Neverland Academy (12 page)

Talons
of dread began to claw at Josh as he watched his teacher sit down. The wire
trembled when Professor Bradley’s weight landed. Then, he rolled the chair
forward. Josh caught his breath and watched with terror as if a bomb were about
to explode under the desk. Instead, a waterfall of smelly black-specked brown
grease spilled perfectly atop Professor Bradley’s head, splashing out in fanned
waves and sending splatters across the room. The class erupted in laughter, but
Josh simply stared in fright, his jaw dropped. Professor Bradley lurched up out
of the chair, sending it flying into the whiteboard behind him. That triggered
a second drop from the ceiling—a snowfall of fluffy white powdered sugar
Shag had pilfered from the kitchen at Daphne’s suggestion.

Professor
Bradley was frantic; he simply stormed through the white cloud and out of the
classroom. A minute later the students left as well, gleeful to have their
first morning period free.

Only
Josh remained, frozen in his seat staring at the splatters of grease that had
reached his own desk. But after the last student had left, Josh could have
sworn he still heard laughter. He poked his head out the door, but of the few
boys who were still in the hallway, none of them were laughing. Back in the
classroom, he tracked the sound, stepping around the perimeter until he reached
an inner wall where the sound seemed to emerge. Upon close inspection, Josh
could detect tiny holes, like the kind left behind after removing a nail from
the wall. Closing his left eye, he attempted to see through the hole, but
nothing but darkness shown through.

He
turned to leave, but heard the laughter again. It was a voice he instantly
recognized.

“Max?”

The
laughing stopped and a shuffle rippled through the wall. A few steps away, a
small section of the wall disappeared and Finn ducked through, into the
classroom. Max followed. Josh could see some of the other outcast boys still
lingering inside the wall.

“That
was awesome!” Max gleamed from head to toe. He looked like he’d just spent his
birthday at Disney World.

“That
was pretty slick if I do say so myself,” Finn remarked. “Wish I could take
credit for it. But it was you guys all the way. What a team!”

“You
guys were watching the whole time?” Josh asked, still stunned.

“Oh
yeah. I wouldn’t miss it for the best waffles in the world,” Max declared.

“You’re
missing class.”

“Just
history,” Max yawned.

“Sounds
like you need to catch up on some Z’s.” Finn slapped Max on the back. Max
nodded.

“Have
you been up all night, Max?” Josh asked, recalling the disheveled sheets on
Max’s bed when he woke up.

“Yup.
But I’ll go back to bed now. Think I’ll stop by the nurse’s office so I can
officially play hooky for the day.”

“Where’s
Daphne?”

“Sleeping
in,” Max said.

“Missing
all the fun,” Finn added. He playfully shoved Max back into the wall. “I’d
better sneak you in the back way. And you,” he said, pointing toward Josh,
“better get out of here before Horseface gets back with his crew. We’ll catch
you later, Josh. Right?”

“Yeah,
okay,” Josh said tentatively. He watched as the boys crammed themselves into
the narrow space and replaced the hole in the wall as it was. Slinging his
messenger bag over his shoulder, Josh headed back toward the dorms to take a
nap and clear his mind.

Chapter
Thirteen

If
I Was Her

For the next
few weeks, Daphne enjoyed
her full freedom from parental control. Max and Josh kept her updated on her
parents’ search efforts, which grimly made her feel smug. They were getting
what they deserved. And for once in her life, she finally felt appreciated and
loved.

Her
days were spread with funny pranks, watching movies with the outcast boys,
leisure time in the old cemetery with Finn, spending girl time with Lily, and
regular naps to keep up on her sleep. Almost every night Finn would sit with
Daphne in her little cove and they would read to each other until one of them
fell asleep—usually Daphne. She was getting used to this lifestyle and
had grown to love it. Why would she ever want to go home? Days riddled with
work and responsibility. Nights spent heartbroken and frustrated over what she
couldn’t control. She didn’t need any of that. She wanted to be here. She
wanted to never leave.

Finn
and Daphne sat side by side against the cold brick wall in the little cove she
called her bedroom. There was still no bed other than the padded cushion on the
floor, but she’d grown comfortable with that. And the few clothes she had were
enough, especially since Lily had offered to let Daphne borrow some of hers if
she needed them.

“Daffy,”
Finn muttered. “Remember the day we first met? In the library?” They both hid
their noses behind fans of playing cards printed with an image of an old German
castle on the backs—a souvenir from one student’s parents that Finn
borrowed,
no doubt.

“Of
course I do. You scared the crap out of me. You have a four?”

“Go
fish. What exactly were you doing?”

Daphne
picked up the top card on the stack of cards on the floor in front of them. She
carefully wedged the card between the third and fourth in her fan.

“I
told you, I was sending an email.”

“Yeah,
but all the computers in the library are password protected. How did you get
in?”

“Oh,
that’s one of the easiest hacks,” Daphne said, as if she were speaking of a
childhood game. “Your turn.”

