The Magician's Bird by Emily Fairlie Read Free Book Online Page B

wonder she kept all this secret,” Laurie said. “I wonder where else this tunnel goes?”
    â€œMisti’s going to be ticked off if we go on without her,” Bud said. Not that he really cared how ticked off Misti would be, but he thought it should be said.
    â€œShoot. You’re right,” Laurie said, deflating. They were totally exploring now. And Misti already had enough reasons to be mad at her, what with that email she’d sent her mom and all.
    Bud turned to Laurie and put his hands on his hips. “We are NOT telling anyone about this. ANY of this,” Bud said, sweeping his arm around at the tunnel and secret room. They just couldn’t spill the beans now.
    â€œNo chance.” Laurie folded her arms. It was one thing for her and Bud to secretly peek into the library. But the idea of someone like Betty Abernathy or Coach Burton or Principal Winkle peeking in was too horrible to imagine. No, there was no debate here. This was going to stay secret.
    Bud checked his watch nervously. They’d lost track of time, and they were already five minutes late for their scavenger hunt meeting with Miss Abernathy or Mrs. Hutchins. So much for making a good impression.
    They hurried over to Miss Abernathy’s office, bracing themselves for a tongue-lashing, but it was empty. Miss Abernathy was nowhere to be seen.
    â€œOh, man, she must be really mad,” Laurie breathed. “Maybe she’s with Mrs. Hutchins?” They started toward Mrs. Hutchins’s room at a half jog. The plan was to be obstinate about the hiding places, but not to tick the co-advisors off completely. Well, not yet, anyway.
    They hustled down the hallway and darted into Mrs. Hutchins’s room. It was empty.
    Laurie and Bud stood staring at the empty classroom. Bud shrugged. “She must still be talking to Miss Lucille. That’s weird,” Bud said, hurrying in the direction of the library.
    â€œMaybe they gave up on us?” Laurie said. She didn’t think they’d give up after five minutes, but who knows, maybe they were teaching them a lesson about the importance of being punctual. It could happen.
    Miss Lucille was by herself in the library, feeding Ponch and Jon an apple.
    â€œWe could ask?” Laurie said doubtfully, watching Miss Lucille through the glass in the door. She was holding the whole apple, letting Ponch and Jon take bites of it, not just dropping pieces of apple in the cage like people usually did.
    â€œNaw, leave it,” Bud said. Ponch and Jon seemed to be enjoying the personal attention. “Office?”
    â€œSure.” Laurie shrugged. She was starting to feel really freaked out. It wasn’t normal to go that long without running into someone, even if it was summer.
    Bud reached for the office door just as Mrs. Hutchins hurried out. She jumped back when she saw them andlaughed nervously. “Bud! Laurie! What are you doing here?”
    Bud and Laurie exchanged a worried glance. “Scavenger hunt organizational meeting. Remember?”
    â€œOh, right, that.” Mrs. Hutchins laughed again. It was a high-pitched, strained-sounding laugh. It didn’t sound normal, especially since nothing was funny. “I’m sorry, kids, we’ll have to reschedule. Things have gotten a little hectic here today. Why don’t we plan on tomorrow? Or . . . you know what? I’m sure whatever ideas you’ve come up with are fine. Why don’t you just go with those? Okay, thanks, great, bye.” She hustled past them down the hall without a backward glance.
    â€œWhat was that?” Laurie’s eyes were wide.
    â€œWell, something’s definitely up,” Bud said, staring after Mrs. Hutchins.
    â€œAll of our ideas are fine?” Laurie shook her head. “So if we went ahead with the plan to carve a clue into the ceiling of the library, they’d be okay with it?”
    â€œTechnically,” Bud said. “But I really