“What!” the museum curator screeches.
“Don’t miss this shot!” Patrice orders excitedly. “Finally, some drama!”
“What are you talking about?” Piper asks her father. “Of course the museum owns the crown.”
“No, technically, you own the crown,” he replies.
“No, I don’t. I signed a release paper. We all did. The museum owns all of the treasure!”
“Not yours,” the captain, says pulling a folded form from his pocket.
“Here is a copy of that paper you signed.” He hands it to Piper. “Unfortunately, according to the laws of this state, since you’re a minor, the museum is required to have a guardian’s signature in addition to yours.”
“Are you saying you never signed it?”
Captain Steele winks at his daughter. “An unfortunate oversight.”
“It wasn’t an oversight! You didn’t sign it on purpose!”
“The museum has no legal claim over the crown.” He laughs. “It now belongs to our family.”
“But that’s not right! The museum found our investors. They arranged our permits. They even pitched the idea for the show to the TV station! If it wasn’t for them, there wouldn’t have been an expedition at all!”
“Right or wrong, it doesn’t matter now, does it?” the captain says matter-of-factly. “No signature, no crown!”
“But we don’t need the money!” Piper protests.
“You’re right, we don’t! We’re winners, Piper. We’re the same, you and I. We’re not like regular people.”
“No,” Piper says, meekly. “We’re not.”
“Yes, we’re smarter, and work harder. We take what we deserve because we’ve earned it.”
“We don’t deserve this crown,” she whispers into the microphone.
“Of course we do,” the captain bellows.
Piper looks at the crown, and then at me.
What is she going to do?
Suddenly, she puts her hands on her hips, turns to her father and says, “Well, I didn’t find it.”
“Ridiculous!” the captain grunts. “Of course you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then who did?”
She raises her finger and points it at me.
“Hannah Smart?” The captain scowls. “Preposterous!”
“It was during the last dive. Remember when the shark was chasing her? She had it in her hand, then I took it when A.J. pulled her on board.”
“Lies!” the captain booms. “She would have said something!”
Piper folds her arms in front of her. “Well, she didn’t.”
“This is completely ridiculous!”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to break the no-drama rule.”
“That’s only partly true, Hannah,” Piper argues, shaking her head.
“This is nonsense!” the captain hisses under his breath. “Drama or no drama, why would Hannah let you take credit for such a monumental discovery?”
“Because she’s got something I don’t.”
The captain scoffs. “And what would that be?”
“Confidence,” Piper answers.
What! Confidence? I seriously wasn’t expecting that answer.
“Hannah doesn’t worry about messing up, or looking stupid. She just does what she wants to and hopes it’ll all work out. I am so afraid of failing that I’ll lie, and cheat, and connive and steal to be the best.” Piper turns and looks at me. “You didn’t need that crown to feel important, but you knew I did. I bet you think I hate you.”
“Um …” I have no words; I’m in shock.
“I don’t hate you at all. Actually, I envy you. When you moved into our old house, I was the most jealous I’d ever been in my life! Here I was, bored out of my skull, stuck on a boat being homeschooled by my parents, and every day texts would pour in from kids telling me about this great new girl at school, living in my house, hanging with my ski team, and getting all chummy-chummy with the only real friends I’ve ever had. It was like you took over my life, but you did it better.” Piper shrugs. “It’s not your fault; you were just being you and I was being me.”
“I don’t know what to say, Piper,” I mumble, biting my lip.
“Well, I know what to say.” She nods. “I’m tired of being perfect! I want to make mistakes; I want to look stupid; I want to be like you!”
“What?” Hmm … was that a compliment or an insult?
“I want to be normal. I want to be regular. I want to stay up late and have sleepovers. I want to stop setting my alarm for quarter to five every morning so that I can get up and train for two boring hours. I want to hang out with friends. I want to play soccer and volleyball. I want to learn to fish, and to knit and bake cookies with my grandma. I don’t want to have to watch every morsel of food that goes into my mouth. If I’m hungry, I want to eat! And if I want a Toaster Strudel with icing then I want to have a Toaster Strudel with icing — without guilt! I don’t want to be perfect or famous; I need a break!” Exasperated, Piper walks off the stage, leaving us all behind with our mouths hanging open.
The captain walks to the podium.
“Well, it looks like we have a lot to sort out.” He rubs his forehead. “I expect you’ve heard enough from the Steele family today. So, without further ado, I’ll turn the floor over to Hannah, who I’m sure can entertain you with tales of priceless jewels and ferocious sharks.”
With a stern nod of his head the captain is gone, leaving me to lead my very first press conference.
16
When It Rains, It Pours
The press conference was exciting, amazing, and absolutely exhausting, and as much as I enjoyed it, I’m relieved it’s over.
“I’m proud of ya, Han,” Henry says, punching my arm.
“Why?”
“Well, you were so relaxed up there talking to all those important people. It’s like you’ve been doing this your whole life. I was freaking out.”
