Part 15 (1/2)

CHAPTER.

18.

Knock, Knock! Who's There?

What if we don't get out tonight?” Isabel gasped, trying to find enough breath to yell again. ”Ms. Rodriguez is going to be so mad!”

”So is Mrs. Fields...,” Charlotte added. The girls looked at one another.

”Okay, we have to yell louder. One more time-” Isabel inhaled deeply, ready to shriek again.

”Shh! Hold on!” Avery said. She pressed her ear against the door.

There were footsteps-lots of footsteps. It sounded like they were headed right toward them!

”Okay, now!” Avery commanded. They began yelling again.

”Help! We're in here...we're in the storage room! Somebody! We're locked in!”

Suddenly there was a banging on the door and a yell from the other side. ”Calm down, kids! We hear you! Just give us a second to get in there.”

The lock began to tremble and then turned. Light hit their faces as the storage room door was finally pulled open!

Isabel was so anxious to get away from the open mummy case that she threw herself against the door just as the security guards opened it. The door flew open and sent Isabel, stunned, flying headlong into the hallway.

Luckily, on the way to the marble floor, someone caught her fall with a startled ”Oof!” and steadied Isabel on her feet.

”Sorry,” she gasped. ”But I had to get away from those mummies!”

She looked up gratefully into the face of her rescuer.

Oh, no. It was Danny. Isabel didn't remember Danny being this tall.

”Are you okay, Isabel?” Danny asked.

”Yes. I am fine, thank you,” Isabel said with a tight smile. She nodded at Danny and took a step back to where Avery and Charlotte were standing, trying their best to keep straight faces. Oh just my luck, Isabel thought to herself. But at least Danny is alive and not some thing that came back from the dead.

The girls smiled gratefully at the two guards who had unlocked the door. ”Thank you so much!” Isabel said.

Charlotte nodded. ”Yeah! But how did you know we were here?” she asked.

”It's this young man you should be thanking,” one of the guards said, patting Danny on the shoulder. ”If it wasn't for him, you girls might have been stuck there all night. Good thing he happened to be walking by the ladies' room, and heard you yelling. He alerted the museum staff right away.”

”That's funny,” Avery said. ”What were you doing by the ladies' room, Danny? There isn't even any art in this hall. Boy, I guess we did luck out!”

Danny turned beet red. Isabel had to stifle a laugh.

”Oh, no!” Charlotte nudged her friends. They looked up to see Ms. Weston charging down the hall. Following behind her was not only the museum docent, but half the kids on their field trip, several chaperones...and Ms. Rodriguez!

Anna and Joline were huddled together giggling. ”This is too funny,” they heard Anna whisper to Joline.

Ms. Rodriguez looked more upset than they'd ever seen her. ”We've been looking everywhere for you girls!” she said. ”I have been worried sick!” Ms. R clasped her chest. Her eyes were full of disappointment.

”We didn't mean to get locked in,” Avery mumbled. ”We were just trying to-”

”Enough,” Ms. Rodriguez said. She stared at her students, lingering on Anna and Joline, who suddenly got very quiet. ”Avery, Charlotte, Isabel-we'll discuss this in private. Follow me. Ms. Weston, why don't you come along as well? We'll meet the rest of you at the bus.” No matter how upset Ms. Rodriguez was, she would never create a scene about something like this in front of the whole cla.s.s.

Isabel felt especially guilty as they made their way down the museum corridor away from the rest of the students. All she wanted was to get away from Danny without hurting his feelings. The problem was he just wouldn't take the hint. Isabel felt like a fool for running away from Danny all afternoon. And things had escalated and escalated. Maybe if she'd let Avery and Charlotte yell when they wanted to, right after they first got locked in, they could have been rescued without Danny's help.

Ms. Weston, who was walking next to Ms. Rodriguez, looked back at Isabel. ”This isn't like you, Isabel. Or you two, either,” she said to a red-faced Charlotte and Avery. ”I think there's more to this, Ms. Rodriguez. We ought to hear the whole story before we come to any major conclusions.”

”I'd like to think that you girls would know better,” Ms. Rodriguez added.

Charlotte, Avery, and Isabel glanced at one another. Ms. Rodriguez looked serious but not cross, and was going to hear the girls' side of the story before she made any decisions.

Ms. Rodriguez gestured for everyone to stop as soon as she found a quiet corner. ”All right, girls. What happened?”

”It's all my fault, Ms. Rodriguez,” Isabel blurted. ”Avery and Charlotte were only trying to help.”

Isabel told the two teachers how Danny followed her around all over the museum and bothered her whenever she tried to sketch or enjoy the artwork on her own. ”We didn't mean to hide in the storage room, but we didn't know how else to lose him. I know it was wrong,” Isabel admitted. ”I'm really sorry.”

”I'm sorry too,” said Charlotte.

”Me too,” added Avery.

”How come you didn't just tell Danny you needed your s.p.a.ce?” asked Ms. Weston.

Isabel shrugged and said in a soft voice, ”I tried to let him know, but he just didn't take the hint. I guess I should have said something stronger but I didn't want to hurt his feelings.”

”Hmm...” Ms. Weston looked at Ms. Rodriguez. ”There really isn't an easy way to deal with that type of thing.”

”No, I suppose we haven't covered that,” Ms. Rodriguez agreed. She too was thinking deeply. ”You know, Isabel, if anyone is ever bothering you, even if it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, it is very important for you to let him know that you need your s.p.a.ce. If you are afraid of hurting his feelings just say, 'I don't want to be rude, but I want to be left alone right now.' Usually that's all it takes. If it doesn't work, please come and talk to a chaperone, like Ms. Weston or myself. That's what we're here for. Besides, it's much better than hiding out in a storage room.” She smiled.

”Danny didn't mean to do anything wrong, but I should have been more clear I guess,” Isabel said. ”I'm sorry we ran off and hid like that, Ms. Rodriguez. That was a big mistake.”

”Ms. R, I don't think Danny is the type of kid to take a hint.” Avery leaned in conspiratorially to Ms. Rodriguez. ”Danny is a real talker, Ms. R, and he just loves to show off how much he knows.”