Chapter 3

Chapter 3 THE ROBOT JANITOR ATE MY HOMEWORK! The real Woodsword Middle School didn't have any skeletons lurking in its classrooms. But that didn't mean there weren't problems. It was early the next morning when Po realized something strange was happening at the school. It started as minor annoyances. The automatic doors didn't open for him at the top of the wheelchair ramp. The lights in the lobby's trophy case were flickering. There was a low hiss coming out of the PA system's speakers, like faraway static. He ran into Jodi, Ash, and Harper in the

hallway. "Have you two noticed anything weird this morning?" he asked. As soon as he asked the question, the static was replaced by the sounds of a chicken clucking. "I was about to say no," Harper said. "But now that you mention it…" Ash shrugged. "It's probably just someone's idea of a prank." Po looked around suspiciously at their fellow students. "Speaking of pranks," he said, "do you have any guesses who the Evoker King might be? It has to be someone at Woodsword, right?" "As a matter of fact, I've been looking into that," said Jodi. She pulled a notebook from her backpack. When she opened it, Po saw that it was filled with the names of their classmates. Beside each name, Jodi had written an observation. "I noticed Missy Richenbacher spent ten minutes on her phone this morning," said Jodi. "But we all know her parents limit her screen time on weekdays. So what is she up to?" She flipped

to another page. "And Josh Berkoff is wearing a purple shirt and a black jacket today. He looks like a walking Nether portal! Is that a coincidence, or is he toying with us? Also, a jacket in this weather?" "Jodi!" said Ash. "Are you spying on our classmates?" "I'm spying on our suspects," said Jodi. "And, Ash…everyone at Woodsword is a suspect!" Po shrugged. "She's not wrong." "There has to be a way to solve this without digging into everyone's business," said Harper— and then she shrieked. Po gasped. Harper was soaking wet. A jet of water from a nearby water fountain was blasting her.

"Make it stop!" Harper yelled, lifting her hands and closing her eyes against the torrent. "Harper, just run!" Jodi said. Ash held up a notebook, blocking the water as much as she could. Po launched into action. He hurried over to the water fountain. It was a fancy electronic fountain that the school's science teacher, Doc Culpepper, had recently installed. Po knew that meant it must have an off switch.

He found a big red button and, hoping for the best, he pushed it. The stream of water tapered off immediately. But the damage was already done. Harper stood motionless in a puddle in the middle of the hallway. Water dripped from her hair, clothes, and glasses. The poor girl looked completely stunned. Ash pulled a tissue from her backpack. Harper took it, then paused, realizing it wouldn't be much help. "Harper, are you okay?" Po asked. Harper pushed her glasses up her nose, but they slid back down again. "Please tell Ms. Minerva I may be a few minutes late," she said. Then she waddled down the hallway, squelching all the while. Harper was late, but Ms. Minerva had other problems to worry about. The clucking on the intercom had been joined by a variety of barnyard sounds. The class hamster's newly

automated food dispenser was launching pellets across the classroom every few seconds. And the digital whiteboard refused to display the day's assignments. Instead, it was showing photos of Ms. Minerva's recent vacation to Mykonos. From the looks of it, their teacher had had a wonderful time on the Greek island. "Oh no," Ash said at her desk. She pulled a dripping-wet sheet of paper from her notebook. "My homework got soaked." "You think that's bad?" Morgan said. "My