Chapter 10

Detaching herself from the nature ramble would be the easiest part of the plan.

Matilda reasoned as Mrs Trench led all of them into the school farm/forest/ultimate freak zone.

The girls scowled as she counted them making sure every last one went in.

"Please tell me we're not looking for live frog samples this time." Lucinda begged looking apprehensive.

The place was rather dark since the trees blocked out most of the light. And then if you didn't know where you were heading you were most likely to run into spiky trees and rose bushes with just the right amount of thorns. Not to mention someone's brilliant idea so setting up a mini bee farm within… the greatest principal Lauren joke that landed half the school in the matron's office pulling out stingers.

"Today," The teacher began. "We're looking for species of jacanas. Don't forget to take notes back to the lab…."

"Someone remind her that we're in a freaking school and not some nature reserve in the middle of nowhere." Matilda rolled her eyes. Now they had a delusional teacher to deal with.

"I'm dividing you into groups two...."

The girls immediately paired up with their friends.

"Heyya Mat," KC tapped her. "Shall we venture into the dark and scary deep together?"

"I don't see why not." Matilda grinned linking an arm in hers.

"…According to your first names!" The teacher frowned earning a collective groan from the students.

Five minutes later Matilda found herself treading down a path dense with trees with Lucinda far behind, pouting and whining about how this was insane that jacanas probably didn't exist and basically being annoying.

Matilda still couldn't believe it. More than almost a dozen girls and she got Lucinda?

Well rightly speaking their names were kinda close but seriously? Wasn't there any Lydia or something!

"Luckily I'd be loosing her soon," Matilda muttered which was what she had been telling herself for the past five minutes.

"Ugh! You have to wait you dweeb… don't you even look back!" Lucinda yelled frustrated.

"At what, you? I'll pass," Matilda snickered. "There're enough grasses up in front." She said without looking back.

"You!" Lucinda glared plunging into a stream of cussings. "My uniform got caught in a thorn for crying out loud!"

"Pftt that's impossible for a skirt that's six inches too short," Matilda continued turning a bend.

"Oh come on! Wait… you're not leaving me alone out here right?"

There was no reply.

As if on cue, a big furry ball that looked suspiciously like a rat scuttled past grazing her boots.

"MATILDA!"

"Hmmm let's see… say darling sweetheart pretty pweese don't leave sorry old me in the deep scary dark all alone." Matilda yelled back sounding animated.

"Screw you!"

"Oops, not what I want to hear!" She cackled skipping down the new lane ignoring the cries from behind.

Loosing Lucy was way easier than expected. She thought.

Matilda doubled back to the front and snuck out, finding Kelly leaning against the fence.

"Let's go," She said with a fist bump.

They pulled on their blue hoodies crossing to the front of the school ninja style.

"So how'd you get out of class," Matilda whispered unnecessarily, deciding they could make some small talk before they actually began.

"Well let's just say I've got some free time because I'm not supposed to be in the art section of the library looking for references on Da Vinci and make notes for our next presentation." She winked. "No one wanted the job."

"You know," Matilda began stopping beside the school dorm which was a separate building facing the school. From here no one was likely to see them.

"There's a back door in the mini stadium where the equipments are kept. We could sneak out before tryouts."

"Hmmm…." Kelly nodded. How come she didn't know that.

"All we need is the key."

They looked at the small house near the gate. If there was one thing everyone knew it was that Angelo, the security officer had all the keys he helped out at the school sometimes.

"That's dangerous," Kelly said a grin spreading across her face. "I like it."

They set to work immediately. Kelly hid behind the bushes keeping watch on the school in case anyone suddenly decided to come out, while Matilda sprinted over to the security post and leaned against the building.

Okay… she took a deep breath and rummaged in her nature ramble utility bag. Her hand closed over a small black book. She pulled it out and flipped through the pages reminding herself that there was no hurry.

"Stay calm and breathe regularly…." She thought.

She was not just about to break in and steal keys from a guy who had eyes all over his back… besides, she only had one try and if they got caught at this point she would have to explain to Mrs Trench how snooping around was part of hunting down jacana species (that couldn't possibly exist within the four walls of a damn school.)

Anyway, that was probably going to earn them a month's worth detention and Yevette wasn't going to hear the end of it… see, no pressure.

Finally she found what she was looking for. A year ago Kelly and her had not so accidentally found themselves in the dorm rooms and conveniently broken into the head teacher's office, coping out all the staff's numbers from the number book.

Since then, they had gotten rather good at prank calling.

Then she crouched behind a tree where she could spy Angelo to see if he was going to buy her crap.

Calling the number, she mustered her sharpest authoritative voice that retained a touch of shrill which the head teacher couldn't live without. It was absolutely annoying but it made the students a little scared of her… or at least scared for the windows.

"Angelo," Came a gruff reply. Neither question nor statement. More like a fact.

Matilda decided to borrow the new style of greeting. "Head Teacher Maureen."

"I guess the janitor needs help in hurling more useless equipments into the lost and found." An obviously unimpressed voice replied.

That was a good idea…. Matda thought. She was actually going to pick up something lame like the principal wanted to have a serious talk with him.

"Somewhat like that, just with more urgency and of more importance," She quipped imagining herself in a business suit.

Kelly kept giving her the thumbs up. She ended the call and to her relief, Angelo, after a ton of grumbling stood up and began dragging his feet towards the school.

He was only halfway there when Matilda darted over to his post and rummaged through the drawers. That guy was too slow to wait for.

After a minute or so of fruitless searching, Kelly appeared beside her.

"You sure he didn't have it on his belt?"

"Positive." She searched around, replacing everything she picked carefully and finally, they found a bunch of keys all strung together and hanged by a nail to the wall.

"Surprisingly obvious…. " Matilda muttered.

"This is too easy," Kelly frowned.

They ran down to the school stadium rehearsing their plan over and over.

Sometime after the tryouts had began, they would sneak off unnoticed and use the little door behind the equipments room and exit the school. Matilda assured Kelly that the layout in both schools were completely the same. If they knew how to get in one, they knew how to get in both.

Except they would need a really good hairclip hack to get into school number 2.