Hide and Seek Read online

  “Let’s walk through campus,” he said jovially. Father was never jovial. “I want to show you our newest dormitory, as well as the building designated for our Fluxers. I’ve got quite a lot of Sage Academy history to share with you!”

  Nory and Father walked beneath their umbrellas to a large brick building that looked more modern than the rest of the campus. It was the new dorm. Most students at Sage lived on campus, though there were a few day students, like Dalia and Hawthorn.

  The new dorm was fancy, with arched ceilings and decorative moldings. Father pointed out the architectural features and explained something about how an older dormitory was scheduled for demolition, but Nory didn’t pay much attention. She had other things on her mind.

  Elliott had said it was a big deal to get into Sage. And he was right. She knew he was.

  Plus, Father was so very pleased.

  But.

  Sage Academy.

  As Nory trailed behind Father, she felt anxious in the presence of all this grandeur, all this pressure, the uniforms and the rules. She loved Dunwiddle Magic School. Could she possibly be happy here at Sage? With so many decorative moldings?

  Father lectured Nory about the many famous magicians who had attended Sage. He talked about the importance of tradition, citing rituals like the Spring Unicorn Festival and the annual school-wide game of hide-and-seek, which students and teachers alike took part in every winter. He talked about recent sports victories and magic electives and student affinity groups.

  Nory knew Sage Academy had a lot to offer! She just couldn’t imagine feeling at home here. The sad truth was that this was Father’s place, and she never quite felt at home with him.

  When the tour ended, Father invited Nory to come wait at his office until the end of the school day, when together they could go home and join Dalia and Hawthorn for a family dinner. He introduced Nory to his administrative secretary, who was tapping at her computer while in the shape of a capuchin monkey.

  “Sorry!” she said, changing back into human form. “I fluxed on my coffee break and forgot to switch back!”

  “Please remember that only certain animal forms are acceptable for work, Ms. Fujita,” reprimanded Father. “Your monkey tends to be … messy. We want to command respect at all times, yes?”

  “Yes,” said Ms. Fujita. “I’ll stick to horse and leopard.”

  “Thank you.”

  At five thirty, Father’s computer rang, indicating a video call.

  “Hmm,” said Father. He squinted at the monitor. “It’s Principal Gonzalez. Now, why is he calling? I haven’t told him about your acceptance to Sage Academy yet. I really don’t know what this could be about.”

  Principal Gonzalez was the head of Dunwiddle Magic School. He and Father weren’t exactly friends. In fact, they were more like rivals.

  The computer trilled again. Reluctantly, Father jabbed at the keyboard. “Feliciano,” he said. “How are you?”

  “Hello, Stone,” said Principal Gonzalez. “I need your help.”

  Father, who was a powerful Flicker, made the old coffee mug on his desk disappear. “Oh?”

  “We’ve had a flood here. Some pipes were rusty, and it seems they broke. It’s quite a mess, to be honest.”

  The filing cabinet behind Father’s chair disappeared. “We don’t allow rust at Sage Academy,” he said. “Our pipes are examined annually.”

  “My school is a danger zone,” Principal Gonzalez continued. “We can’t return to the building until repairs are done, so we’re farming out our students to nearby schools. My eighth-grade Flickers are going to school in Cider Cup, my seventh-grade Flares are going to Frostville, and so on.”

  Father noticed a stain on the front of his shirt. He put his hand to his mouth, then made himself invisible.

  “Stone?” said Principal Gonzalez.

  “I’m here.”

  “I haven’t found a school to take my fifth-grade Flares, nor the eight children in the Upside-Down Magic class. And since your daughter is one of the students who needs a space, I thought you might be willing to host my students for one week. We cannot pay tuition, of course.” He coughed. “I’m asking you for a favor.”

  Nory edged out of her chair. The Upside-Down Magic class, here at Sage next week? Along with the fifth-grade Flares?

  She sidled closer. She wasn’t sure she wanted everybody here, in her hometown, at Father’s school. Father hated wonky magic. It made him uptight. And some of her friends were accident-prone. Willa might flood the classrooms. Marigold might shrink someone by accident. Pepper would definitely scare the animals in the Fuzzy lab.

