Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens by Linda DeMeulemeester

Author:Linda DeMeulemeester
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: MIDDLE GRADE
Publisher: Grim Hill Press
Published: 2013-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15 The Last Assistant

“YOU CAN’T BACK out now!” Clive yelled at his brother. “You’re the lead guitarist.”

Skeeter simply shook his head. “I quit. All Sookie’s magician’s assistants are sick. She needs me.”

Again I got a different opinion of Skeeter. I had thought he was a sellout, abandoning Sookie just because his brother said he should. But when the two brothers stood together in the hall, I could see that Clive was quite a force. He was tall for his age and lots taller than Skeeter. He also looked really, really angry. But Skeeter quietly stood up to him. He slipped the electric guitar strap off his shoulder and handed the guitar to his older brother. Clive snatched it out of his hands.

“You’re letting your group down.” Clive shook his head.

“They don’t need me. Sookie does.”

No one else in the rock band seemed that upset that Skeeter was backing out. I wondered why. Then a freckle-faced kid with a mop of light brown hair and a black T-shirt said, “C’mon, Clive. This is really your band. You should be the one who plays with us tonight.”

The other boys nodded. So ... Clive was the one who played in this rock group ...

“You can’t let your band down,” said Skeeter.

The boys all agreed. Clive strapped on the guitar and stormed off to the stage area with the rest of the band trailing behind. Clive was going to appear on stage in front of all the kids on our soccer teams and play music with sixth- and seventh-graders – how perfect was that? I broke out into a huge grin.

“C’mon, Skeeter,” I said. “I’ll show you where Sookie is.”

“You mean, the Queen of Mystery. We’d better hurry.”

I brought Skeeter backstage. By the way she hugged him, I assumed Sookie was ecstatic to take Skeeter back on with such late notice – not that she had much choice. Anne didn’t show up tonight. She was sick. It was lucky Sookie hadn’t caught the flu – or Skeeter for that matter.

Sookie helped her assistant with his bow tie.

“So what trick are we doing?” asked Skeeter.

Sookie leaned forward and whispered into Skeeter’s ear.

“Awesome!” he said.

Then they shooed me off stage.

Finally, I took a seat in the gym to watch the show. Except, what was I thinking? For the next thirty minutes I endured squeaking violins, toots, and squeals from trumpets and singers so off-key my ears ached. I sat through a dance act where I nervously watched a girl trip several times and almost tumble from the stage in her enthusiasm. When it was intermission, I was happy to abandon my seat and head to the lunchroom.

I rushed around pouring coffee and tea for the adults, handing out treats, collecting money, and making change. At the end of intermission as the next act was announced, the adults hurried back to their seats. They all seemed to be enjoying the show. At the last minute, Mitch showed up at the refreshment table. I waited until Emily

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