Gabby Duran and the Unsittables (13 page)

G
abby stared at the principal in stunned silence. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then realized she had no possible words, which meant it was
just hanging there, open and probably looking quite ridiculous.

“You’re not the only one looking forward to an explanation,” Ellerbee blared in his Scottish accent. He was red-faced to the top of his white-fringed head as he stormed over to
Gabby, Satchel, and Principal Tate. “Who do you think has to clean up this ghastly mess? Starting with this…
thing
?!”

Ellerbee grabbed the makeshift bag out of Principal Tate’s hand so roughly Gabby’s heart fluttered. She hoped Wutt had turned back into some kind of object so she wouldn’t get
too battered.

“You don’t have to,” Gabby said. “I’ll take care of that. And the room, too.”

She reached for the bag, but Ellerbee pulled it up and away. “Aye, like fun you will, Gabby MacGregor,” he growled. “You’ll have to get back to
school
and your
precious
classes
.” He spat the words like they were medieval tortures. “I’m the one stuck
holding the bag
, so I may as well get started.”

“You have enough to do with this disaster zone of a cafeteria, I’m afraid, Mr. Ellerbee,” boomed a dramatic voice. Gabby’s chest crumbled. She knew that rich baritone.
She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she were wrong, but when she opened them, Mr. Lau was right there, adjusting his cape. “It would be my pleasure to relieve you of this one distasteful
duty. It’s not much, I know, but it’s the least I can do.”

Apparently, you didn’t have to be a friend of A.L.I.E.N. to dislike Mr. Lau, because Ellerbee flinched away as the round, caped man reached for the bag. It gave Gabby just enough time to
jump between them.

“Wait!” she cried. “I have to tell you something!”

All eyes spun to Gabby…but she had no idea what to say. She’d only spoken up to buy time and keep Wutt out of Mr. Lau’s hands.

“Well, Gabby?” Principal Tate snipped impatiently.

“It’s okay,” Zee said. “You don’t have to cover for me.”

Gabby whipped her head around. Zee was here?

Ellerbee, Mr. Lau, and Principal Tate looked just as surprised. Only Satchel seemed to know Zee was in the room. She was in a corner, still standing on the chair she’d used to reach the
fire alarm. Her braids bounced as she hopped down and made her way to the group.

“The pink thing is mine,” she declared. She gave a meaningful look to Ellerbee and added, “It’s a robot. For the national robotics championships.”

Ellerbee knew all about the national robotics championships. He and Zee talked about them almost every day. So when Zee reached out to him for the sack, Gabby expected him to hand it right
over.

He didn’t, though. He pursed his lips and held the sack close. He must have been even angrier about the mess than Gabby thought. She was ready to throw herself on the floor, fake some kind
of attack, and hope that Zee or Satchel would use the moment to grab the bag, but then Ellerbee sighed and handed the tablecloth sack to Zee.

“Great!” Gabby said brightly. “So now Zee can put the robot back in her locker, and we’ll help clean up this mess.”

“Not yet,” said Principal Tate. He snatched the bag out of Zee’s hands and pried open the metal fastener latched around its top. Both Ellerbee and Lau leaned close to peek
inside. Gabby nearly swallowed her heart as she chanted over and over again in her head to Wutt,
Be the hat, and be still…Be the hat, and be still
…

Gabby didn’t know if Wutt had actually heard her thoughts, but when Gabby peered into the bag with the others, she saw exactly what she’d hoped to see: a completely normal-looking
bright pink fuzzy hat.

“Amazing,” Principal Tate mused. “It was so lifelike before.”

“That’s what I was going for,” Zee said. “The bot needs work, though. It wasn’t supposed to go crazy like that. So if I could just have it back…”

Principal Tate gripped the bag shut. “You know I run a robotics team here at the school,” he told Zee for the millionth time. “Why haven’t you shared this with us? If
you’re hoping to win the national robotics championships, why not do it with your school?”

“I prefer to do my own thing, sir.”

“And
I
prefer suspending students who irresponsibly release wild machinery into the school population. Should such a student also be responsible for vandalizing school property and
triggering a fraudulent fire drill…well, that’s the kind of student I might have to expel.”

Zee paled. “You’re going to expel me?”

“Not necessarily,” Principal Tate offered.

“I don’t understand,” Zee said.

But Gabby did. And from the worried murmur of “Oh snap” next to her, she knew Satchel did, too.

“You need a reprieve from your punishment, and I need success for my robotics team. So I’ll hold on to this”—Principal Tate held up the tablecloth sack—“and
you’ll join me and the team after school, when you can disassemble the robot for us and show us how it’s made.”

