Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader

by Emily Calandrelli

If only! I just got a new kite! I was going to attach my GoPro to it today.

  They talked about kites and cameras for a while. Ada knew he must be really close from the strength of the signal. She was going to see if he wanted to get together the next windy day in Juniper Garden, or maybe Golden Gate Park, but he signed off before she could get his name.

  Ada knew this was just the beginning. Today she’d just talked with people in her area, but with an upgrade in equipment and a more advanced license, she could talk to people from all over the world. In the meantime, she suddenly felt like she had a whole new community.

  • • •

  The next day after begging and pleading, and agreeing to go see the newest Wizard Warriors movie with her, Ada convinced Nina to come over and try the radio again. It was clear Nina was still nervous. But Ada thought since her friend was better rested, she might be able to see the radio through fresh eyes and really appreciate the world it opened up. She was excited to show Nina how well the radio was working. She thought for sure that now she would understand how silly her fears were.

  “Mr. Peebles knew just how to fix my radio, of course,” said Ada. “So now I can talk to people from all over the Bay Area.”

  “But just people people, right?” said Nina, looking wary. “Not green bug people or clouds of pure energy. I mean, you haven’t heard from . . . whatever called the other night?”

  “They all sounded pretty normal,” said Ada. “What you heard must have been a fluke. Or it could have just been a dream. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I hear weird things too.” She didn’t mention that she never thought she heard aliens.

  “But it didn’t seem like a dream. I was dreaming about something completely different before I woke up.”

  “Well, even still. There’s probably a good explanation,” said Ada, switching on the power to her repeater. “And I haven’t heard anything weird since, so I think we’re safe.”

  Ada and Nina settled down at Ada’s desk. Nina was given the seat of honor, in front of the mic. Ada flicked the radio on. Then she realized her headphones were missing.

  “Ugh! Elliott! Do you have my headphones again?” she yelled.

  “Mr. Pickles and I were playing fighter pilot!” he called back.

  Ada ran out of the room to fetch the headphones from her brother and his stuffed pig. In the hallway, she heard the thrilling crackle of her ham. Someone was about to say something! Who could it be? But when she got back into the bedroom, Nina did not look so thrilled.

  “I gotta go,” said Nina. She was clearly freaked out.

  “What? But we haven’t even tried it out yet!”

  “That thing has a whole life of its own, Ada,” said Nina. “You think you control it, but you don’t. It just said, ‘Take me to your leader.’ You wanna know who’d say that? I’ll tell you who. It’s aliens.”

  Nina ran from the room, down the stairs, across the garden, and home.

  • • •

  Ada listened for an hour to find the “aliens” Nina heard, with no luck. She stopped to do homework and have dinner, then hopped on the ham again before bed. She heard about a poor man whose car battery died on the side of the 480. His phone was also dead. Thankfully, he had a ham radio and so did his mechanic.

  Then she heard a bunch of bird-watchers talking about what they had spotted in Golden Gate Park that morning. They saw a western tanager, two Allen’s hummingbirds and a Nuttall’s woodpecker.

  Then she heard about a rare humpback whale sighting in San Francisco Bay.

  Nina was so worried about creatures from other worlds, that she was missing all of these voices sharing exciting and interesting moments in their lives. The weather had been clear and windy—good for sailing and soccer games—and also good for kite flying. She was eager to reach KD86E—the boy with the kite she’d talked to before. She wondered if he’d had any luck today.

  KD86E, are you there? Over.

  KD86E, this is KD8PKR. How are you making out with that kite? Over.

  KD8PKR. This is KD86E. The kite flying was EPIC. So good. And I got the GoPro on there too. Picture’s a little shaky though. Did you get out today? Over.

  Nah. I was trying to reassure my friend that aliens weren’t invading Earth. It didn’t work. I don’t know. Something she heard really freaked her out. Hey, what’s your name, anyway? Over.

