Ada Lace and the Impossible Mission

by Emily Calandrelli

  “It looks great!” said Ada.

  “I know! Best work I’ve done, if I do say so myself. Yes, yes, yes.” Milton rubbed his hands together, admiring the replica. “There’s no chance anyone’s got a better project than ours, Ada. Especially now that it has the old Milton magic. It was great before, but now it’s really something special.”

  “Get over yourself, Milton,” said Nina.

  “Wait. That old Milton magic?” Ada asked.

  Mr. Parable came in before Ada had a chance to find out exactly what Milton meant.

  “Have a seat! Have a seat!” Bueller squawked.

  “You heard the bird, Ava,” said Mr. Parable.

  “It’s Ada!” said Ada.

  Ada couldn’t stop thinking about “that old Milton magic” all day. What did it mean, exactly? It could just be Milton being pleased with himself, which she had certainly seen before. But the more she thought about all the things that had happened recently, the more she began to worry. Milton liked pranks. Sure, so far they had been fairly harmless, but what if Milton had done something to their model? What if he put some figurines in there doing inappropriate things? What if he lined it with firecrackers? What if it exploded or collapsed or released noxious gas? They could wind up with an F, or worse—suspended. Or expelled! On the way to meet her dad in the art room, Ada ran her thoughts past Nina.

  “Normally, I’d agree with you,” said Nina. “But it’s Milton’s grade too. Do you really think he’d sabotage himself just for a laugh?”

  “Gosh, who knows, Nina? But I don’t think we can take the chance, do you?”

  “I guess not.”

  The girls stopped by Mr. Parable’s room before lunch to see if they could get their project back, but Mr. Parable was in a meeting. When they tried again after their last class, Mr. Parable had gone home for the day. The supply closet where he kept the projects was locked, and they weren’t supposed to go into it without permission anyway.

  “Drat!” said Ada. “We’ll have to get it back from him tomorrow. I hope it’s not too late.”

  • • •

  But the next day, Tuesday, Mr. Parable had some kind of training, so an aide filled in. They had a substitute for a substitute! At lunch Ada asked Ms. Stead, the aide, if they could get into the supply closet, but she didn’t have the key.

  Ada gave it one final shot on Wednesday morning.

  “Everyone has turned their projects in. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you special treatment.”

  “But, Mr. Parable . . . ,” said Ada.

  “Your project looks wonderful, Ava. I don’t know what you’re worried about.”

  “It’s Ada,” she said. “A-D-A. Ada.”

  “I wouldn’t be rude if I were you, young lady. I still haven’t decided on your grade.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Peridittle,” said Ada.

  “What was that?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Parable.”

  The Share Fair was just two days away. All the parents would be there and even the principal! Mr. Parable would give out their grades at the end. Ada would have to figure something out—and fast.

  Chapter Four

  ADA ASSEMBLES A TEAM . . . OF TWO

  Ada hadn’t spoken to Milton on the ham radio since before they turned the project in. She’d decided to lie low after the garden shed incident. They even did their work in the shed separately. But she needed to know what was up with the project, so she got permission to use her father’s home office for a few minutes to talk to Milton. She practiced being persuasive before she picked up the mic, but as soon as she heard Milton’s voice, she was filled with anger and desperation.

  KD86E, this is KD8PKR. Are you there? Over.

  This is KD86E. Ada! Hey! So I learned a new heist skill. Wanna hear about it? Over.

  I can’t talk long, Milton. I’m going to cut to the chase. What did you do to our project? Over.

  What do you mean? I just fixed it! Maybe made a few extra enhancements. Over.

  What kind of enhancements? Explosions? Fart sounds? Over.

  Ha ha ha! That would be funny! Over.

  No, it wouldn’t be, Milton! You’ve gotten me in trouble twice. Now fess up! What did you do? Over.

  Ada! I never meant to get you into trouble. Over.

  Yeah, but somehow you always do. Over.

  Hey, kid. I like to keep the people guessing! Over.

