things low-key while we find our extras. But there will be chances for photos and autographs on set.”

  “Oh,” she says. “Well, okay then. See you guys next weekend!”

  We stand there in shock as the girls stroll away.

  “Wow!” Lug says. “That was awesome! Even easier than I thought.”

  I have no words. I feel terrible.

  But I also feel excited. That was an even bigger rush than the girl writing her number on my hand. They actually paid us twenty bucks each!

  When I can finally speak, I say, “Good thing you stopped her from taking my picture.”

  “Yeah, we’ll have to be careful there’s no evidence.”

  Yikes! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? My face could be all over social media if some girl gets a photo. “That’s for sure. I don’t want the real Bo Blaketon to see me online, pretending to be him.”

  “Told you I had it all figured out. We’ll stick to no photos until the shoot. And oh, look at that.” Lug points toward the door of Marlena’s. “There’s our next forty bucks.”

  Chapter Six

  The two girls who come out of Marlena’s are just as pretty as the first ones. And just as easy to con. As soon as Lug mentions being on TV, they’re into it. They don’t ask questions. They just do that “omigod, omigod, omigod” thing. And then they pay us and sign up.

  Lug reels the girls in with his great spiel. He handles everything like a pro. He stops them from taking photos and whisks the money out of sight. We don’t want mall security to start asking questions.

  I stop being nervous and start to enjoy myself. No girl has ever looked at me like these ones do. I feel all mellow but also strong and powerful, like after I’ve run ten K. I could get used to being Bo Blaketon!

  That makes me think of my dad. He used to host a radio talk show. Is this how he felt when he was a
local celebrity? Like everything he said was important? Like everything he did was special?

  Thinking of my dad snaps me back to reality. I don’t want to be like him.

  I don’t want to be a jerk.

  Scamming these girls is evil. So as soon as we’ve signed up enough for me to buy that board, I tell Lug, “That’s it. I’m going for lunch.”

  Lug doesn’t try to stop me. All the way to the food court he blabs on about how great this is and how rich we’re going to be.

  I find us a table at the edge of the food court, way back by the washrooms. I don’t want anybody else thinking they know me from TV. I don’t want Lug trying to sign up more girls. I just want to eat my burger in peace.

  But first I go scrub that girl’s number off my hand. I find a beanie in my backpack and put it on. Then I keep my head down. I don’t look at anybody. I don’t look around at all.

  After we’ve got our food, Lug pulls out his wallet. He counts off six twenties for me. “Your pay,” he says. “Man, I make a great assistant, don’t I?”

  I hide the money in my wallet fast. “Yup. But you can take the rest of the day off.”

  “What?”

  I slather some ketchup on my fries. “We’re going to a movie, remember? And I’m done being Bo Blaketon.”

  “No way,” he says. “We can make another hundred or more each, no sweat.”

  “I’ve got enough for that board. Plus tax. I’m good.”

  “Nate, you’re not thinking straight. We’ve got a great thing going. Who wants to go see a movie when we can make this kind of cash?”

  “Actually, I am thinking straight. Forget the movie. I’m going to go buy that board and get out of here. Before we get caught.”

  “No, you’re not. Would Bo Blaketon be carrying a skateboard when he’s signing up extras?”

  “But he’s not signing up any more extras. He’s stopping now. You know, quit while you’re ahead.”

  Lug finishes the last of his fries. “I don’t think so.”

  “What if some of those girls go home and tell their parents about being an extra? Their parents will know we scammed their daughters.”

  “Trust me, they won’t. Those girls are all still at the mall. Probably buying new outfits to wear on set.”