Lily Wong Ch. 5

Chapter 5

The Detective, the Carpet, and the Forest 

Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So chasing that parrot after it snatched your I.D. card led you to some secret, underground chamber where you found a magic flying broom that turned into a bracelet."

It was after lessons and everyone was gathered around a round, stone table at a plaza where Lily explained to Oliver and Eddie how she got the magic broomstick.

"I see, I see," the older, black boy continued, nodding his head. "If I hadn't seen you fly around on that thing myself, I'd think that story was all crazy talk. But then again, there have been rumors and local legends going around for years that the school was built on top of a witch's lair. Maybe they were true after all."

"There are legends about witches here? I did not know that," said Lily.

"Forget about that," Eddie cut in. "What I want to know more about is that ghost lady and  that warning of hers."

"Yes, that part's got me really concerned too," said Oliver. "If there's any truth to what she said, then this school and everyone in it is in trouble. And we're the only ones who can do anything about it. I wonder if that parrot's spontaneous growth spurt had anything to do with that."

"Speaking about that parrot,' said Lily, "I'm really sorry I couldn't get that card case back, Eddie."

"That's okay, Lily," said Eddie, although he didn't look okay. "At least you tried."

"But it's really important to you, right?"

Eddie nodded and softly replied, "Yeah."

"Then all the more reason for us to work together to get it back," said Oliver. 

"I see a lot of problems with that," said Viv. "First up, where? We have no idea where that parrot took the case. Second, how? You saw that parrot. It was HUGE. Like Kaiju huge. Finally, I know you said something about working together, but what's in it for you? We only just met."

"First, allow me to explain what's in it for me," said Oliver. "I said before that my hobby is helping people and solving mysteries, didn't I?"

The others nodded and said, "Yeah."

"In other words, I am a detective! A lot of my classmates got stuff stolen by that parrot," Oliver explained, "and they enlisted my help getting it all back. And with that said, I believe I know where the parrot took the case as well as all the other stuff."

"Really? Where?" Lily asked.

With a proud grin, Oliver replied, "Based on witness testimony and what I saw with my own eyes, the parrot likely has its nest somewhere in the northern forest. Well, everyone calls it a forest, but lucky for us, it's more like just a small patch of trees. Considering how much stuff it stole, even if the parrot was back to its normal size and it's night time, we should have no problem finding it or its nest there."

Lily blinked incredulously and cried out, "Wait, are you suggesting we sneak out of the school to explore the woods at night?"

"I know what you're thinking," said Oliver. "Sneaking out at night is against the rules, and as an ally of justice, I don't like breaking the rules either. But I don't think we have a choice. If that parrot really is related to that ghost lady's warning, we're probably the only ones who can handle it. Well, only the person with the sapphire bracelet, anyway. Which means, only you, Lily, can put an end to that parrot's reign of terror and get back what was stolen."

So only I can get back Eddie's card case and that picture of his mom, Lily thought, giving Eddie a glance. She clenched her hand in determination.

"That still leaves the how, though," said Viv. "If we're headed for that parrot's nest, it's sure to be there too. We won't be able to get our stuff back without getting past that parrot."

"About that," said Lily, "I remember hearing the parrot say something about a challenge. I'm wondering if maybe I'm supposed to play a game with it to win back the stuff."

Viv scoffed. "What? You mean like in those shows on TV?"

"I know it sounds crazy," said Lily. "But the parrot definitely said that if I wanted the card case back, I needed to challenge it."

"It's definitely worth a shot," said Oliver.

"That just leaves one more problem," said Eddie. "How the heck are we supposed to sneak outside of the school?"

"Oh, I think I know a way," said Oliver, looking at Lily. The twins did too, looking like they understood what he was thinking.

Lily, however, blinked back at them and went, "What?"

**********

Late into the night, when the sky was black and everyone should be asleep, Oliver was in his room, flipping the pages of a book beneath the light of a lamp dragged closer to his bed when he heard light tapping on the window. He quickly closed shut his book, a leather-bound, hardcover copy of a complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, swung out of bed and drew back the curtains to look outside.

