Secrets Of New Forest Academy Part 4

"The BEM doesn't know exactly what it is. But they think you know."

"Wait a minute," Daisy said to Walter. "If you don't know what it is, and the BEM doesn't know what it is, and Spencer doesn't know what it is ... then who knows?"

"Alan Zumbro," the warlock said. Spencer's heart gave an extra beat and Alice put a hand on his arm, giving an anxious squeeze. "This has something to do with your father, Spencer. But that's all anyone can explain."

Spencer swallowed hard and looked at his mom. "And now the BEM's coming for me?"

"They'll be here by Monday," Penny said. "Come next week, Welcher isn't going to be the friendly place you know and love. You'll have BEM workers in disguise around town and bloodthirsty Toxites inside your school."

"So what do we do?" Daisy asked.

"Leave," Walter said. "You must leave Welcher until we get things sorted out. A week should do it. The Toxites from the Bucket will have calmed down by then."

"What about the BEM workers?" Alice said.

"We're calling in Rebel reinforcements already," Penny said. "We'll show the BEM that they aren't welcome in this town."

"But where can we go for a week?" asked Spencer.

"I have a grandma in Nevada," Daisy said.

Walter shook his head. "I can't send you to stay with relatives. If the BEM tracked you down, you'd have no protection. You need to go someplace secure."

"A bank!" Daisy said.

Spencer shot her a glance. "We can't live in a bank for a week."

"What about the White House?" she said.

"Are you serious?" Spencer rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just trying to brainstorm some secure places."

Walter held up his hands. "We've already done the brainstorming," he said. "And we have a plan, if you'd let us tell it."

He rubbed his hands together. "There's a private school called New Forest Academy. Located in Colorado. They run a recruitment program where students experience a week on campus to see if they would be good candidates to attend the Academy."

"It may not be as exciting as living in the White House," Penny said. "But it's listed as one of the safest schools in the country. You'll never be alone. You'll be surrounded by other students and Academy faculty. You'll even sleep in dormitories on site."

"Won't there be Toxites there?" Spencer asked. "Since it's a school?"

"Toxites at New Forest Academy don't last long. We've got a Rebel Janitor in there. He does a remarkable job keeping the school Toxite-free. It's the best learning environment you'll find in the country. When you get there, contact the janitor. Guy by the name of Roger Munroe. He's a good friend of mine and you can trust him with anything."

"But I don't want to go to a different school." Daisy's eyes showed that she was on the verge of panic at the thought of leaving Welcher.

"It won't be permanent," Penny said. "It's just for the week. Even if you fit the Academy's criteria and they want you to study there, you can still turn down the invitation."

"Exactly," Walter agreed. "We don't expect you to move to Colorado. We're just going to pretend that you're interested in attending the Academy so you can have a safe week in their facilities." Walter glanced at Alice. "Of course, we'll need your support in this."

Spencer turned to his mom. His hair was still white with chalk dust, his face and hands welted and scratched from the Toxite attack. He was afraid. Afraid of sitting around and letting the BEM come for him. And evidently the hint of fear in Spencer's eyes convinced Alice.

"I'll drive them," she said.

"It's a long way," Walter said.

Alice shrugged indifferently. "I'm no stranger to long road trips," she said. "I can get work off on Monday and I'll take them to the Academy."

Of course. It wasn't enough to simply agree. Alice had to take her support to the next level by personally driving them.

Walter nodded gratefully to Mrs. Zumbro, then turned intently upon Spencer and Daisy. "Everything I've read about New Forest Academy says it has a large campus, college style. There should be plenty to see and explore. But I want you to follow one simple rule." He held up a finger. "Don't go anywhere alone. Stay with the groups. There's safety in numbers."

The intensity in Spencer and Daisy's eyes caused Walter to lighten up. "And try to relax." Walter ruffled Spencer's dusty hair. "New Forest Academy will be safe. Roger will take care of you. I have his word."