  Milton. I don’t feel like guessing. So why don’t you just tell me what you did so I’ll know what to expect. Or I may have to resort to something drastic. Over.

  There was a long pause.

  All right, Lace. I might have filled you in, but I don’t like your tone. No. Nope. No, sirree. I think I’ll let you find out on Friday with everyone else. Over and out.

  KD86E? Milton! Grrrrrrrrr.

  It was time for plan B.

  • • •

  Ada turned the last few days over in her mind every which way. She and Milton had gotten along pretty well for a while. It had been fun. But she had never gotten in so much trouble before. She wasn’t a bad kid! She was curious about stuff, sure. But that saying about curiosity killing the cat was a bunch of hooey. Curiosity fed the cat. Curiosity made the cat smarter and more interesting. Curiosity advanced catkind! So what if she wanted to know how to pick a lock? So what if she thought that it was cool to figure out how to get into buildings in sneaky ways? Was that so wrong? She never meant to cause anyone any harm or commit any crimes or even really break any rules! She just liked to solve puzzles. When she thought about the stuff that got her in trouble, it wasn’t her curiosity that was the problem, it was Milton. She was surely not going to let him get her in trouble again—not without a fight. So she had a plan. And without Milton to interfere, she knew she could pull it off.

  But she would need an accomplice.

  • • •

  “We have to do what now?” asked Nina.

  “Break into Mr. Parable’s closet. We’re going to have to make sure that project is squeaky clean. No pranks, no stunts, no gags. Nina, if that thing explodes in front of a roomful of parents in the middle of a Friday Share Fair, it’s our butts on the line.”

  “But couldn’t we just ask Mr. Parable if we can fix it?”

  “I tried that! He said it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the class.”

  “Did you tell him Milton sabotaged it?”

  “No . . . No, not exactly. I don’t even know for sure that he did anything. But, let’s face it, he’s not above it, and, like I said, I’m not taking any chances. Luckily, we have a contingency.”

  “A plan B?”

  “Yes, a plan B. Here’s what I’ve got so far.”

  Ada rolled out a large sheet of paper that looked like a blueprint.

  “Whoa, is that a picture of the school? How’d you get that?”

  Ada shrugged. “I just downloaded it from the city website.”

  “So, what are we going to do? Tunnel underneath? Climb through the ductwork? Oh! I know. We’re going to drop through a hatch in the roof, right? Better break out the gecko gloves.”

  “Uh, I hate to disappoint you, Nina. We’re just going to go through the door.”

  Chapter Five

  PLAN B

  A few times after school, just for fun, Ada and Nina had used Ada’s field guide to keep track of the habits of the staff and the students. Now these notes would come in handy.

  Most of the staff left by 4:30 p.m. Ada’s dad usually left by then too, but this Thursday he was staying late to grade some student projects. That meant Ada and Nina could also stay. Ms. Lily was the one wild card. Ada had never seen her leave before anyone else. Luckily, she usually kept to her office at the far south side of the school.

  Ada and Nina were supposed to stay in Mr. Lace’s room, in the west hallway just outside his door, or just outside the school. They weren’t allowed to wander the building. Timing was crucial.

  Mr. Lace would leave by 5:30 p.m. Ada and Nina would have to leave wi
th him. Still, they couldn’t enter Mr. Parable’s classroom too soon, because there might be more teachers and staff hanging around. Ada figured they should head to Mr. Parable’s room at 5:05 p.m. The janitor would be cleaning until after they had to leave, but, luckily, Ada had documented Mr. Bezzle’s routine in her journal.

  The school was laid out like a cross. Mr. Bezzle started at the farthest end of the north hallway and worked his way south until he reached the center of the school. Then he moved through the rooms in the east and west corridors and finished with the south hallway. On Thursdays he buffed the floors too, which meant that Ada and Nina would have plenty of time to make their way to Mr. Parable’s room in the southern end of the school before Mr. Bezzle got there.