“NO!” Gabby screamed so loudly everyone jumped—including the hat in the bag. Luckily, they were all too stunned to notice.

“I mean,” she clarified, “Zee’s watching my and Satchel’s concert after school. She can’t go to robotics.”

“You’ll play many more concerts,” Principal Tate clucked. “She can miss today’s. Now all three of you, get to class. Mr. Ellerbee can handle this mess on his
own.”

Gabby could have sworn Ellerbee actually growled at this, but Principal Tate didn’t notice. He turned on his heel and strode toward the cafeteria doors, Wutt’s sack gripped tightly
in his fist. Mr. Lau scurried behind him, his cape flapping in his wake.

“You know, Principal Tate,” Mr. Lau said, “I have quite a history with robotics myself, and I’ve heard marvelous things about your helmsmanship of the team. If it’s
not too much trouble, I’d very much like to join you this afternoon for the disassembly. It would be a true revelation to see just how that thing ticks. And to watch you in action, of
course.”

The thought of Wutt being “disassembled” had Gabby in such shock she froze. She could only stare in horror as Principal Tate and Mr. Lau walked out of the cafeteria in lockstep,
heads bent close like gossiping middle school girls.

Then she snapped back to life.

“Wait!” she wailed, and scurried after them. She pushed through the cafeteria doors, but Principal Tate and Mr. Lau had already turned the corner and were far away. Worse, lunch
period had officially ended, and the hall between Gabby and the two men was filled with students. As Gabby darted her way through the sea of people, Satchel and Zee caught up with her.

“You want to tell us what’s really in that bag?” Zee asked as they people-dodged.

“Desperately,” Gabby said, “but I—”

“Gabby Duran!” screeched Madison Murray. She stepped in front of Gabby and planted herself like a brick wall. Madison’s eyes glowered so ferociously Gabby was afraid hot lava
would spew out of them and melt her to ash. Madison’s wet, stringy bangs flopped in her face as she screamed, “You did this on purpose!”

“I didn’t!” Gabby insisted. She tried to sidestep Madison, but the girl moved with her. Madison tugged at the grotesque blotch of faded brown on her once-white silk-and-lace
blouse. It gave off a dizzying mix of soap and chocolate smells that churned Gabby’s stomach.

“You thought if you ruined my clothes,” Madison sneered, “I couldn’t do the concert and the solo. But guess what—my mom’s bringing me a new blouse. You
failed. I will get that solo, Gabby. I’ll play better than you, and even in my second-best top, I’ll look better than you, too.”

“You always look better than me, Madison,” Gabby said. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go.” She feinted to the left, then when Madison mirrored her, ducked to the
right and ran.

“I’m not going to run in heels, Gabby!” Madison shouted. “But believe me, this is
so
not over!”

Gabby didn’t doubt it, but she was far more concerned about Wutt. She thundered down the hall. It had emptied out almost completely now that the next class period had begun. Even Satchel
and Zee had disappeared to class.

Mr. Lau and Principal Tate were nowhere to be seen.

Unless…

Gabby walked slowly toward Principal Tate’s office. She moved carefully, so her shoes wouldn’t slap against the floor and alert any teachers to her loitering during class time. She
crouched low against the bottom of Principal Tate’s door, then slowly slid upward, so she could peer into the window….

“Gabby!”

It was Zee’s whisper-hissed voice, but it surprised Gabby so much she screamed.

“What was that?” rang out Principal Tate’s voice, and from his office Gabby heard a chair anxiously scraping along the floor.

Principal Tate was getting up. He was going to come out and catch Gabby and send her back to class before she could help Wutt!

But then hands grabbed her from behind and Zee’s voice hissed,
“Come on!”

Zee pulled Gabby across the hall into Ellerbee’s office and slammed the door just as they heard Principal Tate fling open his own door and stomp into the hall.

“Why’d you scream?” Zee whispered.

“You scared me!” Gabby whispered back.

“I told you we should have clamped a hand over her mouth before we said anything,” Satchel added. He was in the tiny office too. “It’s what they do in the
movies.”

“Shhh!” Zee hushed him. She pulled Gabby down next to her and they huddled on the floor. Ellerbee’s door had never fit well—an injustice he didn’t feel like he
should have to fix himself—so there was a wide space at the bottom between the sill and the door. Gabby crouched there with Zee and peered out at Principal Tate’s pinstriped knees,
which were joined a moment later by a pair of large black ballooning trousers and the billow of a cape.

