I So Don't Do Spooky by Barrie Summy

Author:Barrie Summy [Summy, Barrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-375-89373-5
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2009-08-21T04:00:00+00:00

chapter

nineteen

I’m standing outside the door of Emerson’s gym, looking in. Nervously. My eye is twitching like a camera shutter set on sports speed.

There are a gazillion middle-school students, parents, teachers, judges. Stick me in there and it’ll be a gazillion and one. That’s a lot of bodies. One body can hide and eavesdrop in the middle of a lot of bodies. I might actually be able to pull off this undercover operation. My eye twitch slows down.

I step in. It’s noisy. Just as you would expect with all those bodies. It’s hot. Just as you would expect with all those bodies.

There’s a big box of safety glasses with a sign: SAFETY GOGGLES MUST BE WORN IN THE PIT. I strap on a pair. It’s a disguise of sorts. This mission is doable. My eye twitch disappears.

The gym is divided in half. One half is a big rectangle with a two-foot-high Plexiglas fence around it. The field where the bots compete. The other half is divided into three rows. Each row is made up of about twelve team booths, six on each side of the row. The booths are constructed of plastic pipes and decorated with team banners and homemade posters. Inside most booths is a bunch of people with screwdrivers and drills, poking and prodding their robot. At the front of each booth, there’s a basket of free team buttons.

Head ducked, I lurk at the end of each row, peering through the crowds to find the Donner booth. I need to sneak into the back of their stall before anyone from my school sees and identifies me. I figure I’ll hide there for the evening, listening for any plans about The Ruler.

“Mary, finally, you’re here.”

With a scream, I jump.

“We’ve been looking for you.” Claire’s right in my face. With her shiny black hair totally straightened, the long side looks longer and the short side looks shorter. Add in a white and turquoise tie-dye T-shirt with a blazing fireball on the back and DONNER DYNAMOS in black letters across the front. Claire’s got a real robotic-warrior thing going. “Where’s your team shirt, Mary?”

“Dirty laundry,” I mumble. I’m in jeans and a pastel pink blouse. Why? Because pink isn’t a Donner school color, and pink isn’t a Saguaro school color. Plus, pink goes well with my skin tone.

Claire frowns. “Here’s the schedule I’ve made up for everyone.” She pulls a sheet off her clipboard and hands it to me. “Your responsibilities are highlighted. And there’s a note to remind you to bring the bling to our next meeting. We’ll glue it on before we crate our bot.”

I read the sheet. The eye twitch makes a comeback. “Claire, why am I mostly in the Saguaro booth? On spy duty.”

“That’s plan A,” Claire says smugly.

I throw my hands up in the air. “But I’m over there more than anybody else. By a bunch.”

“You’re new to the Donner Dynamos. Judges are visiting the booths. They have the right to ask any team member any question. And we get judged on the answer.

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