Penny pulled an envelope from her back pocket. "Here's the paperwork you'll need to get into the program." She handed it to Alice. "We printed the forms on the Academy's website. Getting the necessary signatures was a bit trickier. Normally, students send their applications weeks in advance. A committee reviews the paperwork, and if the student is approved, then a bunch of important people sign it. Well, we didn't have that kind of time, so we took a few warlock-inspired shortcuts to get the signatures on the page. Anyway, fill out the rest of the application and take the papers when you go. You'll need the signatures to get in."

Alice opened the envelope to look inside.

"And there should be enough money to cover the cost for the Academy program." Penny said. "Should be plenty for these two."

"THREE!"

Everyone in the room jumped. They turned to the leather couch, where they had all but forgotten about the paralyzed Dez.

"Three of us are going to the stupid Academy camp thingy!" Dez was still motionless, but he appeared to have the use of his tongue again. "You're not leaving me here to get eaten by the Big Evil Monkeys!"

"Big Evil Monkeys?" Spencer said.

"What else could BEM stand for, Doofus?"

Chapter 9.

"He'll mess everything up!"

Dez wouldn't stop talking until someone propped him up on the couch. Although he'd been lying paralyzed for almost half an hour, he'd heard every word that was said. But hearing and understanding were two different things-especially for Dez.

In the last hour, Dez had been tied up with a mop, floated to the ceiling, held hostage by a stranger, caught in a paralyzing chalk explosion, and hauled helplessly to Spencer's house in the back of a dark janitorial van. Sure, the bully was tough and insensitive, but even Dez had his limits.

Spencer tried to explain about the janitors from the Bureau of Educational Maintenance. But Dez had regained enough control to shake his head vigorously, white chalk rising in puffs from his buzzed hair.

"I'm not getting left behind to get picked off by ..." Dez stammered, "by janitors with superpowers!"

"They're not after you," Walter explained. "The BEM doesn't even know who you are."

"Actually," Daisy said, "they might. Remember? Dez did some dirty work for the BEM back in September."

"I did?" Dez looked around.

"Remember that subst.i.tute, Miss Leslie Sharmelle?" Daisy said. "She was part of the BEM. She had you take some magic soap into the boys' bathroom to get Spencer."

"Yeah!" Dez grinned. "You're right! I did do dirty work for the BEM. And I'll do it again if you don't take me with you. I'll tell them where you're going!"

Spencer groaned. Dez was such a nuisance! Even covered in chalk dust, slumped on the couch with only the ability to move his head, Dez was complicating things.

Walter rubbed a hand over his face and glanced at his niece. Penny tilted her head and shrugged.

"Fine," Walter said. "You're going with Spencer and Daisy."

"What?" Daisy shrieked.

"No!" said Spencer. "He'll mess everything up!"

Dez's foot suddenly shot out and kicked Spencer in the shin. "All right! I can move my legs again!"

Alice repositioned herself between the two boys. Her hands went to her hips, daring Dez to try it again.

"Dez has seen too much," Penny said. "He's involved whether we like it or not."

"Your old subst.i.tute teacher, Leslie Sharmelle, is locked safely away in jail," said Walter. "But if she used Dez before, then other BEM workers may try to contact him in the future."

"I thought the whole point of sending us to this Academy was to keep us safe," Daisy said. She glared at Dez. "We're never too safe when he's around."

"Listen," Walter said. "I know you three kids have had some disagreements in the past."

Spencer rolled his eyes. Wasn't a fistfight in the boys' bathroom more than a disagreement?

"But it's time to set your differences aside. It's just as important to protect Dez from the BEM. I want him to go with you to the Academy." Walter looked at Spencer and Daisy. "And I expect you two to answer any questions he might have."

"We're going to tell him about ..." Daisy leaned around Alice to glance at Dez. Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Toxites?"

"I'm not deaf," Dez shouted from the couch. "Just because I can't move doesn't mean my ears are turned off. I already heard your whole dumb conversation. If you want to make me-"

"I don't think Dez should know," Spencer said, ignoring the comments from the couch.

