The Great Scavenger Hunt (17 page)

“Would I lie, Ozmond?” Danny nodded at the director and continued with his explanation. “One hundred percent. They're nice for special effects and everything, but they don't make any sense. Why would there be fireworks on an eighteenth-century pirate ship?”

“Bingo! Gosh, you are good.” The director scratched something out until a rip showed through the paper, and chewed on the tip of his pencil. Then he tore the page out and let it flutter into the hands of one of the dozens of assistants running back and forth across the set.

As they walked back toward the giant pirate ship, Betsy and Danny could hear the technicians grumbling. They were loading fireworks back into the truck again.

Betsy had also tried to suggest losing the fireworks, but just as she'd opened her mouth to say something, Danny jumped in and took the rest of the sentence from her. She took a deep breath and racked her brain for another contribution.

“What else?” asked the director. “You two history buffs
must
know more! And more is what we need! More feeling! More history…more
truth
!”

Betsy raised her hand, “Well, you have Black Sam interrupting the wedding by swinging in on a vine to save Princess Polly,” she began.

The director perked up. “Yes? Go on!” But before Betsy could finish speaking, Ozmond raised a hand and announced in a booming voice. “Listen up, everyone! These young people are fabulous! Historical people! Where are you?”

Betsy found herself suddenly surrounded by staring eyes. Two young men with frazzled faces emerged from the crowd.

“We must harness these young people's brilliance!” Ozmond gushed to the film's historical advisors. They shrugged in unison.

“If you say so, Ozmond.”

“Well,” Danny spoke up, “Betsy's right. The vines are completely unrealistic! We're in New England, for crying out loud, not the Amazon. Vines in this climate are not that strong. This isn't
George of the Jungle
, you know?”

“Duh!” The director bonked himself on the head. “I can't believe I missed that! Good find, Danny, my boy! Someone get him a chair.”

The historical advisors jumped to obey. Two seconds later, Danny was sitting in a brand-new director's chair, beaming brightly. But Betsy's cheeks were red—and not in a good way. She planted herself in front of the director and flipped forward in the script.

“You know, the whole bride throwing the bouquet, and then talking about her honeymoon, and what she's going to wear, and going to Hawaii…” Betsy started.

“Uh-huh…” Ozmond urged.

“It's preposterous!” Danny bit his lower lip and gave Betsy a sweet smile.

What is wrong with you?
she mouthed back, but he was already off and running, stealing her idea. “They're in Cape Cod! What, are they going to
sail
halfway around the world to Hawaii? The whole bride part is pretty ridiculous, Sir Ozmond. These lines sound like something from a modern-day chick flick.”

The director smacked the table and beamed at Danny. “Young man, I had exactly the same thought on the read-through, but Lola's agent said we had to expand her part if she was going to sign. So we gave her even more lines. More distasteful, bad, poorly written chick-flick lines…”

Danny gagged. “They've got to go, Ozmond! The integrity of the movie depends on it.” He gave the director a high five, and Betsy a thumbs-up.

But Betsy didn't notice. Lola Lindstrom was screaming at a gathering crowd outside. Betsy was shocked. Lola was actually throwing props at that Bethany girl and screaming, “This cappuccino is too delicious!”

“She looks crazy mad,” Danny observed. He raised his eyebrows at Betsy. “Isn't helping out behind the camera so much more fun?”

Betsy swallowed and managed to squeak out, “A blast.”

C
harlotte felt like tap dancing—something she had never done in her entire life. But it was early and the Salty Cods had just solved another clue. The little red flag was right there in front of the lighthouse…with a note.

“That's it, Salty Cods,” shouted an ecstatic Patrice. “We're kicking the Great Scavenger Hunt big-time!”

Katani was excited too, but she still wished her sister would tone down the competition thing. The Cods might
have found the lighthouse first, but that didn't mean they'd cross the finish line at Drummer's Cove first. What if they didn't win? The team would be so disappointed. “Patrice, I think—”

“Let's celebrate!” Dillon interrupted her. “I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for breakfast number two.” He bent over and grabbed his stomach like he hadn't eaten for days. Then he staggered over to his backpack and pulled out a huge twelve-inch turkey sub as Charlotte's and Katani's mouths popped open. “What? I'm a growing boy!” he said as he chomped down on the humongous sandwich.

Nick grinned and broke out his mid-morning snack—a huge apple and a big bag of cheese chunks that he'd snagged at the NEED Building.

“You guys eat almost as much as Avery,” Charlotte joked.

“Okay, Cod people, I think this moment calls for a picture,” Patrice said. “Everyone march to the front of the lighthouse.”

The group charged over to the lighthouse and happily looped their arms around one another as Patrice snapped away. Katani, who was usually the fashionista of any group, was wearing an oversize sweatshirt and loose-fitting sport Capri pants. The salt air, the ocean breezes—and the fact that her team might have a shot of winning this thing—had tossed the AAJH's Queen of Style's fashion concerns right out the window!

“Hey! You guys want me to get a picture with all of
you in it?” asked a tall, freckle-faced boy who was standing around with what looked to be another school group of hikers.

