The Society of Super Secret Heroes (16 page)

Systematically, the guys cleaned under each student's desk and dusted the top. They also peered inside each one—except for Raj, whose job was to block the teacher's view as he swept. Elliott and Kev snickered whenever they saw something interesting—a squashed chocolate cupcake, a fist-size wad of chewed-up gum, comic books, a water gun. But Fin only moved on to the next desk without comment. Just as they were searching the last one, their classmates began trickling in. By that time, none of the members of the SSSh were smiling anymore. They hadn't found any sign of the Thinking Cape.

“Let's wait outside the door for Thorn and Bud,” Fin said, although he wasn't sure what he was going to say or do when they arrived. He wanted to pop Thorn in the nose—on purpose this time. But he didn't have any proof that Thorn had stolen the cape. It was just a feeling.

 

As the room filled up, Finch looked at the clock. Where were Bud and Thorn? If they'd discovered the Thinking Cape could talk, they'd never keep it a secret. Once the news got out, the cape would become so valuable it would have to be locked up. It would hate that!

“What's going on over there by the door, dudes?” Mr. Burns called as the late bell started ringing. “Please take your seats now.”

“I guess they're not coming,” Elliott said as he and his friends headed toward their desks.

But a moment later, the scorpion and the dung beetle came hurrying in. Thorn hung his grungy gray backpack on a hook. But Bud carried his beetle-black one to his desk. Before he sat down, he looped one of the straps over the back of his chair.

Finch and Raj locked eyes.

“Oh, man, did you see that?” Raj hissed.

“Yeah—it's got to be in there!” Finch replied. It took all his self-control to remain in his seat. “Quell, quell the speechless spell! Cape, where are you?” he called silently. He held his breath and waited. “It's not answering,” he told the guys.

“Maybe it can't talk,” Elliott said. “Maybe it's injured.”

“We've got to get a look in Bud's backpack,” Raj whispered. He looked around. “But first, we need a distraction.”

“That's easy.” Elliott jumped up. “Uh-oh! The water in the goldfish bowl looks awfully low,” he announced loudly. He dashed to the Critter Corner and grabbed the yellow plastic pitcher from the tray of supplies. In a moment, he was on his way out the door. Fin, Raj, and Kev shot one another puzzled looks.

Ms. Mitchell's piercing voice suddenly blasted over the loudspeaker. “Good morning. Today is Monday, September 26. Here are the morning announcements.

“Item one: Back to School Night was a great success. Students, please thank your parents for coming.

“Item two: If anyone found a green cape with yellow lightning bolts on Friday night, please bring it to the Lost and Found.”

The classroom began to fill with snorts and giggles. Finch tried to look normal, but he could feel his ears turning red.

“Item three: Nurse Goldstein asked me to remind all students that health forms are due on . . .”

The classroom door banged open. “F.E.T.—Fish Emergency Technician coming through,” Elliott shouted. The yellow pitcher was dripping as he hurried across the room. Water sloshed onto the floor as he rushed toward the fishbowl.

“Oops!” Just as he was passing Thorn's and Bud's desks, Elliott began to slip. He jerked back and forth, trying to catch his balance. Water splashed over the top of the pitcher.

“Watch it—” Bud reached out to push him away. But that only made Elliott more unsteady.

“Whoa!” he yelped as his right foot slid on a wet spot. The plastic pitcher flew out of his hand. Water spilled everywhere—but most of it landed on the scorpion and the dung beetle.

“You did that on purpose,” Bud shouted as he tried to wring out his shirt.

“No, I didn't. It was an accident.” Elliott was sprawled on the floor. “Look—I'm drenched.”

“My pants are wet!” Thorn yelled.

Chloe, Zoe, and Kayla giggled.

Thorn shot them the rays-of-death glance. “Shut up!”

Flaaah! Flaaah! Flaaah!
Mr. Burns's lungs were in good shape this morning. “Everyone chill out! Thorn, Bud, and Elliott—go to the nurse's office. She keeps extra clothes around for accidents.”