"About time," he said after opening the window to the three younger students outside.

"Sorry, sorry," Lily said. "We had a hard time finding your window."

Both the window and Oliver's room, by the way, were on the fifth floor.

To sneak out of the school, Oliver had come up with the brilliant idea to simply fly out. But since the broomstick was too small to carry all four of the gang, Lily switched it out for a magic flying carpet instead. The one she conjured and now sat on with the Waller twins was a blue oriental rug with diamond-shaped patterns with tassels hanging off the corners.

Oliver climbed out the window and gingerly stepped onto the carpet. After straightening up, he took a look around and nodded his head, going, "Hmm, nice."

"I still can't believe we're sneaking out of the school at night," Lily said. "This is crazy."

"Not as crazy as flying on a magic carpet about to do battle with a kaiju-sized bird," Viv pointed out.

"Does that bird count as a kaiju?" asked Eddie. "You'd think a kaiju would be bigger than that."

In case you don't know, a kaiju is a giant monster big enough to smash a whole city.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

All eyes turned to Oliver.

"I like talking about kaijus as much as the next guy," he said, "but we're burning moonlight. If we're doing this, we have to go now."

Lily glanced at her watch which she could see with light spilling from Oliver's room. 

Oliver was right, of course. It was really late and they were really short on time. They needed to find the bird's nest, defeat it and get back all the stuff it stole before they get caught and get into trouble for being out after curfew.

"Right, then," she said. "This is your captain, speaking. Everyone please keep your hands and feet inside the flying magic carpet at all times. I hope you enjoy flying on Lily Airlines. Next stop, the north forest! Let's go!"

She pointed the way and the carpet flew off at top speed. They soared high over buildings while the moon shined bright above them. And then - 

"Wrong way, Lily!" Oliver cried. "Wrong way! North's the other way!"

Lily stopped the carpet, made it turn around and had it fly the other way, the correct way.

The carpet cut across the school via the air. While flying to the forest, Lily risked a peek down to see what the ground was like, now and then spotting the hat of a security guard under the light of a lamppost. None of the guards bothered to look up and never noticed the blue flying carpet.

After passing the stone wall that marked the perimeter of the school, the carpet made its way to the edge of the forest where it touched down and disappeared, leaving Lily and the gang to explore on foot. 

"So where do we go from here?" asked Eddie. "Do you know, Mr. Detective?"

Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully and went, "Hmm."

He pulled out his phone, turned on its flashlight, shined the light around the ground, and then took a few steps forward before stopping to pick something up.

Everyone gathered around him to get a good look at what he found.

Pinched between Oliver's fingers was a big, blue feather. He looked over the feather and pointed the light at the ground again, finding more feathers ahead. 

"Methinks the parrot is that-a-way," he said.

"That's a little too easy, don't you think?" Lily asked, looking at the trail of feathers leading deeper into the forest.

"Oh, definitely," said Oliver. "That parrot's waiting for us."

"Do you think it's a trap?" asked Viv.

Eddie stated determinedly, "Even if it is, I'm going. I want to get that card case back. More importantly, I want to get that picture of my mom back!"

"Don't worry," said Lily. "We will!"

And so, with great determination and bravery, our heroes embarked on their first ever adventure together, diving headfirst into the forest while following a trail of ginormous, discard feathers. But after a few minutes marching down the path, many of them started to feel their bravery slip away.

Except for the light from Oliver's smartphone, it was pitch black in the forest. A strong, chilling wind sent shivers down Lily's spine and caused the tree leaves to rustle around them while eerie chirping filled her ears. Despite all that noise, there was a sense of quiet in the forest that made her legs kind of jelly-like.

"Now that I think about it, this forest is really creepy at night, isn't it?" she said.

"Well, yeah," said Oliver. "It's a forest. At night. What'd you expect?"

"You seem find with it," said Viv, huddled very close to Lily. "How come?"

Oliver replied smugly, "Of course, it's because I am a detective! To solve mysteries, one must be able to dive headfirst into all things dark and creepy without so much as flinching. So I could do that, I trained myself by watching the worst possible horror movies I could find."

