8 The Tricky Thing

CHAPTER EIGHT THE TRICKY THING WE SAT DOWN criss-cross applesauce on the patio to tear the bottle labels off. While we did that, Rosie told us the trickiest part of our project. "We have to sneak into the greenhouse during school and dig ten small holes with the little shovel," Rosie said. "We can't go outside during school," I said and bit my lip a little. "It's against the rules. We'll get in big trouble." "That's why it's the trickiest part," Rosie said.

"We can only go outside at recess," Simon said. "But the greenhouse is locked anyway. Only teachers have keys." "And the walls and door are made out of glass," I said, picturing the greenhouse. "It's got a screen roof to let rain in—and keep bugs and birds out—but there's no way to get inside." "It's tricky," Rosie repeated. "But we have to find a way in." "I have an idea," Simon said as he scratched his fingernail against a bit of label that was still stuck on his last bottle. "The walls are glass, so we can't get through them. But the top is just a screen. It's pretty loose and flimsy. I think I could get through it."

"How are you going to climb up there?" Rosie asked as we started to cut the tops and bottoms off the bottles to turn them into tubes. "I'm not going to climb up," Simon said. "I'm going to fall down." I asked, "How?" "I'll jump off the roof of the school, that's how." "You can't jump off the school roof!" Rosie screamed and laughed. "Why not?"

"You'll break your legs! Or worse!" Rosie said.

Now she was really laughing—like, hard. She was holding her belly. Simon turned my way for support. He looked at me and said, "I figure the screen roof will slow me down before I smash into the ground." I shook my head. "It won't slow you down enough. You cannot jump off the school and through the greenhouse roof." "All right, all right," Simon said, giving up. It was quiet then. We were each down to our last bottle to cut.

"We can't use the roof by falling through it," Rosie said slowly and twirled her hair, suddenly serious. "But we can use the roof." "How?" Simon and I asked in unison. "Tomorrow at recess," Rosie answered. She paused and looked at Simon, then at me. "We're going to play Frisbee."