In Over Her Head (15 page)

“Nothing.” I shrug.

She frowns. “I don't get it. Why would you let her get away with it?”

“Gabby, I've made mistakes before.”

“So?”

“I've done things I'm not proud of.”

Gabby shakes her head angrily. “Oh my gosh, Hannah, so what?”

“Well, I was forgiven,” I say.

“You're not saying that you actually forgive her for what she's doing to you?”

“I don't know, Gabby. It's just weird. I don't want to forgive her, but …”

“Well, Hannah, I'm not as nice as you. If you're not going to do anything, I guess it's up to me.”

Better Late Than Never

M
ost
of the cast and crew are already seated on the stage. I sit down between A.J. and Henry, and look out over the crowd, which is immense! There are friends and family, photographers, reporters, treasure hunters, Navy personnel, and dignitaries, not to mention the hundreds of spectators who have flown in from all over the world to see our discoveries! This really
is
a big deal!

“You know she's going to make this whole press conference about her,” Henry whispers in my ear.

“Probably,” I whisper back.

“How awesome is this?” A.J. exclaims. “Captain Steele smiled three times today. He's really happy Piper found the crown!”

“Wow … cool,” Henry sneers.

I nod. “Yeah, super awesome.”

“Hannah, what's wrong?” A.J. asks.

“Nothing,” I answer.

“You're not saying much. Are you bummed that Piper is getting so much attention?”

Grrr!
“No,” I answer.

“She deserves it, you know. It's not every day a teenager finds a priceless piece of history.”

“True,” I say, attempting a smile.

A.J. grins. “She's just lucky that way. I don't know how she does it.”

Henry scowls at him.

“Not you, too?” A.J. chuckles. “Guys, we all found the treasure together. It really doesn't matter who found what. Everything is going to the museum anyway, right?”

“Exactly!” I smile — for real this time.

“Okay, places, everyone!” Patrice shouts.

Piper walks onto the stage, taking a seat beside A.J.

Beaming with pride, the captain makes his way to the podium.

“Good afternoon friends, family, and distinguished guests. My name is Captain John Steele, leader of the Queen's Jewels Treasure-Hunting Expedition. I am delighted to be here today, along with the cast and crew of
Teenage Treasure Hunters
, to share our amazing discoveries with you. When we started our little quest back in early July, I thought we might find a few gold and silver coins. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to find such an important and priceless piece of history — the Queen's Crown. As a matter of fact, quite amazingly, until my daughter made the discovery, no one knew this exquisite artifact even existed.” The captain laughs heartily as he waves Piper over to his side. “Please allow me to introduce my pride and joy, the girl with the eagle eye who found this virtually priceless treasure, my cherished daughter, Piper Steele.”

“How can something be ‘virtually priceless'?” I whisper to Henry.

Henry shrugs. “I have no idea. If something is virtually priceless, it must have a price.”

“Quiet. Piper is about to speak,” A.J. scolds.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Piper says into the microphone (more quietly than expected). “I'd like to thank my father, Captain Steele, for his very warm welcome. I'm so happy to be here today to tell you about all of our amazing discoveries. As you can see,” she saying, pointing over to the table filled with treasure, “they are all quite stunning pieces, especially … uh … the Queen's Crown.”

“The crown that you found?” a voice cries out from the back of the room.

Piper puts her hand to her forehead and peers out over the crowd. “What?”

OMG
… it's Gabby, meandering her way up through the spectators and past the press!

“Gabby!” Piper's face breaks into a delighted smile. “What are you doing here? I'm so happy you made —”

I jump up from my seat in panic.

“Hannah, sit down!” Gabby demands angrily. “I've got something to say!”

“Gabby, it's fine,” I plead. “Please don't.”

“What's going on?” Piper asks, looking like she's just had the wind knocked out of her.

“Yes, what is going on here?” the captain bellows.

“Nothing is going on.” I laugh. “Gabby, please sit down.”

She points at my chair and yells, “No, you sit down!” Her face is wild with anger.

I plunk back down in my seat. I have no idea how this is going to end, but I know it's not going to be good.

