We Dine With Cannibals by C. Alexander London Page B

into his pocket. In the meantime, the airplanes had pulled up to the rickety dock just a few feet away and let their engines whine to a stop.
    Oliver and Celia, green in the face from the choppy ride in the seaplane, hopped down onto the dock, followed by their father, dressed all in khaki, his smile wide and excited. He waved at the gathered residents of Benjamin Constant.
    â€œ
Hola
!” he called.
    â€œOut of the way, Navel,” Sir Edmund yelledfrom behind him. He started pulling dollar bills from different pockets in his vest and waving them at the townspeople. Then he pointed at his bags in the other plane. Children came running and grabbed the bags for him. “The universal language,” he sneered as the children ran off with his bags to the only hotel in town.
    â€œWhy’d Corey Brandt dive into the water?” Oliver wondered.
    â€œHe knows how to make an entrance,” Celia answered dreamily.
    â€œWell, he didn’t need to be all wet. And anyway, it’d be cooler if he rode on one of those.” Oliver pointed toward a group of rusty old motorcycle taxis. The drivers stood next to their bikes, hoping the foreigners would want a ride. There was not a lot of work for a motorcycle taxi driver in town. They all smiled and nodded when Oliver pointed at them.
    Oliver tried to hide his excitement. He could never admit it to his sister, but he kind of wanted to ride on a motorcycle. He kind of wanted Corey Brandt to
see
him ride on a motorcycle. He’d never had the urge do anything dangerous before, butsomehow just being around the teen star made him want to be braver.
    Celia, on the other hand, did
not
want Corey Brandt to see her try to ride a motorcycle. Being around the teen star made her desperately want to avoid embarrassing herself.
    â€œGreetings! Greetings!” a man in the crowd called out, stepping forward.
    He wore a white linen suit and a tie with golden tie clip. He was bald, but sported a tidy beard and mustache. He went immediately over to Corey Brandt. “It is a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Brandt,” he said, shaking the teenager’s hand. “I am a big fan of
Sunset High
. I do wish you had ended up with Lauren instead of Annabel, but alas … great loves are often doomed.” He sighed, but it didn’t seem to bother Corey Brandt. He was used to it. “We are a long way from Hollywood,” the man continued at last, “but I assure you that we will do our best to make you comfortable in our town. I am the mayor of Benjamin Constant, and I am at your service.”
    He shook hands with their whole group. Oliver and Celia thought they saw a knowing glance passbetween Sir Edmund and the mayor. Oliver and Celia knew a thing or two about knowing glances. They exchanged them with each other all the time.
    Sometimes the knowing glance meant “Are we really going to watch this?” and sometimes it meant “I can’t believe how many commercial breaks there are in this show,” and sometimes it meant “On the count of three we are going to jump over this pit of scorpions.” But when adults gave each other knowing glances, it always meant trouble for the Navel twins.
    Two black Mercedes town cars sliced through the crowd. The mayor gestured to them.
    â€œFor you, Mr. Brandt,” the mayor said.
    Corey Brandt thanked the mayor and went to the first car. The mayor directed Sir Edmund, Dr. Navel, and the twins toward the second car.
    â€œHey, why don’t you take one of those?” Oliver called out, pointing at the motorcycle taxis. The drivers all smiled and revved their engines. “It’d be a much cooler entrance into town. I could film it for you!”
    Dr. Navel looked at his son in surprise. Oliver was showing excitement about something that wasn’t on television.
    Corey Brandt, however, did not look excited about the idea.
    â€œWhy don’t you two come ride with me?” he