Free Vanishing Acts by Leslie Margolis Page A

Guthrie.”
    Heads swiveled as every parent in the entire restaurant turned to look at Seth.
    â€œSorry!” Seth said, raising his hands up in surrender.
    â€œ
SSSHHH!
” Guthrie’s dad raised his finger to his lips. “Keep it down, pretty boy!”
    Seth seemed taken aback, even more startled than before.
    I kept waiting for someone to recognize him and ask for an autograph. But no one did. Then I realized why:Seth is huge with kids my age, but most grown-ups wouldn’t recognize him. Tonight’s crowd was too old and too young at the same time. The Pizza Den is a huge after-school hangout, but I guess everything shifts at night—this crowd was pretty much all grownups and babies, with the exception of me and Finn and company.
    And one superstar whose appearance still confused me in a major way.
    Seth tried to make for the door but stopped short, balancing on his heels to avoid bumping into the triplets in high chairs blocking his path. He seemed afraid to get too close, not that I could blame him, considering he was trapped in the Park Slope web. The guy needed serious help.
    â€œHere, sit down.” I tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
    He hesitated. “You sure?”
    â€œPositive.”
    He sat down, relieved. “Thanks. Oh, I’m Seth Ryan, by the way. You’re Maggie, right?”
    â€œYes, Maggie Brooklyn,” I replied.
    â€œBrooklyn? You mean like where we are right now?” asked Seth.
    â€œYes, exactly that,” I replied.
    Seth scratched his neck. “Why did your parents name you after a state?”
    â€œUm, Brooklyn isn’t a state. It’s a borough of New York City,” I said, correcting him.
    â€œA what?” asked Seth.
    â€œNew York City,” I repeated.
    â€œOh, right. Of course.” Seth held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Maggie Borough. I’m sorry about what happened this afternoon. I told Vigor he went a little overboard, but everything happened so fast, I didn’t know what to do. And he was only trying to protect me.”
    Seth’s handshake was firm—all business, like we were signing a deal. It was a funny contrast to his appearance. What I’d first mistaken for a necklace was actually the tag on Seth’s T-shirt. He wore it inside out and backward. He also had on sweatpants with one leg tucked into his sock.
    â€œUm, nice to meet you, too?” I don’t know why my voice got so high at the end of my sentence, like I had doubt when I did not. It was nice to meet him. No question.
    Except for all my questions about why
he
wanted to meet
me
.
    I waited, and he smiled his movie-star smile. Warm, inviting, and totally sincere. Also, mesmerizing—despite the goofy wardrobe.
    I got lost in that smile for a minute. “So can I?” he asked.
    â€œCan you what?”
    â€œTalk to you.”
    â€œYes, of course,” I said. “I mean, sure, if you want to. My friends will be back in a minute, but you could totally join us.” I looked toward the line. Finn and Milo were still pretty far back. Now Lucy had joined them, and she and Finn were pelting each other with red plastic straws. No one looked my way. Not even after I waved to try to get their attention.
    â€œI know you’re busy, so I’ll only stay for a minute,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But the reason I noticed you on set the other day is because I saw the way you talked to Jones.”
    I cringed and buried my head in my hands. “I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to mess up your movie or anything. I really wanted to be an extra. It’s just—I had to go, and he didn’t get that.”
    â€œI know—I heard the whole thing,” he said, leaning a bit closer. “And I’m wondering—how did you do it?”
    â€œHow did I do what?”
    â€œYou know—stand up to him. How