Hidden Talent |
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Summary:
Vish Chopra is flunking tests, getting grounded, and messing up at his job. He wants to be a filmmaker, and practices by making movies in secret. A new friend encourages him to follow his dream. He wants to trust her, but he soon finds out she has secrets of her own. |
Before You Read — Pre-Reading
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Chapter One—When in Doubt, Choose C
Summary:
Vish Chopra struggles with the answers to the science quiz with only one minute to go. He guesses at the last three questions. Mr. Lang, the science teacher, calls him by his brother’s name. Amit and Mr. Lang had gone to high school together six years before. Amit is in med school. The secretary asks Vish about his sister. She is in her second year of engineering. Vish is tired of being asked about his brother and sister. |
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Chapter Two—Bring on the Weekend
Summary:
Gord, Mike and Vish head over to Vish’s house after school for a snack before they go to the park to play soccer. On the way home, Vish’s cell phone rings but he does not answer. It is Mara, his girlfriend, who is at the mall. Vish tries to think of excuses for being busy. He, Gord and Mike think they should start a band. When they get to Vish’s house, Vish’s mother is waiting for him. There is a slip of paper on the kitchen table in front of her. |
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Chapter Three—Busted
Summary:
Mrs. Chopra wants to talk to Vish immediately. The paper on the table is a receipt for the video camera Vish bought with money from his savings account. He tries to make excuses. His mother is angry because the money is for his future. Vish refuses to return the camera and is grounded for the weekend. Vish’s parents own a shoe store and give money to their children to save for University. When Mara calls, Vish tells her he is grounded so gets out of going to a “chick flick”. Vish wants to go to film school but does not tell anyone. He is not a good student like his sister and brother. |
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Chapter Four—Fade to Black
Summary:
On Saturday morning, Vish’s dad tells him that he and his mother are disappointed in Vish. He refuses to return the camera so he is grounded for a week. He is allowed to work but must pay back the money to his savings account. At the store, Vish’s mother wants him to ring up the sales and do the accounting at the end of the day. Vish avoids the cash register and cannot balance the receipts at the end of the day. He is over by a few dollars. His mom tells him to be more careful. At home, his parents invite him to watch a movie. Since his friends are all out, he decides to videotape himself. |
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Chapter Five—Kiss and Make Up
Summary:
Vish spends Saturday surfing websites about filmmaking and cinematography. By Monday, he is anxious to go to school. He sees Mara and she is mad at him. Vish tells her he is grounded all week so they decide to eat lunch together and hang out at the store on Wednesday night. She has Vish walk her to class even though he will be late for his music class. |
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Chapter Six—Stuck with What's Her Name
Summary:
Vish is late for music class. Everyone has a partner, except one girl at the back named Nicole. She and Vish partner up to work on a project about classical music. Neither of them know much about classical music. They head to the library to do some research. Vish asks where she is from but she does not tell him. She says she has been away a lot. |
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Chapter Seven—Alarm Bells
Summary:
All of the Internet computers are taken, so Nicole and Vish get a book called Classical Music Through the Ages. They read about some composers but Vish thinks they all sound boring. They have an idea to choose a modern composer. They choose Howard Shore who wrote the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings movies. They try to set up some time to work together and exchange e-mails. With some class time left, they decide to develop an outline. When the bell rings they keep working. Mara and Jenna show up. Nicole packs up her books and returns the research book. Vish returns her bag she has left behind. When they leave the library the security alarm rings. |
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Chapter Eight—Did She or Didn't She?
Summary:
Mr. Phipps, the school libarian, stops Vish and Nicole. Vish has not set off the alarm but Nicole has. Mr. Phipps pulls two books out of her bag: Beating Body Odour and The Geek’s Guide to Dating. Someone has planted the books in her bag. Everyone laughs. Nicole thinks it is Vish or his girlfriend. Mara notices Nicole’s name and e-mail address on Vish’s notebook. She becomes more possessive of Vish. |
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Chapter Nine—Running the Numbers
Summary:
Mara shows up at the store on Wednesday night. She apologizes to Vish for being mad. She and Vish decide to go to the movies on the weekend. She asks about getting a discount on shoes. Vish takes money out of the cash register and sends her to the store next door to buy chocolate bars. At the end of the night he is five dollars short and then he remembers that he has taken money out. He writes an IOU and the receipts balance. |
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Chapter Ten—Hollywood Connections
Summary:
Mara stops by the shoe store on Thursday night. She pretends to work there and Vish shows her how to ring in a sale. Mara asks Vish about Nicole. Nicole has avoided him all week. Mara makes nasty remarks about Nicole that make Vish feel uncomfortable. Vish assures her that he has no interest in Nicole except as a project partner. When Vish tries to balance the books he is ten dollars short. He takes money out of his wallet so his mom won’t notice the mistake. When Vish gets home he gets the e-mail from Nicole with their project completed. He then surfs the net and finds a contest for amateur short film makers. |
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Chapter Eleven—A Whole New Project
Summary:
Vish and Nicole hand in the project proposal and get together to work on the next part. Their proposal is accepted. Vish asks about the library incident but Nicole ignores him. They try to get together but Sunday is the only time that works. At lunch, Gord and Mike tell Jenna and Mara about starting a band. They talk about a website and a band name. Vish thinks that he can document them starting up the band with his video camera. |
