by Annie Bryant
Maeve wore a grin the size of Texas. Simon remembered. He totally remembered her from that time she was lost in New York City and he showed her the way to the Teen Beat fashion show!
“Maeve, me darling,” he addressed her in pirate speak. “I can’t believe it’s you!” With that, Simon swooped Maeve up and twirled her about in a big bear hug. “What are you doing here?” he asked when he put her down on her feet.
“Well, my friends…we were on this little scavenger hunt.” Maeve saw Fabiana’s smile fade and she herself felt a little stab of guilt, but Simon grinning in front of her was just too fabulous. Guilt would have to wait. Staring up at Simon’s handsome face, she continued with her tale. “We sort of stumbled on to the set when we were lost, and they asked us to be extras because the real extras never showed up…and here we are!” she gushed.
“Fight scene, take seven!” called Ozmond. “Have your little happy reunion later, Simon. We must press on! We have a movie to shoot…. Betsy…”
Simon tipped his feather pirate hat, winked at her, and said, “Later, Maeve.”
“You know Simon Blackstone and you never told me?!” Fabiana yelped.
Maeve whispered, “It’s a long story.” She could tell that Fabiana could barely contain her excitement.
At Ozmond’s direction, all the actors on the set, who had been frozen and silent, began shouting and performing the moves that had been finely choreographed. A few of them kept stealing glances at Maeve, probably wondering, Maeve thought, how a lowly extra like her was friends with the heartthrob of the century—Simon Blackstone! It was all so very thrilling. Maeve had to hug herself to keep from dancing a two-step!
Maeve and Fabiana were directed to stand behind the mast of the ship and cower. Maeve could do cowering. She reckoned Girl in Crowd 2 had cowered a lot back in the orphanage.
Simon was playing Black Sam Bellamy, the bad guy hero known as the Prince of Pirates. In the scene they were shooting, Black Sam had just burst through the wall Isabel had helped paint and now he was engaged in a fierce battle against the crew of the Whydah for all the loot and treasure on board. Ontario Plume was playing a young member of the Whydah crew trying to defend his ship by fighting off the pirates.
Isabel couldn’t believe that Simon remembered Maeve. She herself wasn’t fascinated with movie stars the way Maeve was. She was more interested in how the scene was coming together. With the cameras rolling, Isabel felt like she was watching a storybook come alive. She could almost hear the loud explosions and music…even though they would be added later.
When she relayed her impressions to Patrick, he nodded and smiled. “I understand—it’s why I love my job so much.”
Isabel agreed. “It’s like seeing your imagination come to life right before your eyes. Does that sound cheesy?”
“Nah!” Patrick assured her. “I get it.”
Isabel had been Patrick’s helper all day, and it was one of the best days of her life. They spent almost two hours building wetus and repainting the figurehead of the boat a “more authentic color” (according to Betsy). Even though Isabel had to listen to the actors complaining about their hot costumes the whole time, she was ecstatic that she got to sit on a blanket in her shorts and tie twigs together with some fellow art lovers. Who else would sit with her and talk about how different shades of blue could make you feel sad, happy, cold, or warm?
When the director finally announced, “That’s a wrap, actor people!” the whole cast let out a collective sigh, including the stars. They were “being whisked off to some lux trailer where they could lie down, eat whatever they wanted, and listen to music,” Betsy explained. She seemed to have the total skinny on this movie set. Danny, Maeve, and Fabiana were also positively charged. “We are now officially movie stars,” exclaimed an effervescent Maeve.
Riley was less enthusiastic. “I feel like a total dweeb,” he said, tugging at the puffy hat he had to wear.
“Actually,” Fabiana commented, tilting her head, “You look more like a muffin.”
Riley let out an audible groan. “I’m gonna have to quit the band!” he lamented. “The rest of the Mustard Monkeys are never going to let me live this down.”
“You’re in a band?” giggled a tall, thin girl. She and another girl who was shorter and pudgier circled around him. They both had blond hair (that Maeve was convinced was sooo not real!).
“Yeah, I mean, it’s no big deal.” Riley was trying to look casual even though his cheeks were turning bright red.
“What do you play?” asked the shorter girl.