  There were two obstacles that the girls had to get past before they could leave the west corridor and head toward Mr. Parable’s room. The first was a security camera that was at the corner of the west hallway facing the entrance and Mr. Lace’s classroom. The second was Mr. Parable’s parrot, Bueller.

  “Don’t be mean to the parrot,” said Nina.

  “Don’t worry, Nina,” Ada said. “Sheesh. What kind of beast do you think I am?”

  “I don’t know! Maybe Milton’s rubbed off on you!”

  Ada wasn’t sure whether Ms. Lily would be monitoring the security feed that closely after school, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She would need to sabotage those cameras.

  At first she considered using a jacket or a hat to cover the lens, but she thought it might be too hard to get it off afterward. Then Ada figured out she could shine a laser beam into the camera, filling the camera with light and distorting its view. The only problem was, they would have to be precise and quick—no small feat with nervous, shaky hands. If they missed the lens by a millimeter, the camera would see them.

  Before they even dealt with the camera though, they would have to make sure that Bueller was asleep. Ada had a parabolic microphone, but it could capture sound only in open air or through a window. It would not work through a wall. They would have to go outside and listen through the classroom window to confirm that Bueller was sleeping. If he was awake, he might squawk and give away their presence to the janitor, Ada’s father, or whoever else might be hanging around.

  “Well, what if he’s not asleep?” asked Nina.

  “That’ll be tricky,” said Ava.

  “Maybe we can bribe him into staying quiet. I could bring some cucumber slices? Or mango?”

  “It’s worth a try.”

  If the parrot was asleep, they would quickly sneak past the camera. Before continuing south to Mr. Parable’s room, they would have to check to see if anyone was in the hallway nearby. Ada had taped a mirror to a selfie stick, so that before they turned and headed down the south hallway, they could extend it around the corner and use the reflection to see if the coast was clear. Then they would make their way to the second classroom on the left.

  George would stand guard outside the door while they were inside working. If a janitor—or anyone else—approached, George would be programmed to ping the tablet Ada had connected him to, so that she and Nina could hide or get out of there quick.

  “Well, what happens if someone notices George?” asked Nina.

  “Hmmm . . . yeah. I hadn’t thought about that. Could we camouflage him?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I think I know just what to do,” said Nina.

  The classroom might be locked, and they knew the supply closet would definitely be locked. Luckily, Ada had learned how to pick a lock.

  “Milton taught you how to pick a lock?” said Nina. Ada hadn’t told Nina. She already felt bad enough about getting in trouble. “Do I even want to ask?”

  “It’s just for fun!” Ada said. “There are tutorials for it online. I’ll send you one.”

  Once they were in the classroom, Ada would turn on the light to the supply closet. This would require some preparation, because there were three switches on the wall of the classroom, and they had to be sure which was the correct one. If they turned on the classroom lights by accident, they would risk giving themselves away. Ada figured out that if she switched two off during school the next day, she could find out which one was for the closet.

  After picking the lock with a bobby pin, they’d be in! Then they just had to examine the project for signs of Milton’s sabotage, fix it, and leave.

  “Sounds like a piece of cake,” said Nina.

  “That’s the spirit!”

  “I was kidding.”

  Chapter Six

  THE FINAL PHASE

  The next day at breakfast, Ada came down with her backpack loaded with all the tools she would need for her after-school caper: George, a tablet computer, the parabolic microphone, a laser pointer, and a few other just-in-case items.

  Mr. Lace eyed her stuffed backpack curiously. “That’s a big load you’re carrying, Adita.”

  “Yeah, after we finish working on our schoolwork, Nina and I are going to tinker with George a little,” said Ada.

  Mr. Lace seemed a little confused, but then Ms. Lace handed him his coffee, and he didn’t ask any more questions.

  • • •

  At school Ada tried to find a moment to figure out the lights in Mr. Parable’s room, but whenever she got close, Mr. Parable always seemed to be standing right in front of the switches.

