Gabby Duran and the Unsittables (14 page)

Zee stared at Gabby, her eyes eager and dancing. Gabby just stood there, slack-jawed.

“Um…I don’t…really…know?”

“You
what
? You didn’t ask about her planet? About her galaxy? About her
biology
?”

Gabby twirled one of her low-hanging curls around her finger. “I’ve never been really good at biology….”

“But her biology is incredible!” Zee roared loudly enough that Satchel again had to modulate his humming. “One cell of it could probably change the way we think about
everything
! I mean, she can turn into things, right? Like the hat and the math book…”

“Uh-huh. And a pillow. And she was a French horn for a little while. And a piano.”

“Are you kidding me? And you never asked how she did it?”

“No,” Gabby admitted. “I was thinking more about fun things I could show her. You know, keeping her happy. And safe.”

Zee’s goggle-eyed dismay froze on her face, then melted into an abashed smile. “You’re a way better person than I am, Gabs. You’re right. Fun and happy and safe. No skin
cells.”

“Unless Mr. Lau gets a hold of her,” Gabby said. “He’s from this organization…There’s a lot to tell, but he knows what she is, and he wants to get rid of her. And
me too, if I get in his way.”

“Seriously? Mr.
Lau
?”

“He’s dangerous. And so is Principal Tate if he brings her to robotics and tries to take her apart. She might look like an object, but if she’s ripped apart or
impaled”—the words stuck like cotton in Gabby’s throat and she had to choke them out—“it’ll be for real.”

Zee made a gagging face, then brightened. “I promised Tate I’d go to robotics. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

Gabby shook her head. “Can’t risk it. What if he tries to take her out and mess with her before then? I have to get her out of there and someplace safe, but I can’t do it while
Principal Tate’s in his office.”

“Done,” Zee said. “Satch and I will get his attention, then you can slip in.”

“No,” Gabby said. “He’s already suspicious of you guys. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I can set off another fire alarm,” Zee offered.

It was possible, but Gabby worried that Zee would get caught. She needed another way to distract Principal Tate, and soon.

“Great piles of haggis!” Ellerbee exclaimed as he opened the door and saw Satchel and the girls. “What are you trying to do to me? First the blunderbuss in the cafeteria, now
you hide out in my office to ditch your class and nearly scare my heart clean stopped!”

“Sorry,” Gabby said.

“Our bad, L-Man,” Zee added. “The caf was a total accident, and we’re here because Gab’s in a major bind.”

“And the boy?” Ellerbee asked, jutting a thumb toward Satchel. “Looks to me like he’s dead lost it.”

Gabby and Zee looked. Satchel still faced the wall, held his hands over his ears, and hummed; but now he’d given the hum a tune. He danced to it, sliding back and forth across two feet of
space and shaking his booty in a way that made Gabby desperately wish she had time to pull out her cell phone and tape it. This was the kind of serious entertainment value that would only skyrocket
over time.

Instead she tapped his shoulder.

“Is it over?” he said as he spun to the girls. “Did I miss the big secret?”

“Big secret, did you say?” Ellerbee mused.

Satchel threw his hands in the air. “You see? Even taking all precautions, this is what happens. I am a hazard to myself and others. I cannot be allowed anywhere near the major plot points
of my life.”

“Does this secret have to do with Gabby McGregor’s ‘major bind’?” Ellerbee asked.

Gabby locked eyes with Zee, who shrugged—this was Gabby’s call.

“Actually,” Gabby said, “it does. It’s about the hat.”

“The robot?” he asked knowingly.

Zee grimaced. “Yeah, okay. It’s not really a robot.”

“It’s not?” Satchel asked. “Wait, don’t tell me. Should I start humming again?”

Zee ignored him and kept talking to Ellerbee. “You gotta trust us on this, L-Man. We can’t say what the hat is, but it’s majorly important to Gabby and she has to get it away
from Tate, like, now.”

“Except he’s locked in his office, and I don’t know how long he’ll be there,” Gabby added. “If someone could distract him, I think I could get the hat
out…”

“Someone?” Ellerbee asked archly. “Like a certain custodial worker, aye?”

