Janitors: Secrets of New Forest Academy Page 10

  Spencer tucked the box securely against his hip with one arm and headed back toward the dumpsters. As he stooped to pick up the last remaining broom, Spencer heard a muffled cough.

  He jumped back, heart racing. His eyes scanned the dark parking lot and his hand instinctively went into the box for a chalkboard eraser.

  The stillness of the night settled around him. Just as Spencer’s heart began to slow, he heard it again. A muffled cough, like someone was trying to hold it back. Spencer circled the dumpsters, ready to hurl the Glopified chalk bomb. But the parking lot was vacant.

  “Hello?” Spencer called into the night. His back was pressed against the dumpster so no one could sneak up behind him. “I know you’re here. I heard you coughing, so you might as well show yourself.” Spencer was surprised at the steadiness of his voice, but his hands were shaking to make up for it.

  A third time the cough rang out. Spencer staggered away from the big dumpster. Impossible! Spencer stared at the metal bin.

  The cough had come from inside the dumpster!

  Chapter 19

  “Who did this to you?”

  Spencer took a cautious step forward. “Hello?” He rapped gently on the side of the dumpster. It resonated like a hollow drum. “Is someone in there?”

  “Get out of here, kid,” came the muffled reply.

  Spencer jumped back again, his stomach caught in his throat. “Who are you?”

  “Just get away. And forget about this.”

  Spencer looked at the black lid of the dumpster. A silvery strip of duct tape ran all around the edge of the lid, taping it closed.

  “You’re trapped in there,” Spencer said. The man coughed again. Spencer set the chalkboard eraser back into the box and lowered the parcel to the ground. Reaching up, he grabbed the curled corner of the duct tape and tugged. The tape held fast. Spencer repositioned himself and strained against the tape with all his might.

  “Forget it,” the prisoner said. “You’ll never get it open.”

  Spencer stepped away. “The tape is Glopified, isn’t it.” There was silence from within the dumpster. “It’s okay,” Spencer said. “I know all about it.”

  “What’s your name, kid?” the dumpster prisoner asked.

  “Spencer Zumbro.”

  Again, there was silence. Then, “What do you know about Glop?”

  “A lot,” said Spencer. “I know about Toxites, too. And the BEM. They locked you in here, didn’t they?”

  Spencer heard a shuffling sound from inside the dumpster. He could only assume that the prisoner was scooting closer to him.

  “Listen. I don’t know how long I’ve been in here or where I am. The duct tape they use to seal the dumpster is Glopified, like you guessed. The tape is indestructible. Can’t cut it, tear it, break it ... believe me.” He gave a bitter chuckle. “I’ve tried everything. This Glopified duct tape is fingerprint sensitive. The only person who can remove it is the same person who taped it down.”

  “Who?” Spencer asked. “Who did this to you?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t see anything from inside.” He coughed again, and Spencer thought of how cold the prisoner must be. “They’ve been moving me a lot lately, never keeping me in one place for more than a few days.”

  “Where are they taking you?”

  “I don’t know, but you have to leave. When they dropped me here, they said they’d be coming back tonight.”

  “No,” Spencer said. “I won’t let them take you.” He pulled a toilet plunger from the box. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  Spencer stuck the plunger to the side of the metal dumpster. The suction was good, and he lifted the dumpster easily. Spencer glanced across the parking lot. He didn’t know where to take the garbage bin, but if he could just hide it for tonight, then the BEM wouldn’t be able to relocate the prisoner. Spencer could hide him and tell Walter at the end of the week.

  “Put me down,” the man said, but Spencer wasn’t listening. Maybe he could fly the weightless dumpster into the darkness of the trees. That might be the safest place.

  “You have to put me down!” The prisoner raised his voice. “I’ll die if they don’t find me.”

  The urgency of the man’s voice cut through Spencer’s plotting. He lowered the dumpster slowly to the ground. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll starve to death,” the man said. “Every day, the BEM gives me food. It isn’t much, but I survive. Whoever taped this dumpster shut has to be there to open it. If they lose me, I’ll starve.”

  “But we’ll get you out,” Spencer said. “We’ll break open the dumpster.”

  “It’s useless.” The man coughed. “The whole thing is Glopified. The only way in is through that duct tape.”

  Spencer popped the toilet plunger off the side of the dumpster. “I can’t just leave you here. I want to help.”

  “You want to help? The best thing you can do is get out of here.” The prisoner paused. “Wherever here is.”

  “We’re in Colorado,” Spencer said. “In the parking lot of a private school. New Forest Academy.”

  “Academy?” the prisoner said.

  Spencer nodded, even though he knew the man couldn’t see him. “New Forest ...”

  “I know the name,” interrupted the prisoner. “I’ve heard BEM workers talk about it. They’ve got somebody working there. Somebody dangerous. They call him Fletcher. He’s a henchman for one of the BEM warlocks.”

