Vivian didn’t see Archie during Janet’s Field Day tour or at any of her morning activities, and he looked annoyed and preoccupied at lunch. But it wasn’t like she actually cared about hanging out with him or anything. She was just trying to keep him from ruining everyone’s summer.
She finally caught up with him at the start of the first event out in the parking lot. Kids were milling all over the place in their matching Shady Brook T-shirts, raising so much dust Vivian had to cover her mouth to keep from coughing.
Meanwhile, Miss Hiss hovered over the proceedings with such a forbidding expression it was impossible for even the smallest kids to have anything resembling actual fun.
“So this kind of thing is a perfect con setup,” Archie said in an instructional tone as they stood with their backs to each other, bored expressions plastered on their faces. “Lots of kids in exciting and new situations—the games, the prizes—it makes them easier to sway. All you have to do is pick your mark.” She could hear the smirk in his voice as he added, “I mean, if you’re really ready. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to back out now. This gig isn’t for everyone, you know.”
Vivian ignored the dig and whispered, “What about her?” as they watched a group of eight-year-olds try, and fail, to carry eggs across the parking lot on teaspoons. One by one, the kids were taken out by potholes and trash and sent sprawling in the dirt, their eggs smashed and broken. Lagging toward the rear of the group was a small girl with a long brown braid who seemed more interested in making faces at her friends on the sidelines than actually carrying anything. By the end she won by default, since she was the only one left with an intact egg.
“No, no,” he said. “She’s a Brook Trout. We never swindle the young kids.”
“Why not? Because it’s not fair?” Vivian snorted. “First the scholarship kids and now this! I never would have pegged you as a soft touch. . . .”
“That’s not why,” Archie said defensively. “It’s because they have to keep their money in the office with Miss Hiss, and we don’t want her asking any questions. Plus they are too little and clueless—it’s no challenge.”
Vivian raised an eyebrow. “Okay, fine,” she said, though she was a little surprised to see Archie show a glimmer of what in a normal kid you might call a conscience. “Well, if you are so good at picking marks, why don’t you make a suggestion?”
Archie glanced around. “How about that girl in your bunk? The overexcited one?”
“Sasha?” Vivian asked.
“Yeah, her,” Archie said. “She already trusts you. It’ll be easy to get to her. All you have to do is make sure she wins a prize, then she’s ripe for the taking.”
Vivian considered this. Sasha was annoying, that was true, but she was also very nice, probably nicer to Vivian than anyone else at camp. Actually, she was nicer than anyone at school, too. Vivian glanced down at the new bracelet on her wrist Sasha had made her just that morning.
Conning Sasha seemed wrong somehow, like going one step too far. Sasha’s biggest flaw was that she just wanted to be friends. But of course, Vivian could never say that to Archie.
“Nah, I don’t think she’s the right person,” Vivian said. “I’ll pick someone else.”
“Oh, are you scared?” Archie said. “Afraid you won’t be able to pull it off?”
“Of course not!” Vivian said. “It’s just that I don’t think it’s a good idea, that’s all. You said I get to pick my mark, and I don’t want to pick her. Besides, she’s supposed to be my partner today. So if she wins, I win. And I thought that wasn’t the point?”
Archie shrugged and seemed to accept that answer. Vivian was glad she didn’t have to explain why she didn’t want to scam someone who actually trusted her the way Sasha did. Someone like Archie could never understand.
Vivian thought again. “How about Lily, she’s in my bunk?” she asked. “And she’s a real snob. Totally needs to be taken down a notch.”
Vivian smiled at the thought of getting one over on smug Lily, aka Little Miss I Went to Paris, who had done nothing but look down her nose at the rest of the girls all week. Especially Sasha. It might be especially fun to wipe that self-satisfied smile off her face. And it made more sense to scam someone who actually deserved it. Isn’t that what Archie had been saying all along?
“Whatever you want,” Archie said, sounding bored. “It’s your con.”
Vivian walked away from Archie and toward Lily to look her over. As usual, the tall girl was huddled in conversation with her friends from the Rainbow Smelts cabin and only occasionally watching what the other kids were doing. When she did glance up, the judgment in her eyes was clear. “This is so stupid,” Vivian overheard her say as she hovered nearby. “I can’t even believe they’re making us do this.” In response, her friends laughed like she’d said something unbelievably hilarious.
Something about Lily’s tone reminded Vivian vividly of Margot, who also liked to stand on the sidelines and make little cracks about the other kids, whether it was during gym, or hanging out on the steps after school. Margot was always so sure that she was too cool for anything. That memory made Vivian want to con Lily even more.
The only competition Lily had agreed to participate in was the three-legged race, which was the last event of the afternoon. And she won easily—she’d handpicked her partner, a girl named Mona who had barely said two words all week but was at least six inches taller than anyone else and liked to do pull-ups on her bunk that made the whole cabin shake. Apparently, as Sasha explained after she and Vivian had come in last—they fell down three times—Mona was a serious athlete at home, and proved it when she practically carried Lily over the finish, at least three yards ahead of all the other kids.
After congratulations on their win, all the teams got their prizes, which were not, as Vivian had guessed, fancy gift cards or anything remotely like that. Instead they were small bags of candy, which, considering the cost of candy at Camp Shady Brook, was actually a pretty high-value item.
But that just made Vivian’s con all the easier.
She came up next to Lily as her friends were congratulating her on her win. Mona, who had done most of the actual work during the race, was standing off to the side, ignored.
“Do you really want to eat that?” Vivian whispered to Lily, wrinkling her nose. “I mean, ugh.”
Lily whirled to face her. “What do you want?” The other girls dipped their heads to hide their smiles.
Vivian leaned in conspiratorially. “It’s just that I saw Miss Hiss taking that candy out of the bin in the mess hall this morning. The one that’s always filled with . . . ants.”
“Ew, really?” Lily said, looking around in disgust at the other winners who were happily digging into their bags of treats. “That’s just so, so gross. But typical for this place, I guess. Just . . . here. Get this away from me. I don’t want it.” She shoved the bag in Vivian’s direction, and turned back to her friends without another word.
Archie was grudgingly satisfied with her performance after Lily had flounced off. Of course, what he didn’t know was that Lily wasn’t supposed to eat candy because of her braces. But Vivian wasn’t going to mention that.
“Not the fanciest gambit, but it worked,” he said under his breath as they stood, pretending to ignore each other, near the back of the pack of kids. “I guess this means you’ve graduated. Good luck. You’ll be the best con artist in New York, starting tomorrow.”
Vivian smiled at him, but more to herself.
He really had no clue.