Agents of the Glass by Michael D. Beil Read Free Book Online Page A

his shoulder to see what he’d written. “Oh, right. I remember that one from last year. It’s about Joshua Bell playing violin in the subway. He’s one of the best violinists in the world, and he…Well, you’ll see. Everything else go okay?” Suddenly, she turned serious, asking, “You didn’t forget about the meeting, did you?”
    “No, I was on my way there, really.”
    Winter laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to me.” Then she did something Andy
really
wasn’t expecting. She took him by the hand and started leading him down the hall, her fast walk quickly turning into an out-and-out run for the staircase. “Come on, we have to hurry. If we’re late, we won’t get a seat.”
    When they arrived at the broadcast room in the basement, they found a sign on the door directing them to a classroom on the first floor, so they turned around and ran back up the stairs. Winter laughed as Andy wriggled free of her grip before they entered the room.
    “Oops. Sorry, I didn’t mean to weird you out. I do that to all my friends. I don’t mean anything by it. Sometimes, I don’t even realize I’m doing it. My friend Katelyn says I’m a control freak. You’re not, are you?”
    “A control freak?”
    Winter giggled. “No, weirded out.”
    “I’m all right,” said Andy.
    “Phew! That was a close call. Not good, Winter,” she said, shaking her head. “Make the new kid uncomfortable on his first day at Wellbourne.”
    Andy grinned at her, his first real smile of the day. She had been really nice, after all, and on top of that, she was pretty. “It’s cool, really.”
    She pointed to two empty desks in the front of the room but let him lead the way.
    After welcoming members old and new, Ms. Helen Albemarle got the meeting off to a raucous start with a major announcement about the future of the Wellbourne Broadcast Club.
    “I have some very exciting news. Wellbourne is about to take a giant leap forward into the world of twenty-first- century broadcasting. Over the summer, I approached a number of television stations in town in an attempt to develop a
real
partnership—one that would improve and expand our skills, certainly, but also one that would give us actual exposure on a local and, possibly, a national scale. I met with people from all the big networks, but right from the start, it was clear to me what the best choice for Wellbourne would be. Today, I’m proud to announce our partnership with the news division of NTRP.”
    A few kids, Winter included, clapped and cheered, but the focus soon switched from Ms. Albemarle to a lone black girl in the back of the room, leaning against the wall, her arms folded in defiance. All of the other kids’ uniforms were first-day-of-school creased and crisp, but hers hung limply from her square shoulders. Wrapped around her neck was a decidedly unofficial scarf, its bright green-and-yellow plaid clashing violently with her school blazer. Andy guessed that she was a junior or senior.
    “No. No, no,
no
!” she said. “Ms. Albemarle, you can’t be serious.
NTRP?
I thought we were supposed to be all about journalism—being
objective
and all that. Does anyone at NTRP even know what that word
means
?”
    “Here we go again,” said a boy in the front row. “Why don’t you just quit, Jensen?”
    “Why don’t you go—”
    “Stop!” cried Ms. Albemarle. “For once,
don’t
say what you’re thinking, Jensen.”
    “Perhaps I can answer her question,” a woman announced in a clear, authoritative voice. She was sitting in a back corner, where she had gone unnoticed.
    As everyone else in the room turned to see who had spoken, Ms. Albemarle said, “Come on up, Deanna. Time to face the enemy. Everyone, say hi to Deanna Decameron. She’s the executive producer of the
NewsNight
program at NTRP, and she has
generously
offered a few hours of her valuable time each week to help us out.”
    Winter leaned over to whisper to Andy as she