"And how'd that work out?" asked Eddie.

"I had to go to therapy for seven years."

"Were the movies that bad?" Eddie asked.

Oliver replied, "They were banned in twelve countries for giving people long-term nightmares. But my dad, a really big movie nerd, got his hands on DVD copies before the ban took effect. Mom was REALLY ticked when she found out about them, and that I watched them."

Suddenly he stopped and raised his hand by his head for the others to do the same.

"Look alive, gang," he said. "Looks like we're here."

Lily and the others looked past him, eyes following the road as it expanded into a big, round clearing. Up ahead at the end was a ginormous tree, about as tall as a ten-floor building. At the base of the tree was a large hollow with all kinds of different stuff in it that the gang could see when Oliver shined his light over.

"Those are all the things the parrot stole!" he exclaimed. "Smartphones, diaries, bracelets, rings, necklaces, textbooks, wallets, you name it! Wow, I knew the bird stole a lot, but I didn't think it was this much. It's like looking at a dragon's treasure hoard. I'm surprised that bird managed to steal so many in just a few days."

"Speaking of that bird, where is it?" Viv asked.

No sooner did she ask, a familiar chorus of deep voices made its presence known.

"So you have come at last, Hero of the Sapphire Bracelet. I have been waiting for you."

Lily looked up. Several feet above the treasure-filled hollow was a second one from which the blue parrot glared down at her in all its super giant glory.

<== Chapter 4                                                                     Chapter 6 ==>

Lily Wong Ch. 4

 Chapter 4

The Blue Parrot

Just a quick recap: while having lunch outdoors at a snack bar kiosk, Eddie was going to buy a drink but got his leather card case with his I.D. card stolen by something blue that swooped down from the sky and flew back up.

He stared in horror at his empty hand and screamed, "My card case!"

Both Viv and Lily sprang out of their chairs and immediately looked up.

"There!" Viv screamed, pointing north. "It's that parrot! Somebody, stop it!"

A nearby security guard heard yelling, followed where Viv pointed and saw the bird. Briefed on the parrot's mischief, the guard carried around a butterfly net while on patrol, although he didn't think he'd need to use it so soon. He quickly sprang into action, running after the parrot while holding the butterfly net high over his head. 

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Again and again, he swung the net. He swung it down, up, right and left. But the parrot was a master of flight and very evasive. It dodged each and every swing of the net by mere centimeters and then looped around the security guard before flying away.

Out of breath, the guard used the butterfly net for support while bent down.

"Oh no!" Lily cried. "It's getting away!"

"No!" Eddie screamed. He jumped up, knocking his chair down, and ran after the parrot as fast as he could, brushing past the security guard still recovering. Both he and the bird shrank out of view before anyone could stop them.

"We should go after him," said Viv.

"Sure," said Lily.

Together, the girls hurried past the security guard and headed down the way they last saw Eddie run. A tall teenage boy with dark, ebony skin and short, curled hair arrived at the snack bar just as they disappeared down the road. He took one look at the slightly crouching guard and asked the nearest kid what happened.

"It's that dang parrot again," said the blonde girl. "Snatched that kid's wallet right out of his hand and flew off. Headed that-a-way!"

The boy looked north where the girl pointed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He thanked the girl and then walked away.

Meanwhile, Eddie and the girls followed the thieving parrot all the way to the castle. They circled left around the grand old building to a big grass courtyard behind it. The courtyard was boxed in by very tall hedges and had a couple of very tall trees. Lily spotted the parrot perched on a branch of the middle tree.

"There it is!" she shouted, pointing at the bird. Clutched beneath its talons was Eddie's card case.

Eddie stopped right under it and tried jumping up to grab it. But the branch the bird sat on was too high for him to reach. He quickly gave up and then tried climbing up the tree instead. 

"Ow!" He threw himself against the tree trunk and tried to pull himself up, but the tree's bark was loose and was torn off beneath the weight of his fingers, and he fell back down onto the grass. 

Viv reached her brother's side and asked, "You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Eddie snapped.

