Ada and Nina got to Mr. Parable’s window at 5:04 p.m. After scoping things out to make sure no one was watching, they crouched inside a group of hedges beneath the window and extended the parabolic mic above them on a little boom. The bird was still chattering—singing, actually.
“That’s not good,” said Ada.
“Well, wait a minute, listen to what he’s singing,” said Nina.
“Rock-a-bye, Bueller, on the treetop. . . .”
“You think he’s singing himself to sleep?” asked Ada.
“Well, what else is that song for?”
They sat and listened for a full ten minutes. Bueller gradually got quieter and quieter, until they could barely hear him. Ada thought the bird would never go to sleep, then finally he did.
“Okay, let’s roll,” said Ada.
Nina tucked and somersaulted out of the bushes.
“I didn’t mean literally,” said Ada.
Nina shrugged.
Through the hedge they scanned the school yard to make sure no one was watching, then made their way quickly to the west side entrance. Before they entered, Ada pulled out her laser pointer and turned it on. Nina opened the door as Ada aimed the laser pointer toward the camera. Ada’s hands were shaking. She held the pointer with two hands to keep it as steady as possible, but she still wasn’t sure she had it right on target. The only thing to do was to move quickly. So they darted past Mr. Lace’s room just to the corner of the hall.
Ada could hear the floor polisher humming down at the north end of the school, which meant the janitor was still there, but that he was making quick progress—quicker than they had anticipated. Ada checked her watch: 5:18 p.m. They would have to hurry up. The noise might wake up Bueller, and they didn’t want to risk letting the janitor get too close. They needed to be back to the art room before the janitor reached the south hallway.
Nina was about to make her way around the corner when Ada held her back. She reached into her backpack, pulled out the selfie stick with the mirror attached, and handed it to Nina as she continued to shine the laser into the camera. Nina extended the mirror past the corner and used it to look down the hall to either side. To the left they could see the janitor making his way north with the polisher. He had headphones on to block the noise—another plus. The hallway running south was empty. They had a clear path. Nina nodded to Ada, and they made their way toward the social studies room.
• • •
Once they reached Mr. Parable’s door, Ada pulled George out of the backpack. She put him inside Nina’s beehive, and they swapped him out for Ms. Janopolis’s hive. Down the hallway, the floor buffer continued to hum away. The door to the classroom was unlocked. They brought the real hive inside with them, pulled the door shut, and crawled through the dark classroom to the closet door. Ada flicked the switch closest to the closet door. She pulled out two bobby pins and pushed them into the lock. After shifting them around a bit, the lock gave way with a louder than expected CLICK.
“Have a seat . . .” Bueller sighed. Ada and Nina looked at each other. Did birds talk in their sleep? They waited a full minute. Bueller was silent. Ada pointed to Nina and then pointed to her eyes and then the birdcage hanging by the teacher’s desk. Nina nodded. She would watch the bird while Ada checked out their project.
Ada pushed the closet door open. On the shelves were ten clay, cardboard, and construction paper dioramas, mostly of ports, shops, and hotels. There was just one complex scale model of a Comstock Lode silver mine. As beautiful as it looked on the outside, Ada was convinced something sinister lay hidden inside, and now she was about to find out what it was.