I nodded. It was true. She was like the Energizer Bunny these days.

“You didn’t tell me your sister was a dancer,” Simone said.

I shrugged.

“When your mom first said so, I thought she meant, like, cheerleader. Dance team or whatever. But she was a real dancer, huh? Ballet—that’s tough stuff. Not for the weak.”

Tough? Blair cried over carbs. She used to be tough, sure, but now she was about as tough as a butterfly. I just shrugged again. Simone took the hint.

“So, you’re all set. You have the shovel. Tomorrow, during the eclipse, you’re on time capsule duty,” said Simone.

Leo, who was usually so involved in the plan, was staring off into space. He seemed a million miles away.

“Leo? You’ve promised CNN an exclusive,” said Simone. “Are you alive over there? Did you two take a vow of silence of something?”

Leo snapped back to attention. “Yes. It gets hot in August.”

Simone and I groaned.

Leo shook his head. “I’m sorry. I am! I just . . . it’s so close. The Star-Gazer Twelve, it’s . . .” He held out his hand. “It’s right there. But so much could go wrong. You could get busted,” he said, nodding at me. “Or—or maybe it’s not even there.”

“It will be there,” said Simone confidently.

My stomach dropped. “But if it’s not . . . ,” I said.

“Why would you say that? Of course it will be there,” said Simone, shaking her head. “People! Come on! You’re losing energy. The fight’s almost over. We’ve almost got the thing back that you’ve been talking about for a year. Don’t lose hope.”

“Hope,” scoffed Leo. “I’m a scientist. I deal in facts, not feelings.”

I loved Leo even more then. I would get that telescope for him. I would! He had brought the adventure I’d been wishing for, and a book editor, too. What good was a telescope buried underground? It deserved to be looked through. It was probably lonely, buried down there with no one to appreciate it.

Simone sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve gotta meet Julie.”

“I’m going to lie down,” said Leo. “All of this excitement . . . it’s hard on an old man.” Leo was always referring to himself as an old man, even though he couldn’t have been much older than my dad.

“Tomorrow,” I said. “We meet here after the eclipse?”

“With the Star-Gazer Twelve,” said Simone. “It’s there, Leo. I promise.”

I will, Mom. I promise.

But if Blair driving off to prom had taught me anything, it was that people don’t always keep their promises, no matter how badly they want to.

Leo went inside and Simone took off. I walked down the steps of the patio and around the side of Eagle’s Nest, smack into—

Jade.

A wide-eyed, can’t-believe-it-looking Jade. A spy named Jade McCourt, clutching batteries.

“Jade!” I said. My face got hot and my heart started pounding.

“You’re wearing my shirt,” she said flatly.