"No, not really," his sister said. 

Lily gasped. "Your hand's bleeding!"

Eddie's hands had been scratched up and turned into a pincushion by splintered tree bark.

"Never mind that," he snapped. "I need to get that card case back!"

Viv looked up at the bird and then at the tree her brother failed to climb.

"We should get help," she said. "There's no way any of us can reach that parrot without a ladder."

"Good idea," said Lily. "In that case, I'll - !"

"Ah!" Eddie cried out. He looked up in despair as the parrot suddenly spread its wings and took off, carrying his precious card case in its beak. It went high, high, high into the sky and disappeared over the hedges.

"Well, nothing we can do now," said Viv.

"No way!" Eddie groaned.

"We'll just have to let the admin office know what happened and order you a new I.D. card."

But then Eddie whined to his sister, "It's not just the I.D. card. That card case has Mom's picture in it! I can't lose that!"

"Eddie . . ."

One look at the boy's face was enough to tell Lily just how important that picture was to him.

She sighed and then spoke up.

"Eddie," she said. "Do you think you can keep a secret?"

Eddie looked up and, confused, said, "What?"

"I think I can get your things back," Lily said. "But before I can, I need you to promise you'll keep a secret for me."

"I'll do whatever you need me to if it means getting that picture back," Eddie said. "But just what's your plan?"

Lily exchanged a knowing glance with Viv who nodded back, and then replied, "Just watch."

She took a few steps away from the twins and then held her hand out. The blue jewels of her bracelet sparkled against the sun.

"Broomstick, please!"

The jewels shined bright and just like she requested, a broomstick appeared in her hand.

"Whoa!" Eddie cried out. "Where'd that broom come from? It just showed up out of nowhere!"

Viv grinned and said to her brother, "You ain't seen anything yet."

After mounting the broomstick, Lily kicked up and zoomed to the sky.

"She can fly!?" Eddie cried out. "Seriously? She can fly on a magic broom? Is that magic? Real magic? Like in the movies?"

The twins watched as she flew over the hedges and disappeared the same way the parrot went. She quickly spotted the parrot making its way to the woodland at the north and steered her broomstick after it.

The parrot must have sensed her approach because when she got close enough and made a grab for the card case, it suddenly veered right. Lily's missed swipe pulled her down and she nearly fell off her broom. After righting herself back up with a spin, Lily spotted the parrot turning again to the direction of the woodland and flew after it.

Down below, the Waller twins ran out of the courtyard, spotted her chasing the parrot north and followed.

Lily tried again to grab the card case when she got close enough, but the parrot again dodged, this time going left. She and parrot circled around each other once, twice, and thrice. And then the parrot dove down, followed closely by the girl. They went straight back up and then zigzagged left and right.

"Hold still!" Lily shouted.

The parrot squawked back, as if to say, "Make me!"

Again and again, they danced around each other, going up, down, and side to side. Lily got close to the parrot many times, but the parrot would always narrowly evade her hand.

"Come on!" Viv cheered. "You can do it, Lily!"

"Get it, Lily!" shouted Eddie. "Don't let it get away!"

The twins were on a patch of grass behind an old, box-shaped building watching Lily and the parrot fly in a circle before shooting straight up to the sun.

Lily's eyes stung against the sun's sharp glare, but she stubbornly pressed on with her gaze locked onto the black leather square pinched between the parrot's claws right beneath its tail feathers.

"Come on," Lily muttered to herself. "Come on!"

Closer and closer, she inched towards the parrot. She reached out for the card case, stretching her hand and fingers as far as she could. The tips of her fingers just barely brushed against the edge of the card case.

"Come on! REACH!"

And then she did it. She grabbed hold of the card case, clutched it tight and yanked it out of the parrot's talons. The surface of the case was torn, but the more important things inside it should still be okay.

"Got it!" Lily cried out triumphantly.

She turned to flee before the parrot could snatch the card case again, but then -

"NO! MINE!"

Hearing what sounded like lots of deep-voiced men screaming at the same time, Lily looked back over her shoulder and shrieked when a sudden gust of wind blew her away.