“Really?”
Finn’s face was full of surprise and interest. Daphne looked back at him
expectantly. He glanced back down at his cards. “You got a jack?”

Daphne
pulled two cards out and reluctantly handed them to Finn. “Don’t tell me that
you guys can pull all these pranks, wire electricity, rebuild computers from
scraps . . . but you can’t hack into a simple computer system?”

Finn
snickered. “We can. There are just some, uh, limitations. Hangman’s able to
hack into the academy’s main account. But it takes him a while. Not like you.
It only took you seconds to get in. How do you do it?”

“It’s
not as hard as it seems. I have a program on my flash drive that can target the
correct password within seconds.”

“Your
flash drive, huh? Please tell me you brought it with you,” Finn begged.

Daphne
nodded.

“Do
you think you could get into a more secure account?”

“Sure.
I might have to download a different program. Why?”

“We’ve
been trying to get into Pervpot’s personal account. I don’t know what kind of
security it’s got, but we can’t seem to break in, no matter how long Hangman
has tried.”

“Why
do you want to hack into Trappe’s account?”

Finn
folded up his cards and placed them back on the pile. Daphne followed with her
own cards. “Remember what I told you about him?” Daphne nodded, recalling that
day by the lake when Finn told her about his expulsion from the academy. “I
think there might be some evidence on his computer. Evidence that could convict
him for good. I heard him dictating one night and I believe that file, along
with others might be in the system. I need to get my hands on that so I can
turn it over to the police.”

“Okay,
so let’s just sneak into the library tonight and I’ll get to work.” Daphne
shrugged.

“It’s
not really that easy,” Finn murmured. “His account isn’t on the main server. It
can only be accessed from the computer in his office.”

Daphne
turned to him, gaping. “So there
is
actually something the invincible Finn can’t do!”

“Hey,”
Finn said playfully shoving Daphne, “I didn’t say I couldn’t. I said it wasn’t
easy.”

Daphne
playfully shoved him back. “When has that ever stopped you.”

“It
hasn’t. Just delayed me a little bit.” Finn winked.

“Sounds
like a challenge,” Daphne offered, amused.

Finn
took her hand in his, his eyes alight with excitement. “You’ll help me?”

Daphne
reveled in the warmth of his hand, the way his thumb smoothed over her skin,
sending zings up her arm. She nodded. “Yes. Of course I will.”

Finn’s
face drew closer to hers. Fear blended with excitement in a murky medley of
heightened emotions. Daphne and Finn had been spending so much time together,
she knew it was inevitable. Their feelings for each other had been simmering
under the surface. But they both kept that pot lidded. Now the vapors were
pushing through. Steam rising. Daphne closed her eyes. She willed herself to
step away but she couldn’t.

“Finn!”

Daphne
jerked back both grateful and resentful of the interruption. Belle stood in the
doorway, a mischievous grin beaming down at Daphne.

“Hey
Belle.” Finn stood abruptly, as if nothing were about to happen. “What’s up?”

“We
have a problem. Come with me.”

Finn
gestured Daphne to follow and went with Belle to the cellar, where the boys
were huddled around in a semicircle, staring down at a phone that Hangman was
cradling in his palm.

“The
line’s been cut,” Hangman said as he saw Finn approach. “We’ve got no
connection.”

“None
of us do,” Kevin added.

Finn
snatched the phone, looked at the error message on the screen, and tossed it
back before pulling his own phone out of his back pocket. He padded the screen
with his thumbs expertly and then lifted his head slowly.

“That’s
not all,” Toot said as he switched on the TV and pushed the play button on the
DVD player. “We thought we were stealing
The Return of the King.
Instead we got this.”

Byron
Trappe’s face appeared on the screen. He was sitting at his desk in his office
with the backdrop of bookshelves behind him. Daphne recognized it from the
tour. The folds of his wrinkled face looked slimy. Sweat glistened on his
forehead, just above the nests of bushy dark eyebrows. His light gray eyes
looked hollow and empty.

“By
now you’ve probably discovered that your little private phone service has been
cut. I don’t know how you got hold of the phones and had them activated, but
your playtime is over. I’m on to you Preston. And I will find you. I’ll give
you this last chance to leave the academy on your own. That goes for you and
all your friends. You leave, or the stakes get higher and I will not be
responsible for what happens to trespassers on the grounds of Neverland
Academy. I trust you will make the right decision, Preston. This ends now,
boy.”

Finn’s
brow furrowed. A grimace replaced his flirty grin. The look in his eyes so
sharp and fiery not a single soul would dare step into his view. The words that
came out of his mouth were snakelike, sharp and hissing.

“You’re
damn right it does, Pervpot.”

***

Hammering
against the windowpanes, the rain came down almost sideways, in huge drops, like
wet clumps of toilet paper being hurled against the glass. The melodic rattling
on the rooftop was sleep-inducing, yet headmaster Byron Trappe was wide awake.
He sat at his desk, reclining in his fine leather chair, his hands clasped
round the back of his head while he watched nature’s attempt to break through
the window.

