The Secret Message
By: Katherine Marie
Copyright Katherine Marie
2013
“I can do this! All it will take is a few words, and POOF! I’ll be free!” I said to Kayla, who played the role of Samantha, Julia’s BFF in the movie What It Takes To Be Me. I played Julia, the main character.
“But what would he do? I wouldn’t want him to hurt you!” she replied, following our script perfectly; every line, every emotion, practically EVERYTHING.
“And… cut!” yelled my director. “Ladies, try to be more in character, ok? Add a little… pizazz!” Pizazz is my director’s favorite word. It’s kind of obvious, if you take a look at his clothes, his house, his room, his DOG, pretty much anything he owns. “Remember, acting is reacting! That’s enough for today. Lacey, start putting away the cameras. Michael, can you handle putting away the microphones? Oh! Kayla, I need to talk to you.”
I grabbed my soft, designer bag and walked off the set. My mom is very involved in my acting/singing career. She signs me up for all different types of movies: drama, comedy, family, you name it. She wants me to be a huge celebrity one day- as if I’m already not. Paparazzi follows me around day and night.
“Hey!” said Kayla as she caught up to me.
“What did Director D want to talk to you about?” I asked her. Yes, we called our director Director D, short for Director Dynamics. All I can say to explain that is that he has a very loud voice. In fact, I think just about everyone called him Director D.
“Oh, he just wanted to give me a few more lines in the last scene,” she replied, fumbling with her script.
“Ok, cool. Do you want to come over to my house? We can finish that song we started last Saturday. Mom won’t mind,” I said as I climbed into my shiny, black limo. The seats were as soft as pillows, and I had just installed a new HD TV in the very front.
“I’m so sorry. I have an interview at 5: 00 with some celebrity magazine. Maybe tomorrow?” she asked, with her eyes hopeful. “Of course! Good luck!” I shouted as she ran away.
Later, as I was driving by our lake, I saw a small shimmer on the crystal clear waters of lake. That glimmer could be the ring I lost last week while I was riding my boat with my sister, Julia! “Mr. Romereo!” I shouted. “Please, stop the car! I think I see my diamond ring in the lake!” The car screeched to a halt. I pushed open the limo doors and ran down to the lake. Seriously? No diamond ring! I was about to turn back, but then I spotted what was the cause of the small shimmer that caught my eye.
A small bottle was floating graciously on the waters of the lake. I tried to reach for it, but my arms weren’t long enough. I spotted a dark brown branch and used it to fish over the bottle into my grasp. The bottle was dark green with a smooth, light brown cork on top. I pushed off the cork and reached for the paper inside. It read:
HSEKLBP! IX WQAXSF TZANKOEPN PWRXIKSLOBNZEKR AOTP 2470191 KHIQNPGLSWBKRDOXOZK CPOIURRNT! IA AKML SZOKRNRQY FDOKR PXUKTLTNISNLG YPOSU TSOA TDHKEO TQRAOMUABALXEL OPFL HAAWVOINNLGO TLOQ FQIAGPUNROEW OOUPTQ TKHZICSU CLOGDQEZ, BPUPTU IATN MKUSSDTU NAOZTW GAEQTG ICNK TAHSEQ WJRQOONRGN HAAQNNDBSX!
“Hmm…” I thought to myself. “I wonder…?”
“Miss Jennifer, are you alright?” Mr. Romereo asked, offering me his strong hand to help me get up.
“Yes, I’m fine!” I replied as I accepted his hand and got up. “Mr. Romereo?”
“Yes?”
“Umm… well…” I began. “I found this bottle in the lake, instead of my diamond ring I lost last week. I’m pretty sure it’s from the river, since the river feeds into our lake. It had a code… can you help me crack it?”
“Ooh, sure! I love codes! I’ll pull over, and you’ll show it to me!” The car jerked to its side. He practically took the bottle from me, and glanced at it for a near second. “Oh, that’s nothing!” he said quickly, almost too quickly. “Probably just a prank to mislead little kids like you! I’ll keep it, and throw it away!”
