All eight members of the blue team came to a halt as Dez and his comrades spread across the hallway, blocking their pa.s.sage. Dez cracked his knuckles and glanced at his new friends. How had Dez made himself the ringleader? Weren't these Academy recruits supposed to be smart kids?

"Where do you think you're going?" Dez asked.

"To hinder us will profit you nothing," Min said. "If you think to gain an advantage over us by making us tardy ..."

Spencer knew Dez wouldn't like Min's big words. Before the blue team leader could finish, Dez grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him backward. Min stumbled into his teammates, who caught him before he hit the ground.

Dez's backup crew glanced around the hallway. Their expressions showed a mix of anxiety and excitement. Throwing kids around was probably something they'd always wanted to try. Until Dez had showed up, they'd been smart enough not to do it. But Dez's careless behavior opened doors to the other boys ... and gave them someone to blame if the need arose.

"What do you want, Dez?" Spencer pushed to the front of his group.

"There you are, Doofus," said Dez. "Me and my friends have a preposition to make."

Spencer made a face. "It's actually proposition, not preposition."

"Whatever." Dez shrugged. "My homies here," he pointed to the guys behind him, "they really want to get into this stupid Academy. That means your team can't win. Deal?"

"How is that a deal?" Daisy asked. "It sounds more like a demand."

Min stepped forward, more upset than Spencer had thought possible. "I will not be manipulated like this! One more threat and I'm going straight to Director Garcia!"

"Boo hoo!" Dez faked tears. "Blue team's full of tattletales."

"Why does it matter, Dez?" Spencer stared at the bully. Dez knew perfectly well that the Academy was only a temporary place for them. No matter the outcome of the recruitment program, the three of them would return to little old Welcher, Idaho.

Around the corner, Spencer heard someone give a quick two-note whistle. Another student repeated the sound, and it echoed down the hallway until it reached Dez.

"Teacher's coming!" Dez said to his friends. "Scatter!" And just like that, the brown gang vanished. Dez disappeared into the bathroom, two boys merged into a lineup at the drinking fountain, and the other three slipped into a nearby cla.s.sroom.

The announced teacher walked by, urging the blue team not to be late to the lecture. No one could find the words to speak against the brown team, not even Min. Dez's gang was still too close. Still listening.

The confrontation was clearly premeditated, something Dez never could have figured out alone. Brown team members had been strategically placed throughout the hallway to whistle the chain of warnings. Spencer couldn't decide if Dez was using the brown team or the brown team was using Dez. The genius of the recruits combined with the careless brutality of Dez made for a dangerous symbiosis.

Whatever Dez's motive, the brown team was determined to win.

Chapter 22.

"A new forest will rise."

Director Garcia's lecture started off with a PowerPoint slide show and a broad smile. Due to the blues' confrontation with the browns, the green team had arrived at the cla.s.sroom first. It didn't bother Spencer to be a moment late, but Min was annoyed that he couldn't have a front-row seat.

"Let us start with a question," Garcia said.

Spencer saw many of the recruits already taking notes. What could they possibly be writing down? The question hadn't even been asked yet!

"Who can tell me, what is ecological succession?"

Most of the recruits' hands shot into the air, the students desperate to prove their knowledge to Director Garcia and earn their way into the Academy. Spencer had never heard of ecological whatever and he exchanged a clueless look with Daisy, seated at his right.

"Min." Director Garcia pointed.

The Asian boy stood up beside Daisy and raised his voice so the whole cla.s.s could hear. "Ecological succession refers to the changes that occur after an ecosystem is disturbed."

"Thank you," said Director Garcia. "A great example of ecological succession can be seen in forests." He clicked the PowerPoint controller and a picture of a tall green forest appeared on the screen.

Suddenly, a folded paper skidded onto Spencer's desk. He looked around for the deliverer and caught Jenna's eye. She quickly turned away.

"For an example," continued Garcia, "take this forest not far from here."

Spencer tried to act casual, unfolding the paper and holding it so no one else could see.

I think U would B a better team leader than Min.

What? Why would Jenna think that? Spencer felt his face turning red at the praise.

"Many years ago," Garcia lectured, "lightning struck this forest, starting a series of large wildfires." He clicked to the next slide to show raging fires engulfing the trees in thick smoke and deep orange flames.