At the word
accidents
some of the girls began tittering again—until Mr. Burns lifted his bugle. “Will someone go and get the mop from Mr. Paul?” he asked.

Finch jumped up. “I will.”

“I'll get the pail,” Kev volunteered.

“We'll need some towels,” Raj said.

“Thanks, dudes. What would I do without you?”

 

While Finch and Kev mopped up the floor, Raj dried the desks with the old gray towel he'd gotten from Mr. Paul. No one noticed as Raj the Remarkable slipped Bud's backpack off his chair and rolled it up in the towel. It was like after the ambulance leaves the scene of the accident. The interesting part was over.

Before they returned Mr. Paul's supplies, the guys stopped in the boys' room. Raj unwrapped Bud's backpack from the towel. “Here, Fin.”

“You look. I can't.”

Raj nodded solemnly. “Okay.” His slender brown fingers undid the buckles and slipped inside. One by one he removed:

Elliott grabbed it and smoothed it out.

Elliott whistled. “No wonder Bud is so mean.”

“Are you sure there's nothing else in there?” Finch took the backpack and lifted it up. He turned it over and gave it a few hard shakes. Only a paper clip and a pen fell out.

Thorn and Bud were in their seats when the guys got back to the classroom. Bud gripped the edge of his desk at the sight of Finch carrying his backpack.

“Here—I dried this off for you,” Fin said as he handed it over.

“Gimme that!” Bud's arm shot out and grabbed the pack. The sleeves of his borrowed gray sweatshirt were too long.

Thorn got halfway out of his chair to lean across his desk. He was wearing wide brown pants like the ones the custodian wore. With his broad chest and spiked yellow hair, Thorn looked like a cross between SpongeBob and Dracula.

“You and your towelboys think you're smart, but guess what? Buddy and I've got a surprise for you.”

“What is it?” Fin asked before he could stop himself.

Thorn's big, closed-mouth smile made Fin's heart shrink. “You'll find out. And I can't wait to see your ferret face when you do.”

On Friday morning, Finch and Raj stood in the corridor collecting everyone's birthday cards. Kev and El took the snack contributions and brought them to the cafeteria. The lunch ladies, Ms. White and Ms. Baker, had agreed to keep all the food in the kitchen until it was time for the party.

“How come you're in charge?” Chloe asked as she handed Fin her card.

“Chloe, this is awesome!” he said as he peered at her creation. She'd drawn a classroom full of puppies smiling at a grown-up teacher dog. The teacher dog was holding a giant bone with a red bow tied around it. Beneath the picture it said,
Hope you have a gnaw-some birthday!

Chloe beamed. “Thank you. I thought of it myself.” She'd already forgotten about her question.

 

At lunch, the guys picked at their sandwiches until everyone went out for recess. Then they blew up two packs of balloons and taped them to the columns around the cafeteria. Along the wall opposite the windows they stretched a line of string and hung their classmates' cards from it with paper clips. One of the cards had a picture of a round-faced character with spiky yellow hair and pointy yellow teeth. Inside, it was signed,
From Guess Who?

“Those decorations make me feel like partying,” Ms. White called from the kitchen, where she and Ms. Baker were washing pans.

“I may have to start dancing,” Ms. Baker agreed. “Look out, boys, or later I'm going to ask one of you to be my partner.”

“It's a good thing we're not having music,” Elliott said.

Since Monday, Fin had hardly thought of anything but the Thinking Cape. But now, in spite of his worries, he felt a little spark of excitement. He imagined Mr. Burns's amazement when he walked into the party at 3:30. Just like a DON'T WALK sign, his face would start flashing red. Then he'd get this big grin on his face and his head would bobble like a balloon. The thought made Finch smile for the first time in days.

 

Ten minutes before three o'clock dismissal, a whisper got passed around Mr. Burns's classroom. No one was sure who started it.

