I didn’t go to my locker again until the final bell rang. But I saw the white envelope from down the hall. It was taped to my locker door, just like the first one. I knew before I even got close enough to read the writing that my name was on the front.
Ugh, Alex was at it again. I opened the envelope. The note said:
if (you_agree_to_my_terms) {
grab_a_friend ( );
go_to_school_playground ( );
}
I wondered how long the note had been there.
Underneath the first part was another message:
if (you_go_to_school_playground) {
look_under_benches ( );
find_a_big_red_envelope ( );
}
And then, after another line break, a third part:
if (you_find_the_envelope) {
trust_me (“You will learn to code”);
}
“Alex?” I called out, looking down the hall. I only saw kids at their lockers. “Are you here somewhere?” I said, turning the other way.
“Who?” The new girl, the one who cried before coding club, was standing a few feet away. I racked my brain for her name. It finally popped into my head: Erin!
“Oh, hey. Alex is my brother,” I explained. “I thought maybe he was lurking around here somewhere.”
“What’s he look like?” she asked. I described his curly hair.
“I haven’t seen anyone like that. But I’ve only been here a few minutes,” she said. She spun the dial of her locker, and the door clanged open. “New locker,” she said. “They didn’t have one for me yesterday.”
“Cool,” I replied, not sure what to say.
I turned back to my locker when Anjali came up beside me. The school buses were leaving soon, and we rode together whenever we could.
Erin started stacking her books on her locker shelf.
Anjali positioned herself between us. “Another note?” she asked me.
I felt a bit guilty, like I should have introduced Erin to Anjali. But I had to talk to Anjali. It was important. I could be extra-friendly to Erin later.
I showed Anjali what I found.
“Maybe you should go to the playground,” she said. “Just to check it out.”
“No way. I’m sure it’s from Alex,” I told her, putting away my books. “And I don’t trust him.”
“Maybe he changed his mind and wants to help you,” Anjali suggested. I had told her about asking him for help, and how he’d refused.
I snorted. “Not possible.”
“Maybe your mom forced him to help you.”
“I shook my head. She wants me to learn from coding club.”
I stuffed the note in my locker, along with the other one. “I don’t want to follow his instructions, anyway. You know how horrible he can be. I think I’ll just go home on the bus with you.”
“Aren’t you even curious?” Anjali reached around me and held my locker door open. She took out the new note and read it aloud.
if (you_agree_to_my_terms) {
grab_a_friend ( );
go_to_school_playground ( );
}
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
I noticed over Anjali’s shoulder that Erin was still going through her books at her locker.
I focused back on Anjali. “If he was your brother, you’d know there was no adventure.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She pushed the note into my hand. “You should go.”
“No, I shouldn’t, Anjali,” I said. “The note says I need a friend, and you’re busy, right?” She’d mentioned having something to do after school today.
“Yeah, I have an orthodontist appointment,” Anjali said.
“I could go with you,” a soft voice said from behind Anjali.
Erin had her backpack slung over one shoulder, ready to head out.
“I . . .” She looked from Anjali to me and back. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you two talk kind of loud.”
“Truth,” Anjali said with a small chuckle. She held out her hand, introduced herself, and then introduced me.
“I know Lucy,” Erin said, quickly adding, “sort of.”
“Erin’s in coding club,” I explained.
“Oh, neat!” Anjali said. “Are you liking it?” She gave me a look. “Lucy here thinks it’s going way too slow.”
“Well, I kind of had no option but to join,” Erin said, shrugging her shoulders.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Long story,” she replied. She clearly didn’t want to get into it.
“Hey, I have an idea!” Anjali stepped away so that Erin and I were closer together. “Lucy’s brother, Alex, is going to help Lucy learn coding to speed things along, and you, Erin, can help her, too! He left these notes in code-speak on Lucy’s locker, and now she has to go to the playground to do some mysterious activity.”
“You don’t have to go,” I said to Erin. “Whatever he left there is probably lame, anyway.”
“It’s okay,” Erin said. “I was going to walk home and help my mom unpack.” She gave me a small smile. “You’d be saving me from sorting silverware and plates.”
“Then it’s settled,” Anjali said, patting me on the back. “I gotta go.”
Erin turned to me as Anjali jetted down the hallway to the buses.
“So,” she said, adjusting her backpack strap over her shoulder, “which way’s the playground?”