Patrice grinned, “Gee, thanks…That's really nice of you!”

The group appeared to be about the same age as the Salty Cods. “What brings you all to beautiful Cape Cod?” asked Dillon the jokester.

“We were
supposed
to be extras in this movie,” said a petite girl with curly blond hair. “But,” she complained in a whiny voice, “my
mom
got lost…. We drove all the way from New Hampshire…and now we missed our opportunity.”

Annoyed with her daughter's tone, the woman defended herself. “Good gracious, Tracy, I'm doing the best I can here. It wasn't my fault that the movie company decided to shoot in the middle of nowhere!”

Tracy, who in Charlotte's opinion sounded like a little bit of a brat, put her hands on her hips and continued to challenge her mom. “Thanks to you,
Mom
, I probably missed out on the biggest break of my career.”

“I think you're exaggerating a bit, dear—being an extra doesn't necessarily equal stardom.” Her mother smiled tolerantly at her obviously frustrated daughter.

“I like that mother,” Katani whispered to Charlotte.

The freckled boy, who volunteered to take the picture, hugged his mother and gave his sister the “chill” look. “Trace metal,” he teased, “Mom
did
take us to the beach yesterday….”

“Which beach?” asked Nick.

“I can't remember the name, but it's just down the road.” Tracy's mom pointed.

“We're from western New Hampshire…in the mountains,” said another girl, “so going to the beach is such a treat. I think it's better than being a movie extra.”

“Well, we're from a city called Brookline—it's near Boston, and we still think it's awesome to go to the Cape,” Charlotte told the kids.

“No
way
,” Tracy said and then turned to her friends. “Those kids we met at the beach yesterday were from Brookline too!”

“Maybe we know them,” suggested Dillon. “A bunch of us from our school are doing this scavenger-hunt thingy this weekend. We ride our bikes all over the Cape looking for clues. It's pretty intense.”

“Oh, I don't think these kids were part of your group, then,” said the mother. “They were just chilling on the beach all day. None of them looked like they were searching for clues!”

“Yeah, there was this one girl with a long black ponytail who was really tiny, and she was amazing at beach volleyball…. You wouldn't believe her serve,
and
,” the freckled boy shared, “she was an awesome surfer, too. How crazy is that?”

“Crazy,” Katani mumbled. The Salty Cods glanced at one another, all thinking the same thing. There was only one girl they knew who could rock the house in two sports in one day: Avery Madden.

“Um, what did the other kids look like?” Katani inquired.

Tracy looked aggravated. “I don't know. I wasn't taking notes.” Tracy's mother wore the desperate expression of a woman asking herself,
What am I going to do with this child
? Katani and Patrice knew that if they spoke like that in front of their parents they would be in serious trouble!

The friendly freckled-faced boy spoke up instead. “As opposed to my sister, I have a very good memory. One girl was blond and acted a little bit like my sister here.” He pointed at Tracy. “She mostly just stayed on her towel and tanned all day. Then there was an older-looking kid, a big athlete type, who was kind of in charge; um, a short boy with crazy hair who kept cracking jokes; and then another girl who”—his voice dropped to a whisper like he was about to say something scandalous—“was kinda chubby.” He returned to normal volume. “And she was mostly taking pictures.”

“You should be a detective,” Charlotte, admiring the boy's keen observation skills, blurted out. But she also felt dizzy. She had wondered why the Beach Barnacles were so tired last night…and now, it all made sense.
The Barnacles had spent the entire day playing…on the beach!

“This is not okay,” Katani spat. “Not cool. Not cool at all. I can't believe Avery.”

Nick looked like he had just lost a friend. “They didn't even
try
to do the scavenger hunt?” he mumbled. “Not even Chelsea.” He glanced over at Charlotte in disbelief.

“I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?” asked the freckled boy.

“Yo,
perspective,
everyone,” said Tracy. “Missing a silly scavenger hunt is nothing like missing your first part in a
movie
.”

Charlotte couldn't help herself. She shot dagger eyes at Tracy. Their classmates and friends had betrayed them, and this wannabe star was telling them to chill out?

Katani, who was about to say something, felt a hand on her arm. Patrice, holding tight, interjected, “I don't think you quite understand the situation, Tracy. My sister and her friends, Nick and Charlotte in particular, worked long and hard planning this trip. I think they have a right to be a little upset right now.”

Tracy's mother gave Patrice a subtle thumbs-up while Katani and Charlotte stared at Patrice with admiration. Patrice had stuck up for them with a Queen of Mean stranger right in front of the girl's mom! That took some major guts.

Patrice turned to her defeated-looking team with a positive smile. “Come on, Cods…. We've got a scavenger hunt to win,” she directed.

With a quick good-bye to the kids from New Hampshire, the Salty Cods climbed back on their bikes and headed out. The Beach Barnacles' betrayal had fueled Patrice and Dillon's competitive fire. The two of them zoomed ahead, chanting high school fight songs. “Come on Cods!” Dillon exhorted his team. “Let's hunt!” Soon Nick joined him yelling, “Salty Cods rock!”

