Mr. Hollowind quickly followed Mr. Choi, after first ordering the students to stay in the gym. So, of course, everybody left the gym and followed as well. They hurried through corridors that were already alive with activity and gossip--word of the attack had already spread. Some of the teachers were trying to create order from the chaos, while others didn't bother.
As they ran, a crowd formed behind them as the students decided that since Gavin and the others were running with a purpose, they must have known what was going on. Before long, Gavin felt like the entire school was following him.
Mr. Choi reached his classroom and brought Mr. Hollowind inside. Mrs. Gruber was already there, examining something Gavin couldn't see over the heads of the crowd. He squeezed through and managed to worm his way to the front and peer into the room.
There was a student standing in the center of the classroom, frozen solid. It was a girl, one Gavin didn't recognize. Upon a closer look, he realized she wasn't encased in ice, she had BECOME ice.
"Poor Begonia never had a chance," lamented Mr. Choi. "It all happened so quickly. I was only out of the room for a few moments."
"You're saying one the infiltrators turned Miss Limpit into ice?" asked Mrs. Gruber. "I've never heard of such a power."
"There isn't one like that in the registry," offered Mr. Hollowind.
"They're going off-registry!" declared Mr. Choi, still a bit worked up. "I'm telling you, it must have been one of the students from Lord Thumbledown's! Remember, they have a girl who can open portals between places!"
A gasp worked its way through the crowd of onlookers at the door as Mr. Choi's accusation spread. The three adults turned and started as if noticing the students crammed in the doorway for the first time.
"Everyone go away!" ordered Mrs. Gruber. "This isn't the day's entertainment!"
"Actually, I see Mr. Mallard there," said Mr. Hollowind. "And is Mr. Warner near? Come in, you two. I could use your help."
Gavin looked around him with a mix of apprehension and excitement then stepped into the room. A moment later, Mitchell Warner, the bully from Gavin's first day, pushed his way through the crowd.
"What's up, Prof.?" he asked.
"Mr. Warner, Mr. Mallard, I need you to bring Miss Zahn down to the kitchens so she can be placed in the freezer until such a time as we are able to return her to her natural form."
"The freezer, Idris?" asked Mrs. Gruber.
"She is made of ice," he explained. "We don't want her to melt."
With Mr. Hollowind and Mr. Choi's help, Gavin and Mitchell picked up the frozen form of Begonia Zahn and laid it on its side on a cart. They then rolled her out of the classroom, the crowd opening in front of them and closing behind them as they passed. Gavin was aware that all eyes were on him, but he tried to put that out of his mind and concentrate on his task. For whatever reason, the students chose not to follow the sad little cart to its destination, and so within a few moments, Gavin and Mitchell were alone.
"What do you think happened?" asked Gavin.
"Duh. A bunch of Thumbledown jerks popped over here to play a prank," answered Mitchell.
"That's all you think it was? A prank?"
They arrived at the cafeteria and Mitchell held the doors open while Gavin pushed their charge into the room. "What else could it be?" growled Mitchell.
"Just seems like a lot for a prank," responded Gavin. "I mean this girl could die. For all we know, she could already be dead!"
"If she were dead, they wouldn't have us transferring her to the freezer, dummy."
Insult aside (and a poor one at that), Gavin realized the other boy was probably correct. They rolled their cart behind the lunch counter and into the kitchen. The chefs within were preparing for lunch, which was scheduled to start in just a few minutes. The frozen form of the student drew gasps from a number of the chefs. After a moment, the Mr. Arduino, the head chef, approached and Gavin and Mitchell explained what had happened. Mr. Arduino barked out orders and his crew went into overdrive making room in the walk-in freezer for the poor girl.
Job done, the boys left the kitchen and were heading for the door when the lunch bell rang out, freezing them in their tracks. With a shrug, Mitchell walked over to a table and sat down. Gavin followed and sat down across from him.
"But why now?" he asked, picking up their conversation where they'd left off. "Why pull this prank right after what happened at the Hide and Seek event?"
"I'm sorry, did I invite you to sit down at my table?" asked Mitchell, annoyed.
"Well, no. I'm just-"
"So scram."
Mitchell glared at Gavin with what felt like true malice. Gavin wondered what he'd done to earn such animosity, but decided this wasn't the time to find out. Instead, he stood and walked over to a table on the other side of the room. Right as he sat down, the doors were pushed open and a few students began to trickle into the cafeteria. Gavin spotted Jupiter and waved her over.
"You actually wheeled Begonia into the freezer," she stated.
"Actually, we just delivered her to the kitchen," Gavin explained. "The chefs put her in the freezer."
Jupiter shook her head. "I can't believe they would do something like this."
"Who, Thumbledown? Mitchell thinks it was just a prank."
A chime was heard, signalling that the lunchline was now open. Jupiter and Gavin rose and got into the queue. "It was more than a prank," Jupiter said. "You missed it. After you two left, Kaylie heard Mrs. Gruber ask the other two what they thought the invaders were after. Before either could answer, Hollowind held up a hand to cut Choi off and then came over and closed the door, shutting us all out."
Gavin's eyes widened. "You think they're hiding something?" He reached the beginning of the lunch aisle and grabbed a tray, handing one to Jupiter.
"They must be. And whatever they're hiding, Thumbledown wants it."
Gavin considered this as one of the chefs spooned a helping of what passed for mashed potatoes onto his plate. What could St. Hibbard's Very Special Academy have that Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics would want? They were the school of heroes, they had everything. No expense was spared over there. Meanwhile, here at the School for the Unimpressive, they were basically eating slop.
