Since most of the damage to the school had been in the classroom wing, the dorms were more or less unscathed. Once the fire department had finished putting out the flames, students were sent to their dorms with strict instructions to remain there until further notice. They were also asked not to light anything on fire.
Gavin made his way to his room, his mind in a daze. Now that the danger was over, the questions began. Namely, who had started that fire? The usual suspects were, of course, students from Lord Thumbledown's School of Heroics, but Gavin was having a harder and harder time believing that. Of course, the lists they had found added weight to the possibility, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on. What purpose did burning down St. Hibbard's serve? Unless the students from one or both of those lists were hoping to uncover something in the ruins. Could they be passing themselves off as firemen even now in order to rummage through the debris?
Stop it, Gavin. You're being paranoid.
He opened his door and trudged into the room, taking pains not to step in any piles of junk, garbage, or trash. Stanford was already there, and he looked up when Gavin entered.
"I hear you did The Squad proud," he said.
Gavin waved the idea away. "I was just there. You would have done the same."
"Well, no, since I can't make my face squishy. Remember? I'm the ammo, you're the cannon."
"You would have found a way to save the kids," argued Gavin. "Maybe fashioned a rope out of trash or something."
Stanford chuckled, shaking his head.
"Man, you are hopeless. You're Rubber Skull, remember? And yet you save lives and don't think anything of it."
"I didn't save anyone's life," said Gavin, flopping down onto his bed. He then sat up and pulled an empty can of tuna out from under him and tossed it onto the floor.
"Your humility is annoying. Still, I guess you've earned the right to be our leader. Is that what you wanted?"
Gavin sat up, shocked. "No! Nothing like that ever crossed my mind."
"Uh-huh. Sasmantha said you pretty much called the shots out there." Stanford chewed on his fingernail for a moment. "She just went along with your idea."
"I had to act fast," Gavin countered, growing uncomfortable with the conversation. "There wasn't time to talk things over. Look, I'm not trying to be a leader or anything. Can we just drop it?"
"Good luck with that," said Stanford. "You're the talk of the school."
Gavin groaned, flipped over onto his stomach, and buried his head beneath his pillow.
***
The terrible events of the day led to one possibly positive outcome as far as Gavin was concerned--Mrs. Gruber had to go into town to discuss what had happened with the police, meaning she left the school.
Meaning the hedge maze was left unguarded.
Gavin spotted her through the window getting into a car with Mr. Choi and driving away. He immediately headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Stanford. "We're supposed to stay inside until told otherwise."
Gavin paused, not ready to admit the truth to Stanford. It wasn't that he didn't trust his roommate, it was just... that he didn't trust his roommate. "I'm just going for a walk," he lied. "I need to clear my head."
"Oh, of course," said Stanford, sarcastically. "You're a big hero now so rules don't apply to you."
Gavin didn't bother to respond.
Once in the corridor, he stayed in the shadows (granted, not a difficult task) and made his way out of the building and onto the grounds. It was strange looking back at the school and seeing a massive chunk of it torn down into smoldering ruins. He skirted along the edge of these until coming to the far wall, which was still intact. Then he took a quick look around, saw nobody, and dashed across the field to the grove of trees.
He came to a screeching halt when he found Jupiter waiting for him.
"About time you got here," she commented.
"Jupiter? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, come on, Gavin. Mrs. Gruber just left. As soon as I saw that, I knew you'd be here. This time you're not going in there alone."
Gavin looked away, trying to hide the disappointment on his face. It wasn't that he didn't want Jupiter's company or anything, it was just that he viewed his attempt to penetrate the hedge maze as a personal quest, rather than something he shared with others. "Fine," he said. "You can help me look."
"Or we can look together," corrected Jupiter. "Equally."
"Same thing."
"No, it's not. You would have me be your hapless assistant, basking in the glow of your brilliance without adding anything to the endeavor myself. I'm not hot on that." She put her hands on her hips and raised a single eyebrow.
Gavin felt like a fool. He sighed and held out a hand. "I'm sorry. Partners?"