Gabby reddened. She hated to ask Ellerbee for help. It’s not like she was Zee and the two of them were friendly. “Well,” she started, “only if it’s not a big
problem. Zee said she and Satchel could do it, but I don’t want to get them in trouble.”

“And you’re not so worried about ol’ Ellerbee, is that it?” he asked. The words stung, but he said them kindly, and he smiled afterward. “Wouldn’t have it any
other way. But even if you get the mysterious hat out of the office, you’ll need a place to keep it safe, aye?”

“I think she’s got it covered, L-Man,” Zee said.

Gabby knew what she meant. Once Gabby had Wutt in hand, the little girl could turn into almost anything and stay hidden in Gabby’s knapsack. That trick hadn’t thrown off Mr. Lau,
though, and it might not throw off any other members of G.E.T. O.U.T. at the school. If there was a better way to make sure Wutt stayed in one piece, Gabby wanted to know about it.

“Do you have something in mind?” she asked.

“Indeed I do, Gabby MacGregor. Tower classroom 3A.”

“Wait,” Satchel said. “I thought the Tower was closed off because it was haunted. By the spirit of an eighth grader who failed his finals and hurled himself out the window to
his death.”

Ellerbee laughed. “Very dramatic, that is, but not a bit of it true. They closed the Tower because it’s old and expensive to heat and cool. District’s been planning to tear it
down for decades now, but that costs money, too. Better to make the custodial staff drag his old bones up there to clean it every week. On the plus side…” Ellerbee pulled a large, round key
chain from a peg on wall and worked off two keys. He handed them both to Gabby. “Gold one works the door to the Tower itself, silver one’s 3A. It’s the highest one. Best place for
a person to hide out, if hiding out was necessary…though you didn’t hear it from me.”

He gave a deep laugh, and for the first time, Gabby really took in Ellerbee’s kind, round face and sparkling eyes. Add in long white hair and a beard and he could be a Scottish Santa
Claus. It was all Gabby could do to stop from hugging him. “Thank you, Ellerbee,” she gushed. “This is perfect.”

Just then the bell rang, which was also perfect because Satchel and Zee could slip out of Ellerbee’s office and blend in with the other students heading to seventh period. They still
needed an excuse for ditching sixth, and as Gabby watched them disappear down the hall she heard Satchel suggesting they say they were kidnapped by rogue army mech-bots. Zee countered that helping
to clean the cafeteria might be a touch more believable.

As for Gabby, she was now about to skip her second school period ever, but it was worth it to save Wutt. Her plan was to hide out with the alien girl through seventh period. Then she could have
Wutt turn into something tiny and slip that into her pocket for the eighth period orchestra final solo-showdown with Madison Murray, as well as for the concert itself. After that she could bring
Wutt home, and they could play in Gabby’s room until Edwina came to pick her up.

“You ready, Gabby MacGregor?” Ellerbee asked. “I promise I’ll keep him busy as long as I can.”

Gabby nodded, then stayed in Ellerbee’s office and peeked through the space in the jamb while he knocked on Principal Tate’s door. “Principal Tate, it’s Ellerbee, and I
could sorely use your opinion in the cafeteria.” Gabby couldn’t hear Tate’s response, but then Ellerbee spoke up again. “Oh, aye, I believe you’ll want to be seeing
this. Won’t take but a minute.”

Gabby held her breath as she waited the endless seconds until Principal Tate decided whether or not he’d leave his office. Finally, he emerged, his entire face scrunched into a frown.
“This had better be important, Ellerbee. I have more meaningful things to do than check up on a custodial job.”

“No doubt you do, sir,” Ellerbee said as he walked two steps behind Tate down the hall. “No doubt you do.”

He shot Gabby an okay sign before they turned the corner, and Gabby counted to five before she hoisted her purple knapsack over her shoulder, darted out of Ellerbee’s office, and ran into
Principal Tate’s. It was unlocked; he only locked it when he left school each day. Gabby’s heart thumped in her chest as she closed the door behind her. Now she wasn’t just
skipping class, she was trespassing in the principal’s office. If she were caught…

She couldn’t think about that. She wouldn’t be caught. Not if she moved quickly.