  Spencer swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “Slick.”

  Headlights suddenly cut across the parking lot, and Spencer heard the purr of a large engine. Peering around the dumpster, he saw a big truck entering the lot next to the WELCOME sign. The vehicle was headed straight toward the dumpster.

  “Someone’s coming,” Spencer said.

  “Go. Get out of here!”

  Spencer’s head was swimming. Wasn’t there a way he could rescue this poor stranger from his prison? But the garbage truck was dangerously near, and Spencer staggered away from the dumpster. The approaching truck lowered a mechanical arm with two prongs to grip the garbage bin. The truck beeped as it reversed to the right angle.

  “I’m sorry,” Spencer muttered. Then he picked up the box of Glopified objects, scooped up his broom, and sprinted away.

  Spencer took flight, not daring to look at the dumpster again. He ran the whole way back to his dormitory, tossing paranoid glances over his shoulders. The pockets of shadow that filled New Forest Academy’s campus seemed as deep and dark as Spencer’s fears.

  Chapter 20

  “It’s a science book.”

  The fifty recruits were perusing the Academy library. It was the last stop on their tour of campus. They’d been to the computer labs, the science labs, the art building, the recreational center, and the main school building. Now lunch was only a half hour away.

  Colored handkerchiefs were tied around arms, looped through backpacks, or worn like bandannas. Spencer had his dangling out of his jeans pocket. Each recruit was supposed to check out a book or two so they could have something to read in the dorms during the week. Spencer didn’t imagine that he’d get any light reading done, but he checked out a short sci-fi because the robot on the cover looked cool.

  “Did you find anything good?” Spencer asked as Daisy joined him in the checkout line. She held up a few nature and outdoor magazines. Min marched past, his arms laden with heavy books about advanced chemistry and computer programming.

  Dez’s face suddenly popped around a bookshelf, his brown handkerchief tied around his forehead. He stuck out his tongue at Spencer and Daisy, then ducked out of sight again.

  Daisy glared in his direction. “He still won’t tell me where he stashed his mop and broom,” she said.

  While Spencer had been busy with the dumpster prisoner, Daisy had been trying to catch Dez. By the time she had reached him, the bully had already hidden his Glopified items, determined not to give them up. Dez had gone inside and Daisy had hidden her equip
ment under a dormitory porch, the place she and Spencer had already decided would be the new stash.

  “If Dez won’t give up his supplies, then he probably plans to use them on his own,” Spencer said.

  “I hope he doesn’t do something dumb,” said Daisy.

  “Dumb is his middle name.”

  “I didn’t know he had a middle name,” said Daisy.

  “If Dez gets caught with Glopified supplies,” Spencer whispered, “then Slick might know we’re armed.” He said the janitor’s name to try it out in the context of an enemy.

  Spencer had told Daisy everything about his conversation with the dumpster prisoner and how he’d said Slick was part of the BEM. Daisy wanted Spencer to have a plan, but he felt just as hopeless as ever. They needed to contact Walter, but the strict rules of the Academy program wouldn’t permit it. Distractions from home life were supposed to be left behind for the week, allowing the recruits to perform at their very highest.

  “There’s one thing I can’t figure out about Slick,” Daisy said. “Remember yesterday, by the computer labs? If Slick is working for the BEM, why did he kill that Filth in the hallway? Aren’t BEM workers supposed to let the Toxites run wild?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that too,” said Spencer. “It was probably just an act. What if Slick killed that Toxite to trick us into thinking he was a Rebel?”

  “Well, he didn’t trick me,” said Daisy. “Which is saying a lot.”

  “Garcia said that Slick used to be the computer tech until Roger Munroe resigned,” said Spencer. “Now Slick’s been promoted to head janitor. It’s the perfect position to turn New Forest Academy over to the BEM.”

  “That’s not his only position,” said Daisy. “Slick’s also in the perfect position to capture you. And isn’t that what the BEM really wants? That mysterious something that you’re supposed to know about?”

  A shiver passed through Spencer. He remembered Walter’s warning about staying with the group. There was safety in numbers. Glancing around the library, Spencer was grateful to be surrounded by other Academy recruits. But could the blue team protect him from Slick if the janitor attacked?

  Spencer and Daisy finished checking out of the library and headed for the door. As they passed a bookshelf, suddenly Jenna was walking alongside Spencer.

  “Hi,” she said. Her short hair curled around her cheeks, shimmering slightly. It looked almost silvery in the sunlight shining through window. The same pretty smile from last night was on her face. “What you reading?” She glanced at the book in his hand, but Spencer tucked it away, suddenly embarrassed by the robot on the cover.

  “It’s a science book,” Spencer said. “Don’t know what it’s called. I just grabbed it.”