It didn't make any sense.
They made their way through the line, receiving globs of food they were told were mashed peas, mashed carrots, and mashed chicken. Gavin suspected it was all the same food, but with different colored food dye mixed in for variety.
They returned to their table and were soon joined by Jud, who set his tray on the table and sat down opposite them.
"Hey guys," said Jud. "So I guess we're at war with Thumbledown, eh?"
"War?" asked Gavin. "Where do you come up with that?"
"They've attacked us twice. You want to be next?"
"Of course not. But that's what Boot Camp is for, right? We're learning to protect ourselves. Did you see what Stanford and I came up with?"
Jud waved him away. "Like that's going to stop them. If they come after you, if they come after any of us, there won't be anything we can do about it."
"Speak for yourself, Jud," admonished Jupiter. "They come after me, they'll regret it."
"What are you going to do, Jupiter? Inflate into a big gas giant and bore them to death?"
Jupiter's face turned red, and Gavin wondered if she wasn't about to blow up then and there, when a girl he didn't recognise came over. She was short with dark hair tied back in a ponytail wearing jeans and a Forbidden Pastries t-shirt. Seeing the shirt, Gavin did a double take.
"You like the Pastries?" he asked.
The girl looked at him with a piercing gaze, wary. "Yeah. I do. Is that a problem?"
"Are you kidding? I love them! They totally rock!"
She visibly relaxed and smiled. "Absolutely. What's your favorite album?"
"Pinch of Salt," he answered without hesitation.
"That's a good one," she agreed. "But I prefer Rambling Tornado."
Jud and Jupiter looked back and forth between them as if they were both insane. "What are you guys talking about?" asked Jupiter finally, her anger at Jud overtaken by bewilderment.
"Forbidden Pastries," said Gavin. When the two continued looking at him with blank looks, he continued. "They're a band. I've got a shirt just like that." He pointed to the girl's shirt.
The girl laughed. "Don't worry about it, Jupiter. Mind if I join you?"
Jupiter shook her head. "No, of course not. Have a seat. Guys, this is Harriet Grave. She's in Boot Camp with me. This is Jud and your Pastry friend is Gavin."
"Hi." said Gavin quickly. "I'm Gavin."
"That's what I just said."
"I know," he answered, covering up. "I'm just... saying it again." He smiled awkwardly and Harriet laughed.
"What do you think, Harriet?" asked Jupiter. "Do you think the Thumbledown kids have declared war on us?"
"Oh, I hope not," she answered. "I wouldn't stand a chance against them. My ability is pretty useless. I can make a very light breeze. Nothing big, it can't knock you over or anything, just tussle your hair. Plus, I look like an idiot when I do it. Frankly, I'm surprised they even let me in this school."
"It must be something special," Gavin defended her. "Something no one else can do. You're here."
She shrugged.
"Have you paired up with anyone?" asked Jud. When she looked at him oddly, he added, "In Boot Camp. Have you paired your ability with someone else's?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. There isn't much call for a slight breeze. I mean how can I use that to defend myself?"
"There could be a gas attack!" suggested Gavin. "And you come in and save the day by blowing the gas out the window or something."
"I suppose..." she said, chewing on her fingernail in thought.
"It's better than me," said Jud.
"Are you nuts? You can rage out and smack someone silly!" argued Jupiter.
"Yeah, and then pass out for a few hours," he reminded her. "I'm a one-shot deal. Not exactly something I want to practice. I mean unless I have a test the next period or something."
This brought forth some laughs, and the conversation flowed freely for the remainder of the lunch period. Not that any of them noticed, but for a time the four students were able to put aside the attack on their school and just enjoy each other's company.
***
Gavin had Mr. Choi's class after lunch. Naturally, it was cancelled, so he decided to go to the library and work on a report he had due for Ms. Ackachack at the end of the week. Walking down the hall, he noticed how quiet everyone was. When added to the poor lighting, it made the school seem a desolate place. Gavin chalked it up to people freaking out over the attack and let it go at that.
The library was huge. It was shaped like a bagel that had been stretched end to end so that it was more of an oval than a circle. It rose up three floors with books along the outside wall of all three floors and an open area in the middle.
Gavin made his way to the stairs to climb up to the second floor, where he knew he'd find what he needed. Reaching the top, however, he paused as the faint whispers of a conversation caught his attention. Two students were huddled together not far from the stairs. Gavin recognized one as Barry Zipper, the boy who vomits when he travels, but he didn't know the other one.
"-can't tell anyone," the stranger was saying.
"They're off-register?" asked Barry.
"Completely," replied the other boy. He then mumbled something that Gavin couldn't make out. Frustrated, Gavin stepped closer, just as set his foot down, however, he remembered that this part of the floor squeaked. Sure enough, the groan of the wood caught the two boys' attention. Seeing Gavin, Barry's eyes went wide, but the other boy's narrowed, wary.
"Hi, Barry," said Gavin, trying to pretend he hadn't heard anything. "It's Gavin, the new kid."
"I know who you are," answered Barry.
"Cool," said Gavin, ignoring the negative connotations in Barry's answer. He turned to face the other boy and brought out his hand. "Hi, I'm Gavin."
The other boy glanced down at the hand and then up into Gavin's eyes. It was an intense stare, and Gavin found himself shivering a bit from the gaze. He felt like he was being studied.
Finally, the boy simply turned around and walked away without a word.