Read The Great Scavenger Hunt Online
Authors: Annie Bryant
The Great Scavenger Hunt (2 page)
Cape Cod Dreaming
1
Mad Adventure Anyone?
C
harlotte was having a difficult time focusing in Ms. O'Reilly's first period social studies class. She had to keep pretending there was a big red sign in front of her blinking
PAY ATTENTION
! This was unusual for her, because social studies involved one of her favorite topicsâthe adventures of famous people in history. Charlotte figured whoever had thought of teaching such a thing should get a prize or something.
But how on earth was she supposed to pay attention to Ms. O'Reilly when her mind was on a different kind of adventure: the surprise adventure that she and Nick and Chelsea had been planning for weeks. The adventure she was supposed to announce to the class in five minutes!
Charlotte heard Ms. O'Reilly introducing an important research projectâthe type of thing that would have normally set Charlotte's mind whirring in anticipationâan oral report on a historical figure who was a Massachusetts
native. “I don't want this to be just another research paper,” Ms. O'Reilly explained. “I want you to pick a person who means something to you and write about how he or she has left a mark on history.”
Charlotte wasn't quite sure who to pick. She loved to write, so perhaps someone like Louisa May Alcott or Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was one of the first environmentalists in the country and wrote about the beauty of nature at Walden Pondâone of Charlotte's favorite places to go swimming with the Beacon Street Girls. And
An Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott was one of her favorite books.
Or maybe she'd pick Benjamin Franklin. He was born in Boston but then ran off to Philadelphia, where he became a statesman, inventor, publisher, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. He also thought the national bird should be a turkey!
That's such a hootâ¦or gobble,
she thought, chuckling. Charlotte really hoped they'd see some wild turkeys on the adventure she had planned. The big, goofy-looking birds traveled in flocks and acted like they weren't afraid of anythingâ¦even coyotes!
Charlotte glanced over at Maeve, who seemed transfixed by something on her computer screen. Charlotte strained to see, and then had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. The sparkly redhead had typed her name followed by a selection of names from the Hollywood yellow pagesâMaeve Kaplan-Taylor Blackstone, Maeve Plume, Mrs. Ontario Plumeâ¦Blackstone and Plume were the biggest names in movies right now, with their award-winning series of pirate movies.
Charlotte turned around, expecting Avery to be staring longingly out the window at a group of eighth graders playing kickball outside. But to Charlotte's surprise, Avery's hand was madly waving in the air and she was pleading, “Ooh! Ooh! Ms. O'Reilly! Right here!”
Ms. O'Reilly smiled. “Yes, Avery.”
“Can I do Tom Brady?”
Isabel, sitting at the desk next to Charlotte, gave her a sly grin and mouthed,
Big surprise!
Avery was the total sports nut of the BSG.
Ms. O'Reilly looked pained. “Well, the assignment is to do
historical
figures from Massachusettsâ¦. I'm just not sure the Patriot's star quarterback is exactlyâ”
Quick-as-a-whip Avery smartly replied, “Well Tom Brady
will
go down in
sports
history as being the quarterback responsible for two Patriot Super Bowl victories. He's history in the making. Am I right, people?” Dillon Johnson and some of the boys gave Avery approving cheers and high fives.
“I'll tell you what, Avery. If you can come up with some more compelling arguments, then we will see,” Ms. O'Reilly offered. “Does anyone else have any suggestions?”
Of course Betsy Fitzgerald's hand shot into the air. Charlotte and Isabel had to stare ahead to keep from rolling their eyes at each other. Betsy was famous at Abigail Adams Junior Highâ¦and not in the way Tom Brady was famous. Betsy had a knack for sounding like a complete know-it-all every time she opened her mouth in class.
While Charlotte and Isabel both liked Betsy, she was a little hard to take sometimes.
“I think Paul Revere would be an
exemplary
figure to do a report on, Ms. O'Reilly,” Betsy said in her superconfident voice. “My father is a historical reenactor who plays Paul Revere. Did you know that if it weren't for Paul Revere, there might not even be an America? In fact, Paul Revere was famous in his own time for his silver work
before
his midnight ride. And did you knowâ”
“Thank you, Betsy,” Ms. O'Reilly interjected. “It sounds like you will have ample material for your report.”
Charlotte noticed a few kids smirking.
Poor Betsy
, Charlotte thought with a sigh. She just couldn't help herself. Her older brother went to Harvard and Betsy lived in fear of not getting in there too. The fact that she was only in seventh grade didn't appear to slow down Betsy's drive at all.
Not wanting to be outdone by Betsy, Danny Pellegrino, also a major fact-chaser, stretched his hand up.
“I have a figure that is just as historical but not as well known as Paul Revere,” he proudly announced. “Ms. O'Reilly, you might not have heard of Black Sam Bellamy, but he was a famous pirate whose ship, the
Whydah
, was discovered off the coast of Cape Cod.”
Charlotte almost gasped. Danny was actually trying to one-up the teacher!
“Thank you, Danny. And yes, I am familiar with Sam Bellamy. And I think he would be a great figure to research,” Ms. O'Reilly agreed patiently.
“Yes, Henry?”
Henry Yurt, aka the Yurtmeister, was class president
and
class clown rolled into a short ball of wit and fuzzy hair. All the Beacon Street Girls, even serious Katani, enjoyed the Yurt's antics. Charlotte was eager to hear what historical figure Henry wanted to chooseâprobably someone like Bozo the Clown.
Henry coughed loudly and importantly before asking in a serious voice, “Might I do JFK, Ms. O'Reilly?”
Charlotte almost fell off her chair.
Henry Yurt, serious?
