Hide-and-Sneak Read Free Page A

improvised. Each boat will have one of us along as camera-person.” He turned to the girl with the clipboard. “Melody, I suppose you should go with the girls.”
    Zack then turned to Andy and his friend Hal. “I’ll be with Andy here. That leaves you with the other guys, Sprock.”
    Joe looked at the tall, bony guy. “Sprock?”
    â€œIt’s a dumb nickname,” Leonard (“Sprock”) Kerwin growled, “from the days when film had sprocket holes.”
    â€œWe’ll all be using digital cameras,” Zack said. “They’re much more handy, which will be good, since the whole film is going to be shot on Barmet Bay.” He sent another toothy smile toward Ms. Athelney. “Just like the first film of that famous Polish director—”
    Frank tuned out. Apparently, what’s his name was another favorite of the woman who was putting up the money for the film, but even she looked a little embarrassed at the way Zack kept kissing up. Ms. Athelney fidgeted in her seat, running a handthrough her shoulder-length brown hair. Her restless hand, with a glinting gold and ruby ring, had revealed her right ear for a moment. A bare ear. No earring.
    That’s funny, Frank thought. Shiny gold watch, shiny gold necklace — but no shiny earrings?
    Maybe she lost them, Frank thought, and glanced around the floor. Anything was better than sitting and listening to Zack’s voice.
    â€œSo, there you have it,” the would-be film genius finally said. “You’ll have a day to get your boats ready. We’ll meet at the marina tomorrow evening at six. You’ll tie up, get your packages, and decide on a course. The next day at noon we’ll set off, and we’ll be filming to see if you guessed right and whether you get caught.”
    â€œThe boats have to stay overnight at the marina?” Andy Slack said. “Who’s gonna pay for that?”
    â€œAlready taken care of.” Zack shot another cheesy smile at Ms. Athelney.
    He’s spreading it pretty thick, Frank thought. From the look on Melody’s and Sprock’s faces, they agreed with him.
    Maybe Joan Athelney also agreed, but her serious expression didn’t give any emotions away. She looked at her gold wristwatch. “I think that covers everything,” she said, “and I have a meeting. Good luck to all of you.”
    With a nod to everyone, she left.
    Zack looked around, realizing he’d been subtly upstaged. Ms. Athelney had effectively ended the meeting. “I’m sure we all have lots to do.”
    â€œYeah,” Sprock Kerwin said, clearly trying to keep a grin off his face. “Lots.”
    Taking their cue from Zack, the filmmakers left. The eight kids in the room looked at one another for a long minute.
    Hal ran a hand through his dark, spiky hair, shooting a frown at his pal. “This sounds like one of those dumb reality shows on TV where they make people jump through hoops.”
    â€œExcept there’s no prize,” Joe added.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Chet demanded. “We’ll be in a feature-length movie.”
    â€œYeah, a movie with no script.” Christy O’Hara smirked. “I wonder how writer girl with the clipboard liked that tidbit of information.”
    â€œBetter for us,” Trisha Eads said. “No lines to learn.”
    â€œYeah,” Chet said quietly. Frank could see the wheels turning in his friend’s head. Without a script the camera would end up pointing mainly at whoever gave the best performance. Chet probably thought his TV experience would be a plus.
    Willow Sumner tossed her hair over one shoulder.Looks would count too. “So,” the girl said to Andy, “what kind of boat have you got?”
    Andy’s face broke into another grin. “We’ve got a bunch of them,” he said. “My dad’s a fisherman—”
    â€œAnd he figured you’d be