“We probably need to get to class,” said Juliana.

“Right,” said Héctor, his hands shaking as he tried to unlock his phone. He kept getting the password wrong. “Class.”

“Which class do you need to head to?” asked Mr. Mbalia.

Oh no, thought Héctor.

“Um . . . ,” said Juliana.

“Mrs. Caroline’s art class,” Héctor blurted out.

He saw Sal silently put their hand to their forehead and close their eyes. Juliana glared at Héctor.

And Ms. Pérez . . . oh no.

Her eyes were wide, and her head was tilted to the side. “Did you say Mrs. Caroline?”

“I—I did,” said Héctor, and he was certain he would never breathe again.

“Right,” she said. “Well, off you go to class, then. Tell Mrs. Caroline to talk to me later if she has a problem with you being tardy.”

Ms. Pérez turned and walked away, Mr. Mbalia at her side. Héctor felt like he was going to explode. “Did she just—”

Juliana shook her head. “We don’t have time, Héctor. We need to get back home before Mr. Mbalia comes back.”

She was right. Before they darted off, Sal gave both Juliana and Héctor a quick hug. “Thank you,” they said softly. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Of course,” said Héctor. “Let us know if it gets approved; I’ll come help you with the moving and setup!”

“Me too,” said Juliana. “Promise!”

And then the two of them—who definitely were not students at Saguaro Academy—ran down the hallway. But Héctor sensed something odd behind him, and as he rounded a corner, he gazed back.

Ms. Pérez was at the end of the hallway, looking at him. Just staring.

What was that all about? he wondered.

This would have all fallen apart without Ms. Pérez. In fact, Héctor was now aware of just how badly his plan had gone. What if they’d been discovered?

They both sprinted into the Room, and Juliana immediately collapsed onto the couch, roaring laughter. “Héctor, I can’t believe that just happened!”

“Me either,” he said, plopping down next to her.

“Why did that teacher protect us?” Then she lightly hit Héctor’s arm. “And why did you tell her your art teacher’s name?”

“I don’t know! I just panicked!”

“Well, it worked so . . . good job, Héctor. You helped pull this off. Not perfectly, but . . . you did it!”

“Maybe,” he said. “But . . . I also should have listened to you. I made that way more complicated than it needed to be.”

Juliana smiled at him. “Thank you for saying that, but there was no way we could have known that Ms. Pérez was down to move the library. So, you still set this all in motion.”

“I guess,” he said.