Even Ms. O'Reilly looked surprised. But she smiled broadly. “Why, yes, Henry. President Kennedy would be an excellent person to research. What made you think of him?”
Yurt sat up as tall as he possibly could, leaned forward on his desk, clasped his hands, and explained. “Well, isn't it obvious? JFK and I are both superpopular presidents!”
Everyone in the class, including Ms. O'Reilly and Betsy Fitzgerald, burst out laughing as Henry stood up at his desk and waved just like a president would. “Thanks for your support,” he said, grinning.
The only one in the class who didn't crack a smile was Anna McMasters, Queen of Mean #1, who used to be Henry's main crush. Anna was still mad at Henry because he dumped her for Betsy Fitzgerald, who dumped
him
a week after the Valentine's Day dance because she felt the Yurtmeister wasn't dedicated enough to his studies. Betsy said she was afraid Henry might distract her from hers.
“A tragic romance destined for the history books,” Yurt had moaned to Charlotte when it happened.
When the laughter died down, Anna tossed her sunshine-colored hair over her shoulder and primly raised her hand.
Ms. O'Reilly, who was still dabbing her eyes, managed to say, “Yes, Anna?”
“I call Ben Affleck,” Anna stated. “He's from Cambridge, Massachusetts, he's made Oscar-nominated movies set in Massachusetts,
and
I got to meet him at Kiki's house once.” She sounded extremely proud of herself.
“Try to focus on historical figures, please, Anna,” Ms. O'Reilly instructed, as she raised her eyebrows at Avery, who had burst out laughing.
A movie star?
Avery mouthed to Charlotte, who was not about to tell Avery that she didn't think a sports figure was much better. Meanwhile, Maeve was scanning her list of movie star last names, trying to remember if any of
them
were from Massachusetts, too.
As Anna began to object that Ben Affleck
was
historical, Charlotte felt something being crushed into her left hand. It was a note from Isabel. Charlotte, using her best secrecy skills, silently unfolded the note under her desk.
AHHH! How can U stand it? Isn't the big announcement 2day?
Charlotte flipped the scrap of paper over and wrote back:
Yes! Any second now! I just hope everyone likes the idea and signs up. So so nervousâ¦
Iz ripped off another piece of paper, scribbled something, and sent it to Charlotte.
Chill! Nick Montoya will get the guys to come and you and Chelsea will get the girls. I think this will be the most fun in the history of 7th grade! Maybe I'll even write my research paper on you.
Ha!
Charlotte gave her friend a grateful smile. Isabel was such a sweetheartâshe had a real knack for making her friends feel better, no matter how awful the situation. Charlotte was so happy to be a part of the Beacon Street Girls. Since she had joined forces with Maeve, Avery, Katani, and Isabel back in the beginning of 7th grade, life had been a blastâand when it wasn't, they were always there for each other, through thick and thin, as her dad always said.
“Charlotte, is there something you'd care to share with the class?” Ms. O'Reilly's voice boomed. “Please come to the front of the room.”
Charlotte felt her stomach do a somersault. It was bad enough that she'd been caught passing notes, but now she was going to be humiliated by having to share the note with the whole class. She probably should have been used to public humiliation by now considering that she was the class klutz. But she wasn't. In her mind, embarrassment was embarrassment no matter how many times it happened.
Face flushed, Charlotte reluctantly made her way to the front of the room. With the speed of a hermit crab slowly shrugging out of its shell, she unfolded the crumpled note.
“Ummm⦔ she began to read. Then Charlotte noticed the doorknob turning.
“If it isn't the cocaptain of the Outdoor Adventure Club herself!” Mr. Moore, their goofy science teacher, announced as he strode into the room. If she hadn't been so nervous, Charlotte would have laughed at his tie. It was printed with tiny cows bouncing over his bright purple shirt. “As club advisor, I couldn't be late for the big announcement! Please, Charlotteâ¦proceed.”
Charlotte gulped back a sigh of relief. Total humiliation was out, but she
still
had to talk in front of the classâone of her top ten “I hate to do” things. However, she gave Mr. Moore a grateful smile. He had helped her, Nick Montoya, and Chelsea Briggs organize the super surprise adventure, so it was really nice to have his support.
Suddenly, Charlotte realized she was missing the most important part of her presentation! Isabel caught her panicked look and passed the rolled-up poster beside Charlotte's desk up to the front of the room. Charlotte, Nick, and Chelsea had slaved over that poster.
Unlike Maeve, the actress extraordinaire of the BSG, Charlotte was distinctly uncomfortable in the spotlight.
Why did I let Nick and Chelsea talk me into presenting this?
She groaned inwardly as her hands began to tremble. Nick would have been a much better spokesperson.
As Mr. Moore helped her pin the poster up to the front of the room, Charlotte felt her heartbeat slowing down at the sound of her classmates'
cool
s and
wow
s. And she hadn't even explained anything yet!
When she saw Katani and Isabel nodding encouragingly, Maeve giving her two thumbs up, and Avery looking like she was about to jump out of her seat and start cheering, her shaky confidence returned.
“A treasure map! Nice!” murmured Dillon.
Once again, Charlotte took a deep breath and began her prepared speech. Unfortunately, just as she opened her mouth, she hiccuppedâ¦loudlyâ¦very loudly.
“Nice one, Char.” Yurt clapped as the class began to snicker. Charlotte wanted to slink out of the room. Instead, she looked over at the one person who might rescue her. Maeve sat tall at her desk, and then leaned forward in a bowing motion. Charlotte understood immediately. Maeve always said, “Join the laugh! It puts the audience on your side even if you've messed up.”