A few times after school, just for fun, Ada and Nina had used Ada’s field guide to keep track of the habits of the staff and the students. Now these notes would come in handy.
Most of the staff left by 4:30 p.m. Ada’s dad usually left by then too, but this Thursday he was staying late to grade some student projects. That meant Ada and Nina could also stay. Ms. Lily was the one wild card. Ada had never seen her leave before anyone else. Luckily, she usually kept to her office at the far south side of the school.
Ada and Nina were supposed to stay in Mr. Lace’s room, in the west hallway just outside his door, or just outside the school. They weren’t allowed to wander the building. Timing was crucial.
Mr. Lace would leave by 5:30 p.m. Ada and Nina would have to leave with him. Still, they couldn’t enter Mr. Parable’s classroom too soon, because there might be more teachers and staff hanging around. Ada figured they should head to Mr. Parable’s room at 5:05 p.m. The janitor would be cleaning until after they had to leave, but, luckily, Ada had documented Mr. Bezzle’s routine in her journal.
The school was laid out like a cross. Mr. Bezzle started at the farthest end of the north hallway and worked his way south until he reached the center of the school. Then he moved through the rooms in the east and west corridors and finished with the south hallway. On Thursdays he buffed the floors too, which meant that Ada and Nina would have plenty of time to make their way to Mr. Parable’s room in the southern end of the school before Mr. Bezzle got there.
There were two obstacles that the girls had to get past before they could leave the west corridor and head toward Mr. Parable’s room. The first was a security camera that was at the corner of the west hallway facing the entrance and Mr. Lace’s classroom. The second was Mr. Parable’s parrot, Bueller.
“Don’t be mean to the parrot,” said Nina.
“Don’t worry, Nina,” Ada said. “Sheesh. What kind of beast do you think I am?”
“I don’t know! Maybe Milton’s rubbed off on you!”
Ada wasn’t sure whether Ms. Lily would be monitoring the security feed that closely after school, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She would need to sabotage those cameras.
At first she considered using a jacket or a hat to cover the lens, but she thought it might be too hard to get it off afterward. Then Ada figured out she could shine a laser beam into the camera, filling the camera with light and distorting its view. The only problem was, they would have to be precise and quick—no small feat with nervous, shaky hands. If they missed the lens by a millimeter, the camera would see them.
Before they even dealt with the camera though, they would have to make sure that Bueller was asleep. Ada had a parabolic microphone, but it could capture sound only in open air or through a window. It would not work through a wall. They would have to go outside and listen through the classroom window to confirm that Bueller was sleeping. If he was awake, he might squawk and give away their presence to the janitor, Ada’s father, or whoever else might be hanging around.
“Well, what if he’s not asleep?” asked Nina.
“That’ll be tricky,” said Ava.
“Maybe we can bribe him into staying quiet. I could bring some cucumber slices? Or mango?”
“It’s worth a try.”
If the parrot was asleep, they would quickly sneak past the camera. Before continuing south to Mr. Parable’s room, they would have to check to see if anyone was in the hallway nearby. Ada had taped a mirror to a selfie stick, so that before they turned and headed down the south hallway, they could extend it around the corner and use the reflection to see if the coast was clear. Then they would make their way to the second classroom on the left.
George would stand guard outside the door while they were inside working. If a janitor—or anyone else—approached, George would be programmed to ping the tablet Ada had connected him to, so that she and Nina could hide or get out of there quick.
“Well, what happens if someone notices George?” asked Nina.
“Hmmm . . . yeah. I hadn’t thought about that. Could we camouflage him?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think I know just what to do,” said Nina.
The classroom might be locked, and they knew the supply closet would definitely be locked. Luckily, Ada had learned how to pick a lock.
“Milton taught you how to pick a lock?” said Nina. Ada hadn’t told Nina. She already felt bad enough about getting in trouble. “Do I even want to ask?”
“It’s just for fun!” Ada said. “There are tutorials for it online. I’ll send you one.”
Once they were in the classroom, Ada would turn on the light to the supply closet. This would require some preparation, because there were three switches on the wall of the classroom, and they had to be sure which was the correct one. If they turned on the classroom lights by accident, they would risk giving themselves away. Ada figured out that if she switched two off during school the next day, she could find out which one was for the closet.
After picking the lock with a bobby pin, they’d be in! Then they just had to examine the project for signs of Milton’s sabotage, fix it, and leave.
“Sounds like a piece of cake,” said Nina.
“That’s the spirit!”
“I was kidding.”