I don’t know what happened next. I think he just seemed WAY too eager. He barely glanced at the code, and he wanted to throw it away! I also doubted it was a prank, since it was in handwriting that looked like it was a woman’s. Not many women would try to prank people… would they?
“No!” I unbuckled and yanked the bottle from him. “It’s mine!” I glanced at his face, and he was looking at me like I was a four year old. “Sorry, just… I found it and I want to crack the code. It’s mine,” I muttered.
“Ok, I guess…” He replied with an uneasy tone. We drove in silence the rest of the way home.
When I got home, I ran straight up to my bedroom. I glanced around my massive bedroom. The many brochures of Broadway shows I had seen and met characters from hung on my bulletin board. The shiny piano keys caught my eye, next to all of my seven other instruments I had in my sound booth- my guitar, my flute, my clarinet, my French horn, my drums, my recorder, and my violin.
I touched my recently polished piano keys and began to play my favorite song of all time: Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson while I pondered the secret message. Nothing. I got up and brushed my hand against the trophy I got a year ago with Kayla when we won a state singing competition. I smiled at the memory and then, BANG, an idea! I could ask Kayla to help me with the code! She is amazing at figuring out codes and puzzles! I grabbed my iPhone and pressed in the number three (Three is her speed dial number for my phone).
“Hello?” asked a muffled voice on the other end of the line.
“Hi Kayla! It’s Jennifer! I have a very important question for you,” I said with much excitement.
“What is it?” she asked with the same level of excitement.
I told her the story of how I found the bottle. “The thing is, inside the bottle, there was a code. It was really long and confusing. I tried asking Mr. Romereo to help me, but he…” I got cut off by Kayla.
“Seemed too eager, like he usually is?” she finished. Yep, we both know my limo driver very well. “Yes, of course I’ll help you, Jenn! I’ll be over at 1:00 tomorrow, ok? I have to go; my interviewers want to take some pictures of me for their magazine!”
“Ok! Sure! Good luck! Bye!” I replied as I hung up. I fell onto my bed wondering what the message was about. Maybe the person was kidnapped? Or just pranked me? I doubted that. Maybe… maybe the person was imprisoned? I’d prefer not to think about that. Years ago, when I was eight, my dad worked in the army.
I remember one day, a police officer rang our doorbell. She came inside and told us to all sit down on the couch. She took a deep breath, and began to tell us that our dad had been taken prisoner. My mom said she already knew something had happened to my dad through tears. Mom said he hadn’t called in days, and she was sure something was up. My mom wept for a long time after that and so did Julia and me.
That day, I pledged to earn money for our family, so my mom or sister and even I would never have to work in the army. First, I raked lawns, mowed yards, and sold lemonade. Then, in fourth grade, our school decided to let the music program teach the fourth graders recorders. Turns out, I was a natural. Soon I was learning piano, then all the other instruments. I even discovered my talents of acting and singing through a neighborhood theater program!
But then one day, while I was performing in a play, some huge agent came to watch his niece in my play. He saw me perform, and, according to him, I sang like nothing he had ever heard before.
He put me in his company literally right after the performance, and soon I was singing my heart out at concerts and acting in all sorts of movies. I became a huge hit, and to this day, I still am. A year after all that happened; I won a state singing competition with Kayla.
I snuggled into my soft, purple zebra print bed with dreams of what
it would be like with Dad with me. Would he be proud of me for such accomplishments? Then again, I might not be this far in my acting career if he never was imprisoned. It would still be worth it, though, to have him back. If only he could be with me now.
I woke up slumbered in my soft blankets. I glanced at the clock. The clock read 12:00 AM! Kayla will be here in an hour! “Isabelle!” I shouted. No reply. I got up and rang my golden bell on my bedside, and she came running. I usually never ring that bell.
“Miss Jennifer! Are you alright?” she asked with urgency.
“Yes, I’m fine. You just didn’t come when I called,” I replied. She started to say something, but I cut her off. “I need you to make me breakfast. No, make that brunch. After that, I need you to tidy up my room. Kayla will be here shortly.”
“Yes, Miss Jennifer. Right away,” She replied as she hurried downstairs.
I walked into my bathroom. The purple zebra print curtains hung on my shower, and