Professor
Smeed paced back and forth nervously as if traipsing barefoot through a bed of
broken glass, unable to show the serenity that Trappe seemed to be exuding. In
his hand was a clipboard with hastily jotted scribbles on the top page. He was
mumbling incoherently to himself.

“Stop
that ambulating, Smeed,” Trappe sighed. “It’s terribly distracting.”

“A-apologies,
sir. I can’t help it. I d-don’t think he’ll take your offer. I just know he’s
going to reciprocate. I-I don’t think I can handle another incident!”

“Of
course he’s going to reciprocate!” Trappe hollered. “I expect nothing less from
that roach.” Trappe stood and hobbled over to the window. He swept his finger
across the sill and studied the pillow of dust that remained on his fingertip.
“That boy is a virus that has plagued us for the last five years. It’s not
simply going to
go away
. No. It must be
eradicated entirely. But I had to let him feel he was given a choice. Let him
think he has the upper hand.”

“What
are we going to do? Can’t we get in touch with his parents?” Smeed’s hand
trembled. He dropped the clipboard on to the desk and rubbed his hands together
to still them.

“His
family is of no help. They’ve washed their hands of him and have no desire to
take him back. I obviously can’t involve the authorities. So we’ve got no
choice—we’ll have to get our hands dirty.”

“What
about the others? The other boys? Can’t we call their parents?”

“Smeed,
do you really think that to be a wise idea? If we have these parents snooping
around the academy, asking why their children have not been in classes for
three, four, five years, don’t you think they might get a little suspicious as
to how this academy is run? Don’t you think they might turn to the authorities,
get courts involved?”

“I
see,” Smeed conceded. His shoulders slumped hopelessly.

“Besides
they should be held just as accountable as the boy. I see no reason to go light
on any of them. They chose to follow the lead of a delinquent; they shall
suffer the consequences. But Preston’s demise is our goal, first and foremost.
That boy has been a thorn in my ass for far too long. I curse myself every
morning for accepting his application. And I curse myself every evening for not
expelling him sooner. If I had known how devious and acute that boy was I’d
have rejected his admission to begin with. We don’t need malicious
whistleblowers in this institution, Smeed.  And after we get rid of him,
the other boys have no leader to mimic. Nobody to plan such keen tricks. I’d
bet my right foot they’ll leave on their own. But if we must, we’ll take them
all down with Preston.”

“Take
them down? When you say get our hands dirty, do you mean . . .?” Smeed’s voice
faltered, trembling with the worry he wore so well.

“Yes,
Professor Smeed. If it comes down to it, we will kill them all.”

***

Finn
stormed off after the brief meeting in the cellar. Daphne wanted to follow him,
but from the tightness in the air to the way Finn stomped away, it was obvious
he needed space to blow off some steam. Belle disappeared shortly after Finn
had. Daphne had a feeling she was going to try to catch up with him.
Good
luck
, Daphne thought. She was sure Belle
would have just about as much luck with him as a squirrel trying to wave a car
down for a ride.

In
the short time since she’d met Finn, Daphne felt like she’d really gotten to
know him. It was like they were old childhood friends. His moods were generally
jolly, but when something ate at him, he was live grenade, ready to go off at
any minute. She knew she needed to keep her distance for his sake as much as
hers. He needed time to himself. She almost felt sorry for what Belle would
have to endure should she catch up with him.
Almost.

The
boys decided to chill out and watch a movie until the tension fizzled out.
Daphne sat wedged between Toot and Shag. She thought she saw out of the corner
of her eye that Shag was stealing quick glances at her sideways through the
wisps of hair hanging over his eyes. She thought he was cute, in a puppy dog
sort of way.

A
few minutes into the movie, Lily drifted into the room barely causing a stir
among the boys.

“Daphne!”
she whispered.

Daphne
slinked to the back of the cellar to meet her. Lily was holding a square piece
of paper, a warm color like orange or red—it was too dim to be sure. She
handed the thick paper to Daphne.

“It’s
an invitation. To my birthday party.”

“For
me?”

“Well,
for all of you. It’ll be
after hours
, if
you know what I mean. Mom says it’s okay as long as we don’t keep anyone up.”
Daphne turned and looked around the cellar, examining the spaces on the walls,
the reinforced soundproof ceiling, the dim lantern light, and cluttered
shelves.

“Why
don’t we just have it down here?” Daphne suggested. “We could have the party
any time you want and we wouldn’t have to worry about waking anyone.”

“No
offense Daff, but this is kind of a depressing place for a celebration.” Lily’s
eyes traced the upper walls where cobwebs made their permanent homes.

“Don’t
worry about that,” Daphne said. “Now that I’m here I’ll make sure this room is
clean and decorated. Trust me.”

“What
are you two going on about back there?” Kevin asked.

“We’re
throwing a birthday party for Lily!” Daphne announced.

“Did
somebody say party?” Trick grinned from ear to ear.

“Awesome!”
Toot added.

“Only,”
Lily firmly stated, “if Daphne is in charge. I don’t want spiders and roaches
wearing party hats. Understand?”