Hide and Seek Read online

  “Whoa, whoa,” Andres said. He stood beside her in the aisle, wearing his brickpack. “You can figure out a solution. You always do. You’re Nory Horace!”

  Nory sniffled. “Am I, Andres? Am I?!”

  Andres exhaled. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to put whatever this is”—he swirled his hands to indicate the messy and teary hopelessness of her—“on the back burner. Right now, we’re going to solve the skunk problem.”

  He sounded so sure of himself. Nory hadn’t felt sure of herself since … well, since starting at Sage. She nodded and dragged her hand under her nose.

  “Can you still do skunk?” Andres asked.

  I doubt it, Nory wanted to say. But no. Being negative would only make things worse.

  Self-pity, later. Solution, now!

  “I … think so?” she said. “It might be tiny, though.”

  “Tiny will work. If you do skunk and I fly you up,” Andres said, “you can show the skunks how to go down the slide. Maybe they’ll copy you.”

  Smart idea. Teamwork! Nory took another deep breath and then fluxed into skunk.

  Sure enough, it went tiny. She was the size of a teacup. But she didn’t despair.

  Andres picked up Tiny-Skunk-Nory and slipped out of his brickpack.

  Up, up, up they flew, right to the beam where the skunks were losing their minds.

  Andres deposited Tiny-Skunk-Nory near the top of the slide. The real live skunks wouldn’t let Andres touch them, but he hovered nearby and made encouraging remarks. “The slide won’t be that cold.” And, “It’s just for a minute.” And, “Don’t spray me, mister. I’m on your side! I want you to be nice and comfy back in your garden.”

  Nory inched her way onto the slide. The skunks were still looking wild. They were hopping from foot to foot and their eyes were bugging out. It was only a matter of seconds before one sprayed the entire hall or—horrible, horrible—fell off and plunged to its death. Nory desperately needed them to follow her to safety.

  Follow the leader! she tried to say with her paws. This is how it’s done. She shimmied onto the ice and—oh, wow, was that cold on her bottom—and whee!

  She slid down, turning midway to see if the skunks were following. And one was! He really was!

  It was Domino. And after Domino, came Penguin. Woot! C’mon, everyone, follow Tiny-Skunk-Nory, your teacup-sized leader!

  As she reached the bottom, Tiny-Skunk-Nory saw that someone had placed a cozy blanket-lined box at the base of the slide.

  Plop! She landed in it comfortably and quickly climbed out.

  Domino landed next, right into the box. He yawned and drowsily made his way to the corner and passed out. Penguin did the same. Nory wondered why, and then noticed her sister, Dalia, hovering over the box. She was making the skunks sleepy!

  All thirty skunks slid down the slide, one by one.

  All thirty skunks landed in the box and promptly fell asleep.

  Nory fluxed back into a girl. The disaster was over.

  “Gracious,” Father said, flickering into view next to Nory. “That was something. Where is that boy … Cohen! Mr. Cohen, where are you?”

  Elliott cleared his throat from a few feet away. “Um, here?”

  “Yes. You. The icing of the odors was quite impressive. Showed real initiative. And that slide! Well done with the slide.”

  Elliott turned pink. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

  “And Nory.”

  “Yes, Father?” she asked.

  “Thank you for going up there. None of the other Fluxers thought to do it.”

  “I couldn’t have if Andres hadn’t helped,” Nory said. “I tried to do dritten and fly up myself, but …” Her words trickled off as her hopeless feelings trickled back in.

  “What I want to know, however, is how the skunks got out of the skunk garden in the first place,” Father said. “And cranberries? Who on earth was so foolish as to give them cranberries?”

  Nory’s heart dropped from her chest to her stomach, and then from her stomach to her toes. She had never, ever meant for this to get so out of hand.

  There was an upside, though. Once she confessed to Father, she would be expelled for sure.

  “I was the foolish one,” she said bravely. “It was me.”

  Father sent the rest of the teachers and students off to shower and change. Then he led Nory to his office and closed the door.

  He sat behind his desk and buttoned his suit jacket. It made him look as official and angry as he could possibly look while smelling of skunk spray.

  “Well?” he said.

  “I’m sorry, Father,” Nory said, her cheeks burning. “It was my fault the skunks got out and ate cranberries.”

