He hadn’t thought about it that way. That was when the idea popped into his mind.

“Juliana!”

She looked up at him from the couch. “What?”

“Can we try this again?”

“Try what again?”

Héctor gestured to the room around them. “This. This room. Whatever it is. We should try to be in it at the same time again.”

She furrowed her brow. “I don’t know. . . .”

“It’s too weird not to try, right?”

Maybe he was coming on too strong. Maybe he was too excited. Juliana studied his face, and she didn’t seem all that convinced.

“Just . . .” He sighed. “I don’t know what this is. And if I come back, and you’re not here, then I’ll never bother you again. It’s worth a shot, right?”

She shrugged. “Okay.”

He tried not to let his excitement pour out of him. “How does two forty-five p.m. sound?”

“Sure, I guess.” She paused. “If this is real, then wouldn’t we be in different time zones?”

It was a good point.

“Maybe,” Héctor said. “But when we just stepped out into your school, you said class was about to start, right?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Yeah. It is.”

“Same with my school!”

Juliana’s mouth dropped open. “So . . . maybe this place will let us be here at the same time. Is that what you mean?”

“I think so. It can make us not be late for things, right?”

She nodded. “Okay. That makes a weird kind of sense.” She smiled and it lit up her whole face. “I’m down. Let’s do this. Two forty-five p.m., I’ll be here.”

“Perfect,” he said. “I guess I’ll see you then?”

“I guess so.”

She raised a hand up awkwardly. “See ya.”

He waved back at Juliana, then turned and opened the door. There were the halls of Orangevale Middle School.

He pulled the door shut behind him, but then, just to satisfy his curiosity, he opened it again.

Same old janitor’s closet. He glanced up—there was His Royal Highness, King Ferdinand. Héctor sent up a silent greeting, then closed the door once more.

He settled into his seat seconds later, and the bell for homeroom rang right after that. The timing was exact.

Héctor’s theory was correct! And now, he couldn’t wait to see if he would be right again.

Chapter Sixteen

Héctor had never been so distracted in his entire life.

He just couldn’t concentrate. At all. Every time a teacher’s voice droned on, his mind drifted. He thought of the Room, which he now capitalized in his head because it felt right. He thought of Juliana. He thought of how easily the Room was able to change. To move. To camouflage itself. To adapt. Why couldn’t he change himself like the Room could? That would make things so much easier.

This couldn’t be real.