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added.
    â€œI wasn’t thinking you’d be part of it,” I said. “But I was hoping you could film it, as sort of a favor.”
    She shrugged. “Sure, I guess I could do that.”

chapter seven
    â€œI can’t believe that you’re not going to tell me what this is all about,” Julia said.
    â€œDon’t you like surprises?” I asked.
    â€œYou
know
I hate surprises.”
    â€œReally?” I did know that, but bothering her was so appealing.
    â€œDon’t tell her,” Oswald said.
    He was much more obvious about trying to annoy her.
    â€œIt’s not like she’s actually participating in the flash mob,” he said.
    â€œBut I am taping it,” she said.
    â€œThat’s why he shouldn’t tell you,” Oswald continued. “You’re just taping, it’s not like you need to know what we’re going to do. You just have to point the camera at us and push the button.”
    â€œHe’s right,” I agreed. “But make sure you start wide-frame so you can get the big red neon sign in. Then go down to the action on the street, and after we all take off, go wide again.”
    â€œAre you hoping to be a film director some day?” Julia asked.
    â€œI just want it done right, okay?”
    She saluted.
    â€œThank you.” I looked at my watch. We had six minutes. “We better get going,” I said to Oswald.
    â€œShowtime.”
    We left Julia up on the balcony of the neighboring building. It overlooked where we were going to be—a nice vantage point to tape the event.
    We hit the street. Traffic was rushing by— cars on the road and people on the sidewalk.It was very busy and very public. That gave it more potential—for good or bad. More people could take part, more people could watch and more people might get mad.
    â€œI hope this works. Nothing would be worse than nobody coming.”
    â€œNobody coming wouldn’t be the worst,” Oswald said.
    â€œWhat would?”
    â€œHaving only a few people come. If nobody shows, we can just walk away.”
    I shook my head. “I’m not walking away if there’s only me and you.”
    â€œThere’ll be more than just us. I’ve seen a couple of familiar faces,” he said.
    â€œThat’s good...I guess.”
    â€œAnd if it does crash and burn, you have Julia up there filming it. You know she’ll never let you forget about it.”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œWhy did you invite her anyway?” Oswald asked.
    I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I guess I’m just trying to include her because she’s our friend.”
    â€œThat’s right.
Friend
. Keep it that way.”
    I cringed slightly but didn’t answer. Did he know more than I thought he knew?
    I looked down at my watch. Two minutes. We walked right to the spot underneath the big red sign—the neon sign that showed that this building was owned by a gigantic tobacco company. There were a half dozen men and women outside the main doors, smoking. At least they believed in what they were selling. I didn’t know whether that meant they had integrity or were just really stupid.
    On the sidewalk, men in suits and ties carrying briefcases, and women in business outfits with purses over their shoulders, raced by in both directions, shoulder to shoulder. Oswald and I formed two rocks in the stream, and we were repeatedly bumped as people tried to get by us.
    Around us were dozens of kids—our age or a few years older—who weren’t going anywhere. They were all trying to act casual and not look at each other. They wouldn’t have to wait long.
    The alarm on my watch started to beep. It was time.
    I brought my fingers up to my lips and put the invisible cigarette into my mouth. I took in a big puff of imaginary smoke. I looked around. There were thirty—no, forty or fifty— people all doing the same. We formed a big dam in the