Gigi looked stunned. “You mean someone dressed up like me to get into the room? That’s so creepy!” She shuddered.
“Gigi, you said there was a camera in the hallway,” AJ said. “Is there a security tape we could look at? Maybe we can see who it is.”
Mr. Willis frowned. “There is a camera there. But you see—”
He was interrupted by Miles, who called down from the top of the stairs. “Gigi! Are you down there? The girls are starting to arrive.”
Gigi’s face was troubled. She turned to the security guard. “We’ll come back later. Thanks for your help.”
Aly and AJ followed Gigi back to the first floor. The hallway was crowded with excited looking girls and their parents. Gigi cheered up at the sight of her students.
“Hey,” she said. “Welcome to the Girls Rock Academy.”
“Oh, wow! It’s Aly and AJ!” someone in the crowd shouted.
The girls in the crowd began to squeal with excitement. Aly and AJ waved and smiled. Nothing made them happier than meeting their fans in person.
Gigi tried to control the excited crowd. “Please follow me into the main classroom. You’ll all get to meet Aly and AJ in a few minutes.”
The girls in the crowd smiled shyly and waved at Aly and AJ as they filed into the room. Aly and AJ waited in the hallway, peeking into the room to see what was in store.
Some of the girls looked as young as eight years old, and others were in their teens. A few of the girls looked like mini Gigis, with black clothes and spiky hair. But some girls wore pretty dresses; others were casual in jeans and T-shirts. A few had brought their own guitars with them. The girls might have looked different, but they all looked really excited to be there.
Gigi and Miles had set up the room just for the grand opening. Folding chairs faced the front of the room. Colorful cardboard guitars hung from the ceiling. A table in the corner held a cooler of cold sodas and water bottles, and platters of guitar-shaped cookies. A few reporters holding cameras stood against the back wall, waiting for Aly and AJ to appear.
Soon everyone was settled in. Gigi walked to the front of the room.
“Hey, everybody! It’s opening day at the Girls Rock Academy. Are you ready to rock?”
The room erupted in cheers and screams.
“Fantastic,” Gigi said. “In a minute, I’m going to tell you a little bit about what to expect from your classes here. But first, I have some very special guests to introduce. Let’s give a big Rock Academy welcome to Aly and AJ!”
Aly and AJ walked into the room. They high-fived some of the excited girls as they made their way to the front of the room. Flashbulbs lit up the room as the photographers began to take pictures.
“Hello, Girls Rock Academy!” Aly shouted. The girls let out another cheer. “I’m Aly.”
“And I’m AJ,” her sister said. “We’re really happy to be here today. Aly and I picked up guitars for the first time a few years ago. It was like love at first sight. We haven’t put them down since.”
“It’s so cool that you’re all learning how to play guitar,” Aly added. “We need more girl rockers in the world.”
“Play a song!” someone shouted.
Everyone started clapping, urging on Aly and AJ. The sisters looked at each other. They hadn’t been planning to sing—but why not?
Jim must have read their minds. He ran up, holding a guitar in each hand.
“I thought you might need Artemis and Jonah,” he said.
“Thanks, Jim!” the girls said. They strapped on their guitars, and gave a quick check to make sure they were in tune.
“How about ‘Do You Believe in Magic’?” AJ suggested. They had covered the sixties song on their first album, Into the Rush, and it had been a big hit.
Aly grinned. “Let’s do it!”
She strummed a chord on her guitar, and the girls launched into the song. Soon everyone in the Girls Rock Academy was rocking out.
They finished the song to applause and cheers.
“Thanks!” AJ called out. “Now let’s turn things back over to Gigi. It’s your turn to rip now!”
Aly and AJ grabbed a bottle of water each and hung out at the side of the room with Jim. Gigi and Miles got up and talked a little bit about the classes at the school. Then everyone began to mill around, talking excitedly and munching on guitar cookies.
“How much time do we have before rehearsal?” AJ asked Jim.
