Free Star Rider by Bonnie Bryant

expectantly.
    “And Stevie just came up with a wicked good idea to get you to the mall this afternoon.” She grinned proudly. Then she stood up. “Let’s get over to makeup and wardrobe.”
    “It’s been tried before,” Skye said, getting the idea. “And it usually doesn’t work.”
    “It hasn’t been tried the way The Saddle Club is going to do it!” Lisa told him.
    T WO HOURS LATER the girls and Skye were ready. Oliver had called off filming Lisa and Skye’s scene because of the rain, which was still pouring steadily. While Stevie and Carole made the final costume selection, Skye and Lisa enlisted Jeanette’s aid.
    With the help of a wig, Skye’s straight sandy brown hair became unruly and blond. His eyes turned brown with contact lenses. A little bit of putty gave his nose a disjointed look, and some masterful strokes with pencils and brushes transformed his smooth, big-screen good looks into something that looked as if it had just stepped out of a dented pickup truck—and ought to be sent back to the farm as soon as possible!
    “Do you want to be seen in public with me?” Skye asked, looking at the results of Jeanette’s genius.
    Lisa looked carefully at the none-too-appealing results. “Better in public than in private,” she told him. “You definitely don’t look like a movie star. People will be staying away instead of thronging after us. Can you stand it?”
    “Hey, look at the T-shirt I found!” Stevie said, arriving breathlessly from the wardrobe trailer. Carole was close behind, carrying some ratty jeans and a pair of work boots to complete Skye’s outfit. Stevie took the T-shirt and unfolded it. She held it up for everybody to admire. It read:
    KORMAN’S EXTERMINATING
    We get the bugs out!
    “We’re going to have the whole mall to ourselves!” Stevie said proudly as their newly invented friend, Gavin, slipped the T-shirt over his head carefully, so as not to disturb any of his makeup.

“W HERE TO FIRST ?” Skye asked The Saddle Club as they walked through the doors of the mall. It was a little difficult for him to talk with the wad of bubble gum he had in his mouth—Stevie’s final touch on his “disguise.” Skye blew an enormous bubble. A woman hurried past him as if she were afraid she might, catch something from him.
    “Anywhere we want,” Stevie said conspiratorially.
    “Then it’s pizza,” Skye announced. “I haven’t been able to have a good oven-fresh pizza at a mall for a long time.”
    “This way,” Carole said. “It’s at the far end of this aisle.”
    The foursome walked together, pausing to check out some funny buttons and a collection of more moderate T-shirts than the one “Gavin” was sporting.
    “Hey, this one’s cool,” Stevie said, showing it to Skye. It was tie-dyed in long, sweeping arcs of rainbow colors.
    To Stevie’s surprise, Skye bought it.
    “You never know when it might come in handy,” he said, tucking the bag under his arm. They proceeded toward the pizza restaurant.
    It took only a few minutes to come to an agreement on the toppings they wanted on their pizza.
    “Extra cheese all over, ditto the pepperoni,” Skye began, describing the pie they’d decided on. “Then, we want mushrooms on half and green peppers on half, but overlap the mushrooms fifty percent. Then, on the part that only has green peppers, add onions, okay? And sausage on the part that only has mushrooms. Got that?”
    The waitress stared at him. Her eyes seemed to pierce right through him—and right through his disguise. The girls were sure she had recognized his voice and was about to reveal his identity. Stevie slid lower in her seat. Lisa tried to give Skye a menu to hide behind. Carole’s eyes focused on a grease-stained map of Italy taped to the wall beyond their table. Skye, however, was fearless. He stared right back at the waitress.
    The waitress drew in a deep breath. “You’re going to take it the way we make it and you’re going to
like
it,”