Picture's Worth a Thousand Clues

Picture's Worth a Thousand Clues — page 1 — CHAPTER ONE Look at what I found Ten-year-old Michael Wilson popped his head out from the large gray metal dumpster His brown eyes twinkled This is the best day ever Michael’s cousin Liv Hernandez and best friend Leo Hammer were waiting for him They were in a narrow alley behind a long row of shops Liv leaned against the dumpster Leo stood to the side his hands tucked into his khaki pockets I thought yesterday was the best day ever Liv told Michael Her dark ponytails jiggled when she laughed You were super excited when we found those wooden clothespins in the dry cleaner’s trash Leo said He was nine a year younger than Michael and Liv Yep Yesterday was good But today’s better Michael said He was wearing his favorite baseball cap pulled low over his dark brown hair Leo had created a computer program that tracked the garbage trucks in town They were using it to track down the fullest dumpsters Yesterday was the dry cleaners Today Michael was in the big bin behind Patsy’s Arts and Crafts He held up two paintbrushes crusted with thick brown paint One was very small for fine lines The other was big for large blocks of color Michael pressed his fingers against the smaller brush The paint crumbled like a dirt clump into dust That’s some weird paint he observed wiping his hands on his pants He tossed the brushes to Leo in the alley Leo missed them But Liv managed to dive in for a save Ah man I bought new paintbrushes just like these yesterday she exclaimed

Picture's Worth a Thousand Clues — page 2 — waving them around I can’t believe you’re getting them for free I’ll clean them up for you Michael said ready to duck down and see what else he could find You can have these too Suddenly Mr Patterson the owner of Patsy’s Arts and Crafts came barreling out his shop’s back door What are you kids doing out here he shouted He was wearing a business suit and holding a big black trash bag in his hands Mr Patterson didn’t see Michael in the dumpster He stared at Liv and Leo Go away he boomed in a loud voice We uh but Leo mumbled as he backed away from Mr Patterson Very quietly behind Mr Patterson Michael snuck out of the dumpster Mr Patterson leaned toward Leo’s face What were you looking for Are you spying on me Leo backed up more I I we His face was flushed Hey Mr Patterson Michael said He casually stepped forward In his hands were two long narrow sticks called dowels and half a ball of twine He held them out We’re collecting trash

Picture's Worth a Thousand Clues — page 3 — We like to make new things from old stuff Liv boldly added holding up the paintbrushes If you want we can make you something she offered Mr Patterson was furious He snagged the paintbrushes from Liv Give me those He anxiously looked up and down the alley I’m going to call the sheriff I don’t want to go to jail Leo started to run away but Michael stopped him We aren’t doing anything wrong Michael insisted He looked at Mr Patterson You threw this stuff away It’s still my trash Not yours Don’t ever let me find you digging through my trash again Mr Patterson told Michael He didn’t ask for the dowels or the twine back Instead he looked at the paintbrushes and brushed off some of the dusty paint He stomped back to his shop and slammed the door shut We should go now Leo said with a shiver That was scary You think everything is scary Liv said with a laugh Just one more dumpster okay Michael was eyeing a red bin three doors down from the art shop From Leo’s chart Michael knew the trash collectors hadn’t come yet That meant the bin would be full of treasures Oh come on Leo grumbled What if Ms Ventura comes out from her bridal shop to yell at us too Don’t worry She’s way nicer than Mr Patterson Liv said pushing up her bright red glasses Go on Michael Dive in the dumpster We’ll wait I’m always outvoted Leo sighed I’ll be fast Michael said climbing into the bridal shop’s bin He tossed a small black trash bag over the side Catch Liv reached over Leo and snagged the bag midair Leo didn’t even try to catch the large fabric pieces that Michael kept throwing out of the dumpster They landed on the ground by his feet Liv picked up some of the fabric and took a closer look There were long pieces of

Picture's Worth a Thousand Clues — page 4 — white and cream-colored silk She ran her hand over a large square of lace Are we making a wedding dress she asked I’m not sure what we’re making yet Michael said We’ll figure that out when we get back to the Maker Shack The Maker Shack was the old wooden shed in Michael’s backyard It used to be his Grandpa Henry’s toolshed but he’d given it to Michael and his friends to use as a clubhouse Michael climbed out of the dumpster There was a wad of pink gum stuck to his shoe And something that looked like moldy cheese in his hair You stink Liv said plugging her nose It’s a dumpster Michael replied with a shrug Even if it was gross dumpster diving was one of his favorite things to do He shook his head and the cheese fell to the ground He kicked it aside then pointed at the black bag Did you see what I found Not yet Liv said She peeked inside the black trash bag It was filled with strange rectangular items What are these Raising a eyebrow Michael told his friends Guess Liv held one of them up to her ear Is it an old kind of phone she asked There aren’t numbers to dial Michael said shaking his head My phone doesn’t have numbers on the main screen either Liv said putting her hands on her hips She liked to rub it in that she had a cell phone and they didn’t It’s a camera Leo said The disposable kind People used to hand them out at weddings before everyone had smartphones My parents did They have a whole bunch of goofy photos from them He turned the camera around in his hands Looks like these belong to Sarah and Paul He showed Michael and Liv where the happy couple’s name was on the side The film isn’t used up on these They must have thrown out the extras Michael said

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