“A few hours,” Jim replied. “I promised your mom you’d have time for a proper dinner beforehand. She doesn’t want you girls to get run-down.”
“We’ll have time to eat,” AJ promised. “I want to meet some of the girls here first. And we still have to finish up some business with Gigi.”
“Okay,” Jim said. “Just don’t go far.”
The sisters were drawn to a corner of the classroom where the sound of an electric guitar wailing got their attention. The sound was coming from a girl who looked to be about ten years old. Her reddish hair hung over her face as she played. She wore boots, khaki pants, and a brown T-shirt with a Fender guitar on it.
Aly and AJ watched as the girl played a series of notes up and down the guitar’s long neck. She had plugged her electric guitar into a tiny amp. Her face wore a look of concentration. She didn’t play every note perfectly, but she still sounded good.
“She’s so cute,” Aly whispered.
“She can play, too,” AJ said.
A tall man with a red beard stood next to her, beaming. “That’s my Shannon!”
Shannon stopped playing and looked up. She blushed a little when she saw Aly and AJ.
“Hi,” she said shyly. “You guys are great. I hope I can play as good as you someday.”
“Thanks,” AJ replied. “You’re great already. Just keep practicing.”
Aly heard a small voice behind her. “I wish I could play like that.”
She looked behind her to see a girl about Shannon’s age with long, brown hair. She wore a pink skirt and a matching short-sleeved top.
“Hi,” Aly said. “What’s your name?”
“Hana,” the girl replied. “It means ‘flower’ in Japanese.”
“That’s a really pretty name,” Aly said. “How long have you been playing guitar?”
“I haven’t started yet,” Hana told her. “I’ve been playing piano since I was four. I like it, but I really want to play guitar. I begged my mom for lessons for the last seven years. Finally she let me.”
“You know, AJ and I started out playing piano, too,” Aly said. “Having a musical background really helped us learn guitar. You’re starting off from a really great place.”
Hana looked a little happier after hearing that. “I didn’t think of that. Thanks, Aly.”
Then Aly felt AJ tap her arm.
“I want to go back and see Mr. Willis,” she said. “I’m dying to see that security tape.”
“Good idea,” Aly said. “Bye, Hana. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be a great guitar player.”
Aly and AJ headed back down to the basement. Mr. Willis was filling out a crossword puzzle.
“Excuse me, Mr. Willis,” AJ said. “We’re Gigi’s friends. Earlier we asked you about the security camera on the first floor hallway.”
Mr. Willis put down his pen. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. There’s something wrong with that camera. I called the maintenance company, but they haven’t showed up yet.”
He pointed to the monitor on the left. The screen looked blank.
AJ leaned in for a closer look. The screen was dark in the center, but she saw what looked like a video image around the edges. It was kind of weird, unless…
“Come on upstairs,” she told Aly. “I think I know what happened.”
They located the camera high on the ceiling in a corner of the hallway. AJ got a chair from the classroom and brought it under the camera. She stood on top and looked at the lens.
“Just as I thought,” she said. “The lens is blocked. Somebody put chewing gum on it.”
“Let me see that,” Aly said. AJ climbed down, and Aly took her place. She peered down at the gum.
“It’s the new Lime Invasion flavor from Bubble Blast,” she said with certainty.
“How do you know that?” AJ asked. “Wait, what am I saying? Nobody knows candy better than you do.”
“It’s easy. It’s bright green with purple flecks,” Aly said, stepping down. “No other gum looks quite like that.”
“Then this is a clue,” AJ pointed out. “Whoever stole the equipment must chew Lime Invasion gum. Maybe we should collect it as evidence.”
“Great idea, but very gross,” Aly said. “Just write it down in your notebook. We can let Mr. Willis know that the camera’s not broken. And what are we supposed to do, visit every candy store in New York City and ask who’s been buying Lime Invasion gum?”
“I’m not sure,” AJ said. She smiled. “We’re musicians, not detectives, remember?”