“I’m sure it was nothing,” Mr. Lau said. “My opinion, you’re on edge from all the hullabaloo. Please let me take the robot off your hands. One less thing to trouble
you during the day, and I’ll bring it back for your robotics meeting.”

“No,” Gabby whispered. “No-no-no-no-no-no…”

“No,” Principal Tate echoed. “It’s no trouble. The robot’s fine where it is. But please, Eumeris, do come check out the disassembly. I’ll be interested to get
your opinion.”

The black-trousered knees seemed to shift back and forth, hesitating, then Mr. Lau said, “I look forward to it. I shall see you then!”

Gabby and Zee watched Mr. Lau’s bottom third stride down the hall, then saw Principal Tate’s legs return to his office. The door clicked shut.

“Eumeris?” Satchel gawped.

“What did he mean ‘the robot is fine where it is’?” Gabby worried. “Where
is
it?”

“Locked in his filing cabinet,” Zee said. “Satch and I followed them down and checked it out through the window. Satchel can show you.”

“Seriously?” Satchel asked. “We’re just going to zoom right over the fact that the guy’s name is Eumeris?”

“Satchel!” Gabby urged.

“Fine.” He pulled out his cell phone, swiped to video, and handed it to Gabby. “We used my super-spy tactics. We pretended to take a selfie in front of Principal Tate’s
door but actually shot a video. Check it out.”

Gabby pressed Play. She couldn’t hear anything over the dull roar of the crowded school hallway, and the foreground of the shot was Zee and Satchel’s foreheads as they posed for
their staged close-up, but behind them Gabby could see Principal Tate’s entire office through his window. Mr. Lau was chatting away saying who-knew-what and reached out to take the bag with
Wutt in it, but Principal Tate shook his head. He opened the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet, plopped the still-closed bag inside, then pulled a set of keys from his pocket and locked the
drawer again as the video ended.

“I have to get her out of there,” Gabby said as she handed the phone back to Satchel.

“I get it,” Zee said. “And we’ve totally got your back. Just maybe you could tell us what ‘she’ is first.”

Gabby looked at Satchel, his brown eyes wide with nervous interest. She looked at Zee, her blond braids cocked to one side as her fixed blue-eyed gaze tried to peer into Gabby’s head and
dig out the facts for herself. If it weren’t for the two of them, Wutt could be in even worse shape than she was now. Plus, they’d sacrificed to help her. Already Zee had risked
expulsion and agreed to suffer the tortures of Principal Tate’s Robotics class, and they were both in the middle of skipping their sixth period classes. Edwina wouldn’t approve, but
Gabby owed them the truth.

“I’ll tell you,” she said, “but you have to swear-swear-swear you won’t breathe a word to anyone. Ever. Ever. It’s that huge.”

“Sworn,” Zee said.

“I’m out,” Satchel said.

Zee wheeled on him. “You’re what?”

“I’m in for the helping!” Satchel clarified. “I’m just
really
bad at keeping secrets. I don’t want to be the guy who messes up and lets everything
out.”

“Yeah, but I want to know,” Zee insisted, “and we’re all in a little room.”

Satchel scrunched his face, then lit up with an idea. “Oh snap!” He turned his back to the wall, put his hands over his ears, and hummed. Zee just stared at him.

“I want to make fun of him,” she finally told Gabby, “but it’ll work. The sound waves he’s creating will help counteract ours. Like noise-canceling
headphones.”

Then Zee folded her arms and raised an eyebrow—Gabby’s cue to start talking. Gabby twisted the end of a curl in her mouth, frowned, then blurted out the insanity as fast as she
could.

“The-hat-is-a-little-girl-named-Wutt-and-she’s-an-alien-from-another-planet-and-I’m-babysitting-her.”

“YES!” Zee howled, slapping her palm on Ellerbee’s desk. “I knew it!”

Satchel started humming louder and bouncing his head from side to side. Apparently, Zee’s outburst overcame his noise-canceling capabilities.

“You knew it?” Gabby asked incredulously. “How could you know it?”

“Hello—the math thing? Even before your freak-out over the book, you must have said the word ‘alien’ like a zillion times. And on Monday when you were all, ‘Space
aliens? I didn’t bring up space aliens. You were the one who brought up space aliens.’ So what’s the deal? What planet is she from? What galaxy? Milky Way? No, outside Milky Way.
Gotta be an outer galaxy, she probably got here by wormhole. What kind of galaxy? Spiral? Elliptical? Irregular? Are there other people from her planet here, too? Oh wow, human-centric much, Zee?
Like she’s really a ‘person.’ Hello, insensitive! Okay, I’m stopping. Give me the scoop.”