The School Story

By Friday afternoon, everything is ready, so the girls put their plan into action. Zoe has made official looking address labels and stationery at the copy shop and packaged a double-spaced copy of the manuscript. She’s been practicing her agent voice all week, but she’s nervous about speaking to Natalie’s mom directly. 

With Ms. Clayton’s help orchestrating the plan, Zoe and Natalie go into action. Natalie calls her mom to chat about leaving school, informing her that she is running late today. While Natalie is on the phone with her mother’s office line, Zoe makes the call. It goes directly to voicemail. Using her Zee Zee Reisman voice, Zoe acts like a big shot literary agent and speaks as though she’s already acquainted with Natalie’s mom through previous business. She talks up the manuscript and says it’s going to be delivered that afternoon. Once Zoe is done leaving her message, Ms. Clayton gives a signal to Natalie, who gets off the phone with her mother. 

When Natalie arrives at her mother’s floor, she brings in the envelope with the manuscript, acting as though a messenger dropped it off. The receptionist stamps it, and Natalie offers to deliver it to her mother since she is going that way anyway.