ART SHOW

Getting in and out of school after the janitor opened up was easier than I thought. Once I did my whole Secret Artist Man thing, I just snuck back outside, walked around the block a few times, and came back as soon as the buses and parent drop-offs start to show up.

My grandma likes to watch a lot of old crime show repeats, like Mulgroove & Bates, and Order and Law: Boston, and Order and Law: Toledo, and Order and Law: Canine Unit. And I swear, on every one of those shows, the bad guy either shows up at the scene of the crime to see how everyone reacts, or else the good guys talk about how they have to keep their eyes open because the bad guy might show up at the scene of the crime to see how everyone reacts.

Which is where I got my idea for how to pull off the next part of Operation: S.A.M.

First I came strolling into school like everyone else. Then I stopped near the main lobby doors and got a drink of water.

Then I stopped next to the drinking fountain to tie my shoe.

Then I untied my shoe, got another drink, and tied my shoe again. (There’s more, but you get the idea.)

That whole time, everyone was walking through the lobby. They all headed off in a million different directions while I just stayed to the side and watched. And listened.

Okay, if you want to know the truth, about 99 percent of the other kids didn’t say anything. But they all saw that drawing, for sure. And at least six or seven of them said something about SAM. Like “Who’s SAM?” Or “SAM who?”

I’d call that mission accomplished. Plus, I really liked being the only one who was in on the secret.I liked it a lot.

And speaking of people noticing, it didn’t take long for Mrs. Stricker to figure out something was up. She can smell trouble from two hundred yards, blindfolded. And she definitely knows when there’s something hanging on the wall of her school that wasn’t there before.