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Chapter Twelve—Mismatched
Summary:
Vish works at the store on Saturday. He tells his sister that he balanced the till after a busy day. That night he meets Mara at the movies. He is wearing red and she is wearing pink. She changes tops with a friend so they will look better together. On Sunday, Nicole comes over to work on the project. They talk about their favourite movies and directors. When Mrs. Chopra brings them a snack Nicole tells her she loves Indian food. Mrs. Chopra invites Nicole to dinner. Mara calls and Vish tells her that he and Nicole are working on their project and that he is meeting Mike and Gord to start their band. After dinner, Mrs. Kostas picks up Nicole and invites the Chopras to dinner. Nicole leaves Vish her boxed-set of Lord of the Rings. |
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Chapter Thirteen—In the Groove
Summary:
Vish sets up the camera and fusses with the lighting. He asks Mike and Gord to talk about themselves on camera. They spend time deciding what to call their band. They think about colours in the title. They go online for ideas but get side-tracked. Then they decide which instrument each person will play. They get stuck when they realize they need a lead singer. |
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Chapter Fourteen—Taking a Break
Summary:
The band asks Delmar Lincoln to be the lead singer and they decide to practice on Tuesday night. Vish thinks he will have something worthwhile to film. Mara texts Vish and wants to meet him outside. She is crying. Vish had forgotten to call her after band practice. She is concerned about Nicole spending time with Vish. They decide to take time to think about their relationship. |
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Chapter Fifteen—Going for Broke
Summary:
At band practice the guys give Vish an earful. They tell him to buy Mara a gift to settle things between them. Vish sets up the camera and they have fun practicing. When Vish gets home he thinks of what he can do for Mara that doesn’t cost anything. He makes her a DVD of himself playing his guitar. The next day he sees Mara and apologizes. She thinks he has bought her the new Leah Lane CD. She thinks it is sweet he has made her a DVD. That night she shows up at the store. She gets some chips and dip. At the end of the night the till is short seven dollars. Vish makes up the difference from his wallet. |
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Chapter Sixteen—Time Flies
Summary:
Vish’s mom picks him up at the store after the dinner with Nicole’s parents. She tells Vish that Nicole had a hard time at her old school. At school, Vish tries to talk to Nicole but she won’t talk about herself. They decide to get together Friday night to finish their essay. While they are working, they talk about the movies. Nicole tells him how they build movie sets. Vish puts in the DVD to see the special effects but it is the movie he made for Mara. Nicole wants to see his work and tells Vish that he is talented. |
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Chapter Seventeen—The Truth Comes Out
Summary:
Vish takes The Lord of the Rings to Mara’s place but she is not interested in how the movie was made. Vish asks Mara about the video he gave her but she has not seen it yet. Mara asks Vish where he got the movie and he tells her that it belongs to Nicole. Mara is not impressed. On Monday, both Mara and Nicole are acting strangely. Mara will not let go of Vish’s hand. He tries to track down Nicole but she does not answer her phone. He goes to the house to find out what is wrong. Mara has talked to Nicole and told her to stop poaching. When Mara comes to the store, Vish confronts her. She reaches over to the till, hits a button and takes out ten dollars. |
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Chapter Eighteen—Stop, Thief!
Summary:
Vish is stunned! He tells Mara she is stealing money from the till and learns that she has done it before. She thinks it is no big deal. He tells her that he is done. She gives him the ten dollars and leaves. On the way home, Vish stops at Nicole’s house. He explains and apologizes. He tells her that he is enjoying working with her and that he has broken up with Mara. At school, Mara gives him back the DVD. He shoves it under a book on his desk at home. On Thursday, Nicole comes over to finish the essay. They find out that they have one more part to do. |
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Chapter Nineteen—Spilling Secrets
Summary:
The band cannot believe that Vish has broken up with Mara. He is getting on their nerves with the camera stuff. He tries different techniques and edits his footage for the contest he thinks he might enter. Vish and Nicole work on their project but spend most of their time talking. She is private about her life, but Vish tells her he would like to go to film school. Nicole has an uncle in the film industry and wants to show him Vish’s work. She makes a deal with Vish. She will tell him about herself at the premiere of Jim Carrey’s new movie if she can show her uncle his videos. |
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Chapter Twenty—Getting a Clue
Summary:
Nicole’s parents meet with Vish’s parents but they don’t tell Vish anything. They rent a tuxedo for him and a limo picks him up. Nicole is in the limo in a strapless red dress. Vish is amazed. She tells Vish they will meet her uncle at the theatre. When they get out at the theatre on the red carpet, everyone flashes pictures of Nicole. She tells Vish she is in the movie. Then she tells him what happened at her old school when they found out she was an actress. They watch the movie and then meet Nicole’s uncle Karl. |
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Chapter Twenty-one—The Inside Scoop
Summary:
Nicole’s uncle Karl has not seen his work yet. He tells Vish that the movie business is about perseverance—never giving up. It is about being committed and putting in time learning and practicing skills. Karl gives Vish his business card and sets up a meeting. He tells Vish that they will watch his work together. |
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After Reading — Post-Reading Reflection
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