  “What?”

  “I was planning to let just one out! Not all thirty! And actually, I changed my mind at the last minute, but—”

  Nory broke off. She hated Lacey. She really did. But she had a feeling that Lacey was mean and bitter mainly because of being so unhappy. Unhappiness changed people. And strange though it seemed to Nory, she knew that what Lacey wanted most was to go to Sage Academy.

  Why should Nory ruin that for her, when maybe a happy Lacey would be a nicer Lacey?

  Plus—double rainbows with sprinkles on top—if Lacey went to Sage, then Lacey wouldn’t be at Dunwiddle any longer!

  She told Father about the morning’s string of disasters as best she could, leaving only a few small details out.

  “So anyway, yeah,” she finished. “I ended up in way over my head.”

  “Indeed,” said Father, his voice icier than the slide. “Do you know how irresponsible your behavior was?”

  “Yes, Father,” Nory said.

  “Do you know how embarrassing, how personally humiliating, your behavior was? To me?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Then why?” he demanded. “Why would you do such a thing?”

  “Well …”

  “Did you think it would be amusing?”

  “No, I—”

  “How could you possibly think skunk odors would be amusing?”

  “I did it so you would expel me!” Nory blurted.

  Father appeared to be speechless, but only for a moment. Then he threw his arms in the air. “Why would you want to get expelled from Sage?”

  “Because!” cried Nory. “I want to go back to Dunwiddle! I asked you—nicely!—if I could please go back, only you ignored me. Didn’t you see how weak my magic was, from trying to fit into a ‘box of normal’ instead of learning to work my unusual talents? Don’t you see that I feel like crying all the time?” She tried to steady her breathing. “I’m not happy here. I had to make you see that, and the skunks seemed like the best way!”

  Father rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. “Don’t be dramatic, Nory. No one’s ‘happy’ every minute of every day. You’ll toughen up. It might take a few months, but you will.”

  Nory’s chest tightened. “Wait. Does that mean you’re not going to expel me?”

  “Well …” Father hesitated. “Technically, you’re not a student here yet. I don’t have to expel you. You can go back to Dunwiddle until after the winter break and then you’ll start at Sage for real in January.”

  Nory swayed. She steadied herself by grabbing Father’s desk.

  Father didn’t notice. “I trust that you have learned your lesson—and that you will never do anything like that again.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Father said.

  This was it? The meeting was over?

  No way! Nory couldn’t stay at Sage. She wouldn’t!

  “No, no, no,” Nory begged. Spots swam before her eyes. “Please send me back. Please! I don’t like it here! It squashes me and forces me to be something I’m not. I’m losing my Nory-ness!”

  “I think you should listen to Nory, Father,” Hawthorn said, stepping into the room. He put his hand on Nory’s shoulder.

  “Me too,” said Dal
ia. Her fingers found Nory’s and squeezed. “I mean, I miss her,” Dalia explained. “But this place isn’t right for her. Did you see her dritten? It couldn’t even fly!”

  Nory nodded, weak with relief. Dalia saw her.

  “Her magic is getting worse here, not better,” Hawthorn said. He regarded Nory with concern, and Nory smiled. Hawthorn saw her, too. “At Dunwiddle, it was different. That Upside-Down Magic class was helping her, Father.”

  Father looked back and forth between the three of them.

  “You know I shouldn’t be here,” Nory said, borrowing a bit of courage from her brother and sister. “I need to be in Dunwiddle.”

  Father held out for several tense seconds. Then he threw up his hands again and said, “Fine. Fine.”

  Nory’s heart drummed against her ribs. “Fine, what?”

  “You can return to Dunwiddle,” he said. “This is clearly not the right place for you.” The way he said it stung, but Nory would take it.

  She was going home.

  “I have some work to do,” Father said abruptly. “But you three should use the gym showers. Do you have extra clothes in your lockers?”

  Hawthorn and Dalia nodded.

  Nory didn’t have a locker. Oh, well.

  In the hallway, Nory threw her arms around her brother and sister. “I’ll never forget what you did in there.”

  Even though they all stunk like skunks, they hugged for a very long time.

