Gavin returned to class, his head spinning. What had that been about? Why all the questions about his ability? Were they checking to make sure he was progressing? What if he wasn't doing as well as they thought he should do? Would they kick him out? He was getting used to being in this school and he would hate to have to go back to Brumblefeld High School. Just the thought made his stomach drop. He swallowed his nerves down and reentered the classroom.
His confusion/paranoia over the matter lasted until second period, when Mr. Folly ducked his head into Mr. Chickawa's class and announced that Jason Cottle was wanted in processing. This was followed in quick succession by Tisha Flores's removal in Miss Purview's class, Mag Tillerson being yanked out of Mrs. Gorgacheek's class, and, finally, Jupiter being pulled out during Mr. Choi's class.
Over the next several days, it seemed everyone was pulled out of one class or another and forced to march down to processing, where each of them had an odd encounter with a woman named Ambrosia, although the descriptions of this Ambrosia person were all over the map.
"What do you think is going on?" asked Gavin during lunch a few days later. He, Jupiter, Harriet, Jud, and Samantha Ruby were sitting under the Aurelia Limpit tree, enjoying the shade.
"I heard that Lord Thumbledown's is recruiting," said Samantha. "So we're all being tested by that Native American woman, Ambrosia."
"The Greek woman, you mean," corrected Jupiter.
"I thought she was more Eskimo than anything," offered Harriet.
Jud shook his head. "She's Asian. Korean, I think."
"I seriously doubt they want any of us over at Lord Thumbledown's," said Gavin, ignoring the various descriptions of the mysterious woman in processing. "Those kids have some serious superpowers. We don't match up."
"Maybe they're culling the school," suggested Jud. "And these interviews are their way of deciding who to let go."
"That's awful, Jud!" argued Harriet.
He shrugged. "I call 'em like I see 'em."
Gavin agreed with Harriet that Jud's suggestion was awful, but he also feared Jud may have been correct. He was just relieved that he wasn't the only one being considered for expulsion. Though he had been the first one interviewed. He wondered if that was a good thing or bad thing.
Probably bad, he thought, then stopped and chastised himself. Cut it out! You're starting to think like Jud!
Lunch period ended and the students headed back inside. Before they could get to class, however, Mr. Unger's voice cracked from the loudspeaker.
"The following students are to report immediately to Mrs. Gruber's office. Stanford Angola. Flynn Decker. Samantha Ruby. Hannah Yang. Gavin Mallard. That is all."
Gavin froze. Report to the office of the Headmistress? He sagged, seeing his future at St. Hibbard's flash before his eyes. He was certain he was being chucked out of the school like a shoe with a hole in the sole.
"I'm sure it's nothing," said Harriet, trying to reassure both Gavin and Samantha. Gavin tried to smile in response, but failed.
His friends wished the two of them well and headed to class. Gavin sighed, then turned to Samantha. "I suppose we should see what they want," he said.
"This is it!" she exclaimed. "We're going to Thumbledown's!"
Gavin seriously doubted it.
***
Gavin and Samantha arrived at the door to Mrs. Gruber's office to find Flynn Decker and Gavin's roommate Stanford waiting--patiently in Stanford's case, not-so-patiently in Flynn's.
"You, too?" he blurted out upon seeing Gavin turn the corner. "This sucks."
Gavin ignored the minor bully and nodded to his roommate, who was standing quietly against the wall, a loose pile of debris lazily fluttering around him. "Think we did something wrong?" he asked. It had occurred to him that maybe he and Stanford had screwed up somewhere along the line in Boot Camp or even with their dorm room. It was, after all, a massive mess and probably a health hazard. It couldn't be a coincidence they'd both been called in.
A moment later, the fifth student summoned, Hannah Yang, arrived. At almost the precise instant she stepped within the radius of the door, it opened and Mr. Folly from Processing stepped out.
"Good. You're all here. That's good." He straightened his tie automatically and tried to smile.
"Are we in trouble?" asked Hannah.
"Trouble?" he responded, surprised. "Well, no. I mean... no. I don't think so. Probably not. Should you be?" He seemed genuinely interested.