Charlotte, however, couldn't seem to shake the feeling that someone had just let the air out of their tires. She was deeply hurt that Avery and Chelsea thought the activity she'd worked so hard to plan was so lame that they'd rather just blow it off. And worst of all, they lied to her about it.

Katani looked at Charlotte's downtrodden face and offered, “Don't be sad, be
mad
! It's much better that way.”

“Are you mad?” asked Charlotte.

Katani scoffed, “Of course! They tricked us. Outdoor activities aren't even my thing. Don't get me wrong. I'm having fun, but the Beach Barnacles have the nerve,
the nerve
, to just blow off their responsibilities. They will
not
get away with this!”

Charlotte had to laugh a little. Katani looked like such a maniac whenever she got fired up. “Well, what are you going to do?” she asked to the furiously pedaling Katani.

Katani rolled her neck like she was preparing for a fight. “I am going to give those Barnacles a piece of my mind—Summers style. But first I'm going to do my best to win this thing. Let's pump it!” she yelled, sounding just like Patrice.

“Is that bad?…a piece of your mind?” asked Charlotte.

Katani raised an eyebrow. “Honey, you do
not
want a piece of my mind…. Believe me.”

“How could they do this?” Charlotte shook her head. “It makes me not want to finish the hunt.”

“Char, don't take it personally,” Nick offered as he
rode up next to her. “I think they probably just got caught up in the moment.” He gave her a half smile.

“You're not still mad at them, then?” she asked him.

“Well, I am a little, but I'd rather not think about that. Because,” he said, grinning mischievously, “if they were playing all day yesterday, they've got to be way behind.”

“You're right Nick.” She nodded. “But I'm just not ready to stop being sad, or mad, or whatever, just yet.”

“No giving up, team! The best revenge is to win!” Patrice suddenly shouted. “Let's teach those slacker Beach Barnacles a lesson they'll never forget.”

“And what lesson would that be, Sis?” asked Katani, rolling her eyes. But this time she was smiling, too. Patrice's can-do attitude was lifting everybody's spirits.

“Winners rule and losers drool, of course. Now, are we going to do this?”

Suddenly Dillon stopped pedaling, nearly causing a four-bike pileup as Katani, Nick, and Charlotte scrambled to get out of the way. “Hey, a box! Isn't that the first thing on the bonus list?”

“No, dude,” Nick laughed. “The list said
fox
! What do you think we were looking for aaall day in the park yesterday?”

“So I guess I didn't read that closely this morning,” Dillon said with a shrug. “Sue me. But check it out, there really is a box over there in the grass…and it looks like it's…moving.” He threw his bike down and jogged over to investigate. “Whoa!” Dillon yelled. “You guys have got to see this!”

The rest of the group dropped their bikes and raced over. They were anxious to see what was in the box. The Beach Barnacles were forgotten for the moment.

“Snap to it, Salty Cods,” Patrice shouted, poised on her bike, and ready to put the pedal to the metal again.

Then Charlotte gasped, feeling her heart melt in her chest when she saw what was in the box—five teeny tiny brown and gray kittens!

Charlotte had a huge soft spot in her heart for cats. After all, her first kitty love was Orangina, a large cat who'd lived with her and her dad on their houseboat in Paris.

When Charlotte lived in Paris, she and Orangina were inseparable, but when she left to move to Boston, Orangina disappeared. Charlotte even went to find him in Paris after her friend Sophie said she had caught sight of the rascal cat. But when Charlotte spotted him on the back of a barge cruising down the River Seine, she knew he belonged in Paris the same way that she now belonged in Boston.

“We've got to help these little babies,” Charlotte said as she reached into the box and gingerly plucked up a soft little ball of fluff. It was so tiny and warm, nuzzling into the palm of her hand.

“What should we do?” asked Katani. “We can't carry them with us.”

Patrice rode over to see what all the fuss was about. “Oh, come on, you guys! We've got to get going.”

“But these kittens are so tiny…. They need our help,” Katani informed her sister.

Patrice groaned. “They
do not
need our help. Clearly they belong to whoever put them here. Besides, I'm not so sure you should be touching them…. They might be diseased.”

“More like
abandoned them
here,” Charlotte corrected. “Who leaves newborn kittens, which by the way are safe to touch, in a box in the wild? Especially near the beach with scavenger birds, dogs, and cars, and…coyotes!” Patrice almost jumped back at the fire in Charlotte's voice. “Well,” she sputtered.

“Why don't we just call the Animal Rescue League?” Nick suggested. “When my sister found a stray puppy last year they saved him and found him a good home with a nice family.”

“That's a great idea,” Charlotte declared, hoping that the fact she thought Nick was a knight in shining armor right this minute was coming through in her eyes.

Patrice stamped her foot. “Guys, we are going to blow this hunt if we stop. What happened to ‘Let's beat those Barnacles'? Is last place what you want? Is it?”

The Salty Cods stared up at a pacing Patrice, who was now making them nervous. One of her eyes was bugging out a little, and Katani could have sworn her sister's cheek was twitching. Someone had to chill Patrice out…and Katani knew she was just the sister to do it. She took a big swig of her water bottle and a deep breath.

“Are you nuts, Patrice?” Charlotte blurted suddenly.