  What if Father yelled at them? Or gave them time-outs?

  On the other hand, Principal Gonzalez sounded desperate. And Nory wanted her friends to have somewhere to go.

  She approached the chair where she assumed her dad was still sitting. “Please say yes,” she whispered. “They really need your help!”

  “Is that Nory?” asked Principal Gonzalez. She leaned in and waved at him on the video chat. He smiled, making his enormous mustache twitch.

  “Fine,” said Father, still invisible.

  “What?” Principal Gonzalez’s eyes widened. “Did you just say yes?”

  “Against my better judgment, I did,” said Father. “The students in question can arrive Sunday night. I will have Ms. Fujita call you with the details. We’ll issue them uniforms. You’re welcome—and goodbye.”

  On Sunday evening, Elliott climbed aboard Dunwiddle’s yellow school bus with the other UDM kids (except Nory), the fifth-grade Flares, and Nurse Riley. The engine rumbled to life, and they were off.

  I can’t believe it, Elliott thought. Me! At Sage Academy! Some of his friends were anxious about being shipped off to the fanciest of the fancy private schools, but Elliott saw it as an adventure.

  Andres was excited, too. He sat next to Elliott, wearing his brickpack, and bounced on the scratched-up seat. “I can’t wait to see Tip,” Andres said. “And Phoebe! And Lark and Tomás!”

  The UDM kids had met some Sage kids before, when fifth graders from both schools had attended an overnight field trip at a dragon rescue center. Andres had bonded with several of the Flyers.

  Elliott looked around. He leaned forward and tapped Marigold. “Where’s Willa?”

  “She’s not coming,” Marigold said over her shoulder. “She has the flu.”

  “She wasn’t sick on Friday,” Elliott said.

  “She’s faking,” Bax said.

  “Why would she do that?” Marigold asked.

  “Um, maybe because she’s afraid of raining all over the school and ruining the ancient tapestries and the velvet curtains?” Bax said.

  The UDM kids went quiet.

  “What if I accidentally shrink the velvet curtains?” Marigold said in a small voice.

  “You won’t,” Elliott insisted. “No way.” And no way will I freeze them, either, he told himself.

  He could hear the Sparkies’ shrill laughter from the front of the bus. That was the only part of this adventure he wasn’t up for. Traveling with the Sparkies. Why had the UDM kids been paired with the Flares? Why couldn’t they have gone to Sage with the fifth-grade Fuzzies? He made a tiny ice cube in his hand and popped it in his mouth.

  “Oh, nice,” Andres said. He pulled a grape juice box from the zippered pocket of his brickpack and tossed it to Elliott. “Make me a Popsicle?”

  Elliott froze the juice box.

  “Pass it here, and I’ll big it up,” Marigold said. “Then we can share.” She bigged the frozen juice box to be the size of a cereal box.

  Andres used his pen cap to slice open the box and then broke the massive grape ice cube into shareable pieces.

  Everyone sucked on their chunks. Their mouths turned purple.

  “Ms. Starr is meeting us there, right?” Elliott asked. “Maybe she’s riding with Mr. Zlotnick.” Mr. Zlotnick taught the typical Flare students, and he wasn’t on the bus either. The only Dunwiddle staff person
was Nurse Riley, who was sitting in the front row, talking to the bus driver.

  “She better be,” Marigold said, talking about Ms. Starr. “How would we have class without her?”

  After a two-hour drive, the bus stopped in front of a large gold gate.

  Whoa. Fancy.

  The driver checked in with a uniformed security guard and the gates swung open.

  Everyone peered out the windows as they drove down the road to the lit-up buildings ahead of them. There were at least fifteen different buildings, all made of stone.

  “It’s like a village,” Marigold whispered.

  “All of this is part of the Sage campus?” Andres asked. “All of it?”

  “All of this and more,” said Lacey from up front. “They have different buildings for different magical subjects, and a separate gymnasium building, a separate auditorium, a dining hall, and dormitories. I know from going on the tour.”

  A building for each magical talent? Wow. Would there be a building for upside-down magic?

  The bus driver stopped and a small brown horse trotted toward the bus. The bus door hissed open, and the horse fluxed into a woman, who stepped gracefully aboard.