  She got up to throw away trash, and Mr. Parable got up to consult the calendar next to the closet. She asked to go to the bathroom, and he was hanging something on the wall. When she returned to class and made her way toward the switches, there was Mr. Parable, hanging out in front of the closet.

  • • •

  Nina brought George’s camouflage to lunch to show Ada.

  “I made it last night,” said Nina. She pulled out what looked like a beehive. Ada recognized it as a copy of the beehive the second-grade teacher had outside her classroom, right next to Mr. Parable’s room. On the top it read, WE ARE BUSY BEES. Ms. Janopolis put pictures of the second graders on it to show what they were working on.

  “That’s great, Nina,” said Ada. “But don’t we need to put pictures on it?”

  “Yeah. I borrowed a couple this morning. I’ll stick them on before we put it on George.”

  • • •

  After lunch, Nina took a shot at the lights. First, she just spent an extra long time tying her shoe.

  “Have a seat! Have a seat!” said Bueller.

  “Nina?” said Mr. Parable. He looked at her pointedly over his glasses.

  Nina wandered slowly toward her desk. When Mr. Parable turned around to speak to Casey Nesmith, Nina wandered back toward the door. Just as she got to the light switch, Bueller spoke up again.

  “Have a seat! Have a seat!”

  Mr. Parable turned back toward her. “Nina. Didn’t I tell you to have a seat?”

  Well, no, technically, Ada thought, but she didn’t say so.

  “Sorry, Mr. Parable,” said Nina.

  Nina took her seat and shrugged at Ada.

  Then Mr. Parable told them that they would be watching a movie on immigration in nineteenth century California. Five minutes into the movie, Nina made her way to the trash can, just a few feet away from the supply closet. On her way back to her desk, she made an awkward loop toward the light switches. Ada was concerned it looked suspicious, but Mr. Parable didn’t seem to notice. Not even Bueller mentioned it.

  Ada saw Nina casually brush against the two switches closest to the closet door, in an attempt to turn them on. She didn’t quite manage it the first time, so she stepped back and brushed against the switches again. She had to lunge forward a little bit and hunch down to get her shoulder under the switch. This time she managed to catch one switch but not the other. There wouldn’t be a chance to try again—not now at least. She had turned on a light in the middle of the movie, and no one was happy about it. Mr. Parable paused the film.

  “Nina Scarborough!” said Mr. Parable. “Am I going to have to send you to see Ms. Lily?�
�

  “No, Mr. Parable!” said Nina. “I’m sorry. It was an accident. It won’t happen again.”

  Ada was surprised that Mr. Parable had remembered not just one, but both of Nina’s names. As he was distracted by making sure that Nina made it to her seat, he flicked not just the switch Nina had turned on but the one next to it too. He didn’t notice, because the one he hit turned on the light in the closet, which was closed. Nina turned to Ada and winked. Ada had never been able to wink. She tried and just ended up crinkling her nose. That made her sneeze for some reason. Nina looked confused.

  • • •

  Milton caught up with Ada and Nina as they were heading toward Mr. Lace’s room after school.

  “You’re sure you’ll remember which one?” Nina asked Ada.

  “Which one what?” asked Milton.

  “Never mind, Milton,” said Nina.

  “Aw, come on! I can keep a secret,” said Milton.

  “There are no secrets, Milton,” said Ada.

  “And even if there were, you would be the last person . . .”

  “Aha!” said Milton. “So, there is a secret.”

  “No!” said Nina. “No, there’s not! We just wouldn’t . . .”

  “Suit yourself!” called Milton, walking away. “I can be a powerful ally . . . or enemy!”

  “Great,” said Ada under her breath.

  “You sure we’re doing the right thing?” asked Nina.

  “Absolutely!” said Ada. She tried to sound as confident as she could. “And anyway, it’s too late to change the plan now.”

  • • •

  They sat in Mr. Lace’s room working together until about 5:00 p.m. Then Ada gave the nod to Nina.

  “Pop, Nina and I are just about finished. We’re going to go outside and play with George for a while.”