Bait for a Burglar Read Free

but he managed to open the door and step inside, following Estella.
    The room they entered was painted black, and banks of stage lights were on, making it incredibly bright. Brian and Estella blinked for a few seconds, letting their eyes adjust to the light.
    â€œHey, Quinn,” someone called. Brian looked around the room and saw faces that were familiar because he’d seen them on That’s News 2 Me, and a couple more he thought he recognized from Redoaks Junior High. But it took Brian a moment to recognize the guy in the blue shirt and jeans who had spoken to him and was now smiling.
    â€œHi, Jack,” Brian said. He put his hand on Estella’s shoulder and led her to meet Jack Bowman.
    Jack had been a ninth-grader in Redoaks Junior High when Brian was in seventh grade. They were both on the student council and worked together on the Book Fair committee. Brian liked Jack, and he felt bad that some of the kids avoided Jack after hearing he’d been arrested for shoplifting. According to the rumors Brian had heard, Jack’s parents took him back to the store to return what he’d taken, but the store pressed charges anyway. That was over a year ago. For all Brian knew, Jack might still be on probation.
    â€œThis is cool,” Brian said as he glanced around the studio. “What kind of job do you have here?”
    Jack ran his hand through his blond hair. “I work on That’s News 2 Me every week as a cameraman.”
    â€œThat’s great.”
    A tall redheaded girl, who was seated nearby, leaned toward Brian and reached out to shake his hand. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Holly Knowles, a sound engineer. You can call me a computer and media whiz. My dad likes to joke that not only will I someday be a NASA engineer, but I can even set the programming on our VCR.” Holly threw back her head, laughing loudly.
    Jack rolled his eyes. “I have to work with her,” he whispered to Brian.
    Brian recognized Holly from school. She was a bossy, take-charge kind of person. Unfortunately, she also knew what she was doing.
    â€œI’d like you to meet Estella Martinez,” Brian said.
    â€œHi,” Estella said.
    â€œHi,” Holly answered. “Glad you’re here.”
    â€œI’m excited about being here, even if it’s just for a week,” Estella said.
    â€œIt’s a lot of fun,” Jack agreed.
    â€œHow did you get this job?” Estella asked.
    â€œThe producers went to the schools in and around Redoaks and asked members of the photography clubs to audition. I did, and so did a guy named Mark from another school. Our teachers recommended us, and we were chosen. Holly and Megan were picked from the media departments, and the four students who work as anchors were chosen from the drama departments at their schools.”
    Two adults entered the room. One was a scrawny guy with thin, black hair. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and introduced himself as Pete Carter, assignments editor.
    The other was a tall, thin woman with bushy brown hair. She told Estella and Brian that she was Sara Jeffries, the producer of That’s News 2 Me.
    â€œCongratulations on joining our program for the week,” she said. “Are you ready to get started?”
    Both Brian and Estella nodded, so Sara said, “Okay. Here’s the setup. Each of our investigative reporters is teamed with one camera person and one sound engineer. Our entire group will hold a story meeting in which ideas for the show will be pitched.
    â€œOnce the ideas are decided on, Pete will give the teams their assignments and make a few suggestions about various angles on the story. I’ll help in any way possible. Filming will be completed on Thursday so that the show can be edited on Friday. The reporters will do any extra work that’s needed on the stories on Friday, as well.”
    Pete broke in and said, “When you’re being filmed, don’t