George was still connected to Ada’s tablet. He pinged it, but they could hear the janitor’s footsteps already coming toward Mr. Parable’s room.
“Well, it’s been fun,” whispered Nina. “Now the jig is up. Time to pay our dues.” Nina made for the door, but Ada stopped her. She was not ready to give up on her plan. She checked her watch. It was 5:26 p.m. Her dad would come looking for them soon. They didn’t have much time, but they had a couple of minutes.
Ada accessed George’s controls on the tablet and sent him to the bathroom farther down the hallway. Ada and Nina crept out of the closet, and Ada carefully closed and locked the door. They slinked past Bueller and made their way to the door of the classroom. Ada heard the footsteps go past the door to Mr. Parable’s room.
The janitor paused. George’s song grew a little louder. Then the janitor continued walking faster. Ada snuck the mirrored stick out the door. The janitor had gone into the bathroom that George was in.
Ada and Nina seized the moment. They slipped through the door and down to the west hallway. They stationed themselves outside the art room door. It was 5:29 p.m.
“What about George?” said Nina.
“Don’t worry,” said Ada. She pulled out the tablet. She could see from George’s video feed that he was tucked behind a radiator on the far side of the bathroom. Mr. Bezzle hadn’t found him yet. She typed in a command and the song stopped. After a minute the janitor walked out looking confused and rejoined his floor buffer. When he was safely down the hallway, Ada called George back. He rolled happily down the hall to Ada. Just as they removed his costume and put it away, Mr. Lace walked out of the door.
“Boy, you girls are stealthy. I didn’t even hear you come back in!” said Mr. Lace. “I think I heard George though.”
“Yeah, George can’t resist a good song!” said Nina. She laughed for way too long. Ada looked at her. She stopped.
“You’re looking a little pale, Nina,” said Mr. Lace. “You should get to bed early tonight. After all, tomorrow’s the big day, right?”
“Big day?” Nina asked.
“The Share Fair, right?” said Mr. Lace.
“Yes!” said both Nina and Ada, just a little too eagerly.
• • •
Shortly before midnight, Ada woke in a cold sweat. She realized she’d forgotten to shine the laser into the security camera on the way back to the art room. If anyone were to look back at the recording, it would show Ada and Nina slinking past like thieves. All she could do now was hope that Ms. Lily didn’t review the tape. She didn’t fall asleep until almost five in the morning.
• • •
The Share Fair had gone well. Ada, Nina, and Milton’s project wowed everyone. They would have gotten A+, but Mr. Parable felt bad about the canaries, so he gave them an A.
“Beautiful work, you guys!” said Ms. Lace. “I’ll see you tonight, Ade. I’m so proud of you!” Ada was exhausted and full of guilt.
And she felt really bad about Milton. He had done such great work, and she hadn’t believed him. He was mischievous, but maybe not quite as bad as everyone thought.
“That fantastic little train almost makes me forgive you for the canaries, Milton,” said Nina.
“Yeah, that was the idea,” said Milton.
“So, you do have social skills,” said Nina.
“Give him a break,” said Ada. “Hasn’t Milton been through enough?”
“Yeah!” said Milton. “Wait, what have I been through?”
“Oh, never mind,” said Ada.
Nina whispered to Ada, “Ada, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” said Ada. She wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Okay, well, you better chill out a little or you’re going to get us in trouble!”
• • •
Ada went through the rest of the day in a fog. What would happen if they found the footage from the hallway? If they found it three weeks from now, she would still probably be in trouble. Maybe even more trouble! To make matters worse, she heard Ms. Janapolis talking to Ms. Lily about how her hive was found in Mr. Parable’s room. It was only a matter of time before Ada and Nina were caught. Would she ever be able to sleep again??
Finally, at 2:00 p.m., Ms. Lily called her to her office.
“Okay! Okay! I did it,” Ada confessed.
“What? Did what?”
“I shined a laser into the security camera and snuck into the classroom! I just wanted to make sure Milton didn’t ruin our project. And he didn’t—he made it better. And now I just feel like a big jerk, and I’m sorry!”
“Oh, Nina,” said Ms. Lily. “Well, I appreciate your honesty.”
“So that’s it?” asked Ada.
“Oh no. I’ll be seeing you in detention again. For a week this time. But that wasn’t why I called you down here.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No. I just wanted you to help with the kindergarten science fair.”