She eyed his hand a moment, then took it and gave it a solid shake. Satisfied, she turned to face the hedge. "I figure the entrance is a decoy," she said.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that out," he admitted.
She left the grove and approached the wall of the maze. "The actual entrance will be hidden. You won't be able to see it unless you know where it is or you look real hard. We don't know where it is, so keep your eyes peeled."
They considered splitting up, but decided that two sets of eyes combing over the same area together had a better chance of success than a single pair on its own. They walked slowly around the maze, peering at the vegetation which wrapped around itself to form a formidable barrier. On an unspoken hunch, they started near where they'd seen Maximilian search (back when they didn't know his name) and moved counter-clockwise. More than an hour later, they had finally turned the first corner without finding anything.
"This is going to take forever," complained Gavin.
"Things worth doing often take time," stated Jupiter, as if she were a motivational poster. "Just keep at it."
Gavin took a breath and sat down on the grass. "I need a rest," he said. "This is brutal."
Jupiter rolled her eyes, but sat down next to him anyway. "So. How does it feel to be a hero?" she asked.
"Not you, too," moaned Gavin.
"You saved the kids from the fire. You're on the super-special St. Hibbard's student team. Your star is rising."
"My star isn't doing anything other than panting for breath," he responded. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Do you think somebody from Thumbledown set the school on fire?"
"Hmmm." She squinched her face up in thought. "You mean someone on one of those lists?" He nodded. "Maybe. Possibly. No, not really."
He perked up, intrigued by her answer. "Oh?"
"It's all about motive. We know they have the opportunity because of Ryanne's superpower-"
"I can't see her involved in this!" interrupted Gavin.
Jupiter raised her hands defensively to calm him down. "Easy, boy. I'm not saying she did anything, just stating the obvious. If she wanted to pop into our school and light it on fire, she could."
"Could she?" he asked. "She said she has to have been somewhere before she can open a portal to it. If she's never been to St. Hibbard's, then she can't open a portal here."
"But has she been to St. Hibbard's?"
He shook his head. "She said no."
"She could be lying."
"No," he said, believing it more and more as he spoke. "No, she's not involved. She didn't lie to us. She isn't part of this."
"She's on one of the lists," Jupiter reminded him.
Gavin frowned. It was true. "Maybe the lists aren't what we think they are," he suggested. "In any case, you were saying?"
"Huh?" Jupiter scratched her head a moment, before nodding. "Oh. Right. Motive. What do they gain by burning the school down?"
"What does anyone gain?" countered Gavin. "Say we have a new supervillain like Symphonius suggested. What's the ultimate plan and how does torching the school fit in with that plan?"
They sat quietly a moment more, each thinking the problem through. Finally, Jupiter stood up. "One mystery at a time. Let's find the entrance to the hedge maze."
They continued their search. Moving counter-clockwise, they pressed their hands into the hedge wall, searching for an opening, or an optical illusion, or a secret passage. Gavin was sure there was a way in. The public entrance had to be a decoy. After another hour, they came to the second corner, still searching. Gavin wanted to take a break again, but Jupiter wasn't having any of it, so they kept searching.
"I'm beginning to think we're wasting our time," said Gavin finally.
"Are you quitting already?" teased Jupiter.
"No! Of course not. I'm just... well, frankly, I'm bored. We've been at this for hours."
"We can't quit now," said Jupiter. "We don't know when Mrs. Gruber will leave again. It could be months."
"She is a bit of a homebody, isn't she?" joked Gavin. Jupiter laughed, but then suddenly gasped. Gavin, who was a few steps behind, stopped, startled. "What?"
She shoved her hand seemingly into the hedge wall. It disappeared completely.
"Whoa!" Gavin stared in amazement.
"I would have missed it if I hadn't hit it by accident. There's a slanted opening here that goes into the wall. Look!"
Now that she pointed it out, Gavin was able to make out a spot where the wall was sliced open at an angle, so that looked at from straight on, it looked whole. It was a narrow passage, but certainly passable.
"Where do you think it goes?" asked Jupiter.
Gavin grinned. "One way to find out."