Principal Tate’s office was three times the size of Ellerbee’s closet, complete with a huge wooden desk that gleamed with polish, a plush leather rolling chair, seats and a couch for
visitors, and a majestic bookcase that spanned one full wall. The office felt grand but ancient, as evinced by the globe on its tall mahogany pedestal—the globe that showcased a giant red
U.S.S.R.

Gabby only scanned all that. Her attention went immediately to the tall vertical filing cabinet. The one piece of cold metal amidst all the warm wood, it looked chillingly to Gabby like the
drawers of a morgue. She crouched down and leaned close to the crack around the bottom drawer.

“Wutt, are you there? It’s me, Gabby. I’m alone, so you can talk. Can you hear me?”

Nothing. Nothing at all. Panic sizzled across Gabby’s skin.

“Wutt? If you’re in there, please answer me!”

The voice that came back sounded tiny and far away. “Wutt?”

“Oh good! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Gabby gushed. She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, then spoke in a rush. “We don’t have time. Turn
into something really, really thin, like a piece of paper or string. You know what those are, right? Paper or string? Then you can fit out of the sack and through the crack around the drawer. Do
you understand? Wutt? Do you understand what I’m saying?”

When Wutt didn’t respond, Gabby pushed her lips against the crack to say, “Wutt?” again…and nearly choked when a paper clip flew into her mouth and hit the back of her
throat. She coughed it into her palms, where the paper clip morphed into a tiny girl with blue skin, black oval eyes, slit-nostrils, and an impossibly large mane of red curls.

“WUTT!” she cried, throwing her arms around Gabby’s neck.

Gabby hugged her close. “Oh, Wutt, I was so worried.” She pulled the little girl back to look her in the eye and said, “Don’t ever freak me out like that again,
okay?”

“Wutt?”

“I know, I know, I’m the one who let you have the broccolini, totally my fault, just…” She pulled Wutt close again. “Stay safe, okay?”

“Wutt,” the little girl agreed, and hugged Gabby a little tighter until Gabby pulled her back again.

“I’m glad you’re out, but we’re still in a lot of trouble. I don’t know if you were listening when Edwina told me, but there are some bad people after you, and we
cannot
let them see you looking like yourself, got it?”

Wutt’s eyes grew enormous, and she trembled in Gabby’s arms as she pointed behind Gabby’s shoulder. “Wutt?”

Gabby wheeled around. Mr. Lau was standing in the doorway, a wicked grin stretched across his face. “Oh, I think she’s got it,” he said.

“W
e need to converse, Gabby Duran,” Mr. Lau said as he stepped closer, his cape swirling around his body, “but first I must
insist you turn over that alien child.”

Mr. Lau lunged forward, arms outstretched. Gabby knew she wouldn’t stand a chance wrestling Wutt away from him. The only move she could think of went against her every instinct, but she
had no choice. She cringed, held her breath, then hurled Wutt at the man’s feet, shouting, “Something slippery, Wutt!”

Wutt splooshed onto the floor, a puddle of oil on which Mr. Lau’s feet lost purchase and slid out from under him. As he fell, Wutt quickly turned back into herself and darted away as Mr.
Lau’s bulky body thudded to the ground. He landed flat on his back, his head thumping loudly against the hard wood.

He didn’t move. Alarm prickled the skin under Gabby’s arms into a cold sweat. Was he alive? Terrified, she tiptoed slowly to his side and leaned close to look for a pulse in his
neck.

“Uuuuuugggghhh,” he groaned, breathing a gust of moldy-fish breath straight up Gabby’s nose. She recoiled and grabbed Wutt, then tossed the girl into her purple knapsack.

“Something small, Wutt,” she said. “I’m going to zip you in and get out of here.”

Gabby didn’t know what the girl became, but the knapsack had just enough heft when she tossed it over her shoulder that she imagined it was some kind of book or binder. She checked the
clock. Seventh period was more than halfway over. She was lucky Ellerbee had kept Principal Tate away as long as he had, but he could be back any second. She leaned out the door to make sure the
coast was clear, then barreled down the halls as fast as she could. She turned corners, racing past the stairwell that led down to the music rooms, past the stairs that led to the upper-floor
classrooms, all the way down to the far end of the school, and the never-used door that led to the Tower.