“Really? You sure didn’t look nervous.” I laugh.
“Guess I’m a good faker.”
“Yup, you’re a good faker, all right.” I punch his arm back.
“So, Hannah. I had a really good time treasure hunting with you.”
“I had a good time treasure hunting with you, too.”
“Um … I’ve been thinking and … um … I mean, you’re really a sweet girl, and I … and I was wondering if …”
“If what?”
“Um … if I could give you a hug.”
“A hug?”
“Yeah,” he says shyly. “I was just thinking … well … the trip is over and I just want to give you a hug.”
Why didn’t he just hug me? Why did he have to make it all awkward by asking? Of course I want him to hug me! He was practically my best friend on that boat, and now he’s going back to Australia and I’ll probably never see him again. OMG, I’ll never see him again! This is totally awful!
Without thinking, I grab him and hug him so tightly that he lets out a little squeak.
“Oh, sorry.” I laugh, letting go.
“No, that’s perfect; I mean perfectly fine. Great, actually.” He chuckles. “Ha! I knew you had a crush on me.”
“Yeah, you wish!” I snort awkwardly. “It’s just that I was thinking about you going back to Australia … and I guess it kinda made me sad.”
“Really?” He smiles and raises an eyebrow.
I nod.
He takes a step forward and brushes a lock of hair from my face. “I don’t want you to be sad.” He leans in and … OMG! What is he doing? He’s not going to … OMG he is … he totally kisses me! A kiss! A real, honest-to-goodness kiss! My first one! Wait … it was only a peck. Does that count?
He steps back and watches as I brush my finger across my lips. Thank god t
hey’re not chapped! That would have been awful!
Henry throws his hands to his head. “I’m sorry … urgh … It’s just that you’re so pretty and I just like you so much. I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”
It totally counts! It was a REAL KISS!
“No, it was great … I mean … it’s fine.” I say trying to sound cool when what I really want to do is squeal with joy!
“Really?” he asks anxiously.
So, this is crazy, right? I mean, who knew I’d be this freaked out? But then again, who knew Henry was going to kiss me, either? All those times when he was goofing around, acting all sweet, I thought he was just being … Australian. I figured they must all be super friendly people. I never thought …
“It doesn’t look like you’re fine.” Henry covers his face with his hands. “It looks like you’re freaked out.”
I am freaked out because my friend, who is a sweet, smart, funny, totally gorgeous Australian hottie has a crush on me. Oh my gosh, this is so weird!
“Hannah, say something. Please!” Henry begs.
“It’s fine, Henry. Really. I’m not freaked out at all,” I say, crossing my fingers behind my back.
He heaves a big sigh of relief. “Oh, good!”
“Do you have to go back to Australia right away? I mean, it’d be cool if you could stick around for a bit. You could get in a few tennis games with your Uncle Phillip, and we could hang out a little more.” I can feel my cheeks start to burn again.
“Oh yeah, about that. I …”
“Hannah!” A.J. startles me by grabbing my hands. “You were amazing … as usual!” he says, spinning me away from Henry.
“Thanks! You, too. Where’s Gabby?”
“Saying goodbye to Piper and her dad.”
“How is she?”
“Piper?” A.J. asks.
“Yeah. How are things going with her dad?”
“Hmm … well a few minutes ago, I saw them both chowing down on some big old chocolate éclairs, and she looked like she was in heaven.” A.J. laughs. “I’m pretty sure it was her very first one.”
Little does he know, I just got my very first kiss, and I’m floating on air.
“Hannah.” A.J.’s expression turns serious. “I need to talk to you about something,” he says, pulling me out of earshot of the others.
I look back at Henry, who is frowning. This is so awkward!
“So, yeah, about Piper … I’m sorry I didn’t see what she was doing to you.”
“Oh well.” I shrug. “She had a lot of people fooled.”
“Gabby told me everything, like how she —”
“A.J., can we talk about this later?”
I don’t want to waste time talking about Piper when I should be spending some last moments with Henry.
“Hannah,” A.J. says, clearing his throat. “You know how special you are to me, right?”
“Um … I dunno.” This is getting more uncomfortable by the second.
“Well, you are.” He takes my hands, nervously pressing his thumbs into my knuckles.
“Okay.”
“So, I want to ask you something I should have asked you back in March, on the ski hill.”
Oh my gosh, this cannot be happening! He’s not going to ask me to be his girlfriend now!
“Hannah,” he leans in whispering.
OMG, is he going to try and kiss me, too?
“Would you … would you …”
Suddenly, I see Gabby running toward us, giving me the perfect excuse to end this conversation on the spot. I pull my hands from A.J.’s grasp, and cry, “There you are, Gabby. What took you so long?”
“Just having a little heart to heart with Piper before she leaves for Rio.”
“Rio?”
“Yeah, she’s going to visit her mom. Did you know she’s coaching the Olympic team?”
