\u201cAri,\u201d demanded Arden as she reached the Daylatch Academy gate right behind him. She paused to catch her breath. \u201cHave you thought about this at all? How are we supposed to get through this gate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he replied.
\n\tThe stone wall loomed tall, gray, and ominous. There was no easy way to get over it, and the iron gate was locked shut, as usual. \t\t\u201cWhen Uncle Ellery had an appointment, he pushed the button on this speaker box and they let him in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHmm…\u201d mumbled Arden. She reached through the gate, her finger hovering over the call button. Suddenly, she pushed it.
\n\tThe black box emitted a crackling splutter of noise, followed by the squawking, impatient voice Ari recognized as Helga, the squat secretary.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYes?\u201d<\/em> blurted Helga.<\/p>\n \t\u201cHello,\u201d began Arden, in as adult a voice as she could manage. \u201cWe\u2019re here to repair the…\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cDishwasher!\u201d whispered Ari.<\/p>\n \t\u201cDishwasher,\u201d repeated Arden. \u201cWhat do you mean dishwasher?\u201d<\/em> she hissed at Ari. \u201cWhy would they have a dishwasher?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \t\u201cWe did not call for any repairs,\u201d<\/em> replied Helga snippily. \u201cOur students wash the dishes here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \t\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d said Arden, \u201cIt seems I\u2019m looking at the wrong page of my repair book. I meant…\u201d<\/p>\n \tBut she was interrupted by the blaring of a truck horn. Ari turned. The Sneezy\u2019s Feed\u2019em Cheap truck was barrelling down Duchy Street. It slammed to a halt, facing the gate, as Arden and Ari jumped out of the way.<\/p>\n \t\u201cHey kid,\u201d hollared the driver, leaning out the truck window. \u201cDo me a favor and punch that button!\u201d<\/p>\n \tAri shrugged and pushed the black button.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWe did not call for a repair!\u201d<\/em> bellowed Helga through the speaker box.<\/p>\n \t\u201cRepair?\u201d hollared Mr. Sneezy from his truck. \u201cWho said anything about a repair? It\u2019s Mr. Sneezy! You want your chow or not?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cMr. Sneezy?\u201d<\/em> blurted Helga. \u201cWatch the gate please!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \tAri wondered if any boys would try to escape in the Sneezy\u2019s truck this time. But he only wondered that for a second before he realized that if a kid could escape in the truck, maybe a kid could un-escape in the truck.<\/p>\n \tThe gate started to creak and groan, and slowly slide open. \tAri clambered into the truck, with Arden right behind him. They squished themselves between boxes labeled \u201cGruel with gravy\u201d and \u201cInstant pork chops–just add water.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cI don\u2019t think he heard us,\u201d whispered Arden.<\/p>\n \t\u201cGood,\u201d replied Ari, shaking his head in disbelief as the truck lurched forward and a bag of \u201cSandwich rolls–plain,\u201d fell on top of him. \t\u201cNow what?\u201d whispered Arden. \u201cWhat are you going to say when he opens the door?\u201d \t\u201cMISTER Sneezy!\u201d began Ari in an important tone.<\/p>\n \tArden butted in. \u201cThese instant pork chops are not being transported under proper refrigeration!\u201d she scolded. \u201cDo you want to be reported to the Food Safety Bureau?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cThe WHAT Bureau?\u201d spluttered Mr. Sneezy. \u201cThey don\u2019t need refrigeration! They\u2019re instant!\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cOh,\u201d said Arden. \u201cI see. Mr Soffit! Why didn\u2019t you inform me as to the status of the pork chops?\u201d She grabbed Ari by the arm and pulled him out of the truck behind her. \u201cNext we must inspect the bathroom tissue supply.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cHey kid!\u201d hollared Mr. Sneezy.<\/p>\n \t\u201cRun,\u201d said Arden under her breath. \u201cThat way.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cYou got a lucky break this time Sneezy!\u201d shouted Ari as they dashed away, and around the drab brick building where the truck was parked.<\/p>\n \t\u201cDo you think he\u2019ll come after us?\u201d asked Arden. They were crouched behind a dumpster which smelled exactly, she supposed, like rotting instant pork chops would smell.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWell,\u201d replied Ari, \u201cwe\u2019re not really his problem. Maybe he won\u2019t care. Let\u2019s just figure out how we\u2019re going to break two-hundred kids out of this jail.\u201d<\/p>\n \tThere was scarcely a sound other than the banging and muttering of Mr. Sneezy wrestling with his hand truck on the other side of the building.<\/p>\n \t\u201cThey might be in class,\u201d suggested Arden.<\/p>\n \t\u201cIt\u2019s a holiday,\u201d Ari reminded her. \u201cWe\u2019d better just look in windows until we figure something out.\u201d \t\u201cMaybe there\u2019s a gymnasium,\u201d suggested Arden.<\/p>\n \t\u201cHere?\u201d said Ari dismissively. \u201cI doubt it. But they\u2019ve gotta be somewhere.\u201d \tThere were no students in a classroom building. None in a bleak dormitory where metal beds lined the wall. And perhaps more surprising than the absence of students was the conspicuous lack of the blue-shirted, motorcycle-riding security force.<\/p>\n \t\u201cNo guards,\u201d whispered Ari.<\/p>\n \t\u201cMaybe they went to the fight,\u201d replied Arden. \u201cWhat about over there?\u201d \t\u201cNo windows though,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to go in to see if that\u2019s where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n \tNo windows meant that they could approach the door easily enough without being spotted, but the big question remained–what would be behind the door when they opened it?<\/p>\n \t\u201cOh, we\u2019re about to get tackled by seven goons, is my guess,\u201d suggested Arden. \u201cI hope you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u201cYep,\u201d replied Ari. He opened the front door. Gentle music tinkled sweetly from overhead, and the smell of orange blossoms wafted faintly through what appeared to be a comfortable reception area.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWell, hello,\u201d came the lilting voice of a beautifully polished lady behind the front desk. \u201cWelcome to the home of Hunka-Vites vitamins for children! We\u2019ve been waiting for you!\u201d<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAri,\u201d demanded Arden as she reached the Daylatch Academy gate right behind him. She paused to catch her breath. \u201cHave you thought about this at all? How are we supposed to get through this gate?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he replied. The stone wall loomed tall, gray, and ominous. There was no easy way to get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions\/234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\t\u201cCome on,\u201d said Ari, pulling Arden quickly along with him. He couldn\u2019t tell whether Mr. Sneezy could see them or not, but he knew it was now or never. He grabbed the handle and opened the truck\u2019s rear door, hoping that the creaking sound was drowned out by the clanking and rattling of the Daylatch gate opening.<\/p>\n
\n\tAbout two minutes of stomach-churning jolts later, the truck squealed to a halt and they heard the driver\u2019s door open, then close with a bang.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut Ari had no time to respond before the door swung open and Mr. Sneezy\u2019s flabbergasted face was inches from his.<\/p>\n
\n\tThey peered in the window next to the dumpster. It appeared to be dining hall storage–more boxes with labels like \u2018dehydrated juice–artificial apple flavor.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt was easier than they\u2019d expected to dart from building to building, thanks to the thick shrubs which had been planted many years ago, but were now overgrown from neglect.<\/p>\n
\nShe pointed toward the newly constructed, cold and modern building Ari had noticed when he came here with Uncle Ellery.<\/p>\n