Excerpt from The Big Scoop
Reporter Lindy Blues here, Your Nose for News, bringing you the Number One news show in the neighborhood. True, it’s the only news show in the neighborhood. But who’s counting?
Whether it’s neighborhood news or a case to crack, Lindy Blues is there – unless, of course, I’m in school.
Let me tell you about my latest scoop.
1.
A Call from the Capital
It’s Friday morning and a teacher workday. The offices of the Lindy Blues Network, also known as LBN, are quiet. I take the opportunity to sneak into the research department, which is also my brother Brett’s room, to use the computer. Brett does not always understand the importance of the Internet to an investigative reporter. But, fortunately, teenage boys are very sound sleepers.
I start to check my email for news tips. Suddenly, I get an instant message:
Rocketboy [8:45 AM]: come over here quick!!!
The message is from Joshua Becker, a fellow fourth-grader. Even though he is one of my best news sources, I need more information before I call the LBN news team into action.
Reportergirl [8:45 AM]: why?
Rocketboy [8:45 AM]: you won’t believe what’s missing this time!!!
Joshua’s news tips usually involve something missing. I don’t know why the Beckers seem to lose so many things. But a good reporter does not ask that kind of question. A good reporter just follows the news.
Reportergirl [8:45 AM]: what’s missing?
Rocketboy [8:45 AM]: just come quick if you want the biggest scoop of your life!!!
I notice Joshua uses a lot of exclamation marks in his instant messages. I also notice that he likes his news tips to be very mysterious. But my sources are important to me, so I try to get more information.
Reportergirl [8:45 AM]: where will you be?
Rocketboy [8:45 AM]: meet me at the Capital
That’s the Capital H – two trees and a hammock in front of the Becker House.
Reportergirl [8:45 AM]: be right there!
Just as I press Send, I realize I am still in my pajamas. I turn the computer off and dash to my bedroom.
I look for my Lindy Blues Investigative Reporter suit, but it’s in the laundry basket. Someone at LBN is not taking her job seriously.
“Mom,” I call several times. I finally find her in the back yard, kneeling next to some plants. “Why isn’t my Lindy Blues Investigative Reporter suit clean?”
Mom lets out a big breath. “I’ve been busy with these plants all week,” she says. “Why can’t you just wear shorts like everyone else?”
“Would Katie Couric wear shorts to cover the news?” I ask. Just so you know, Katie Couric, a famous television news person, is Lindy Blues’s personal idol. “Would Katie Couric allow her photographer to film her in anything but her best Investigative Reporter outfit?”
Mom doesn’t answer. She puts a scoop of dirt in a clay pot and pats it down. She takes off her gardening gloves and gets up from the ground. “Well … I have something hidden away in my closet that might work.”
I smile. Big time. Hidden surprises are right up there with good news tips. I follow Mom to her closet and watch as she grabs a plastic bag lying in full view next to her shoes. I make a note to myself: “Sometimes things can be hidden right under your nose – or your shoes.”
The bag crinkles as Mom pulls out a lavender suit with a mint green top. “How’s this?” she asks. “Aunt Caroline gave it to me after your cousin Olivia outgrew it. I was saving it for when you needed an outfit for a special occasion.”
“Perfect!” I say. I hug her hard. “Thank you from the entire LBN news team.”
Then I remember: My news team! I dash to the bedrooms, which double as the LBN headquarters. Brett, head of my research department, is still snoring. Because he can be very uncooperative when he is awakened, I decide to let him sleep. There is no need for research yet.
But I need my photographer right away. My little brother, Alex, is great with using a camera, but not so great with getting up in the morning. I shake him a couple of times.
“We’ve got a story to cover. Get ready. Quick!”
Alex jumps out of bed and grabs his camera bag. “Let’s go!” he shouts.
I’ve trained him well. Sort of. “Alex,” I say. “You’re not dressed yet.”
He looks down at his pajamas. “Oops.”
Because I am a lot faster at getting ready than Alex, I have enough time to pack our breakfast. I grab two boxes of Cheerios and two boxes of apple juice. Then I realize my mistake. I quickly exchange one of the apple juice containers for grape juice. Because Alex eats in alphabetical order, he should have grape juice so he can drink it after he eats his Cheerios. {Photographers can be very eccentric.)
When Alex comes into the kitchen, I hand him his cereal box. Then I tuck the juice box into his camera bag next to Dad’s old camcorder and Billy the Beaver. Alex got Billy the Beaver on his first birthday. Billy has been Alex’s constant stuffed companion ever since.
I make sure I have my microphone and my reporter’s notebook.
“Mom,” I yell out the kitchen door. “The LBN news team is off to cover a story.”
“Okay,” she yells from the backyard. “But remember to be back in time to go with me to your classroom.”
I stop short. “My classroom? But it’s a teacher workday. Why would I go to my classroom today?”
Mom marches into the kitchen with a potted plant in her hand. “Don’t you remember? I promised Ms. Blanco that we’d help set up these plants for next week’s science experiment.”
I cannot believe my mom is asking me to go to school on a teacher work day. “But, Mom, where is the news in a science experiment? Where is the excitement? Where is the mystery?”
Mom thrusts her potted plant toward me. “Look,” she says. “How can you get more exciting than this?”
I examine the plant: gray dirt, green leaves, half-opened blue flowers. Exciting is not exactly the word I would use to describe it. I make a note to myself: “Mom needs to get out more.”
Mom puts the plant on the kitchen counter. “Just make sure you’re back by noon. Ms. Blanco wants you to film the plants for Open House next week. She said something about extra credit.”
Extra credit is almost as good as surprises in closets and good news tips. I promise to be back in time. Then Alex and I head to the Capital.