  “I got this one.” Jenna held out her book. “It’s by Asimov. One of my favorites.” On the cover was a robot looking pensively into space.

  “Hey,” Daisy said, “that kind of looks like the one Spencer checked out.”

  The conversation was growing more and more uncomfortable. Spencer had to shift the topic before he short-­circuited.

  “Ready for lunch?” he asked Jenna. “Chicken tenders, I think.”

  “I only like them dipped in ranch,” Jenna said.

  Spencer nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

  “Perfect,” said Jenna. “So, can I sit by you? Share some ranch?”

  “I ... umm ...”

  Didn’t the cafeteria make individual dressing cups for a reason? Double dipping was an absolute sin in Spencer’s personal rule book.

  “Maybe,” he floundered. “I think that’s okay?” Spencer swallowed hard. “Is that all right, Daisy?”

  Jenna stopped and eyed Spencer and Daisy standing side by side. “Oh, wait a minute. Are you two ... ?”

  “No!” Spencer said. “No, we’re not.”

  “Are we what?” Daisy asked.

  “Uhh,” Spencer stammered. “Related! She wants to know if we’re related!”

  Daisy chuckled. “Of course we’re not,” she said to Jenna. “But Spencer is the closest thing I have to a brother.”

  Spencer needed a breath of fresh air to put this whole awkward conversation behind him. He stepped toward the library’s carved wooden doors and grabbed the rustic metal handle. Before he could jerk the door open, a harsh whiteness overwhelmed his vision.

  He was seated at a desk with a glass tabletop, rocking gently in an office chair. On the desk was a copy of The Janitor Handbook. Spencer recognized the brown cover with a large ring of keys embossed into the front.

  The walls of the office were painted with sharp lines in neutral grays and blues. Above a filing cabinet was a framed crest of the Bureau of Educational Maintenance—a circular seal with the United States eagle, e pluribus unum written on a banner in its beak. In one talon it held a broom; the other clutched a dustpan.

  The man swiveled in his office chair and Spencer was staring out a high window. A bustling city stretched before his view. Spencer somehow recognized it as the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

  “Are you all right?”

  Spencer blinked hard and opened his eyes. He was slumped at the base of the door, Jenna’s worried face surprisingly close to his. Behind her, a cluster of recruits had gathered to check on him.

  “It happened again, didn’t it?” Daisy said. Spencer nodded.

  “You mean, passing out is a regular thing for you?” asked Jenna. “What causes it?”

  The girls helped Spencer to his feet as Min approached. “Likely causes would include dehydration or low blood pressure. Let’s get him to the cafeteria.”

  “I’m fine,” Spencer said. But despite his protests, Min organized the blue team to surround Spencer and escort him safely to the cafeteria.

  Chapter 21

  “How is that a deal?”

  Spencer emptied his tray into the trash can just as the bell rang. Lunch hadn’t been chicken tenders after all. Instead, Spencer had choked down a very dry, parmesan-encrusted fish fillet. He would have liked a bit of tartar sauce with it, but the fear that Jenna would double dip forced him to eat it plain.

  Spencer and Daisy were ever watchful. They hadn’t caught a glimpse of Slick since yesterday, and the janitor’s absence was unsettling.

  “Where are we going now?” Spencer asked. Daisy already had her schedule out and was studying the campus map. But it was unnecessary, since Min was within earshot and already had an answer.

  “Room 104 of the main building,” he said. “We’re combining with the green team for a lecture from Director Garcia.”

  A lecture didn’t sound like fun, but as long as Spencer and Daisy stayed with the blue team, Slick would have a hard time attacking. Just like Walter had said, there was safety in numbers.

  The blue team had diminished from its ten initial members to eight. The Academy administration was making frequent changes, and Spencer couldn’t help but worry that he might be separated from Daisy at any point.

  Through some unspoken rule, the team members stayed together. There was a sense of security knowing that everyone in the team was either going to make it into the Academy ... or not.

  Jenna, especially, seemed glued to Spencer’s side, talking through most of lunch. She seemed so happy all the time. It reminded Spencer what it was like to be an ordinary student. Jenna didn’t have to worry about Toxites, or stress about the BEM’s corrosive plan. She was a regular thirteen-year-old. And the fact that she was a bit older than Spencer didn’t seem to bother her a bit.

  Min led the blue team out of the cafeteria and into the hallway, admonishing them about being tardy to Garcia’s lecture. They were halfway to room 104, just passing the bathrooms, when Dez burst out of the boys’ bathroom, a handful of guys from the brown team right behind him.

  All eight members of the blue team came to a halt as Dez and his comrades spread across the hallway, blocking their passage. Dez cracked his knuckles and glanced at his new friends. How had Dez made himself the ringleader? Weren’t thes
e 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.