  “Good evening,” she said. “I’m Ms. Fujita, Dr. Horace’s assistant. I’m here to show you to the Buxbom Dorm, where you will be staying while you’re visiting.” She turned to the driver. “Continue straight ahead and make a right.”

  The bus driver followed her directions.

  “Keep going,” Ms. Fujita said. “Yes, yes, keep going.”

  The road curved around. Elliott spotted three goats, trotting along together with backpacks in their mouths. They must be fluxed students.

  After the bus passed two more buildings, Ms. Fujita asked the driver to stop.

  “Here we are,” she said as everyone disembarked. “My apologies for the state of the dorm. It’s due to be demolished! Next month! But we weren’t expecting guests, and these are our only available beds, and—well!” She smiled. “What good timing, after all.”

  “Not a problem,” Nurse Riley said. “We appreciate you taking us in. Come on, kids. Grab your bags and—”

  “Our grounds crew will get your bags,” Ms. Fujita said. “Go on to your rooms. I’m sure you’re tired! We’ve put your names on your doors. Your uniforms are in your closets.”

  “This is the old dorm?” said Bax, walking ahead. “I don’t get what’s wrong with it.”

  “The new dorm must be a palace,” said Pepper.

  The entryway had deep red carpet and vaulted ceilings. Farther on was a common area furnished with stately leather couches, more thick carpets, and a number of glossy wooden tables. Bookshelves were loaded with a mix of paperbacks and textbooks. Elliott had never seen such a fancy space meant for kids.

  He found his room and stood in its center, taking it in. The walls were papered with a rich blue-and-gold floral pattern. The furniture was simple: a bed, a wooden desk, a swivel chair. He had a big window with, yes, blue velvet curtains, and a closet that contained five days’ worth of school uniforms.

  Down the hall were the bathrooms. There, Elliott could see that the building was past its prime. The porcelain sinks were stained with use, the tiles warped and cracked with age.

  He went back out to the common room and found Pepper on one of the leather couches.

  “Have you seen Nory?” he asked.

  “Elinor Horace will not be staying in the dormitory,” said Ms. Fujita, appearing behind them and making Elliott jump. “She will remain at her father’s house.”

  “Oh,” he said. “How come?”

  “Dr. Horace’s wishes.”

  “What about Ms. Starr?” Pepper asked. “Is she staying with us or in, like, a teachers’ dorm?”

  “Ms. Starr?” Ms. Fujita repeated.

  “Our teacher.”

  Ms. Fujita frowned. “I was told that your school nurse would be your chaperone. He’ll be sleeping in the prefect room.”

  “I don’t understand,” Elliott said.

  “Yeah,” said Pepper. “Who’s going to teach us if our teacher isn’t here?”

  “You’ll attend classes with the Sage students, of course,” Ms. Fujita said.

  “Wait,” Elliott said, his heart sinking. “That’s fine for the Flares, maybe. But what about the kids with Upside-Down Magic?”

  “Sage doesn’t have an Upside-Down Magic class,” Ms. Fujita explained. “You’ll be grouped by your magic: Flare, Fuzzy, Flyer, Fluxer, or Flicker.”

  Elliott’s jaw dropped. “But … I freeze things!”

  Pepper laughed nervously. “And I can’t go to a Fuzzy class. I’ll terrify all the animals! Is that what Sage wants? A stampede of terrified kittens?”

  By this time, other students had come into the common room: Sebastian, Andres, and Marigold, plus Lacey, Rune, and some other Flares.

  “I’m sure it will be fine,” said Ms. Fujita.

  “I’m pretty sure it won’t,” said Pepper.

  “No kidding!” said Lacey. She turned to Rune and laughed. “They’re setting the wonkos free. Did you hear?”

  Elliott felt sick. He would have to be in a class with Lacey. And all the Sparkies. And since Willa had the “flu,” he’d have to deal with them all on his own.

  At Sage, every school day started with morning assembly. Nory, foolishly, expected it to be fun. Father had said it was his favorite part of the day, and Nory had imagined clowns and seals parading up and down the grand rows of the Hall of Magic and Performance. Also doughnuts.

  Guess how many clowns and seals there were?

  Zero.

  Guess how many doughnuts?

