Faker

Trey’s social studies class begins a segment on ethics—the study of right and wrong. Trey, Logan, and Kaylee are grouped together to discuss a hypothetical situation in which three people survive a shipwreck; in this scenario, the group has little food and water, and one of them is badly injured. Logan argues that the injured person shouldn’t get food or water because it is important to preserve resources; he maintains this stance even if he were to be the injured person. By contrast, Kaylee believes that discussing ethics is a joke; she is disgusted by the juxtaposition of Albion Pond’s pollution and the pristine landscape of the wealthy Pointe, seeing this issue as a sign that ethics are not observed in real life. For Trey, the hypothetical ethical dilemma reminds him that his family does what is necessary to stay together, and he concludes that “the only ethical thing to do is help each other and survive as long as you can” (56).

Over the next few weeks, Trey’s dad is distracted by his plans for the family’s next con. Arianna hounds Trey for details, but he doesn’t have any, and, even if he did, he wouldn’t tell her if their dad told him not to. Arianna fumes at this answer, and Trey fails to make her understand that she isn’t a full partner like he is. Their dad interrupts one of their arguments to introduce the scheme, which revolves around “El Capitan”—a nonexistent electric car that his nonexistent company invented; he plans to claim that the car that can go 1,000 miles on a single charge. The con will be to sell shares in the fake company. A friend of his will build a sleek-looking prototype over an existing electric vehicle body in order to make it appear that El Capitan is already in production. Their dad thinks this could be the “Big Kahuna”—the con that allows the family to steal enough money to retire.

A local newspaper agrees to feature a spread of pictures of Albion Pond. Kaylee and the rest of YAAP take pictures around the pond, which is a swamp with a rotted boardwalk and lots of mosquitoes. Though Trey only joined the club to find new marks, he finds himself thinking about the unfairness of the fact that the lake near his house in the Pointe is so nice while Albion Pond is so disgusting. When part of the boardwalk collapses, Logan falls into the pond and emerges covered in algae and grime. Kaylee uses the incident as a massive photo opportunity.

After Logan’s accident, the kids decide to leave. Trey’s dad pulls up in a real-life version of the fake El Capitan—a gleaming red masterpiece with a purring engine and white leather seats. The kids and parents gawk, and although Trey knows the car isn’t really the El Capitan, he is amazed at the illusion that his dad has created and reflects that he has “never been so proud in [his] whole life” (70). When Trey’s dad humbly identifies himself as an employee of El Capitan Motors, the adults fawn all over him.

After driving Logan home, Trey and his dad scrub the white leather seat until all traces of Albeon Pond are gone. As they work, Trey explains YAAP and Kaylee’s goal to incite the city to clean up the pond. Trey’s dad is skeptical; he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Trey to get involved in this cause, but he relents because he trusts Trey’s judgment.

Over the next week, Trey and his dad promote the El Capitan everywhere they go. Soon, people start asking how much it costs to buy into the initial start-up fund. Meanwhile, Trey helps Kaylee to choose pictures for the newspaper spread about Albion Pond. Though her house isn’t in the Pointe, it is just as nice, and the only downside is its proximity to the pond. Kaylee is determined to feature a picture of Trey pulling Logan out of the pond. Trey makes up a story and claims that Logan is embarrassed about the picture. Kaylee doesn’t seem to believe him, but she agrees not to send the picture to the newspaper. When Trey’s dad picks him up, Kaylee’s dad is eager to see the El Capitan, and Trey concludes that his “dad’s plan is working perfectly” (80).

In social studies, the kids discuss The Adventures of Robin Hood and debate whether it is permissible to steal from the wealthy in order to help the needy. Trey argues that this approach is ethical because rich people don’t need all their extra money, but Kaylee counters that it is never acceptable to swindle people, no matter how much money they have. The teacher takes a vote on whether Robin Hood is right or wrong, and Trey cannot decide how to vote. He reflects, “My whole life, I’ve been told we’re Robin Hood, but that doesn’t seem quite right anymore” (83). The vote ends with 14 in favor, one against, and one abstention; Trey cannot decide which way to vote.

During the week before Thanksgiving, Trey’s family is invited to Logan’s house for a party. Though the house is just down the street, Trey’s dad drives there, then pays one of the parking valets to leave the El Capitan under the floodlights. As Trey’s dad mingles with the adults, Trey hangs out with the kids in the backyard, lamenting the fact that he is surrounded by rich kids and Kaylee isn’t here. The cat, Mona, keeps trying to get Trey’s attention. Finally, he and the other kids follow the cat out front and discover that the El Capitan is gone.

Logan insists that they call the police, but Trey knows they can’t because the police will eventually put the pieces together and realize who Trey’s family really is. Trey also doesn’t want to tell his dad that the car is gone because he’s sure it will lead to a “Houdini,” and that he will be forced to flee with his family. Trey knows that he isn’t supposed to get attached to other people in the communities that they deceive, but he cares about Albion Pond, his friends, and even his ethics unit in social studies. Still, he knows that he has to tell his dad about El Capitan’s disappearance, but before he can, the El Capitan itself comes roaring down the road; the valets took it out for a joy ride. Logan is angry, but Trey is relieved because the confidence game isn’t blown and he can still stay in the area with his new friends.

The parents of Arianna’s friend hire a mechanic to look over the El Capitan; if the car looks good, they will invest in the prototype. Arianna brags that she is better at conning people than Trey is. She declares that she should be their father’s partner—not Trey. However, her dad flatly disagrees because she is too young to understand and too immature to be involved. Arianna runs upstairs, crying, and Trey is a little surprised to realize that his dad doesn’t seem to care that he has hurt his daughter’s feelings.

Meanwhile, Trey works on a project for social studies that requires him to make a case that the character Aladdin, from the Disney movie, is wrong to steal. While he has no problem writing the paper, he doesn’t feel good about it. Everything he has ever had in life was paid for with stolen money, and he wonders how he can “lecture people on what’s right and what’s wrong when [he is] practically the poster boy for wrong” (95). 

Later, Trey’s dad gets a notification that his chosen “mark” has invested in El Capitan. Trey, his dad, and Arianna go out to dinner to celebrate, and another neighbor stops by their table to say that he heard about the other investor and will come by tomorrow to invest as well. Trey’s dad and Arianna celebrate, but Trey feels detached from them. He pulls out his phone to check his email and sees a new message from an unknown sender. The email’s subject is the word “truth,” and the email contains one line: “I know what you’re doing” (97).