She spun five times, hugging the broomstick tight and close to herself while urging it to stop. Even when it finally did, the world around her still spun a while longer, but she could see clearly enough to see what had become of the blue parrot. And what she saw made her gasp.

What was once a normal-sized parrot, was now at least three times bigger than Lily.

Faster than she could blink, the parrot lunged at her and snatched the leather card case out of her hand with its curved beak. Lily looked at the card case in the giant parrot's beak and then at her own empty hand, blinking in astonishment.

"MINE!" the parrot roared again through its clenched beak. "WANT IT, CHALLENGE ME!"

"Eek!" Lily shrieked.

The parrot flapped its wings a couple of times, slamming her with an even stronger gust of wind than before. She went spinning down, down, down to the ground.

"Lily!" Viv cried out in horror when she saw her roommate falling.

She and her brother ran while keeping their eyes on the falling girl. They were joined by a tall, older black boy who had come rushing to the rescue. 

But just before Lily could hit the ground, light shined from her bracelet's jewels and formed a bubble around her. Her fall slowed to a gentle drift down into the arms of the awaiting trio. After they put Lily down, the bubble around her popped and the gang huddled over her with concern on their faces.

"Lily, are you okay?" asked Viv.

Lily numbly nodded yes. She was dazed, but otherwise unscathed.

When she found enough energy, she turned her gaze to Eddie and hoarsely said, "Sorry. I had the case, but then the parrot - !"

"I know," Eddie said, unable to hide his disappointment. "I saw the whole thing."

"Where . . . ?" Lily asked.

"Gone," Viv answered as she helped Lily up to her feet. "The parrot flew away while you were falling."

"Back to its nest at the northern forest area, I reckon," said the older boy. "Everyone who's seen the parrot said it always flew that way."

Everyone stared at the older boy.

"Sorry, but who are you?" asked Lily.

The boy gave a friendly smile and said, "The name's Oliver, age fifteen. My hobbies are solving mysteries and helping people, usually both at the same time. And before you ask, yes, I saw everything, Miss I-Fly-On-A-Magic-Broom. If you don't mind, I'd love for you to tell me all about that."

Lily exchanged a glance with Viv, then rolled her eyes over at Eddie and sighed. It hasn't been one day and already, not one, but TWO people discovered her major secret.

<== Chapter 3                                                                             Chapter 5 ==>

Lily Wong Ch. 3

Chapter 3

Unexpected Reunion

Eddie stared at the two girls with their faces planted on the table. 

It was morning time and the three were in an old-fashioned lecture hall that expanded upward with rows and rows of seats like in a movie theater. And also like a movie theater, the seats faced a big white screen. But beneath that screen was a big table with a black, leather office chair that the teacher would soon command as soon as he arrived. Windows to the outside world covered the left side of the room, while the right side was just a blank wall.

"What's up with you guys?" he asked.

Viv rolled her head so the left half of her face was exposed. There was a deep, dark circle beneath her eye. "Don't call us guys," she grumbled at her brother. "Also, nunya!"

"Okay, geez!" went Eddie. Under his breath, he grumbled, "I was just a little worried about you, you know. Probably forgot about school and just stayed up all night doing something stupid like slumber party things, anyway."

He kept grumbling as he stomped up the stairs, purposely choosing the highest row behind his sister before dropping down onto the seat with a loud thump.

Lily lifted her head up with a groan. Eddie had been right that she and Viv forgot about school and stayed up all night, but it wasn't for slumber party things. They had been trying to make the bracelet bring back out that ghost lady with the ominous warning. Lily was especially keen to know more about this evil the ghost lady said was coming, and about her being a hero and the chosen one.

But no matter what the girls did (asking the bracelet, hitting the bracelet), the ghost lady would not appear again. And by the time they finally gave up, the sun had already risen.

A few minutes after Eddie sat down, the bell rang signaling the start of homeroom. Lily grudgingly straightened up. However, the teacher was not here yet.

"I wonder why the teacher's not here yet," one boy nearby whispered to another.

