good per se, but something I could spin if I needed to . . .”
“I don’t think we do need to be here for this,” Bri whispered back, and Toby shook her head.
“Told you.”
“I need . . .” I looked around the diner, like it might provide some answers for me, and blinked when I saw that maybe it had. There was a bulletin board by the door that I’d never paid much attention to, covered in business cards, missing-pet posters . . . and help-wanted flyers. “Bri,” I said, nudging her. “I need to get out.”
“Why?” she asked, even as she slid out so I could get past her.
“Can I finish the bacon?” Tom called as I practically ran up to the bulletin board and started scanning it. There was nothing hugely promising right away, but there were a few that looked like possibilities. I pulled out my phone and started taking pictures of the flyers. Looking for summer tutor—must be proficient in French; COMPUTER HELP REQUIRED WILL PAY $$; Mother’s helper needed, 30hrs/week. None of them would be perfect—and I’d stopped taking French in eighth grade—but it was something. I’d started to put my phone away when my eye landed on one all the way in the corner. NEED A SUMMER JOB? the top of it read in twenty-four-point type. I leaned a little closer. Great Pay! Flexible Hours! Work Experience that will look great on any application or résumé!! Call or e-mail SOON! There was a phone number and an e-mail address listed beneath it.
I read it over again, wondering if I’d missed what this job actually was. But there was no explanation, which actually made me a little wary. It reminded me of that time Palmer’s sister Megan was home from college on Christmas break and took what she thought was a job selling knives that actually turned out to be part of an elaborate pyramid scheme.
“Find anything?” Bri asked, and I turned my head to see she was leaning over my shoulder, looking at the bulletin board as well. I nodded, then tapped the vague one in the corner.
Bri read the ad, then frowned. “But what is it?”
“I don’t know,” I said, pulling out my phone and taking a picture of it as well. “But there’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter FOUR
“I don’t like this,” Toby said through my phone as I parked in front of Flask’s Coffee and cut my engine.
“Me neither,” said Bri. It was two days later, and I was on a conference call with all of them. But since Palmer was stage-managing, she had to pretend she was paying attention to the play. She had one of her earbuds in, hidden by her hair, and could only say “Mmm-hmm” occasionally.
“Mmm-hmm,” Palmer said, somehow managing to convey great disapproval in two syllables.
“Guys,” I said, glancing through my windshield to the coffee shop. “There’s nothing else. This is my best shot.”
“I’m pretty sure this is how kidnapping movies begin,” said Toby. “And there’s that scene where the girl is going to meet the person who’s going to kidnap her and her friends are like ‘No, don’t do it,’ but she does it anyway.”
“Well, otherwise there would be no movie,” Bri pointed out. “But Toby is actually making a point.”
“What do you mean actually?” Toby asked, sounding offended.
“I don’t like that you don’t know what this job is,” Bri said.
“Mmm-hmm,” Palmer agreed.
I let out a breath as I smoothed down my dress. I didn’t love it either, but I really was out of options. In the two days since I’d found out I wouldn’t be attending the Young Scholars Program, I had tried everything I could to line up something for the summer. I’d been practically laughed out of the career office at school when I’d explained I was looking for something for this summer. None of my other leads had panned out—the parents of the kid looking for a tutor realized pretty quickly that my French wasn’t up to par; I could handle my own computer, but couldn’t code or work within multiple operating systems; and when I’d called about it, the mother’s helper gig had already been filled—which I was actually fine with, since I didn’t love little kids. Finally, I’d called the vaguely worded listing, and the girl who’d answered—her name was Maya—had seemed thrilled to get my call and only too happy to meet whenever was convenient for me, causing my pyramid-knife-scheme sensors to move to high alert. After