Secrets Of New Forest Academy Part 8

"Not true," said Daisy. "If you never had a mother, then how were you born?"

Dez stuck out his tongue. "Don't get all technical on me."

Spencer blew on Dez's copied signatures, but the replica was already dry. Folding the application, he handed it back to Dez.

"Perfect copy," said Spencer.

"Good," said Dez. "Now you can give me that spray stuff so I can change a few things."

Spencer pulled the ink remover away as Dez lunged for it from the backseat. "You heard Walter," Spencer said. "You're not getting any of the Glopified supplies unless there's an emergency."

Dez suddenly crossed his legs and rocked back and forth, pretending like he had to use the bathroom. "What kind of emergency?"

"It's for Toxites," Daisy said. "Or in case the BEM finds us."

"You keep saying that," Dez said. "But it sounds lame."

Spencer and Daisy shared a quick glance. Walter had told them to answer Dez's questions. It was better that he learn it from them than any other source. Taking a deep breath, Spencer started explaining the basics.

He told how the invisible Toxites inhale kids' brain waves and exhale sleepiness, distraction, and apathy, so that kids couldn't learn in school. But the Toxites didn't affect all the kids in the same way. Daisy was more p.r.o.ne to the distracting breath of the Grimes, while Spencer had a hard time resisting the sleepiness from the Filths. Bullies like Dez had a higher tolerance for the Toxites overall, since the creatures wouldn't waste their breath on kids who didn't really want to learn.

Spencer went on to tell how the Bureau of Educational Maintenance had protected schools for centuries by hiring janitors who could see and kill the little monsters. For no apparent reason, the BEM had recently withdrawn all support from the schools and were letting Toxites run wild. They were destroying education and, with it, the future. Other janitors, like Walter and Marv, had banded together to form a Rebel Underground, dedicated to go against the BEM and continue to fight Toxites in schools.

The more Spencer explained, the faster Alice seemed to drive. Time pa.s.sed quickly, with Daisy adding her own comments about the situation. Dez sat quietly through most of it. His expression was unreadable. Surprisingly, he didn't have any questions.

Dez listened pa.s.sively as Daisy described the sludgelike Glop that gave the janitorial equipment magical powers. She explained about the three Founding Witches who had discovered Toxites. When they died, they placed their magic into three bronze hammers, each with a matching nail. The bronze hammers were pa.s.sed down among the BEM for years until Walter stole one for the Rebels and made himself a warlock.

Spencer jumped in again, adding any final details that he could think of. At last, exhausted, Spencer and Daisy leaned back, having explained everything they knew.

Dez rode silently for a moment, staring out the window at the pa.s.sing mountain landscape. "So ..." he said at last. "When do I get my share of the stuff?"

Daisy slumped back against the headrest. "Not unless there's an emergency!" she said. "That's what we just finished explaining."

"Sorry," Dez said. "I kind of zoned out after a while. You guys talk way too much."

Chapter 15.

"It's just cleaning stuff."

Alice almost missed the freeway exit, darting across two lanes of traffic and onto the off-ramp without even using the car's blinker. The movement caused Spencer to jolt awake.

"Everything okay?" he asked. His mom's eyes were glazed after so many hours behind the wheel.

"Fine," she said. "We'll be there soon."

The great metropolis of Denver lay to the southeast. But the directions to New Forest Academy took them through the residential outskirts, winding westward toward the mountains.

Alice mostly ignored the speed limit, and soon they were driving a long road at the base of the mountains. The late autumn scenery was amazing. Most of the trees were already bare for the winter. Dead leaves whipped across the road.

Alice slowed down at an intersection and quickly consulted the sc.r.a.p of paper that bore Walter's directions to New Forest Academy. A car behind them honked and swerved around the Zumbro SUV. Alice checked the street sign and then turned onto a narrow, twisting road that rose steeply up the mountainside.

"You told me we were going to a school." Dez watched the mountains through his window. "Aren't schools usually in cities?"

"We're not lost, if that's what you mean," said Alice. As if on cue, they crested a hill and the road flattened out. Before them was a wide parking lot dotted with cars. A huge sign hung on the side of the road, as big as a billboard.

WELCOME TO NEW FOREST ACADEMY.