"Who knows? Maybe he overslept?"

"Come on, this is Bluestone Academy! There's no way a teacher here would oversleep."

"I don't know. Rumor has it that there's a really weird teacher here. They say he talks to animals and really bends the rules as far as he can. He basically does whatever he wants here."

Lily's ears perked up. A guy that could talk to animals? That sounded very familiar to her.

Another five minutes passed, but the teacher still hadn't showed up. The classroom started to get rowdy, taking advantage of the teacher's absence to do their own thing when suddenly fanfare music played from a hidden radio over the sound of a machine's motor. A tall, red colored tube man, those inflatable dancing balloon things you'd see at car sales places, popped up from behind the teacher's desk. At the top of the main tube, a smiley face was drawn with black marker. As the tube man flapped its arms around from the constant supply of flowing air, a man's voice spoke.

"Welcome students. Allow me to introduce myself. I am your teacher, Mr. Viceroy Kevin Lin. But you can call me Viceroy or Mr. Viceroy. I like video games and comic books, and my favorite color is red. I was born in . . ."

The man's voice was without a doubt prerecorded.

Lily's jaw dropped and she could feel herself getting a panic attack. 

Seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY? She shrieked in her head. Why is HE here? Wait, no. Technically, he's not here. That's just a tube man with a recording of his voice. 

But that didn't change the fact that he was in this school, as a teacher. HER teacher.

Lily could hear everyone whispering behind her, and it made her stomach twist in knots.

Viv noticed and asked, "Lily? You okay? You don't look so good."

With a crooked smile, a face drained of color, and a really high, squeaky voice, Lily replied, "Just peachy."

Viv raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. But before she could dig further, the door suddenly burst open and a slender Asian man ran in. He rushed straight towards the teacher's desk and dove behind it. Everyone could hear a loud click as he switched the machine off. As the tube man deflated back down, the man straightened back up, fixed his necktie and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He wore a blue dress shirt and green sweater vest.

"Phew!" He turned to the crowd, smiled and said breathlessly, "Just a small joke, everyone. I totally didn't oversleep, and I totally didn't set that inflatable man up to take my place if I'm late."

"He totally overslept and he totally set that inflatable tube man to take his place if he's late," Viv whispered to Lily. "Lily? What's wrong?"

Lily put her face in her hands and shrank down a little.

It really is him, she thought despairingly.

She could hear the boys whisper, "Oh man, we really did get the weird teacher!"

"Viceroy Kevin Lin, A.K.A. The Weirdo."

Lily resisted the urge to groan. She dared to peek through her fingers and noticed the teacher looking back at her.

"Oh no."

"Lily?" said Mr. Viceroy. "Lily Wong? Is that you?"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"It's me! Your Uncle Viceroy! I heard from your parents you'd be going to a boarding school, but who'd have thought it'd be THIS one! And to be in my class too! What a coinkidink!"

Viv looked at Lily as she sank further and further down her seat, hands pressed over her face.

"Well, now I know how your uncle's a weirdo," Viv said. "He's THE Weirdo."

Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Lily groaned, "Just finish me already."

"Anyway," Mr. Viceroy said. He took a step and accidentally kicked the machine. "Oops!"

The machine turned on and the inflatable tube man appeared again. Mr. Viceroy tried to push it back down and ended up having a slap fight with it. It looked like he was actually going to lose that fight. No, seriously. He was actually losing in a slap fight with a soft, inflatable tube man. But eventually, he managed to turn the machine back off and stuff the tube man back under the table.

He straightened his necktie, smoothed down his sweater vest, and dusted his sleeves before going, "Ahem! Anyway, again, allow me to introduce myself. Also again. My name is Viceroy Lin. I will be your homeroom teacher for the school year, and one of the school's history teachers. I hope we get along.

"Now, I like to think of myself as a pretty lax guy. If you're not listening to me, I'll only warn you once or twice. That's it. Honestly, I just don't want to waste time and energy getting angry at any of you for acting up in class, at least to a certain point. Same if you're in any of my history classes. But fair warning, it won't be my fault you get bad grades on your report cards if you goof around too much. And I'm not afraid to send you guys straight to detention if you take things too far. I like to goof around, myself. But as an adult, I know when's a good time to goof off and when's not a good time to goof off. I hope I've made myself clear to you all."

