Free Vanishing Acts by Leslie Margolis Page B

come you weren’t intimidated? Most people are scared of Jones.”
    â€œI can kind of see why, since he’s got that whole screaming-his-head-off thing mastered, but it’s just something I had to do. I didn’t even think about it.”
    Seth shook his head, seemingly amazed. “I could never have done that.”
    â€œWait—you’re kidding, right?”
    â€œNo way.”
    â€œBut you’re Seth Ryan.”
    â€œExactly. I’m Seth Ryan, and I always do what I’m supposed to do. Fiona tells me it’s the secret to my success, and I shouldn’t overthink things because my brain will hurt and it’ll cause stress and worry lines, and I can’t afford worry lines. They’ll show up on camera—especially with all this new high-definition technology.”
    â€œWho’s Fiona?” I asked, figuring it was his new girlfriend.
    â€œFiona is my manager. She kind of discovered me, and she totally knows what’s best for me. And what’s best is knowing one thing: never question your director. He or she is boss.” Seth nodded once, agreeing with his own point. He sounded like a robot—totally programmed.
    â€œI see,” I said slowly, even though I didn’t. Not when Jones Reynaldo, Seth’s current boss, acted like a spoiled toddler—and even worse than the tap-dancing toddler from just a few minutes ago.
    He squinted at me. “So what was so important that you had to leave?”
    â€œMy dogs,” I replied. “Well, not
my
dogs exactly. They’re my clients; I’m a dog walker.”
    â€œA what?” asked Seth.
    â€œI walk a bunch of dogs. It’s my after-school job.”
    Seth gave me a blank look, like he’d never heard of a dog walker, so I explained further. “Basically, I pick them up after school, get them outside so they can have fresh air and exercise and relieve themselves, and take them home again. Some of them like to play fetch, too.”
    â€œThat sounds like the coolest job in the world,” Seth marveled.
    â€œAre you making fun of me?” I asked, just to be sure.
    â€œNo way. I’m serious. I think that’s awesome. I love dogs. I’ve always wanted one.”
    I stared at him for a few moments, still not completely convinced this wasn’t an elaborate prank. Like, maybe there was a hidden camera somewhere. It just seemed too weird that this megastar would be hanging out with me at the Pizza Den.
    â€œSo why don’t you get one?” I asked. “It’s not like they’re so expensive. You can buy ten dogs, or maybe ten thousand. Isn’t it true that you have seven cars? One for each day of the week?”
    â€œTo be honest, I don’t know,” said Seth. “My manager handles all that stuff. I can’t even drive. I have a lot of investments, I guess. I know there’s a loft in SoHo. I was there once, but it seemed kind of empty.” Suddenly his face lit up. “Oh, but I saw pictures of it in
Teen People
last month and it looked awesome, so I guess someone furnished it.”
    â€œYou mean you’re not staying there?”
    Seth looked at me like I was crazy. “We are in Brooklyn. You know that, right, Maggie?”
    I laughed. “Hello? Brooklyn is my middle name—literally. So I’m pretty positive that Brooklyn is close to Manhattan. Like I said before, it’s still considered New York City.”
    â€œOh.” Seth paused and frowned. “I thought you were kidding about that.”
    â€œNope. There are five boroughs in this city.” I ticked them off on my fingers. “Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.”
    He leaned back and grinned. “Now you’re just messing with me.”
    Was he serious? He seemed to be, but how was that even possible?
    â€œYou know that Manhattan is just over the bridge? And SoHo is probably less than five miles