Home of the Overachievers As Alice pulled the vehicle into the parking lot, Spencer got his first look at New Forest Academy. A tall brick wall fenced in the large campus, blocking any view other than the tops of the school buildings. Behind the man-made structures, the mountain continued to rise in a forested incline.

The whole school seemed to be nestled quietly into the mountainside with the city far below. It was remarkable how removed the campus felt, even though Alice had just been driving through neighborhoods not ten minutes ago.

Alice drove toward a wide gate in the brick wall. The gate looked st.u.r.dy, and the man in the operating booth looked even more so.

Alice rolled down her window. The outside air was chilly, and Spencer was glad he'd brought his heavy coat. The man in the booth leaned out.

"Hi," Alice said. "I'm here to drop off some kids for the New Forest Academy recruitment program."

The man checked his watch. "You're early."

Alice shrugged. "We're overachievers." She gave a gesture for him to open the gate.

"You have your registration papers?"

Spencer felt a twinge of nervousness as his mom pa.s.sed the applications through the window. How good was Walter's Glopified ink remover? Would the man know that the official Academy signatures had been forged?

The man disappeared into the booth for a moment. He returned with a furrowed look. "We don't seem to have your information on file."

"We were a bit late with the registration," Alice bluffed. She handed the man the envelope of money that Penny had given her. "But they said there wouldn't be a problem. They said as long as we had the applications signed, that we'd get in."

Alice was starting to get upset. Spencer had never considered his mother much of an actress, but she was doing a decent job at it.

The man nodded apologetically. "I'm going to call down the program director. If there's a problem, we'll fix it." He smiled congenially. "If you'd like to park over there, ma'am." He pointed across the parking lot. "For the safety of the students, only authorized vehicles are admitted into New Forest Academy."

Alice threw the car in reverse and spun around. There were several cars in the parking lot, but Alice found a spot near a maintenance shed and a couple of dumpsters.

"If they're not going to let our car in," Spencer said, "how are we supposed to get our Glopified stuff into the Academy? Won't it look kind of suspicious if we go walking in with janitorial supplies?"

"It's just cleaning stuff," Dez said incredulously. "It's not like we're trying to smuggle guns and knives."

Their attention returned to the brick wall as the gate swung open mechanically. A black car idled in the gateway, the driver conversing with the man in the booth. After a moment, the gatekeeper pointed toward the Zumbro SUV.

"I don't want to risk it," Daisy whispered, as if the black car were close enough to hear. "I mean, what if they examined our stuff and took it away?"

"We have to try," said Spencer. "We can't just send the supplies home with my mom." The Academy car pulled away from the gate booth.

"How about this," Alice said. "I'll leave the stuff behind these dumpsters. You can come out and get it later, when the coast is clear."

"What if someone finds it before we get back?" Spencer asked.

"I'll hide it under a bush."

"What about squirrels?" Daisy said. Everyone turned to her with puzzled expressions. Daisy shrugged. "Well, we are in the mountains. What if squirrels steal our stuff?"

Spencer shook his head. "Why would squirrels steal cleaning supplies? You think they mop and vacuum?"

The black car came to a stop behind the SUV. A Latino man with dark hair and sungla.s.ses stepped out. He was well dressed, with a striped collared s.h.i.+rt and a sport coat.

The man waited with a broad white smile as the three kids gathered their backpacks and luggage from the SUV. A moment later, all of them were standing in the parking lot, the cold mountain air nipping their faces. The man from the black car extended a handshake to Alice.

"Welcome to New Forest Academy! My name is Carlos Garcia." His voice carried the hint of a Spanish accent. Spencer recognized the name. It was one of the signatures he'd forged with the ink remover.

"Alice Zumbro," she said. "This is my son Spencer and his friends Daisy and Dez."

Garcia shook each of their hands, his expression warm and friendly. "My apologies about the confusion at the gate. Not sure why your information wasn't on file. I remember signing your applications."

Spencer glanced at Daisy, hopeful that she wouldn't say anything. The ink remover was amazing stuff. Just as Walter had explained, the Glopified solution had created a duplicate memory, making Carlos Garcia think that he remembered signing the applications.

Garcia went on. "As the director of New Forest Academy, I hope you will have an enjoyable week with us. This recruitment program is a wonderful opportunity for you to learn what our school is all about. At the same time, we can evaluate your performance and decide if we want you to study with us as a regular, full-time student."