  Ha! Uh . . . my mom says I’m not supposed to say. Sorry! Gotta run. Dinner. Over and out.

  Ada looked at the clock. It was nine o’clock. Who ate dinner at nine o’clock on a school night?

  “Time for bed. Time for bed,” said George. He rolled around in front of Ada’s bed, as if showing her where she was supposed to be by now.

  “When you’re right, you’re right, George,” said Ada.

  Chapter Four

  THE ALIEN RESURFACES

  On the way to school the next day, Ada couldn’t stop talking about the people she had spoken to on the ham radio. She wanted Nina to be excited about it too. She told her about the strange kid who wouldn’t tell her his name. And she told her about how she’d heard someone talking about a storm coming off the coast of Catalina. All Nina said was “Mmmm-hmmmm,” which was not a Nina response at all. So Ada told her about her plans to get a high-frequency radio, because that would allow her to hear things on the other side of the world.

  “Nina, wouldn’t it be cool to talk to someone from Sri Lanka? Or South Africa?”

  “That does sound cool, Ada. But I always thought talking to aliens might be cool too. Now that it’s happened, I’m not so sure.”

  “But we still don’t know—”

  “They said, ‘Take me to your leader,’ Ada! That’s what aliens say. They could be invading right now!”

  “Yeah, but that’s exactly why it doesn’t seem right. I mean, it’s a little too perfect, isn’t it?” said Ada. “Besides, we don’t even know if alien life exists. And if it does, it’s probably not going to speak English. It seems like someone was just goofing around.”

  “They could have translators!” said Nina.

  “Are you sure it wasn’t George?”

  “Does George ever say, ‘Release the swarm’?”

  “I don’t think so, but he surprises me all the time,” said Ada.

  “Well, it didn’t sound like him,” said Nina. “And I don’t think his little night-light was on.”

  “Nina. I don’t want you missing out on all the fun. I’m sure we’ll find out what’s going on. Can we try one more time? This afternoon, maybe?”

  Nina sighed. “I guess so. I’ll come over after school. I just have to stop home first.”

  Ada was having fun with her radio, but she really wanted to share it. It made her sad that Nina had started out so excited and then gotten so . . . freaked out. She’d always had a vivid imagination, but she’d never scared herself with it!

  • • •

  All day at school the ham radio was in the back of Ada’s mind. She really had to make it fun for Nina this time, or she might not ever get her near the radio—or her room—again.

  After school, while Nina went home to drop off her things, Ada went upstairs and turned the radio on. George rolled out right away.

  “It’s time for homework, Ada,” said George.

  Ada had had fun programming George, but she was regretting some of his functions. He was beginning to sound like her third parent.

  “No homework today, George.”

  “Would you like to play tick-tack-toe?”

  “No thanks, George.”

  She almost felt a little bad for him.

  “Time for my nap,” said George. He rolled into his corner and shut down.

  Ada attached her new microphone to her radio. Mr. Peebles had given it to her. He’d salvaged it from a radio station that was upgrading its equipment. It had a long bar that she pushed to talk, instead of a button like the one on her old mic. She felt like a real radio operator. After all, that’s what she was.

&nb
sp; Ada had already started to develop a routine. She liked to start out by just lazily turning the tuner to see what was happening. There was one guy who was planning a charity event for his motorcycle club. A fisherman rescued a little girl in her sailboat. A woman got advice from a veterinary technician named Betsy on how to safely move a litter of kittens she had found in her garden shed. That’s when Nina showed up. She was wearing a tinfoil hat. Ada turned down the volume.

  “That looks surprisingly good on you,” said Ada. “Trying to keep out the bad energy?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Nina. “It’s worth a shot.”

  “Well, nobody’s released any swarms this afternoon that I’ve heard about,” said Ada. “Listen to this—I think it might make you feel better.”

  How many babies are there, ma’am? Over.

  Four . . . five . . . six. I can see six. There might be more. They’re awfully funny looking. Over.