"Get them in here!" called Mrs. Gruber from within her office.
Mr. Folly snapped to attention. "Yes, yes! Right away!" He turned to the five students, who all stood there, looking at him. "Well? You heard her! Go! In! Quickly!"
Mr. Folly ushered the students inside a waiting room and then followed them in and closed the door. It snapped shut with an ominous click, as if locking itself. Gavin twisted his neck back around to look to see if they'd been locked in, but couldn't tell.
"Well? Go on!" The man from processing gestured toward a second door which obviously led into the Headmistress' actual office. The students stared at the door, no one willing to be the first to enter. "Oh, for Heaven's sake. You are not being marched to your death! Just go, already!"
Might as well get this over with, thought Gavin. He stepped up to the door, opened it wide, and marched to his doom.
He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't what awaited them on the other side of the door. Mrs. Gruber's office was roomy but boring in an antiseptic sort of way. The first and most obvious surprise was how much light was in the room. It was a far cry from the eternally-dim hallways and rooms the students were used to. The next surprise was how utilitarian everything seemed. White walls. Square, grey chairs in front of a grey desk that looked like something out of a World War II movie. There were no pictures on the wall, just lots and lots of charts, filled with numbers and data that looked meaningless (though Gavin knew they were most likely anything but).
Mrs. Gruber herself sat behind the desk in an equally-dull metal chair, her eyes peering at each and every one of the five students who crossed the threshold to her room. "Sit," she ordered.
Gavin quickly counted four available chairs. "Excuse me? There aren't enough chairs."
"I've never needed more," she answered. "Now sit!"
Flynn jumped into one chair. Stanford glided into a second, leaving a small trail of garbage in his wake. Deciding to be chivalrous and let Samantha and Hannah have the other two chairs, Gavin found a spot on the floor and sat down. Mrs. Gruber didn't seem to notice or care.
"First things, first," began Mrs. Gruber. "You're not being expelled."
Gavin breathed a sigh of relief.
"And you're not going to Lord Thumbledown's," the woman continued.
Samantha deflated a little.
"As a couple of you may recall, The Headmaster of Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics suggested I think about something we had discussed in private." She spat the word 'private' out, obviously still upset about Symphonius' blurtation. "Well, I have thought about it, and we're going to do it. And you five are going to be our guinea pigs. So there you go."
She sat back and glared at everyone. Gavin looked around, confused, and was pleased to see that everyone else, even Flynn, looked equally confused.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," said Gavin, finally. "But I'm afraid you lost us."
Mrs. Gruber rolled her eyes. "What's there to lose?" she said. "You and Mr. Angola, with your, what do you call it, Gavin-a-pult? Very clever name. And you!" She pointed at Flynn. "You, Mr. Decker, make everything more!"
"More what?" he asked.
"Just more! And then with Miss Yang, you have the perfect system."
Gavin turned to Hannah, realizing he had no idea what her ability even was. "What does she mean?" he asked.
Hannah shrugged. "How should I know?"
"What do you do?" asked Flynn.
"Excuse me?"
"Your ability. What is it?"
She frowned. "I smell danger."
Gavin blinked a couple of times. "Excuse me?"
"She smells danger!" exclaimed Mrs. Gruber. "If that isn't perfect, I don't know what is."
"You actually smell danger?" asked Gavin, intrigued. "What's it smell like?"
"Chocolate," answered Hannah. She sighed. "Don't get me started."
"What about me?" asked Samantha, changing the subject.
"What about you, Miss Ruby? You have the time! It's a match made in Heaven. So go to it."
She waved her hand at them, excusing them, and looked down at some papers on her desk. All five traded awkward looks, utterly devoid of any idea what they were supposed to be doing. Finally, Gavin sighed and raised his hand again.
"Mrs. Gruber? Ma'am?"
She looked up. "Why are you still here?" she asked. "We're done. Go away."
"But you still haven't told us what we're going to do."
"What do you think you're going to do?" she asked. "St. Hibbard's is under attack. You five are going to protect it."