Capture the Flag Read Free Page B

José was being a good interviewee.
    José shrugged. “Might as well get to know one another. We’re going to be here a while.” He nodded up at the arrivals and departures screen, where flight statuses were switching from delayed to canceled.
    â€œAw, man!” Henry stomped up to the TV screens, took off his hat, and threw it to the floor. It landed next to a big brown cowboy boot.
    â€œWell, my good young man, that’s no way to act.” The cowboy boot belonged to a big man with wavy dark brown hair and a white cowboy hat with a sky blue band that stretched around the rim. Tucked under the band every few inches was a Tootsie Roll — one of the big ones that rich families gave out at Halloween. Not those little ones that are always stale.
    Anna gasped. She unplugged her laptop and scurried over to the man. “Excuse me, sir?”
    Like José, the cowboy-hat man had no reservations about introducing himself. He stuck out a giant hand for Anna to shake.
    â€œHello there, young lady. I’m Senator Robert Snickerbottom. I bet you’ve heard the name.”
    She nodded. She remembered him not only from his campaign commercials but also from the three hours she spent chasing him around the museum, trying to get an interview last night. And here he was!
    â€œIt’s an honor to meet you, Senator Snickerbottom,” Anna said, edging in front of Henry. “I’m Anna Revere-Hobbs with the Carter Creek Gazette , and I was hoping you might have time for an interview.”
    He chuckled, and Anna smelled chocolate. Evidently, the Tootsie Rolls weren’t just for decoration. “Oh, no, little missy,” Snickerbottom said. “I need to get a move on. Campaign keeps me busy. Earl! Where are Chuck and Joe? And when’s our plane boarding?”
    Earl stepped forward, wearing an oversize cowboy hat that kept sliding down over his eyes. “They’re getting food.” He pointed toward two burly men over at the Cinna-Bunny stand nearby. “As for the flight … not any time soon.” Earl pushed up his cowboy hat, and then Anna could see his face. He looked a lot like Snickerbottom, only shorter and scrawnier. Like Snickerbottom might look if he shrank eight inches and went a few weeks eating nothing but salad.
    â€œWe’d better reschedule some of my appointments in Vermont.” Snickerbottom turned back to the kids. “Here’s a treat for you.” He pulled three Tootsie Rolls from his hat and handed them out. “Y’all have a safe trip.” He walked off with Earl at his heels, down the hall to Cinna-Bunny, the cinnamon bun stand with the little rabbit in the apron on its sign.
    â€œDo you know who that was ?” Anna squealed.
    Henry shrugged. “I dunno. When are we going to leave?” Up on the departures screen, the last delayed flight flashed over to canceled. Henry looked ready to punch it.
    José looked up from his book. “Tomorrow night at the earliest.”
    â€œWhat are you, some kind of expert?” Henry scoffed. He looked back down at his video game, now running on batteries, and jabbed at some buttons. “Ha! Shot another one.”
    â€œActually, no, but my father is a TV meteorologist in Vermont.” José nodded toward a tall, thin man with red hair, red cheeks, and glasses like José’s, rushing toward the CNN monitor near the ticket counter. “We just moved from San Francisco, and he’s been waiting all season for a good snowstorm.” He looked back over at his father, who was bouncing like a kid on Christmas morning as he watched the storm move across the satellite map.
    â€œHe looks like my dad when he gets a new piece of legislation to review.” Anna pointed to a man in a charcoal gray suit that matched his short curly hair perfectly. He leaned against the ticket counter, talking on a cell phone, and gave Anna a quick wave.
    â€œAnyway,” José went