  “What kind of babies is she talking about?” Nina asked. She seemed unsure of how to feel about them. Ada got the sense she thought they might be alien spawn.

  “Kittens,” said Ada.

  “Awwww . . .” Who could be suspicious of kittens?

  And you said they’ve been there how long? Over.

  About a week now. They’re quite small. Over.

  Okay. Is the mama kitty still there? Over.

  Yes. She was hanging around for a few weeks, and then all of a sudden we didn’t see her anymore. Then, surprise! Here she is with her babies. Over.

  Do you think she’ll let you touch her? Over.

  Probably. I’ve been feeding her for quite a while. Over.

  Okay. So you’ll want to find a box and put a nice cozy blanket in there. . . .

  Nina and Ada listened as Betsy coached the woman through her task. By the end of the conversation the litter had been safely moved to the sunroom in the woman’s house.

  “That’s so cool!” said Nina. She took off her tinfoil hat. “And you talk to people too?”

  “Yup. All the time,” said Ada. “You wanna try it?”

  “Yeah!”

  Ada contacted the woman with the weather balloon and let Nina say hi. Then they talked to the kid from Oakland. After a while, they got hungry, so Ada signed off and got up to get some snacks.

  “You’re not going to leave me alone here with this thing, are you?”

  “Nina! We’ve been having so much fun.”

  “Yeah, because you were here. But if you leave—”

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll just bribe Elliott to bring us up a bag of cheesy popcorn.”

  Ada reached into the jar where she kept all her coolest doodads and pulled out a little Star Fighter figurine to offer Elliott. It was his favorite comic book character. She had no sooner walked through the door than she heard the radio crackle to life behind her. And then she heard the voice.

  TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER! TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!

  “ADA!” cried Nina.

  After a brief pause she heard the voice again.

  TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER.

  The signal was as clear as a bell, which meant it was quite close. And Ada recognized the voice. She had been speaking to this person for days, and it had taken this prank for her to realize who it was. Ada looked through the window. Across the garden she saw someone peeking from behind the curtain covering Milton Edison’s window.

  Chapter Five

  NOT AN ALIEN. JUST A PEST.

  Ada thought for a moment about how to handle Milton. He hadn’t really broken any rules, but it was just bad radio manners! None of the other hams she had spoken with had tried to trick anyone. They’d all been pretty friendly and helpful. Ada wanted to scare Milton, but not too badly. And she didn’t want to break any rules herself. So she would use her call sign clearly and speak forcefully. She put her headphones back on, pressed the bar on the mic, and spoke.

  This is KD8PKR. You are breaking the rules agreed upon by the ham community. Please stop or I will be forced to report you. Over.

  There was a long pause and then—

  TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!

  Seriously, Milton. Knock it off, or I’ll make sure no one in the ham community wants to talk to you again.

  Then there was silence—for good, this time. Ada and Nina sat in front of the radio for another ten minutes. Ada spun the dial through all the frequencies used by the ham radio community. Milton didn’t turn up again.

  “I’ve been talking to him all week!” said Ada. “How could I not know it was him?”

  “I don’t know, Ada,” said Nina. “I really don’t.”

  “You didn’t know either! You thought he was an alien!” said Ada.

  “I wasn’t far off!” said Nina.

  “I was fooled because he was being so normal. He actually seemed kind of . . . nice.”

  “Wow. That is weird. Maybe even weirder than aliens.”

  “Well, I guess that’s taken care of,” said Ada. “No aliens. Just the usual suspect.”

  “I don’t know, Ada,” said Nina.

  “What do you mean? It was clearly Milton.”

  “He was the daytime alien, but he definitely wasn’t the one who said, ‘Release the swarm.’ That was different. It was more distant sounding . . . and a little creepier. If that was a prank, it was way too clever for Milton to pull off.”

  Ada gave up trying to convince Nina and let her friend go home. She didn’t want to spend any more time on make-believe aliens.

