Page 86 of No Ordinary Girl
Ace picked up our sheet and bag from the floor, and handed them to me. “What about the scavenger hunt?”
I looked down at the sheet.
Lullabies, soft blankets, and big bouncing balls.
Obviously, the movie wasRosemary’s Baby, but I couldn’t have cared less. I darted out of the studio, not wasting another second. “Let’s go.”
As I ran down the halls, I spotted a few people wearing sleep masks on their heads. They’d obviously solved theNightmare on Elm Streetclue. Good for them, but I had better things to do.
Following what seemed like an endless trek down the class halls, across the quad, and past the main offices, the four of us finally got back to the ballroom. There were just a few people there -- most were still out scavenging. A cluster of kids were at the prize table, barking at the volunteers. There was pushing and shoving, a jumble of tangled costume-clad limbs. The poor volunteers seemed flustered.
Simone was chatting on her mobile not far away.Interesting, I thought,must be nice to have phone privileges. I guess that’s what you get when you run the place.I shook the thought out of my head, and sprinted toward her, Leo, Ace and Brianna right behind me.
“Well, for sure. Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she was saying. I had no desire to spy on her, or interrupt her seemingly pleasant conversation, but time was of the essence.
She noticed us eagerly standing there.
“I’m sorry, Felicity. I need to let you go. We’ll catch up soon.” She ended her call, and turned to us. “What’s going on, kids?”
“I remembered,” I said, slightly out of breath. “The redhead was in a picture at the Hendersons. It was one of the pictures on the bookcase,” I explained. There had been so many pictures and knick-knacks, and the picture was quite small, and the people in it even more so -- it would have been very easy to miss. “She was on Mason’s baseball team.”
Simone nodded, and a smile curved her lips. She was pleasantly surprised, and very pleased. “Well, we’ll have to go see about that, won’t we?” She brought a long manicured finger to her mouth. “Let me make a call or two, and I’ll get back to you. Donotleave. Any of you.”
Kids started pouring in, orange bags in hand. I looked up at the giant old-styled clock on the wall. It was ten fifty-six -- four minutes left until the eleven o’clock deadline. There was no time to go look for those missing objects. I turned to Ace, and took the sheet and bag from him. I scribbledRosemary’s Babyon the blank line. “I guess we’ll just have to hand this in, and hope we did well enough.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I couldn’t quite look at him. I was so angry with him. “I’m sure you don’t give a rat’s rear. I’m sure you can afford a hundred iPads.”
He wrapped a warm hand around my wrist. “Anna, look at me.”
I gazed up for just a second. Surely, I was safe in this room, surrounded by people. “What?!”
“I wanted to win for you, love,” he said. “I know how much you wanted it.”
I shook my head. “No big deal. I’ll go hand this in before it’s too late.”
I tore myself from him and searched for Leo as I trudged to the prize table. I desperately needed to speak to him.
A girl in a Cinderella costume took my sheet and bag. She wore a sky blue wig to match her dress. Even her nails were painted a shiny metallic blue. She smiled at me when she stapled the sheet to the bag. “Good luck,” she said.
I turned around, and ran into Leo, whom by the looks of him, obviously hated me now. “We need to talk.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” he said. “As soon as Simone lets me go, I’m outta here.”
Okay, so it was going to be like that. I’d just have to try a little harder.
The next hour was kind of horrible. I was so upset about Leo, and I still couldn’t believe what had happened with Ace. And Brianna kept giving me the death stare -- seriously, if looks could kill, I would have been a goner. She obviously hated me too. Ace knew well enough to stay away from me. And Leo was nowhere to be seen, but I knew he was around.
“How did you guys do?” Kendra asked cheerfully. For some reason, Alicia was not speaking to me either.
“We did okay, but we didn’t get the clues forRosemary’s BabyandNightmare on Elm Street.”
“Oh…Rosemary’s Babywas in the workout room. There was a basket full of pink plastic rattles.”
I smiled. “Well, I’ve never been to the gym, so that serves me right, I guess.”
“Oh, I knew right away when I read ‘big bouncy balls’,” she was saying. “I use those all the time.”
