Stranger Than Fanfiction(71)

“Dude, you’re creeping me out,” he said. “Why don’t you leave me alone before I call the cops?”

“Forgive me—where are my manners?” the man said, and stepped forward to shake Topher’s hand. “The name is Barry, Barry Reid.”

Topher didn’t shake his hand. “You were following us in Oklahoma, weren’t you?”

“Ah… yes, as a matter of fact I was,” he said. “I gotta tell you, you guys have covered some serious ground in the last couple days. I thought Jennifer Lawrence was hard to follow, but that tomboy in your crew put her driver to shame.”

“I’m calling the cops,” Topher said, and started dialing 911.

“Actually, there’s nothing they can do,” Barry said. “You see, you’re traveling with a person of special interest. And when you’re with a person of special interest, legally, guys like me are allowed to follow you.”

“You’re paparazzi,” Topher said.

“I prefer the term freelance photographer, but yes,” he said. “Look, I didn’t just appear like the grim reaper. Someone made the mistake of using Cash Carter’s real name at the Vacation Suites in Oklahoma City and the concierge tipped me off. The dude is causing quite the scandal—the first picture of him after he fainted would sell for a lot of money. I’ve got to eat, so here I am with my camera.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but Cash left yesterday,” Topher said, thinking on his feet.

“That’s funny,” Barry said. “My contact at LAX didn’t mention he was traveling.”

“I didn’t say he went home or caught a flight, I just said he left.”

Barry smiled at Topher like he could read his mind.

“Honor student indeed,” the paparazzo said. “I get it, you’re a struggling college student and see an opportunity to make some dough. I respect that. I’ll give you five grand if you tell me where Cash went.”

“What? I’m not trying to get money from you.”

“All right, hotshot, seven grand,” Barry negotiated. “But that’s my final offer.”

Topher didn’t say a word, forcing Barry to try another tactic.

“I get it, I get it,” he said. “You probably consider him a friend and don’t want to sell him out. As far as I’m concerned, Cash sold himself out when he started acting like a fool. He’s a smart guy—he knew exactly what would happen if he acted out. Now a lot of people are benefiting from the mess he’s made—that’s why they’re all eager to keep this story going. The longer Cash is out and about making a total jackass of himself, the more hits, clicks, and views all the news sites get. So why don’t we take our piece of the pie, too?”

“I don’t like pie,” Topher said. “I couldn’t tell you where Cash went if I wanted to because he didn’t tell us where he was going. Now piss off or I’ll call the cops—there’s no more special interest here.”

The paparazzo seemed to have met his match. He was both disappointed and impressed with Topher. Barry pulled out his wallet and handed him a business card.

“That’s my info in case you hear from him and change your mind,” Barry said. “Think about it, kid. Seven grand would go a long way for a college student. Enjoy the rest of your trip.”

The paparazzo unhooked his car from the pump and drove off. Topher was so shaken by their encounter he didn’t get back into his car until the man was out of sight. He ripped Barry Reid’s card in half, threw it in the trash, and then headed back to Dinoworld to pick up his friends.

Topher had woken up that morning expecting to see some pretty scary carnivores by the time the day was finished, but he wasn’t expecting the scariest one would drive a Prius.





Chapter Nineteen


IMPACT


Cash had spent all of Thursday in a terrible mood, but on Friday morning the actor awoke as a different person altogether.

“Hey, Cash?” Topher said as he knocked on the door of the actor’s hotel room.

“What do you want?” Cash yelled from inside.

His tone took Topher off guard. Cash wasn’t raising his voice simply so his friend could hear him through the door, but shouting so his irritability was perfectly clear.

“I’m sorry,” Topher said. “Is something wrong?”

“Just tell me what you want,” the actor demanded.

“It’s eight o’clock,” he said. “We were supposed to meet in the lobby at seven forty-five, remember? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today and want to get on the road as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Cash yelled. “And please don’t hover outside my door like you did yesterday—it won’t make me move any faster.”

“Oh… okay,” he said. “We’ll meet you in the car, then.”

An hour later, the actor finally emerged from the Albuquerque Vacation Suites and joined the others at the station wagon. They could all tell something was wrong from his physicality alone. Cash walked very slowly, as if every muscle and every bone in his body ached. He was breathing heavily like a bulldog after a long walk. A dissatisfied expression was frozen on his face as he moved, as if absolutely everything in the world bothered him.