“Guitar and lead singer,” he replied bashfully.
“That’s hot,” said the tall girl without much emotion, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. “Isn’t that hot, Michele?”
“Totally hot. My dad’s a music producer,” said Michele, the shorter girl. “He could, like, totally hook you up!”
“He’s, like, famous,” the taller one added. “You should give Michele a demo. And your phone number…”
Maeve’s ears were burning. Who were these two blond starlets circling around Riley?
“Riley,” Maeve tried to interrupt.
“My dad’s, like, totally funding this movie,” the tall girl interrupted. “Funding movies is hot, isn’t it, Michele?”
“Totally hot, Michelle.”
“Wait, hold on. You both have the same name?” Maeve asked loudly. No, she did not like these girls one bit.
Tall Michelle glared at Maeve then smiled sweetly at Riley. “Like, NO! I’m Michelle with two Ls. She only has one.”
Michele pulled Riley’s hand up, whipped out a pen, and scrawled her number on it. “When you get a demo tape together…call me.” She winked. “I’ll talk to my dad and see what I can do.”
The two Michelles—or rather Michele and Michelle—waved coyly at Riley and sauntered away.
Riley looked pale. “That was truly frightening.”
Maeve couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. “Oh, Riley, you’ll get used to it. I think you just survived your first groupies!”
Suddenly Betsy ran over. She seemed totally petrified. She was holding the walkie-talkie away from her and waving it around like it was on fire. “Somebody! Take it! Take it! I can’t stand the pressure anymore.”
Maeve wrinkled her eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
Betsy dropped her voice to a whisper and informed them, “It’s Ms. O’Reilly. She’s trying to buzz in to check on us and I don’t know what to tell her.”
Maeve shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, Betsy! Just make something up.”
Betsy was stunned. “Make something up? Are you suggesting I lie to a teacher?”
Maeve rolled her eyes. “Not lie exactly, Betsy. It’s called improv!”
Ms. O’Reilly’s voice sounded through the speaker. “Cranberry Boggers? Are you there? Over! Darn, is this thing broken? Over. Over. Over.”
Maeve reached over and plucked the walkie-talkie out of Betsy’s hand whispering, “Watch.” She pressed the talk button and said calmly, “Hey, Ms. O. What’s shakin’?”
“Oh, thank goodness. I was just checking in to see how the hunt was going.”
Maeve glanced around the action-packed set of the movie and replied, “It’s going great! We’re having the most amazing time.”
The Boggers nodded. That was definitely the truth.
“Oh, excellent,” Ms. O’Reilly commented. “So are you finding any clues?”
“Clues?” Maeve waved her hand for help.
This was Isabel’s clue to jump in. “Um, well, we’re a little short on actual clues, but we’re getting a lot of things on the bonus list!” She proved her point by holding up the preview screen on the team digital camera so everyone could see the pictures she had gathered around the set. The rest of the group gave her an approving, and relieved, thumbs-up.
Fabiana then took her turn with the walkie-talkie. “See, Ms. O’Reilly, sometimes having fun and learning new things is more important than coming
in first, ya know?”
They heard Ms. O’Reilly laugh. “Kids, I couldn’t agree more. Well, stay safe and I’ll see you at the barbecue.”
“Bye!” sang a chorus of Boggers.
Fabiana tossed the walkie-talkie back to Betsy, and slapped Maeve and Isabel a high five. “And that,” Maeve stated, “is how improv is done.” Except she didn’t feel as great as she sounded. Charlotte, Nick and Chelsea were suddenly front and center in her mind, but Simon Blackwell’s greeting was still tap dancing in her head: “Maeve, me darling!” Maeve just didn’t know how to feel.
CHAPTER
10
Salty Cods on the Run
Man, I dig Cape Cod sea salt and vinegar chips. They are like…the work of some kind of mad food genius,” Dillon pronounced as he tossed a handful of the tangy snack into his mouth. The rest of the Salty Cods agreed as they scarfed down the last of Dillon’s bag of potato chips and enjoyed the ocean view from their perch on the rocks.
Munching on a chip, Charlotte suddenly began to feel a little anxious. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that we haven’t seen any of the other teams even though we’ve found two clues?” she asked.