Spencer took a pencil from his pocket and wrote back.

No way. Min's a lot smarter than me.

He carefully folded the paper and tossed it onto Jenna's desk.

Spencer tried to tune into the lecture again. "These fires burned for weeks, destroying thousands of acres. But the wildfires were not the end of the forest." Director Garcia clicked to the next slide. Here, the charred trees from the fire rose like spears through a thick growth of new green.

The note came back, and Spencer opened it up.

It's not just about being smart. U stood up 2 the Browns.

Spencer had a quick response.

I'm crazy, I guess.

"As you can see," Garcia said, "new trees and brush have risen out of the ashes. A new forest will replace the old one. It is younger, stronger, healthier."

Jenna's note fell onto Spencer's desk again.

U R brave. I like that.

Spencer felt his face flush redder than ever. He quickly decided not to pa.s.s the note back. Jenna didn't need any encouragement. Instead, Spencer tried to turn all his attention back to the lecture.

"This," Garcia pointed to the screen, "is the very philosophy behind New Forest Academy. The old forest of traditional public schools is failing. Politicians and educators are trying to fight the fire, but nature is running its course. Those who say all hope is lost do not understand ecological succession. A new forest will rise."

For as eloquent as the speech was, Spencer knew it was wrong. Toxites were burning out the public schools. But what Director Garcia didn't understand was that New Forest Academy would fall just like the others. With the Rebel Janitor Munroe gone, it would be too easy for Slick to let the Toxites take over the Academy.

As idyllic as this new Academy seemed, nothing could save it but the janitors. They were the key to success in every school. And unless the BEM started fighting Toxites again, every form of education would collapse forever.

Garcia went on with the lecture, but Spencer was caught up in thought. He pondered his situation, essentially trapped in New Forest Academy, cut off from the outside world while Slick was probably preparing a cunning trap to catch him. It was a terrible feeling. If Spencer had wanted this kind of anxiety, he might as well have stayed home in Welcher. But circ.u.mstances had brought him here. And New Forest Academy wasn't turning out to be the safe haven that Walter had expected.

Walter. They needed the warlock's help, but how could they contact him? A quick phone call would be enough, but the Academy rules would never permit it. Recruits weren't allowed to call out unless there was some kind of health emergency.

Spencer looked to his right. Daisy was looking a little paler than usual ...

Chapter 23.

"We lost him."

Spencer and Daisy moved quickly down the hallway. Behind them, the cafeteria was still abuzz with conversation and laughter as the recruits finished their dinners. No one had noticed Spencer and Daisy slide out the side door.

"I can't believe how sick you are," Spencer said to Daisy.

"I'm not ..." she started. Then Daisy remembered the plan. Doubling over, she began to moan. Her acting had to be good enough to convince the secretary to let them make a call home. Unfortunately, Daisy's fake groaning sounded more like a dying cat.

Spencer shook his head. "You're overdoing it," he whispered. "You sound ... constipated."

"Isn't that okay?" Daisy said as they rounded a corner. "I mean, I'm trying to sound sick. Being constipated is serious business, you know. One time, my dog swallowed a tennis ball and she couldn't go-"

Spencer reeled backward, frantically shoving Daisy back around the corner. "Sorry," she said. "Was that too much information?" But Spencer shushed her with a finger to his lips. Peering cautiously around the wall, the kids saw Slick emerge from a dim janitorial closet. He looked both ways, wiped his hooked nose, and then reached back into the closet for something. As the door to the closet swung closed, the object in his hand came into sight.

Slick was holding an Agitation Bucket.

Spencer could see wings, tails, and quills bristling over the Bucket's rim as the angry Toxites made a futile attempt to climb out.

"Where's he going?" Daisy whispered as the BEM janitor exited the school building. It was the first time they'd seen him all day, and the antic.i.p.ation of the moment was thick.

"Nowhere good," said Spencer. "If Slick dumps that Bucket, we're done for." He took off down the hall, heading for the opposite exit.

"And where are you going?" Daisy said, falling in step with him.

"To the stash. We've got to get some supplies to stop Slick."

Daisy didn't argue. If Slick overturned the Agitation Bucket, then New Forest Academy would be in the same danger as Welcher Elementary: full of angry Toxites.

