Page 97 of Totally Shipped
“I’ll come back with some more books this afternoon,” she says. “Hi, Keyara, my name is Maddie.”
Keyara hides behind my back. “Hi,” she whispers.
Feeling awkward, I give a little wave and Key and I head into the store. As we do, Mr. DeLong steps up to us, a worried expression on his face. “Was she bothering you?”
I look back at the woman who is now scurrying away quickly. “No? But who was she? She acted like she knew me.”
“Maddie Faulk. She’s a journalist, works for NBC. She was vacationing here when the news of your rescue broke and has been trying to get in for an interview ever since.”
Flip! I’m such an idiot.
“I messed up,” I tell him. “I didn’t know, and I talked to her a little.”
If only I could go back in time an hour! I go over everything I told her in my head; I don’tthinkanything was too interesting.
“Not to worry—” I can hear the sigh in his voice “—journalists are inevitable. We can only keep them from you for so long.”
Inevitable? That doesn’t sound fun.
“D-Brooke?” Key tugs on my hand some more.
“I need to go purchase some books for Key,” I tell Mr. DeLong, still beating myself up.
He pulls out a bill and gives it to Key. “They’re on me,” he says.
“Ooh, thanks!” she replies quietly.
As we walk back to our ward, I see the car belonging to Maddie Faulk has moved.
Do not talk to Maddie Faulk.
Should be easy enough to remember.
LEANDER
Aname flashing across the screen catches my eye.
The TV, which hangs high on the wall in our ward, has been on mute all morning. But now I pick up the remote and hit the volume.
“Err, guys…”
On the screen a coiffed blonde woman, and a square-jawed man are sitting behind a news desk. Behind them is a picture of Brooke with a graphic announcing “Brooke Jackson’s first interview since dramatic rescue!”.
“And now for the latest in the Harvey Bannister and Brooke Jackson shipwreck story, we are now going to cut live to our correspondent in American Samoa. Are you there Maddie?
The screen splits in two, and now the image of Maddie Faulk standing outside the medical center comes into view.
“Thanks Sky, I'm Maddie Faulk with NBC.” Maddie looks extremelysmug. “I'm standing here outside the medical center where Brooke Jackson and the other castaways from the Mary-Mo explosion are being treated after their dramatic rescue. A quick reminder. Harvey Bannister and Brooke Jackson, along with five others, were missing and presumed dead after their ship sank last year in the South Pacific. Seven people were rescued two days ago, but Harvey Bannister was not among them. The American Embassy has put out a statement saying that Harvey did not survive the time on the island. Added to this, is the scandal that Brooke Jackson came back with a baby! And she’s not saying who the father is!
I managed to have a little time with Brooke yesterday, and she shared with me some of her feelings about the last eleven months.”
The screen cuts to a picture of Daisy. She is wearing hospital scrubs and looks gaunt and tired. The photo was obviously taken in the hospital somewhere. Next we hear Maddie’s voice on a recording.
“Ooh, interesting! So you missed your toothbrush the most, not your family?”
“Not really,” Daisy’s voice replies.
“Hey!” she says, leaping out of her bed. “That was an answer to a different question!”
