Reality Check Read Free

admit it. “I'm not!” she insists.
    “They won't cover either topic,” I say, changing the subject before it gets heated. “I'm going to be stuck covering arts and entertainment—which basically means zip—for the rest of my high school career.”
    “You're never going to become the next Diane Sawyer if you keep letting those blockheads at the paper tell you what to write,” Brooke tells me. “Whatever happened to free speech? You're a better writer than half the people they have on staff. I've seen your English papers. I should know.”
    “Charlie needs something exciting to write about,” Keiran agrees.
    “Ooh! Let's make something up,” Brooke suggests, making me laugh. “We can say we found an alien baby near the Sound, or start a rumor that Brangelina and the kids are renting a house here this summer!”
    “Who is going to believe that Brangelina would settle here?” Hallie wants to know.
    Brooke takes another bite of her bagel and flashes us a mischievous smile. “Leave it to me, darling. If I say it, people will believe it. It's all in the details.”
    “It's a nice thought, Brooke,” I tell her, “but I think my writing career would be over before it started if people found out I was creating my own news.”
    “The
Enquirer
does it all the time,” Brooke says innocently. I shake my head.
    “Okay, so lack of news is a problem in Charlie getting a front-page story.” Keiran steers us back on track and smears her bagel with cream cheese. “What are we going to do about it though? Aside from March's wine and cheese dinner at that new vineyard, and the fact that Cliffside Cinemas finally got rocking stadium seats, there hasn't been much news in town.”
    “You can say that again,” Brooke grumbles, her mood darkening. She blows on her hot cocoa, sending whipped cream over the side of the cup. “Cliffside should be wiped off the map.”
    We hate when Brooke talks like this. It's not like I want to stay in Cliffside forever; I want out of here for college too. But at the very least, I do like it here, even if every store in town closes by seven PM. I could definitely see myself someday spending summers here with my rugrats.
    “I've never heard you complain about Cliffside during tourist season,” Hallie sniffs.
    “That's because at least then we have the beach to keep us busy, and your parents’ dock for a little entertainment,” Brooke says.
    Hallie's parents own a dockside restaurant in Greenport, just a few towns over on the North Fork (or NOFO as it's sometimes called. Brooke says it stands for “NO Fun On this side of the island.”). For actual five-star eateries and celeb sightings you have to go to the South Fork and the Hamptons. The Crab Shack is the name of Hallie's parents’ place, and it's always hopping with tourists and wealthy locals driving over on their boats. Hallie's parents do so well from the dock boat parking fees and their summer café of fresh seafood and salads that they're able to be off all winter (except for the dockings, which run through the fall and spring). They reopen for business next week.
    “You're going to miss this place someday, Brooke,” Keiran says quietly. “You're going to miss us.”
    “You're all coming with me,” Brooke insists. “Especially you, Kiki—you need to get away from all those screaming kids.”
    “It's not that bad,” Keiran says, sounding unsure of herself.
    “It so is,” agrees Hallie. “When I called your house last night, Joseph answered and started babbling and then dropped the phone on the floor and I had to listen to Stevie screaming for milk and Hannah begging you to put on
The Backyardigans
. Then Joseph came back on and started babbling some more before he hung up on me!”
    “I thought I heard the phone ring,” Keiran says sheepishly.
    “Would you please start leaving your cell phone on?” Brooke begs.
    Keiran takes a bite of her bagel. “I keep forgetting. Mom and Dad were out late at dinner and I was