The Rule of Thirds

Chapter Five

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25: 11 DAYS UNTIL VANTAGE POINT

Spalding’s on high alert. OK, not really, but Lisa calls an emergency Hall Pass lunch meeting, even though it’s only Wednesday, because there’s a big story breaking and she wants us to get it into the next issue, which comes out next Friday. At least seven people have had things stolen in the past two weeks. But we, the self-sacrificing staff of Hall Pass, are prepared to swap our pens for magnifying glasses and get to the bottom of the case of the stolen items. I kid. Lisa and I seem to be the only ones who care.

“Who wants to help cover the story?” Lisa asks from her place at the head of the photocopy room table.

“Can’t,” says Abigail, a senior staff writer. “I’ve already got two stories and a profile on the new Phys Ed teacher.” 

“What’s the story anyway? A list of stolen items? Do we have any leads?” Brendan asks.

“Not yet, but maybe we can figure out a pattern,” Lisa says. “We could have a serial on our hands.”

Brendan raises an eyebrow, skeptical. Poor Lisa watches too much Dexter. I decide to throw her a lifeline.

“Why don’t we make it a Streeter spread? Take pics of everyone who’s had something stolen, and include a funny quote that ties in with the lost item?” Jeffrey’s going to want to take this on, for sure. A bunch of lost items? It’s Vantage Point gold for him.

“Good idea. Pippa, you OK to take it on?” Lisa asks me. I look over to Jeffrey, who’s lost in his computer.

“Jeffrey, you want to double-byline it?” I ask but he shakes his head.

“Still working on getting all the headshots of the cast of Annie. Streeters are your thing. You find the stuff, then maybe I’ll be interested.” He smirks at me—nothing like a little friendly competition.

Fine,” I say, secretly happy to get the story for myself, even though I really don’t need more on my plate. But I remember Emma searching for her iPod the other day: I want to help her out if I can.

Lisa hands me a sheet listing the students who’ve had stuff stolen. Even though she takes her job way too seriously, I’m excited about this story.

I head out the back doors to the football field to find Cameron “QB1” Jenkins. The football team is trying to win the all-region championship this season, so their two-a-day practices have turned into three-a-days. I ask the coach if Cam can talk to me for five minutes and he waves him off the field.

“I’m doing a piece for the paper about everyone who’s had stuff stolen,” I say as Cam takes off his helmet, his curly black hair plastered to his head, soaked with sweat. “I heard that you lost something?” I say in my most professional voice, pen and mini Moleskine notebook at the ready.

PIPPA’S RULES FOR INVESTIGATING

1. Never feed the person you’re interviewing any info that you could otherwise catch them in a lie about.*

* This rule mostly came into effect because Lisa’s handwriting is super messy and I can’t figure out what the word is beside Cam’s name.

Cam tells me he lost hwthymonimufth.

“Can you take your mouthguard out? I can’t really understand you.”

He spits his mouthguard, all slimy and disgusting, into his hand.

“My heart-rate monitor—out of my locker in the changeroom. Coach makes me wear it because I get really riled up you know, and he doesn’t want me to have a heart attack or whatever.”