BRAIN SWIRLS
Evening Announcements happened hours ago, but none of us can sleep. We can’t stop thinking about what Gregor did, and we’re not going to let him get away with it. Even if he did help us get to the National Finals.
Ander and Jax must have looked like criminals sneaking out of their bedchamber and into ours, and now we’re huddled under a blanket with just the glow of the flashlight to see each other’s faces.
“I don’t know how we can convince Seraphina that we’re telling the truth,” says Jillian.
“She might think we’re making it up because we don’t like him,” Mare replies.
“I told you guys, we have to find proof,” says Ander.
“But what?” asks Jax. “There aren’t any video cameras in the shed.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“I checked while we were working in there one day.”
“Why?” asks Ander.
“I was curious.”
“This is so frustrating,” says Mare. “Why can’t we think of a way to get proof? I want to see him cry and run away when we tell him we know what he did to us.”
“You know, I was just thinking,” says Jax.
“What?” asks Jillian.
“After we tell Seraphina and confront Gregor, what happens after that? Will he still be our preceptor?”
“I guess that’s up to Seraphina,” says Jillian. “Or Master Freeman.”
I’m listening to my friends talk and all the while my brain is pounding my skull. I know there’s an idea in there. I can feel it. Why can’t I figure this out?
“It really stinks that there weren’t any video cameras in that shed,” says Ander. “Everything he did to our Ghost Gallery would have been recorded. That could have been the proof we needed.”
Jillian sighs. “We’re supposed to be so smart. Here we are at Camp Piedmont and none of us can think of a way to prove he did it.”
“What if we trick him into confessing?” suggests Ander. “We can say it was actually a good thing that someone smashed our Ghost Gallery. Then maybe he’ll admit it. You know, take credit for it.”
Jillian raises an eyebrow. “He might even brag about it.”
“I don’t know,” says Mare. “I don’t think he’ll fall for it.”
The pressure in my head gets worse. Video cameras weren’t watching Gregor but someone had to see him. My head thumps. Recordings . . . Gregor bragging . . . Talking on the phone about recordings . . . Wait a second. That’s it. He was talking to someone about this on the phone! “Wait! I got it.”
“Shhh,” says Jillian, pulling the blanket tighter around us.
“What?” says Ander.
“The Ancestor App!”
“What about it?” asks Ander.
“We can get proof from the Ancestor App!”
Jax nods his head.
“How?” asks Jillian.
“You mean his phone recordings?” asks Mare.
“KK, that’s it. The Ancestor App is even better than a Russian Spy!”
“We have to get a recording of his phone conversation from earlier today,” says Jax. “That will be the proof we need.”
“Grab the air screen,” says Mare.
Ander is already out from under the blanket and pulling it away from the wall. He moves it towards us and bumps into the table. “I’m okay!”
“Shh,” says Jillian.
Ander mouths the words, “I’m sorry,” and motions for us to gather around the screen. He types in Gregor Axel, New York. Two Gregors appear on the screen. One is very old. The other is the Gregor we’re looking for. “There he is,” whispers Mare, “with that stupid smirk on his face.”
“What do we type in?” I ask.
“Try phone records,” says Jax.
Ander types the words and the Ancestor App searches for the calls. A swirl covers the screen, but then fades. A list of dates and times appear in its place.
“The one at the top is from twenty-three minutes ago,” I say.
“Yeah, it looks like the creep is still awake, talking on his phone,” says Mare.
“Let’s check that call,” says Adam.
“No,” says Jax. “That’s not the call we heard.”
“So?”
“We can’t listen to all his calls. They’re private,” says Jillian.
I move closer to the screen. “We need to find the call he made right before we picked up our scores.”
“When was that?” asks Mare.
“Our scores were ready at 6:07 p.m.,” says Jax. “Check the call before that.”
“There’s a call at 5:35 p.m. Let’s try that one,” I say.
Ander taps the air and a document appears on the screen. “This is it. It’s the whole conversation.”
We squish together and read the whole thing.
224-271-2805:
Hello, this is Gregor.
585-809-4532:
How do you think they did? Do you think they were good?
224-271-2805:
Yes.
585-809-4532:
Do you think they made it? Were they able to pull it off?
224-271-2805:
I do think my team was able to pull it off.
585-809-4532:
Did they look professional? Did they look like winners?
224-271-2805:
Yes. They had a very well put together presentation today.
585-809-4532:
Do you think the judges will score them high for their play?
224-271-2805:
They will certainly score high for creativity.
585-809-4532:
Was it creative enough?
224-271-2805:
That’s not the portion I was concerned with.
585-809-4532:
Yes, I know. You made that clear right before you destroyed the first project.
224-271-2805:
It was the task solving portion.
585-809-4532:
The ghost boxes weren’t good enough.
224-271-2805:
I agree. Their original solution was amateur at best.
585-809-4532:
Well, I hope you’re happy you got rid of it.
224-271-2805:
Of course I’m happy I got rid of it. Their revised solution was a great improvement.
585-809-4532:
Well, I hope it worked. We have a whole town here thinking I’m the greatest principal the town has ever seen. Will you find out tonight if they make it to the Finals?
224-271-2805:
Yes, the scores should be ready soon. I hope the judges think their solution was as good as I think it was.
585-809-4532:
Call back when you find out.
224-271-2805:
You’ll be hearing from me soon.
Jillian’s mouth hangs open. “That was Principal Bermuda!”
“Are you kidding me?” says Ander. “He was in on it too!”
“But why?” I ask. “That makes no sense.”
“I don’t know, but we could look up more phone records and listen to all the things they said to each other,” says Ander.
“Yeah,” says Mare. “Let’s do it.”
“No,” I say. “We’re going to ask him ourselves and give him a chance to explain. Sometimes people do bad things for a good reason.”
“I don’t care what reason he has,” says Mare. “He’s awful.”
“KK, you have a good point,” says Ander.
“No way,” says Mare. “We should just report him to Andora or Master Freeman or at least Seraphina.”
We all stare at Mare. I feel like we’re back in Meeting Room Twelve trying to convince her to do a play.
She stares back but then shakes her head. “Fine. I’ll give him a chance to explain, but just because we’re a team, and I want to get this crap over with.”
I smile at Mare. On second thought, this doesn’t feel anything like that day in Meeting Room Twelve. This feels like my team has solved another task, just like the human pretzel.