Here's Chapter 7! Wait, I mean 6.


Grady looked nervously around the Prop House above the Prop House. Nico had left him to go look for cheese pants what seemed like hours ago, and he hadn't returned. Now Grady was stuck upstairs with the horrors of large taco pants and a scary clown mask he had uncovered a little while ago. Grady decided that he was going to go downstairs and find out the whereabouts of Nico.

He came barreling down the stairs and tripped on a loose floorboard. When he was safely off the stairs, he rubbed his hurt ankle. He looked at the darkness-covered stairs. Limping over to a light switch, he flipped it on to reveal a floorboard that was strangely sticking out. Grady was bewildered. No floorboard looked like that on its own. Unless, of course, someone made it like that.

Grady went into the cupboard that was underneath the stairs. He turned on a light bulb and coughed at the smell and dust that was present. He looked up at the ceiling and gasped. On the floorboard that was sticking out, there were two ominous-looking (and very dusty) handprints. Grady smiled. There was a mystery just waiting to be solved! He left the cupboard to get his Mr. Jr. Deluxe Camera.


"Alright, and… action!"

"Mackenzie, do you really mean it?" Portlyn asked.

"Of course I do, Port," Chad said reassuringly.

Portlyn glanced down. "But how can I forgive you when you lied to me the last time?"

Chad raised her head up to meet his own. "I can show you by doing this." He leaned in closer and closer and… stopped?

"Cut! Cut!" the director groaned.

Zora watched as the director stomped over to where Chad and Portlyn were standing. From behind her potted plant, she couldn't see the expression of the director's face, but judging on how loud he was yelling, she could tell he was in an angry mood.

"What, do you have cold feet? Because last time I checked, you're usually gung-ho to kiss any girl on set."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. It won't happen again, I promise."

Mr. Smith? There were two Smiths around? Zora's head started to spin. The mystery was getting thicker by the second.

"Once again, from the top!" Director Smith shouted. A bell rang and the scene started again. Zora, seeing everything she already needed to see, disgustedly decided to leave the set. She was about to get up when she noticed a bump like the one on Chad's portrait on a leaf. She examined the bump closely. Sure enough, it was another camera. Deciding not to let this camera stay, she picked up the tiny camera and crushed it in her hands. She put the remains of the camera in the pot of the plant. She looked left and right and left the set undetected.


In the Commissary, Sonny bought two packets of hot chocolate and took out the cup of water she had microwaved. She sat down at a table and started to stir the powder into two mugs. She had decided she was going to be nice to Tawni and treat her to a nice cup of hot chocolate.

She was about to call Tawni on her phone when somebody plopped down on the chair in front of her. When Sonny looked at who it was, she gasped.

"Gilroy Smith?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a free country, Munroe," he replied, picking up a mug and taking a sip of it.

"Excuse me, but that was Tawni's," Sonny said through gritted teeth.

"'Was' is the key word here, Sonny." He dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief and continued speaking. "So, I'm going to presume you still have your little crush on Chad Dylan Cooper, correct?"

"Wha-- No, I don't!"

"Don't play coy with me, Miss Munroe. We all know about your little relationship with Chad."

"I refuse to believe that--"

"Shh!" Gilroy shushed. "I have something you might want to see."

"Why would I believe anything that comes out of your mouth, Gilroy?"

"Mr. Smith, if you please, and because my words might contain wisdom." He flipped open his phone and pressed a few buttons. He handed the phone to Sonny. "You might want to check this out."

Sonny stared at the screen with no emotion as Chad and Portlyn were saying something incoherent. But it was pretty obvious what they were talking about as the two started to lean closer together and their lips connected. Sonny shoved the phone back at Gilroy.

"So as you can see, Chad's in an obvious relationship with his co-star. If I were you, I would just give up on him altogether." Gilroy said smugly.

He walked off with hot chocolate mug in hand. Sonny bit her lip in an attempt to not cry. She would not feel jealous over something Chad did! Even if he was kissing his cast mates. It was probably just rehearsal for a scene. Or maybe Gilroy was right. Maybe Chad was going out with Portlyn. Sonny knocked over her mug in frustration. She would not let this go to her head! She was stronger than this. She knew it. But first she had to clean up the mess she just made.


Zora was running off the set of Mackenzie Falls when she ran into Grady.

"Zora! Watch it; you don't want to break Mr. Jr. Deluxe Camera!"

"You still have that kiddy toy from when you were ten?" Zora asked.

Grady flushed red. "Yes, I do! I was on my way to take a picture of some handprints."

"Wow, that's almost strange enough to qualify for me," Zora said proudly. "Wait, handprints?"

"Yeah, there are these creepy handprints in the cupboard under the stairs."

"Handprints…" Zora muttered.

"Yes, handprints."

Zora made up her mind. She was coming with Grady. "Let me check out those handprints with you."

"Good; I'm afraid of dusty places."

When the two returned to the scene of the crime, Zora examined the handprints closely. "Now, why would someone push up on a floorboard?" she asked herself. She continued to ponder this before she was blinded by a flash of light.

"Geez, Grady! Watch where you're pointing that camera!"

"Sorry. Mr. Jr. Deluxe Camera can be a bit bright sometimes." The two waited in silence as the picture shot out of the camera and developed.

Zora grinned at the picture of the handprints. "I now have evidence." When she looked up at Grady, he was staring at her with innocent eyes.

"Evidence? For what?"

Zora hesitated. If she let Grady help her find out about James' plot, he could ruin the whole plan in true Grady fashion. But she also needed someone she could trust to help her out.

"Let me tell you a little bit about what I'm finding out about."


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