“You know, I was just thinking about that myself,” Nick answered as he munched loudly.
Katani, in a best friend tune-in, immediately caught on to what Charlotte was thinking. “What if the other teams got here first? It’s already four o’clock. What if we’re way behind?”
“Impossible!” Dillon scoffed. “We were riding like champions! There’s no way the Barnacles and the Boggers are going faster.”
Katani gulped. “Maybe they found a shortcut…and remember Lance wannabe Armstrong,” Katani reminded Dillon. “The Barnacles have Avery on their team.”
Patrice, who had actually dozed off for a few minutes, was suddenly alert. “Team Salty Cods, we can’t take any chances!” She jumped up and ordered everyone to get moving. “Come on, troops. Let’s get cracking here.” She pulled envelope number three out of her bag and read.
Beside a pool all full of brine stands a structure stuck in time. Search among the ponds with care and you will find this wheel of air.
The Cods were completely stumped. No one said anything until Dillon finally asked, “Who has a pool on the Cape?”
“Dude, it’s a metaphor,” Patrice said.
“What?” Dillon’s face wrinkled in confusion.
“Metaphor. You remember from English class? Something that means something else,” Charlotte explained. “Like when Ms. Rodriguez says that the classroom is a zoo. She doesn’t actually mean that the classroom is a cage full of animals. She means everything is crazy.”
“Oh, I get it, as if we’re all acting like animals…not me personally, of course,” he said, grinning.
Nick gave Dillon a noogie and grabbed his last chip. “Let Charlotte finish, dude.”
“It means that the pool in the clue is code for something else!” a very intent Charlotte continued.
“But for what?” Katani asked.
“Like a pond!” Nick snapped his fingers. “Let’s check out the map.”
Patrice unfolded the map and everyone peered at the area surrounding Rock Harbor.
“Okay, so I gotta know. What’s a pool full of brine? ’Cause if that is, like, a code for garbage or something…” Dillon trailed.
“Brine is like salt,” Nick answered. All the Cods, including Charlotte, looked at him, impressed.
“What are you, some kind of Albert Einstein, Nick? Who actually knows that stuff?” Dillon grabbed Nick in a friendly headlock.
“My parents own a restaurant, dude!” he said as he twisted his head out of Dillon’s arm. “They use brining stuff all the time to preserve the meat for Montoya’s famous breakfast sandwiches!” Nick looked at Charlotte as if she were the only one whose opinion mattered. Their eyes locked for a split second, and Charlotte felt like she was dancing.
“So, then, we’re looking for a salt pond?” Katani asked. “Well, isn’t that a salt pond right there?” Katani used her perfectly manicured nail to point out the tiny letters that read SALT POND in an area not far from Rock Harbor.
“Nice one, Kgirl!” Charlotte cheered.
“Sis, you’ve got the eagle eye.” Patrice smiled, giving her sister a hug. Katani squeezed her sister back. It felt good to be part of Patrice’s team now.
They quickly boarded their bikes and zipped off, everyone on the team convinced that the Salty Cods were unbeatable. Within ten minutes the salt air was as strong as if they were still by the sea, and the Salty Cods knew they were close. They braked in front of a scenic vista overlooking the beautiful, marshy Salt Pond.
“Whoa, dudes! Check out that mad old windmill!” Dillon gaped.
The team turned to look at the windmill, which was like an illustration from a history book. And then, just like that, a light bulb went off in Charlotte’s head. She turned to Nick. “That’s it! See, there’s the flag! It’s a ‘wheel of air’ that’s totally ‘stuck in time.’”
“Way to go, Char!” Patrice cheered. They all ran over to the flag and posed as Katani took the camera and snapped their picture.
Charlotte felt Nick squeeze her hand just as the camera flashed. I wonder if these pictures will go in the school newspaper. Charlotte experienced a fleeting flicker of concern. She liked her special friendship with Nick but she didn’t want to broadcast it all over the school.
“It’s almost time for dinner,” Patrice noted. “Cods, are we ready to call it a day?”