  Also zero.

  Instead, a teacher scolded at Nory for having her sleeves rolled up, and all the students had to listen to a chamber music quartet.

  Pepper squeezed her hand as they sat on the purple velvet seats. Nory squeezed back. She was worried about herself and Bax in the Fluxer class. And she knew she’d miss Ms. Starr. She could only imagine how Pepper felt about joining the Fuzzy class.

  “We missed you in the dorm,” Pepper whispered.

  “My dad wouldn’t let me come,” Nory said. “I wanted to.”

  A Sage teacher whipped around from the pew in front of them. “Shh!”

  Finally, assembly was over. The students were dismissed and broke into chatter.

  “Hey, look!” Pepper said.

  Nory looked and—

  “Mitali!” she exclaimed, calling out to a girl with bright eyes, a big smile, light brown skin, and dark brown hair cut in a swingy bob.

  “Nory!” cried Mitali, pushing through the throng.

  Nory had met Mitali at Dragon Haven. They had formed a friendship almost immediately.

  “I am so happy to see you!” said Mitali. “Omigosh, we’re going to have so much fun. How do you like the uniform?”

  Nory waved goodbye to Pepper, promising to catch up with her at lunch, and hoped that the day would get better.

  It did!

  Nory knew several other Sage Fluxers from Dragon Haven, not just Mitali: Fuchsia, Anemone, and Fred. And they were all glad to see her!

  Plus, they were nice to Bax! And Bax was nice to them!

  Math wasn’t too hard. And literature was actually interesting. They read a short story about a unicorn-fluxing princess.

  Third period was fluxing class. The teacher was a tall man with a giraffe-like neck and a kind smile. His name was Mr. Lan.

  “You’re Stone Horace’s daughter, yes?” he said to Nory.

  She nodded.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” said Mr. Lan. “All good. Don’t worry.”

  Nory wasn’t sure she believed him, but she wanted to.

  Mr. Lan did a presentation about canine fluxing, talking about techniques for holding on to the human mind and ways of relating to actual dogs when in dog form. The Sage Fluxers were ahead of the Dunwiddle Fluxers. That’s why they were working on puppies instead of kittens.

  Uh-oh
. Nory was great at kitten, but her puppy went wonky almost every time she’d done it. She really didn’t want to go unintentionally upside down on her first day at Sage.

  She tried to do the deep breathing Ms. Starr had taught her. The other students demonstrated their homework by fluxing into pug, golden retriever, dalmatian, and beagle puppies. Then Mr. Lan beckoned Nory to the front of the room. “Would you show us your puppy, please? Any breed is fine.”

  Nory took another deep breath. She reminded herself that she’d done puppy in the entrance exam. Sure, it had only been for five seconds, but she’d done it. She could do it again.

  Pop pop pop! She fluxed into a golden retriever puppy.

  “Very nice,” Puppy-Nory heard Mr. Lan say. “Perfectly floppy puppy ears. Top-notch fluxing!”

  Puppy-Nory wagged her tail. She was holding it! It was six seconds at least! Last time Nory had done puppy, she’d added in squid tentacles. But no squid today. No way was she even going to think about squids!

  Squids. Squids. Squids. Now that she had thought of them, Puppy-Nory couldn’t stop thinking of them.

  No, Puppy-Nory told herself, holding on to her human self with all her might.

  She wiggled one of her front paws. Eeek! She felt a tentacle wanting to burst through.

  She wiggled one of her back paws. Ack! Another tentacle tried to push out. Puppy-Nory only barely managed to keep it in!

  She wagged her tail, and—uh-oh. A huge tentacle wanted hugely to slither out, and no no no!

  Hold your tail still! Puppy-Nory told herself, focusing all her might on keeping control of her human mind. Hold! Your! Tail! Still!

  Plink!

  Puppy-Nory held her tail still. Only it wasn’t a puppy tail anymore. Or a squid tentacle. It was an elephant tail.

  And then, plunk! Her puppy ears grew and stretched and waggled back and forth like satellites.

  “Elephant ears!” cried Fred.

  “So cool!” cried Anemone.

  “Nory, you’re an elephant-puppy!” said Mitali.

  “An elepup!” said Fuchsia.