“When the bell rings, leave the building as if you're going home. Wait ten minutes. Then come back in through the side entrance and go to the cafeteria.”

In an orderly fashion, the students filed out of the room. No one pushed, shoved, shouted, or even talked. Mr. Burns didn't seem to notice his students' unusually quiet behavior.

The members of the SSSh raced straight to the cafeteria. Kev and Raj arranged the snacks on one of the long tables. Elliott brought out the containers of lemonade they'd stored in the school's giant refrigerator.

“Is one of you named Finch Mundy?”

Finch looked up from setting out paper cups and plates.

A tall guy in a jacket, baseball cap, and black high-tops was standing in the doorway. He was holding a tower of pizza boxes—ten or twelve of them. “Delivery for you,” he said.

Finch blinked at the tall stack. He'd never seen so many pizzas before. “I didn't order those.”

“No?”

The man put the boxes down on the closest table and pulled out a receipt. “It says here, ‘One dozen pizzas for Finch Mundy.' ”

What kind of trick was this? Finch wondered. Could it be the surprise Thorn had threatened him with?

“B-but I can't p-pay for them,” he stammered.

The man grinned. “They're already paid for. See?” He held out the receipt as he approached. There was something familiar about his walk. Then he took off his baseball cap. Underneath was a head full of bright red hair.

Finch's heart began doing jumping jacks. Could it be? “Anthony?” he croaked. “I mean, are you Mr. Anthony Burns—Slope Burns's brother?”

“You've got that right, dude. Are you the Madbird?”

Raj, Kev, and Elliott all stared, openmouthed.

“B-but I thought you weren't coming,” Finch blurted out.

Anthony Burns ducked his head. “To tell the truth, I've kinda been missing my little bro'. And I couldn't stop thinking about how cool it was that you kids were making him a party. I couldn't stand to miss it. So I decided to surprise the surprisers. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Finch replied quickly. But underneath his happiness, he was having a worrisome thought. He'd lost the Thinking Cape and gained Mr. Burns's brother. What if it was some kind of magical trade?

“Slope Burns, there's a teachers' meeting in the cafeteria. You're late!” the loudspeaker squawked as Ms. Mitchell made her announcement.

The crowd of teachers and kids in the cafeteria laughed. Then someone hissed, “Shhhh!” in a loud voice.

“Should we hide?” Principal Kutler asked.

“In the kitchen!” Ms. Baker suggested.

“Don't run,” Nurse Goldstein admonished.

Everyone scurried to the back of the cafeteria and slipped into the long, narrow kitchen. Ms. White stayed behind to shut out the lights. In another moment, they heard footsteps racing down the hall.

“I'm sorry, I must have missed the announcement. I didn't know about today's meeting. Hello? Isn't anyone here?”

“SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!”

Ms. White snapped the lights back on. Students, teachers, and other school staff members flooded into the cafeteria, shouting “Congratulations!” and “Happy birthday!”

Mr. Burns's face grew flushed, just as Finch had imagined. “This is awesome. Thank you!”

“There's one more surprise,” Ms. Mitchell announced. Even without the loudspeaker her voice was piercing.

“Shhhh! Shhhh!” Everyone shushed one another again. All heads turned to the back of the cafeteria as Anthony Burns walked in.

“Happy birthday, little brother,” he said.

“Anthony—you're here!” Mr. Burns's jaw dropped. His head bobbled. And his eyes were glistening. Finch hoped his teacher wasn't going to start crying. He felt sort of choked up himself.

The two brothers grabbed each other. Anthony actually lifted Slope off his feet. The party guests gathered around them, laughing and clapping.

The members of the SSSh headed for the snack table. Finch and Kev poured lemonade. Elliott and Raj began putting pizza on paper plates as a line of hungry partygoers formed in front of them.

Thorn cut to the front. “I don't want your grubby fingers on my pizza, towelboys,” he said. He reached into the box with both hands and grabbed a slice in each fist.

“Hey!” Elliott protested.