  • • •

  The next three afternoons and evenings Ada spent alone with her ham radio. It seemed like she and Nina hardly saw each other. Ada spent quite a while one afternoon talking to the woman in Alameda with the weather balloon. She was just about to try to call the girl in Marin when she heard from Milton.

  KD8PKR? This is KD86E. Are you there? Over.

  She almost forgot for a second that he was the same prankster who lived across the courtyard. She almost forgot to be mad at him. She was just about to pick up the mic and talk to him when she remembered.

  KD8PKR? Are you there? Over.

  Ada ignored it. Why should she talk to Milton Edison when there were so many other more interesting people in the world?

  KD8PKR? I’m building this really cool attachment for the GoPro. You wanna see it? Over.

  Ada, you’re not really still mad, are you? I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong, really. It was just a joke! I know we’ve never really been friends, but I thought we were getting along okay on the radio. Over.

  Yeah, because you tricked me! And then you scared the living daylights out of poor Nina! Over.

  I didn’t think she’d get so scared. I just thought it would be funny. And it was. A little bit. Wasn’t it? Over.

  It was a little funny. But Ada wasn’t going to give Milton Edison the satisfaction of knowing it.

  Listen, Milton. I wish you luck with your kite. But I’d rather talk to people who use their radios for good and not evil. Over and out.

  Chapter Six

  AN EXCITING WORLD

  On Saturday, Ada asked Nina to visit the California Academy of Sciences with her and Mr. Peebles. There was a part of her that really wanted to spend the day on the radio again, but she also missed hanging out with Nina. Nina might never trust the radio, so Ada decided that they should find other things to do together.

  Mr. Peebles volunteered at the Cal Academy, and he knew a lot about the building and all the best exhibits. Ada had been there before, and she often wanted to see so much that she could get overwhelmed. Mr. Peebles knew just where to go first.

  Nina might have spent the whole afternoon just at the entrance, and Ada couldn’t blame her. There was so much to see before you even walked in. The roof was like a rolling field, covered with grass and plants. There were little round windows all over it that looked like portholes in a ship. Mr. Peebles explained that the roof was called a “living roof.” It collected 98 percent of the rainwater. Most buildings allowed the rain to slide off the r
oof, collecting contaminants that then poured into the local waterways and ecosystem. This roof absorbed the rain and let it nourish plant life. The little portholes were part of a system that helped keep the temperature cool without air conditioners.

  The inside of the museum was full of sunlight and activity. Lots of visitors were milling about, checking their maps and planning their days. Some just stood staring at the beautiful skylit ceiling.

  Usually it was hard for Ada to decide where to start. Today they had help from Mr. Peebles. Since the Swamp was near the entrance, they went to see Claude first. Claude was an albino alligator who was rescued from Florida. He was nearly blind, and his skin was white, so he wasn’t able to camouflage himself. Claude wouldn’t have been able to survive in the wild. The staff used a big red paddle to push fish and pellets toward Claude, so he didn’t have to hunt for food.

  “Awww . . . I never thought an alligator was cute before—except for Randolph, my stuffed alligator,” said Nina.

  Ada laughed.

  They watched jellyfish in the aquarium drift around their tank like bright, soft umbrellas.

  “Who needs aliens when there are these things?” said Nina.

  “You should see the really deep-sea creatures,” said Mr. Peebles. “I think they must be the closest thing to alien life on Earth.”

  “As far as you know,” said Nina.

  “Speaking of which. Can we go watch the meteor show now?” asked Ada.

  “I think we still have about fifteen minutes until it starts. Want to grab a quick peek at the birds and the butterflies first?”

  “Yes!” said Nina.

  Ada had to admit the third level of the rain forest was pretty spectacular, if a little muggy. It smelled like leaves and rain, and there were more kinds of butterflies and birds than Ada had ever seen. A blue morpho butterfly tried to hitch a ride on Nina on the way out. She named him Frank.

  “Nina, you can’t take him with you,” said Ada.