"Dez knows enough to be curious," Walter said. "If you don't give him answers, he might turn to other sources. It's better for him to hear the truth from you than be told lies by the BEM." Walter dropped his voice while Dez continued ranting. "I need you to gain his trust. Until you do, what will stop Dez from betraying us?"

Walter was right. They had to get Dez on their side. It would be easy for the BEM to trick him. The bully was already inclined to make chaos. He could be dangerous in the hands of the enemy. Dez would never help the Rebels unless he had a reason. But Spencer knew that getting Dez to trust him would be nearly impossible.

"You're not going to give him soap, are you?" Spencer asked. It was the Glopified soap that made it possible to see Toxites.

Walter shook his head. "I don't have any extra soap. And even if I did, I wouldn't give it to him. Not being able to see the Toxites was the only thing that saved Dez from getting picked apart in the library."

"Besides," Alice said, "if anyone's getting soap, it should be me."

Spencer turned to the half-paralyzed bully. Dez's tough-guy commentary hadn't slowed down at all. "And I'm not afraid of your Toxic breath, either!" he shouted.

"It's actually Toxite breath," Spencer said. "Unless it's coming out of you."

"Whatever," Dez said. "You better look out. I just wiggled my little finger."

In response, Daisy tried to wiggle her own little finger. "Hey, how did you do it without moving your other fingers?"

"It's wearing off," Penny said. "We need to get cracking so we can take this boy home."

Walter was caught in a sudden thought, causing his brow to wrinkle. "Dez will need an application to the Academy program."

"Can't we just print a form off the Internet?" Alice said. "From the Academy's website, like you did?"

"Yes," said Walter. "But it's those signatures that he'll need. Otherwise, they'll never let him in."

"What's the problem, Uncle?" Penny asked. "We've got the stuff here."

"But we don't have time," said Walter. "We need to get moving."

"We can leave it with them. They can copy the signatures later."

"Leave what?" Spencer asked.

Penny reached into the box that she'd brought in from the van and withdrew a small bottle, the kind with a squirt cap.

"What's that?" asked Daisy.

"Ink remover," Penny said. "Janitors use it all the time to clean off pen marks and scribbles on the bathroom walls."

"But this has been Glopified," Walter said. "This is the shortcut we took to get the necessary signatures on your applications."

"What does it do?" Spencer asked.

"It copies ink." Walter took the bottle from Penny's hand. "Once we located the Academy signatures that we needed, we used the Glopified ink remover to make a forgery for your papers. I'll need you to do the same for Dez. All you have to do is wet the Academy signatures. Don't spray too much or you'll have soggy paper. Once the ink is damp, you can press Dez's application against it. The ink will absorb, making an identical copy onto his paper."

"I don't see how this is going to work," Alice said. "Won't the Academy take one look at these signatures and know they were forged? They've got to keep records. They're going to remember that they didn't sign these."

"But these aren't simple forgeries," Penny said. "Uncle Walter Glopified the ink remover with that very problem in mind."

"It works like this," said Walter. "The magic in the Glop duplicates the memory of the original signature. For example, I remember signing a check. If someone uses the ink remover to copy my signature from the check onto another paper, then the memory is copied with it. Therefore, I remember signing the check and the paper-even though I never actually signed both."

"Whoa!" said Dez, who was now sitting forward on the couch. "That's genius. I could totally spray Princ.i.p.al Fatso's signature and cancel school for a week!"

"That's exactly why we're not giving the ink remover to you," Penny said.

"I developed the formula quite some time ago," Walter continued. "It was getting harder and harder to find equipment for the Rebel schools. I used to buy cheap mops and brooms from janitorial supply stores. Problem is, the BEM owns all those stores and has blocked my signature. So now I use someone else's signature to place my orders. The ink remover works against the BEM, and it will work just fine to get you into the Academy."