“Yeah, Massimo told me,” I reply.
“Who’s Massimo?” Gabby asks.
“Oh, my gosh, Gabby. Forget about all that now. I need to know! Tell me why you’re back!”
A huge grin appears on her face. “How’s your French?” she squeals.
“Um … terrible.”
“Well, start brushing up!”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to Paris for the rest of the sum-merrr!”
“We’re what?”
“All you need to do is say yes!”
“Say yes to what? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“A reality TV show!”
“What? I just finished one!”
“Well, it’s perfect timing, then!” she exclaims with a devilish glint in her eye.
“A reality show about what?”
“They’re calling it The Big Food Fight! It’s like an international teen cooking competition!”
“A what?” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “Is my boss, Phillip, in on this?”
“Yup … and your director, Patrice. Did you know he’s from France?”
“Yeah.”
“And did you know that Patrice just happens to know my Aunt Mimi, who I was working for this summer? Apparently, he comes into her shop all the time when he’s home. He loves her macarons!”
“So Phillip, Patrice, and your Aunt Mimi all know one another?”
“Well, they do now! As soon as Patrice told Phillip about the idea, Phillip jumped on a plane to Paris. He met Aunt Mimi, and then the two of them pitched the show to a television network, who went crazy over the idea, especially when they found out that the famous Patrice de la Fontaine agreed to direct it! The fact that my Aunt Mimi — owner of the most famous pastry shop in all of Paris — would be involved was the clincher. You know, the icing on the cake.” Gabby laughs.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Because I begged them not to,” Gabby says. “I wanted to tell you myself.”
“And they agreed, just like that?”
“Hannah, I mean really, how could they resist this face?” She grins and bats her eyelashes.
“Oh.” I laugh. “That would be impossible.”
“Plus, I kind of convinced Phillip that you’d definitely say yes if I asked you.”
“So, Phillip bought your ticket home?”
“Yup!” She giggles. “So, don’t make a liar out of me, okay?”
“Gabby, I’ve never cooked a thing in my life!”
“Oh, Hannah, haven’t you learned anything? That means you’re perfect! Kids from all over the world are going to be there.”
“When?”
Gabby bites her lip. “Like, in a week!”
“Come on, Hannah.” A.J. grins. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“You’re going, too?” I exclaim.
“Yeah, and our mom, and your mom too if you say yes.” He laughs.
“My mom knows about this?”
“Yeah.” Gabby grins.
“And she wants to go?”
A.J. laughs. “Well, who wouldn’t want a free trip to Paris?”
“I would.” I hear from behind. I turn to see Henry standing there smiling.
In all of the excitement, I forgot all about him (although I don’t know how). When did he get here?
“I think you should go for it!” he exclaims.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” He says, smirking. “I’d kinda miss you if you weren’t there.”
“What? Oh my gosh … you mean, you’re not going back to Australia?”
“Phillip asked me to go to Paris.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him I’d think about it.”
“You’d think about it?”
“Well, I’d like to go, unless you’re sick of me.”
&nb
sp; I pause for a moment as thoughts of his sweet kiss dance around in my brain.
“Well?” He grins. “Are you?”
“Sick of you?” I grin back. “Not much chance of that, Henry.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are a few people I would like to thank.
My daughter, Erin, thank you for taking time out of homework (and messaging, Snapchatting, Instagramming, and Face-timing) to lend your expertise on middle-school life, especially dialogue.
My son, James, thank you for helping me work though some of the Henry scenes. You were a really good sport!
My husband, Tom, thank you for happily picking up the slack at home when I was in heavy-duty writing mode.
My dad, Jim, thank you for sharing your treasure-hunting stories with me and for inspiring one of my favourite scenes in the book.
My mom, Ruth, as always, thank you for your constant love, encouragement and support.
Evan Munday and Courtney Horner — you did it again! Thank you for the awesome cover!
Shannon Whibbs, my amazing editor, thank you for your skill, your sense of humour, and for sticking with me on this project from the very beginning. I feel very blessed.
And finally, for all you’ve done, many thanks go out to Kirk Howard and all the other talented people at Dundurn Press, especially Karen McMullin, Kyle Gray, Kate Condon-Moriarty, Carrie Gleason, Synora Van Drine, and Margaret Bryant.
In the Same Series
Operation Josh Taylor
Melody Fitzpatrick
When thirteen-year-old Hannah Smart finds out that teen idol Josh Taylor (only the most talented singer in the entire world) is coming to her hometown to kick off his first-ever concert tour, she nearly goes into shock. Even more shocking is the fact that her parents one-hundred-percent refuse to buy her a ticket — if Hannah wants to go, she has to figure out a way on her own.
With the help of her genius best friend, Rachel, Hannah hatches a scheme that will surely get the girls to the concert. But when evil Scarlett Hastings sticks her nasty nose in, messing up their plan, all hope seems lost.
In Over Her Head Page 10