  It was Friday afternoon. Classes were over and Elliott was packing his stuff before the bus left at six. He had already returned the Hex glove to Dr. Vogel. He left his borrowed uniforms in the dorm room laundry hamper. There was a knock on his door.

  “Come in!” he hollered.

  “Mr. Cohen? May I speak to you for a moment?”

  It was Nory’s dad! At Elliott’s door! What was he doing there?

  “Um, sure?” Elliott put down the pajamas he was folding and opened the door. The headmaster seemed very large inside the small dormitory room.

  “Take a walk with me,” Dr. Horace suggested. “I was hoping we could have a chat.”

  “Sure,” squeaked Elliott. “Let me just find my shoes.”

  “I’ll wait for you outside.”

  The two of them wrapped scarves around their necks and strolled through the campus as a light snow twinkled down, making everything seem new and fresh.

  “Mr. Cohen,” Dr. Horace said, “I heard you’ve been attending the double magic affinity group.”

  “I only went once, sir,” said Elliott. “I was invited by a fellow student.” He didn’t want to say Mitali’s name in case she wasn’t supposed to have invited him. “I know I’m not really a double talent. I think they were just, you know, being welcoming. The students here have excellent manners.”

  Dr. Horace was silent. They passed the snow-dusted topiary garden.

  “Dr. Vogel reports that you’ve made huge progress in Flare class this week,” the headmaster finally said.

  What? Elliott had thought they were talking about how he’d gone to a meeting he shouldn’t have gone to. What did this have to do with Dr. Vogel?

  “She said that with a little extra support, use of Hex gloves, and possibly a tutor to help with your unusual style of magic, you could be very successful here at Sage,” Dr. Horace went on.

  “Did you say here at Sage?”

  “I’m not sure if you have heard yet, but a spot has recently opened up in the fifth grade.”

  “The spot Nory’s taking.”

  “The spot Nory will not be taking, actually.”

  Elliott blinked. When did this happen? Did Nory know?

  “She and I decided that she should go back to Dunwiddle,” Dr. Horace said.

  “Wow.” Elliott was happy for Nory. He knew how badly she wanted to return to Ms. Starr’s friendly classroom.

  “So, Mr. Cohen,” said the headmaster, “we are wondering if you would like the spot.”

  Elliott stopped walking. “Me?”

  “Yes. You.”

  “But … what about Lacey? She says the spot should be hers. Isn’t she next on the wait list?”

  Dr. Horace looked confused. “Lacey Clench? No. We don’t even keep a wait list.”

  “But Lacey said … she said her dad told her she was first on the wait list. She said so lots and lots of times.”

  Dr. Horace fluttered his fingers. “Humph. Perhaps her father wanted to soften the blow of not getting in. But, no. Miss Clench is not Sage material.”

  “And I am?”

  Dr. Horace nodded. “You would officially join us after winter break. You should speak to your family and make a decision together. We are prepared to offer you a full merit scholarship, including free tuition, room, and board. We had some big donors this year and one of our goals is to attract more double talents to Sage Academy.” He put his hand on Elliott’s shoulder. “We would be honored to offer you the top-level education your talent requires.”

  Wow. Wow. Wow.

  Elliott was relieved that Dr. Horace didn’t expect an answer right away, because he had no idea what to say.

  Nory rode back to Dunwiddle with the other UDM kids on Dunwiddle’s dilapidated old bus. The ride was bumpy. The heat hardly worked. The plastic covering on Nory’s seat was ripped, revealing the yellowing foam beneath. When Nory dug her fingers into it, she pulled out a crusty, dusty choco fire truck that must have been decades old.

  She was too happy to feel grossed out. She was too happy to do anything except bounce a bit on her seat and soak in the passing scenery.

  Farewell, Sage! she thought.

  She would miss Hawthorn and Dalia. And her Fluxer friends.

  And she’d miss Father. A little. Every so often.

  But she would not miss Sage. Not one bit.

  The bus went around a curve, and all at once the rolling hills smoothed out and the town of Dunwiddle came into view. Nory’s breath caught. Her heart swelled. She grabbed Pepper’s hand and squeezed. “Pepper, look!”

  Pepper leaned toward Nory’s window. “Oh, yay,” she said softly. “Hi, Dunwiddle.”