The group gathered in a circle and bumped their fists together. “Three clues down, three more to go!” The Salty Cods had given the scavenger hunt 100 percent of their effort and now visions of chicken wings and watermelon danced in their heads. They mustered up what was left of their strength and pedaled off to Kiki’s house.
Barnacle Bluff
In exchange for letting Avery borrow her friend’s surfboard, Avery allowed September and Chewie to break into the package of chocolate-chip granola bars that she had packed. Avery had decided that the granola bars would be the perfect thing for keeping her energy up on a fun-filled bike trip. September, Chewie (aka the Wookman), and the rest of the Barnacles were especially grateful for her planning.
“I haven’t munched one of these since I was in junior high!” September admitted. “I used to make quadruple-decker granola bar sandwiches stuffed with peanut butter. They were the cheese!” she said as she stuffed a piece in her mouth.
“Mgghmmgg.” Chewie tried to get some words out but it was an impossible task as his mouth was full of granola bar crumbs. When he smiled he looked like a cartoon hillbilly who’d lost half his teeth. Avery and the Barnacles doubled over with laughter. Even Kiki, who had mellowed out from her day in the sun, let out a big hoot, but she wasn’t looking at Chewie.
“You think that dude over there has been out in the sun yet this century?” she quipped to Yurt, pointing to a pale teenager trying to get up the courage to step into the freezing water. Yurt held his hands over his face like a mask and intoned, “Another beachgoer falls victim to the Sunscreen Slasher!”
“Oh, shut up,” Kiki griped. But she was smiling when she said it.
Just then Avery felt the force. She was magnetically drawn to anything having to do with sports, like she had a sixth sense or something. In fact, her powers had come through again. Behind her, a group of kids were setting up a volleyball game.
Avery spun around and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
“Hey, you guys need another player?” she hollered, again completely forgetting about anything to do with the scavenger hunt.
“Totally,” replied a dark-haired girl with a wide smile and hazel eyes.
A blond girl with short curly hair frowned. “I don’t think—!” she whined.
“What? We do need another player.” The dark-haired girl interrupted her friend and smiled at Avery. “Just ignore Tracy. The more the merrier!”
“You know how to
play?” asked another kid, a tall boy with lots of freckles and brown hair.
“Do I ever!” Avery barked, and launched the ball into the air with a superpowered serve.
The volleyball kids cheered. All but Tracy, who lunged to hit back Avery’s serve and missed completely. “I didn’t even want to play volleyball,” Tracy groaned. “We were supposed to be extras in a movie!”
“It’s shooting in the middle of nowhere in the woods somewhere on Cape Cod,” explained a boy with a Red Sox hat on.
“Yeah. Turns out, they were sooo in the middle of nowhere that my mom couldn’t even find the dirt road to the set!” Tracy said sarcastically. “We drove all over the place and finally got to this beach. By the time we called the movie people they said they’d found some other kids to replace us,” explained the girl huffily. “So now here we are on this gorgeous beach, but with no bathing suits, no towels, no anything.”
“But we had a volleyball and there was already a net,” added the boy. “That seemed like the next best thing.”
“So, let’s do it!” Avery commanded. Soon, a full-on volleyball game was in motion. Avery played water volleyball every summer at her father’s, in the annual Telluride, Colorado, Volleyball Tournament. (She had three MVP trophies!)
“You know,” she had explained to Charlotte, “if you have two brothers you just have to be into sports or you’ll be left doing the dishes. And I hate doing dishes. I mean, if it wasn’t for saving the environment and all, I would eat on paper plates every night and it wouldn’t bother me at all.”
Champions of the Beach
“Ahhh, Avery,” shouted the Yurtmeister after a full hour of intense volleyball. “That last serve was absolutely killer.” Then he proceeded to do a Henry Yurt–style dance complete with war whoops around the net. The Beach Barnacles had beaten the pants off the movie-extra kids.
As Avery went to shake hands, she promised herself that she would be sure to thank her brothers, Scott and Tim, for all their great volleyball tips. Avery also made sure to give Ben Briggs a thumbs-up. Who would have guessed the big football player had such grace when it came to leaping for the ball and tapping it across to just the right place? Kiki also surprised them all by not only playing, but also by stopping more than one spiked ball with her quick reflexes.
