Operation Diary Mission Interplanetary 12 with Universe Coordinates 30/50
Once Kyle told Lou Lou, Pea, and Jeremy that he had a key to the City Archives, they made a plan to actually go there. Kyle insisted on calling this plan Operation Diary Mission Interplanetary 12 with Universe Coordinates 30/50. Since he had the key, nobody disagreed with him, but Lou Lou and Pea called it the Diary Mission for short.
The Diary Mission was scheduled for Thursday after school, which felt to Lou Lou like an eternity away. She tried to focus on schoolwork and her new crop of hyacinths in her garden, but all she could think about was Thursday. Lou Lou even forgot Wednesday was her half birthday until her dad surprised her with half of a capsize cake.
“Thanks!” Lou Lou said after her parents sang half of “Happy Birthday.” She pulled the top half of a candle out of the sunken-in middle of the cake and licked off the gooey chocolate, then gobbled down her piece. She’d meant to only eat half, but Lou Lou couldn’t resist capsize cake. “May I be excused now so I can call Pea?”
“Sure,” her dad said. “But don’t be long because we’re going to watch Survival at Sea. Tonight we’ll find out who gets voted off the ship.”
“¡Feliz medio cumpleaños!” Pea said when she answered Lou Lou’s call. “There’s not really a perfect translation for ‘half birthday’ so I had to make something up.”
“Gracias!” Lou Lou replied. “We’re still on for tomorrow, right? I can’t wait to get the diary and take back the Bonanza!”
“Yes, but we shouldn’t get our hopes up too high,” Pea replied. “It’s possible that we won’t find anything in the diary that proves it’s a fake.” Lou Lou knew that this was true. Even though they had a plan, it might not go … according to plan.
“I suppose we should think positively about it,” Pea added. “As Diane von Furstenberg said, ‘Attitude is everything!’” Lou Lou agreed.
Pea changed the subject. “I visited Abuela Josie tonight, and she told me something interesting. My tío Diego was a wonderful baker, and he came up with our city’s recipe for caracoles!”
“Wow! Does Abuela Josie know the secret ingredient?”
“Por desgracia, no,” Pea replied.
“Bummer!” said Lou Lou. “I guess Jeremy will have to keep experimenting with the recipe.”
“Maybe we won’t be taste testers next time, though,” Pea said. Lou Lou laughed.
“Lou Lou!” her dad called from the living room. “The show is on! I think Sailor Sue might walk the plank!”
“Gotta go,” Lou Lou said.
“¡Hasta mañana!” Pea replied.
* * *
Lou Lou could barely sit still in her classes the next day as she thought about the Diary Mission. It didn’t help that every time she glanced at Kyle he winked like they shared a secret. Which they did, of course, but Kyle’s wink was so exaggerated—pulling down the bottom half of his forehead and pushing up the top half of his cheek—that other people noticed. In Science, after his tenth wink of the day, Danielle Desserts finally said, “Why does Kyle keep doing that? Is he your new boyfriend, Lou Lou?”
“No way,” Lou Lou grumbled down at her desk.
Finally, the end of the school day arrived and Lou Lou, Kyle, and Jeremy headed off toward City Hall.
“Is that really necessary?” Lou Lou asked Kyle as he put on his silver Comet Cop cape. “It makes us stand out, and we’re trying to keep this thing under the radar.”
“It’s absolutely necessary, Lou Lou Bombay. No Comet Cop mission is complete without a cape, and that includes Operation Diary Mission Interplanetary 12 with Universe Coordinates 30/50.” Lou Lou knew it was useless to argue with Kyle about anything Comet Cop–related, so she let it go.
City Hall was in the Centro Circle neighborhood, but still walking distance from El Corazón Public. On the way, Lou Lou told Jeremy about Diego creating the recipe for caracoles. All the while, Kyle chattered on about how he wasn’t really breaking any rules by going into the City Archives, but, even if he was bending them slightly, it was all in the interest of rescuing the Bonanza and the space goats and helping Peacock … Earthlings, that is.
When City Hall came into view, Lou Lou marveled at the building even though she’d seen it countless times before. City Hall towered over the plaza below and looked to Lou Lou like a sparkling magic castle. It had a beautiful arched entryway that led to a ballroom-size hall topped by a large dome. On each end of the building was a tower and two turrets, and from one tower flew a city flag showing a fox and a bear shaking hands flanked by a grand bridge. On the front of the building was written the city’s motto: AMIGA DE TODOS. Lou Lou wasn’t sure what was inside the towers and turrets, but she’d always imagined it was dragons or a princess with impossibly long hair.
Pea was waiting on a bench in front when they arrived. She stood up to give Lou Lou a hug and greet Kyle and Jeremy.
“Helllooo!” Lou Lou said in a singsong voice. Her ears tingled. “Ready?”
“Roger that!” Kyle said into an imaginary headset. “Operation Diary Mission Interplanetary 12 with Universe Coordinates 30/50 has a green light!”
“I guess that means we should go inside now?” Pea’s voice wavered, and Lou Lou knew Pea was nervous. Lou Lou had to admit that she was, too, but she was even more excited.
“¡Vámonos!” said Jeremy.
“Let’s go rescue our Bonanza!” Lou Lou said, and into City Hall they went.