No one said a word.

Satisfied with the silence, Mr. Viceroy sat on a corner of the table and moved on.

"A couple of announcements to start off the school year," he said, eyes on a sheet of paper in his right hand. "First up, the school's been getting complaints about a kleptomaniac parrot. In case you don't know, a kleptomaniac is someone with a bad habit for stealing things. I'm sure at least one or two of you had a run-in with that parrot."

"Don't remind me," Lily grumbled under her breath, remembering when that bird snatched her I.D. card. 

"Hey," she heard a boy whisper to another. "Did he just pull a licorice stick out of his pocket?"

"Yeah! And he's just eating it right in front of us while reading the school news. No fair he gets to eat candy during class. Is that even allowed for teachers?"

"I don't know. But didn't he say he was that girl's uncle? You know, the one over there? Do you think she has licorice sticks in her pocket too?"

Lily wanted to scream at them that no, she did not. But she held her tongue.

"The guys upstairs already called for animal control," Mr. Viceroy said while ignoring all the whispering, "but it'll take them another week to get here. So until then, all of you be careful with your things out in the open. That includes smartphones. Some guys lost theirs thanks to that flying menace. Did everyone get that? If not, let me tell you all one more time: be absolutely careful with your things while walking outside, or they'll get stolen by some freaky blue bird. Moving on . . ."

A few hours later, during lunchtime . . .

Lily hung her head backwards as she sat listless in her chair. In front of her was a white plate with a grilled cheese sandwich. She and the Waller twins were outdoors at a snack bar kiosk that was nearby the building of their last class. 

"That. Was. Horrible," she said, while rubbing her temples. She was, of course, talking about the classes she and the others had with her Uncle Viceroy. 

"Oh, come on," said Viv, after swallowing a bite of BLT. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yes it was," Lily snapped. "He showed everyone my baby pics!"

In addition to homeroom, Uncle Viceroy was also everyone's history teacher. And during his history class, when he tried to play a slideshow from his computer on the movie screen, he accidentally put up a picture from his personal photo gallery instead. In that picture was Lily when she was a baby with her cheeks smeared with apple sauce and her full name printed clearly on her pink bib.

"What's worse, now everyone knows I'm related to one of the weirdest people on the planet!"

"About that," Eddie cut in, "do you have any candy in your pockets right now?"

Lily glowered at him.

"Sorry. My bad." 

"Ugh!" Lily groaned as she pressed her hands over her eyes. "I can't believe it only took two days for me to stand out in the worst possible way. It was bad enough being the rich kid at my old school."

"Was Mr. Viceroy always like that?" Viv asked.

"Honestly, I think he might be better," Lily said. "At least he didn't pull out his Power Rangers action figures and use them to reenact the American Revolutionary War."

Eddie spat out milk in surprise. "He actually did that!?"

"According to Grandma," Lily said. "He made a video for some high school history project. It went about as well as you'd expect. I used to hear Mom, Grandma and Grandpa complain about him all the time. They still do, though not as much anymore."

"Really? About what?" Eddie asked.

"Seriously?" went Lily. "You saw what he was like at class. At home, it might be okay. But out in public, I don't think he should be so . . . What's the word? Unrestrained?"

"I don't think it was that bad," said Viv. "The guy does as he likes, but at least he's still doing his job."

"Can't argue with that," said Lily. "If not, he'd probably be fired already."

Eddie stood up.

"I'm gonna go grab another drink," he said. "Anyone want anything?"

"Oh, can you grab me a soda?" Lily asked.

"I'll have boba milk tea," said Viv.

"Got it," Eddie said. "Hold on. I'll be right ba-!"

As he turned to leave, he pulled out the black leather card case he used to hold his I.D. card. Right at that moment, something blue swooped down and snatched the case out of his hand.

<== Chapter 2                                                                          Chapter 4 ==>