Flashbulbs are going off like crazy — this is bad.

“Who really found the crown, Piper?” Gabby yells, grabbing it off the table. “It wasn't you, was it?” She shakes it high in the air.

Everyone gasps.

“Gabby!” the captain yells, jumping from his chair. “What has gotten into you? Give me that crown this instant!”

“No!” Gabby yells back. “It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the museum!”

“Well, actually, Gabby. That's not entirely true,” the captain continues, plucking it from her fingers.

“What?” Piper exclaims.

“What!” Gabby cries.

“What!”
the museum curator screeches.

“Don't miss this shot!” Patrice orders excitedly. “Finally, some drama!”

“What are you talking about?” Piper asks her father. “Of course the museum owns the crown.”

“No, technically,
you
own the crown,” he replies.

“No, I don't. I signed a release paper. We all did. The museum owns all of the treasure!”

“Not yours,” the captain, says pulling a folded form from his pocket.

“Here is a copy of that paper you signed.” He hands it to Piper. “Unfortunately, according to the laws of this state, since you're a minor, the museum is required to have a guardian's signature in addition to yours.”

“Are you saying you never signed it?”

Captain Steele winks at his daughter. “An unfortunate oversight.”

“It wasn't an oversight! You didn't sign it on purpose!”

“The museum has no legal claim over the crown.” He laughs. “It now belongs to our family.”

“But that's not right! The museum found our investors. They arranged our permits. They even pitched the idea for the show to the TV station! If it wasn't for them, there wouldn't have been an expedition at all!”

“Right or wrong, it doesn't matter now, does it?” the captain says matter-of-factly. “No signature, no crown!”

“But we don't need the money!” Piper protests.

“You're right, we don't! We're winners, Piper. We're the same, you and I. We're not like regular people.”

“No,” Piper says, meekly. “We're not.”

“Yes, we're smarter, and work harder. We take what we deserve because we've earned it.”

“We don't deserve this crown,” she whispers into the microphone.

“Of course we do,” the captain bellows.

Piper looks at the crown, and then at me.

What is she going to do?

Suddenly, she puts her hands on her hips, turns to her father and says, “Well, I didn't find it.”

“Ridiculous!” the captain grunts. “Of course you did.”

“No, I didn't.”

“Then who did?”

She raises her finger and points it at me.

“Hannah Smart?” The captain scowls. “Preposterous!”

“It was during the last dive. Remember when the shark was chasing her? She had it in her hand, then I took it when A.J. pulled her on board.”

“Lies!” the captain booms. “She would have said something!”

Piper folds her arms in front of her. “Well, she didn't.”

“This is completely ridiculous!”

I shrug. “I didn't want to break the no-drama rule.”

“That's only partly true, Hannah,” Piper argues, shaking her head.

“This is nonsense!” the captain hisses under his breath. “Drama or no drama, why would Hannah let you take credit for such a monumental discovery?”

“Because she's got something I don't.”

The captain scoffs. “And what would that be?”

“Confidence,” Piper answers.

What! Confidence? I seriously wasn't expecting that answer.

“Hannah doesn't worry about messing up, or looking stupid. She just does what she wants to and hopes it'll all work out. I am so afraid of failing that I'll lie, and cheat, and connive and steal to be the best.” Piper turns and looks at me. “You didn't need that crown to feel important, but you knew I did. I bet you think I hate you.”

“Um …” I have no words; I'm in shock.

“I don't hate you at all. Actually, I envy you. When you moved into our old house, I was the most jealous I'd ever been in my life! Here I was, bored out of my skull, stuck on a boat being homeschooled by my parents, and every day texts would pour in from kids telling me about this great new girl at school, living in my house, hanging with my ski team, and getting all chummy-chummy with the only real friends I've ever had. It was like you took over my life, but you did it better.” Piper shrugs. “It's not your fault; you were just being you and I was being me.”

“I don't know what to say, Piper,” I mumble, biting my lip.

“Well, I know what to say.” She nods. “I'm tired of being perfect! I want to make mistakes; I want to look stupid; I want to be like you!”