They raced across campus. Outdoor lights flickered on as twilight shadows started to fill the area. In a moment, they reached the stash under the dormitory porch.

Spencer and Daisy each donned a latex glove and pocketed a chalkboard eraser. They were armed and ready to stop Slick, but Daisy pointed out the obvious problem.

"Now what?" she said. "Which way did he go?"

"Let's find out," Spencer said. Taking a broom in both hands, he gripped it tightly and slammed the bristles straight down.

He streamed upward, higher and higher. With his new aerial view advantage, Spencer scanned the campus below. Movement at the gate caught his eye. The spotlights illuminated Slick, carefully carrying the Agitation Bucket through the front gate of New Forest Academy.

Spencer touched ground again, a puzzled look on his face. "He's leaving the campus." Daisy suddenly bent over and moaned in pain. "Are you all right?" Spencer reached out.

Daisy nodded. "I almost forgot to be sick."

Spencer exhaled. "Forget it, Daisy. That's not the plan anymore. We've got to find out what Slick's up to with that BEM Bucket!" Spencer took off, striking his broom against the ground.

They flew along the perimeter of campus, pa.s.sing the filled construction pit where the cranes and machinery glinted like dinosaur skeletons in the faint light. In no time, they had landed near the front entrance. Spencer tapped his broom on the ground and rose to the top of the Academy's brick wall.

From his new position balancing on the wall, Spencer watched Slick approach the large maintenance shed, near the spot where the dumpster prisoner had been the night before. The janitor set down the Bucket and pressed a b.u.t.ton to open the shed's garage-type door.

The shed was a cave of darkness, and Slick stepped inside for a moment. He returned, pulling something into the parking lot. In the last glimmer of daylight, Spencer could see that it was a janitorial cleaning cart, the kind that Marv had often used when cleaning cla.s.sroom after cla.s.sroom.

Slick hefted the Agitation Bucket and stepped onto the cart. He leaned slightly, and the cart rolled smoothly across the parking lot, picking up speed and turning toward the exit. In a matter of moments, Slick and the cleaning cart were swallowed by the darkness as he drove down the mountainside away from New Forest Academy.

Spencer readied his broom. "Wait," Daisy said at his side. Spencer hadn't even noticed her fly up. "I don't think we should go down there. It's good enough that he took the Bucket away from here."

"Not good enough for me," Spencer said. "If Slick's taking that Bucket someplace, we need to know where." Leaving Daisy to follow, Spencer took flight toward the maintenance shed.

He was there in a few seconds. Stepping through the open garage door, Spencer saw a large truck with a snowplow on the front. Other outdoor maintenance objects cluttered the shed: a riding lawn mower, a weed whacker, an edger, and a couple of hand shovels. But tucked against the wall was the item Spencer was hoping for.

Spencer wheeled the janitorial cart into the parking lot as Daisy landed. The cart had four st.u.r.dy wheels on a rectangular black base. There was plenty of room to stand on one side, while the other side sported a rack with a few shelves. A built-in yellow garbage sack dangled off the front.

"Glopified?" Daisy asked.

"Definitely," said Spencer. "Didn't you see how Slick was riding it?" He pushed the cart toward Daisy. "There's another one in there." He disappeared into the maintenance shed and reappeared with another cleaning cart.

Spencer clipped his broom onto the rack and stepped onto the flat side of the cart, holding on to the shelves in front of him. He couldn't help but think that it looked like a Roman chariot without horses.

"Shouldn't we just use our brooms to follow him?" Daisy asked.

"Too hard to steer," Spencer said. "Besides, brooms don't do long distance."

"Well, then there's something I should probably tell you." Daisy stepped cautiously onto the flat side of her cart. The wheels rolled forward, and she gripped the rack with white knuckles. "I don't have my driver's license!"

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Come on, Daisy. It's just a cleaning cart."

He leaned forward with all his weight. Instantly, the cart shot forward, burning across the parking lot at high velocity. Spencer could barely hang on. He regained balance on the footboard and threw his weight backward. The cart came to a screeching halt.

"It's all about shifting your balance," Spencer called. But there was no need to explain. Daisy went rolling past, taking a corner and exiting the parking lot. Spencer shifted his weight and zoomed after her.