Kelly Miller seems like the easiest choice, because you already know her. All you need is to call Jessica, tell her to come, and problem solved.
If she was the one there. You can’t rely on the real one because she doesn’t know a thing, and turning her into a skin once again would cause a lot of suspicion on you.
That leaves the alternative of the couple you wore yesterday to escape Mackenzie’s party – Ashton and Allison. If you could find them, you could convince them to help, since they saw you two as Mike and Lindsey. But that means you need to find them, and you have very few clues.
If you’re going for the longshot, might as well take a bigger risk. And thus...
“That’s as much as I got, Ashley. Other than asking anyone who went to the party, I don’t know of anyone else.”
“You said you had an informant.”
“She doesn’t want to show herself.” (If things go worse, you’ll have to “out” Kelly as your informant – that, or risk claiming Jessica was.) “She told me, but on condition of anonymity.”
“That’ll make things harder.” She rubs her auburn curls, sighing. “Shame. Sounded like a good story.”
“You really planned on accepting it?”
“It’s better than Kuntz’s hit piece on Olbermann’s test.”
But her story’s on this issue. “I thought you were leaving it for next one.”
“That kind of story has to be released while the iron’s hot, David. A week-old story has no relevance. I mean – you could do another free choice and maybe we can make it a filler.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“But that’s the point, David. You’re gonna spend your career doing filler stories? This is a portfolio for your future – you need to do some good stories so that people can see what your skills are.”
“But this is a gossip story.”
“David, most stories are gossips. It’s a journalist’s job to make them relevant.” She pats your shoulder, grinning. “I’ll give you until tomorrow. If you can find me a source, tell me and I’ll evaluate it. Or if you have another story about that party, go ahead. Just get me something good, willya?”
She then moves towards the layout, briefly checking it. “That looks good for now. But try to make a save without Kuntz’s article – just in case.”
--
Though you got some breathing space, you don’t have too many contacts to work with. You could call Jimmy (since you know he went there), but he’d feel disappointed if you called him just for that. Jessica, however, is better related, and could help you with some names.
"Dave?” she answers, somewhat concerned.
“Jess? Listen up, I need a favor.”
You hear a small bout of silence, then a hushed voice. “What kind of favor?”
“I need you to tell me anyone else you recognized on the party.”
Another bout of silence. “Can I ask why? Katie’s on my tail – she's wondering where I was yesterday.”
“It’s for an article on the school newspaper. I need to find another source.”
“Another?”
“Yeah. I think Ashley – uh, my editor – is gonna call Mackenzie, but that might not be enough.”
“Why not Kelly?” You can sense how she realized it’s not a good idea. “Right. You didn’t recognize anyone?”
“Of course not! You think I was looking for people I know? I wanted to do that and get out as soon as possible!”
“Well, the most obvious would be the cheerleaders.” You smack yourself hard on your forehead for not thinking about that – but of course! “Then again, you’re socially awkward.”
“At least they can back me up.”
“You can try asking Lindsey directly.” You smack your head harder this time. “I mean – we could always find out what happened with them that way.”
“You know where she lives? If it’s too far--”
“I can always ask Kelly to tell you.”
“You think she’ll want to help us? She wasn’t happy when we turned her back.”
“As long as you don’t bring up the matter of the party, I don’t think she’ll mind. As long as she gives you contacts for at least one of them, that should help you – and if she gives you Lindsey’s number, all the better.”
“Anyone else you know?” you press her.
“Maybe when Katie’s not watching. I had to tell Mom to distract her, and I’ll have to work something to justify your call.”
“Can’t you tell her you’re helping me with newspaper work? Since you’re doing that.”
Now you feel she must be smacking her head. “Right. I’ll leave you for now – gotta tame a beast.”
As she hangs, you feel out of options. You’re hoping Kelly’s willing to help you, but if not, you’re back at square one.
However, you could ask someone else. You just hope she’s more sociable than you. “Claire?”
“Davey? What’s wrong?”
“Listen... Did you recognize anyone from the party that might’ve seen Jessica and me as Mike and Lindsey?”
You hear her groan, but you do get a glimpse of hope. “Yeah, I think I do. But you won’t like it.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Scottie.”
Kilmeade? You grit your teeth, as you really don’t like the guy. “Anyone else but Kilmeade?”
“Nope,” she claims cockily. “I had to slide through the back when Jess called me and I only had enough time with Kelly to help you out. And I caught him by surprise – but don’t worry, I didn’t talk to him or anything. I didn’t even tease him.”
“You think he might know more people that might’ve seen us?”
“I guess? It was a surprise to see Scottie there.”
“If that gives me more sources...”
“Sources?” You hear her laugh from the other side of the phone. “You doing an investigation or something?”
“I’m trying to write an article about Mikey and Lindsey, and I need people that saw them.”
“Why not use the pen and get Kelly? Jess or I could pass off as her and--”
“Claire...?” You summon your big brother tone, setting her straight. “Remember what we told you.”
“Right - no repeats.” She sighs and groans. “That would’ve been a good one, but I get you. Anyways – if all you need is someone that saw them with each other, why not look for that kid?”
“What kid?”
“The one you were... y’know!” You wonder why, but your sister helpfully explains. “He must’ve spoken to some people, maybe gotten asked about what happened. If you can convince him, you’ll get a primary source which can confirm the others.”
You grunt, as you can’t believe your sister had a good idea for once. “Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Except – won't he be unreliable if he doesn’t remember how he got there?”
“If there are people that saw him come and leave, and he ended there, he'll have to accept it. Look – all you need is someone that was there and who can prove he was there, right? Two different people. So, call Scottie, ask him if he saw that kid, then ask him if he knows of someone who did – maybe someone you can trust. Then ask that person if they saw someone else that can confirm they were there and ask if they saw the kid. With enough sources, you might get a story.”
“And if the girl that threw the party saw them--”
“Exactly! Cross-reference sources – did they see the kid? Did the others saw themselves there? If the girl that threw the party can confirm they were there, that'll make your story solid.”
That makes finding Mikey a higher priority, since you talked to Mackenzie directly. What better proof than to have them tell you the story?”
--
You’ve been waiting half an hour, but you got all contacts.
If you call Kelly, you might get one of the cheerleaders to vouch for you – but then again, that’s a long-shot, and why would they help a lowly cur like you? That said, you might get Lindsey’s help that way, meaning you could give her an opportunity to “clear” things out and still get your article.
There’s also Claire’s idea to call Scottie. You’ll have to hold your vitriol for that troublemaker, but he could point you out to people that did, and that might have seen Mikey. As long as you can secure Mackenzie there and have her prove they were there, you’ll get enough second-hand info to confirm it. The problem, of course, will be to get a first-hand account of the whole story.
Which, of course, leads to Mikey. He was there, and you could also get the half of the story you were missing from him. You wouldn’t even need other sources, since if Mackenzie recognizes him, you’ll get all you need. But of course, you screwed him up badly. What if he doesn’t wanna talk to you? It’s a big gamble, and you’ll have to fight Mrs. Reyes, who you already know won’t let him leave with a complete stranger. But if one of Scottie’s acquaintances happens to know him...
As you sit down, you think about what Ashley White told you. You need a relevant story. Then it dawns on you.
Mikey and Lindsey’s story isn’t relevant. The prank was. And you know who did it. How about you make a counter-offer and tell Ashley that you have the intellectual author and perpetrator of the prank itself?
Because – what would make Jimmy more famous than having his last big prank be the star of Monday’s newspaper?
And if he doesn’t want to, he might alert you to people who might prove your other story.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