  Soon Nory would see Aunt Margo! And Figs, Aunt Margo’s boyfriend. And Nory would see her bedroom, her beloved little green bedroom in her beloved aunt’s beloved house. And Monday, she would see Ms. Starr and Principal Gonzalez, and Coach, and all her kittenball friends! The flood damage had been repaired, according to Nurse Riley. The school was back to its crumbling, disheveled self.

  “Nory?” Pepper said. She tugged to free her hand from Nory’s grasp.

  Nory held tight. “Yes?”

  “Ew. What’s in your hand?”

  “What’s in my hand?” said Nory. “Your hand!” Silly Pepper.

  “Yes, but what else?” Pepper tugged harder, and Nory let go.

  Oh. The choco fire truck had melted between their palms, squeezing out of its red foil wrapper.

  Pepper wrinkled her nose. “Gee. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Nory said cheerfully. “It’s only seventy years old. You should totally eat it.”

  “Pass,” Pepper said.

  Nory turned back to the window, tingling all over with happiness.

  She was almost home.

  The next Monday, Elliott woke up early because his brother, Ezra, toddled into his room, climbed on his bed, and squeezed Elliott’s nose.

  Ahh, home.

  At Sage Academy, no one had squeezed his nose. Everyone woke up to the ting-a-ling of a bell rung by a dorm supervisor, followed by a gentle knock on the door. Then there was the bustle of kids, pushing to get a spot at the sink and rushing to the cafeteria for breakfast.

  But home was still nice. When Elliott and Ezra went downstairs, their dad had folk music playing in the kitchen. Their mom was wearing her white doctor’s coat and drinking coffee. “Dr. Horace wants our answer this morning,” she reminded Elliott, handing him a plate with sliced apple and peanut butter toast.

  Elliott nodded.

  He ate break
fast. He went back upstairs and got dressed for the day. He played blocks with Ezra. Then his dad took Ezra out in the stroller so Elliott and his mom could have a quiet house for the video call with Dr. Horace.

  It hadn’t been easy making this decision. There were so many things to think about.

  Elliott’s palms were sweaty. His heart was racing. Was he making the right choice?

  Brrring!

  Dr. Horace answered from his office, wearing a suit and tie. “Good morning, Mr. Cohen. Dr. Cohen.”

  Elliott’s mom said good morning. Elliott did, too, but it came out as a croak.

  “So,” said the headmaster. “I trust you’re ready to give me your decision?”

  “We are,” said Elliott’s mom.

  “I’d like to hear from Mr. Cohen himself,” said Dr. Horace. “Elliott, will you be joining us here at Sage?”

  Elliott breathed deeply to steel his nerves. He opened his mouth to answer.

  It probably goes without saying that the skunks in this book are heavily fictionalized. Cranberries don’t make them silly, and they’re probably not scared of heights. You don’t want to try to pet them unless you’re a magician.

  Many thanks and a bigged-up chocolate pudding to the team at Scholastic, including but not limited to: David Levithan, Rachel Feld, Maya Marlette, Taylan Salvati, Lauren Donovan, Lisa Bourne, Sue Flynn, Melissa Schirmer, Robin Hoffman, Lizette Serrano, Emily Heddleson, Abby Dening, and Aimee Friedman.

  Gratitude and a plate of Rose Parlor cookies to Laura Dail, Barry Goldblatt, Tricia Ready, Elizabeth Kaplan, Eddie Gamarra, Lauren Walters, and Deb Shapiro.

  Hot chocolate with alphabet marshmallows and much appreciation for all the pixie dust and mouse magic to our team at the Disney Channel: Lauren Kisilevsky, Charles Pugliese, Nick Pustay, Josh Cagan, Suzanne Farwell, Susan Cartsonis, Joe Nussbaum, and the wonderful cast, crew, and designers.

  A bowl of delicious cranberries to Bob, who couldn’t be more awesome.

  We are grateful to our families: Randy, Al, Jamie, Maya, Mirabelle, Alisha, Daniel, Ivy, Hazel, Todd, Chloe, and Anabelle. We wish we could take you all with us to the skunk garden!

  Finally, much love to our readers. We hope you like this glimpse into life at Sage Academy, and that you let your magic shine, whatever kind it is.