Dez groaned. "I liked everything until the part when you said study."

"Studying doesn't have to be boring. I hope we can help you learn to love it." Director Garcia smiled again, a warm gesture. "Let's head in, if you have everything." He nodded to Alice. "A pleasure meeting you. Your children are in good hands here."

"I see that," Alice said. She pulled Spencer into a half hug. "You'll call me tonight?" she asked.

Spencer glanced questioningly at Director Garcia. Did they even have phone service here in the mountains?

"Of course," Garcia said. "It is our policy to have each of the recruits call home on the first evening."

Max shouted something from inside the SUV, still strapped into the confines of his car seat. Alice took a hesitant step back toward the vehicle. "Better get going," she said. Then, turning to Spencer, she gave her son some very clear instructions. "Be safe."

Chapter 16.

"Just come this way."

The campus of New Forest Academy was much nicer and more modern than Spencer had expected. Driving through the gate was like discovering an oasis of civilization in the mountains. On the other side of the brick wall, the landscape provided an enormous open area, dotted with buildings and playgrounds.

The brick wall ringed in the front half of the campus, while the natural incline of the forested mountain closed in the back half. It was like the school grounds were nestled into a pocket in the mountain. It certainly felt safe, all boxed in.

"How did you find this place?" Spencer asked.

Director Garcia grinned. "It didn't always look like this. We made some major modifications before building the school. Dynamite blasting, excavation, more blasting ... this campus is many years in the making. And we're still doing alterations." He pointed out the window. "Can you guess what we're putting in over there?"

Spencer looked across the campus and saw a backhoe and a crane near the trees. He could just glimpse a large area roped off with yellow caution tape.

"A swimming pool?" Daisy guessed.

"No," said Dez. "It's a giant Porta-Potty!"

"Nothing like that," Garcia said. "We're putting in an underground parking garage. We should be finished with construction in a week or two."

"Why did you choose to build the school here?" Spencer asked. "Why not down in the city?"

"There's something enchanting about going into the mountains to learn," Director Garcia said. "Our students are far from distractions and the corruption of civilization. It's safe and remote. Research has found such environments to foster the greatest learning."

"Sounds like a snooze," Dez muttered. "I should have brought my pillow."

Spencer elbowed Dez in the ribs. They were supposed to act like ordinary students. Dez's att.i.tude was going to blow their cover.

Director Garcia didn't seem to notice Dez's commentary. There was a stirring energy about the man, the way he talked about the Academy, the way he gazed proudly out the car window. Director Garcia's enthusiasm was contagious, and Spencer felt a twinge of excitement in his stomach.

"Does this place even have electricity?" said Dez. "Or do we have to use those weird plug-in lights?"

"New Forest Academy sports an eco-friendly campus. We're equipped with the finest facilities and state-of-the-art technology. And everything is solar powered," answered Garcia. "Only the best of the best for our students."

The director stopped the car at a crosswalk as a group of uniformed students headed from one building to another. The students looked clean and sharp. Despite the strict uniform, they found ways to express themselves. The boys had stylish haircuts; the girls were covered in expensive-looking jewelry. They carried themselves with an air of self-importance that bordered on arrogance.

"So, parents have to drive clear up here to drop off their kids every day?" Spencer asked.

"Many do," Garcia said. "We draw largely from families in the Denver area. No more than an hour drive to get here. Many parents strongly believe that public schools are failing to educate their children. They believe, as I do, that New Forest Academy is the solution. They're willing to make the commute so their kids can get a proper education."

The car rolled forward again. "For the older kids, we have a boarding program. Grades five through nine can actually live on campus in our comfortable dormitories."

"I can't think of anything worse than living at school," Dez said.

"What about getting paper cuts on your eyeb.a.l.l.s?" said Daisy. "That would be worse, don't you think?"

"Since you're a few hours early," Garcia said, pulling the car into a small parking lot, "I'm going to drop you kids at the computer lab. You can keep yourselves entertained until the recruitment dinner."

"Yeah!" Dez said. "I love computer games!" He put an imaginary bazooka on his shoulder and started making explosion sounds, bits of spit flecking from his mouth. "Do you have Slaughterguts 900?"

Director Garcia turned a disapproving glare on Dez. The bully, unaffected by such stares, threw an imaginary grenade as he strode past Spencer and Daisy.