Chapter 28

“Good times, good times.”

Spencer woke up in the parking lot of Welcher Elementary School, appalled to find Dez Rylie behind the steering wheel and Daisy asleep in the seat beside him.

“What happened?” Spencer said, his voice accusatory as he sat up straight. “Did you green-spray Daisy so you could drive?”

“Relax,” Dez said. “She was getting drowsy behind the wheel, so she let me take over.”

“How long was I asleep?” Spencer didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t remember drifting off.

Dez shrugged. “Maybe five or six hours.” He pointed his hooked fingers out the window. “We’re home now.”

Five or six hours? “Why didn’t you get tired?” Spencer asked.

“It must be my Rubbish half,” Dez said. “I’ve been awake for a whole night, and I’m not even feeling it.”

Dez’s superpowers were really getting on Spencer’s nerves. Now he didn’t even need to sleep?

The map that they’d found in the glove compartment lay open on the seat next to Dez. Spencer snatched it and shoved it back into the compartment.

“I’m surprised you got us here,” Spencer said.

“I can read a map,” Dez said. “I know you think I’m an idiot, but I actually learned lots of stuff at New Forest Academy.”

Maybe he was being a bit too hard on Dez, Spencer thought. The bully did seem different after his time at the Academy. He was still incredibly annoying, and Spencer wouldn’t trust him with anything. But Dez actually seemed a tiny bit smarter.

Daisy woke up suddenly, sitting at the edge of her seat. “We’re home already?”

Spencer checked his watch. It was two o’clock in the afternoon. “What day is it?” he asked. Staying up all night had really thrown him.

“Wednesday,” said Daisy.

It was crazy to think of all that had happened overnight. They’d gone to Colorado and infiltrated New Forest Academy. They’d stolen Holga, and Director Garcia had been killed. Then they’d gone to Massachusetts, taken a flying Port-a-Potty into the Atlantic Ocean, and been captured by Mr. Clean. Now they were home in Welcher once more. But so much was different. They were alone.

“Okay,” Spencer said. “There’s a little more than an hour left in the school day. We’ve got to get down to the janitor’s closet and secure the Manualis Custodem.”

“And we’re going to have to do it without a hall pass,” Daisy pointed out.

“I don’t need a hall pass,” Dez said. “I don’t even go to school here anymore.” He shut off the garbage truck and tucked the bulky key chain into the back pocket of his jeans.

The three kids moved across the parking lot. Spencer knew that most of the school doors were locked during the day, so they’d have to enter through the front.

As Spencer pulled open the door, Daisy grabbed his arm. “Wait,” she said. “We can’t go in there with him.” She pointed at Dez.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the bully asked, sticking out his chest to look more intimidating.

“Look at him,” Daisy said.

Spencer hadn’t considered how Dez would appear to people who hadn’t used magic soap. Would he look normal to them? Or would his features be distorted and inhuman, as they looked to Spencer and Daisy?

“Listen,” Dez said, “if that guy doesn’t look weird to Mrs. Hamp, then I’m pretty sure I’m good to go.” He pointed into the school, where the secretary was conversing with someone at the front office.

The man was definitely a Sweeper, long slimy Grime tail twitching behind him. Mrs. Hamp looked as bored as ever, clearly oblivious to the fact that the visitor was half monster.

Daisy’s eyes went wide and Spencer froze. It was as he had feared. Mr. Clean had already dispatched someone to search the school.

“You two can stand there like lame statues,” Dez said, “but I’m going in.” He stepped through the front door and sniffed the air. “Never thought I’d say this,” he muttered, “but it’s good to be back.”

Spencer didn’t let him reminisce. In a flash, he and Daisy were dragging Dez past the front office, where Mrs. Hamp was handing the Sweeper a visitor pass. “The library is down the hall to the left . . .” she was saying. But Spencer knew the man wasn’t going to the library. First, he would surely search Walter’s janitorial closet.

The three kids moved fast, heedless of Welcher Elementary’s strict no-running-in-the-hallways rule. Spencer was determined to beat the Sweeper to the Manualis Custodem.

Dez smiled at a few landmarks along the way. “Remember that time I threw a bowl of melted ice cream in Mrs. Natcher’s face?” he said as they passed the cafeteria. “Good times, good times.”

Then they were there, Spencer leaping down the steps three at a time. The secret closet in the back of the storage area was open. Spencer’s heart pumped an extra beat. He didn’t know if they’d left it that way, or if someone had already been here.

His heart didn’t slow until he reached Walter’s desk and began ripping open the drawers. There, in the third one down, was the leather-bound Manualis Custodem. Spencer scooped it up and quickly checked to make sure the latch was still closed.

“That’s it?” Dez said. He swiped the old book from Spencer’s hand and held it out for examination. “I can’t believe we came back for this. It doesn’t even have a picture on the cover.”

Spencer grabbed the book back. “Careful,” he scolded. “It’s old.”

“And it holds the secrets to saving education,” Daisy added.

“Yeah, yeah,” muttered Dez. “So does my armpit.”

“We’ve got to go,” Spencer said. “As soon as that Sweeper comes down here, this place is going to get ransacked.” He glanced around the room. “We should take whatever supplies we think we’ll need. I’m not sure when we’ll be coming back.”

“I don’t need any weapons,” Dez boasted. “I’ve got these.” He flashed his talons through the air. Spencer rolled his eyes. If Dez didn’t want to take any Glopified gear, Spencer wasn’t going to force him.

Daisy and Spencer replenished their vacuum dust and filled their clips with fresh supplies. Glopified weapons could max out and become useless if overused.

“Ready?” Spencer said once their preparations were complete.

“What’s in the backpack?” Daisy asked as Spencer pulled the straps over his shoulder. It was Walter’s pack, and Spencer knew exactly what was inside.

“We’ll need it for later,” he said vaguely. “Right now, we’ve got to worry about getting the Manualis out of here.”

The three kids left the janitor’s closet, sealing the secret room behind the sliding stack of boxes. They moved quietly up the stairs and into the hallway. They wouldn’t have to pass by the front office again, since the school doors weren’t locked from the inside. It was a straight shot down the hallway and out to Big Bertha waiting in the parking lot. There was only one risk in this more direct route. They would be passing right by Mrs. Natcher’s classroom.

“Keep your head down,” Spencer whispered to Daisy. There was a window in Mrs. Natcher’s door, and Spencer knew they’d be in trouble if the grumpy old teacher happened to be looking out into the hallway.

“I don’t know why you guys are scared of Mrs. N.,” Dez said. “All she ever did was send me to detention.”

Something wet came out of nowhere. It latched onto the Manualis Custodem with a splat and yanked the book from Spencer’s hand. As it retracted, Spencer realized what it was.

A Grime tongue. And it had snagged the Manualis like a frog catching a fly.

Daisy let out a sharp cry of alarm. She fumbled with the air freshener, giving a spritz before the Toxite breath could affect her.

It was the Sweeper they’d seen at the front office. They hadn’t seen him above, clinging to the ceiling. Now the Manualis Custodem was clenched between his teeth as he moved to scuttle away.

Dez took two steps and bounded into flight. His wings popped open and he soared up, catching the Sweeper by the tail and ripping him off the ceiling. Dez spun him through the air and hurtled him down toward Spencer.

“Here comes another!” Daisy cried, drawing a mop from her belt.

Spencer gave the Grime Sweeper a Palm Blast of vac dust, leaving him suctioned to the floor of the hall. The second Sweeper, a woman merged with a Filth, was almost upon them when the door to Mrs. Natcher’s classroom opened.

“What on earth . . . ?” the teacher cried.