Sinister Substitute Read Free

A
magic
Aztec wristband also known as a powerband. One that, when matched with special notched ingots, could make the wearer invisible.
    Or super-strong.
    Or lightning fast.

    Or…
    But let me stop right there because Dave, at this point in time, had only one ingot (and, consequently, only one power), and that was Wall-Walker.
    Now, as time passed, it became known in the city that there was a mysterious person who appeared out of nowhere, scaled walls, and saved people.
    Was he a boy?
    A curiously compact man?
    A girl who dressed like a boy?
    People weren’t sure, but regardless, they immediately dubbed this wall-walking wonder the Gecko.
    And so it was that Dave (through the coaxing and coaching of Sticky) had reluctantly become asuperhero, even though nothing about it seemed to fit. The magic wristband had originally been worn by an Aztec warrior, so it was much too big for Dave to wear on his wrist. Instead, he had to wear it on his upper arm (where it was conveniently hidden by his shirt). And what sort of power was walking on walls? Dave thought “Gecko Power” was ridiculous and, compared to flying or becoming invisible, totally lame.
    His community, however, did not think he was lame. Any sighting of the Gecko was news.
    Big, gaspy, gusty, happy news.
    Which is why Dave froze when the substitute asked about geckos. And it wasn’t just that Dr. Schwarz had asked about geckos, it was something about the
way
he’d asked.
    It was too consciously casual.
    Too deceptively disarming.
    Too slyly suave.
    Too …
smooth
.
    And for the first time since he learned of the unexpected absence of Ms. Veronica Krockle, the situation seemed to Dave to be a bit odd.
    Almost creepy.
    Who was this man?
    He sure wasn’t
teaching
them anything.
    Maybe he wasn’t a teacher at all!
    Maybe he was a reporter!
    Someone who was trying to find out who the Gecko was!
    But… why was he at Geronimo Middle School?
    Why not some other school?
    Why not just out on the street looking for curiously compact men?
    Had somebody tipped him off?
    But… they wouldn’t let some reporter teach science!
    That was crazy!
    Still, what had happened to Ms. Krockle? Herabsence on an ordinary day would have been unusual enough, but being gone on dissection day? There was something strange about this.
    Something peculiar and suspicious.
    In a word, fishy.
    Especially since Dr. Schwarz didn’t move along to the subject of some other radical reptile. He stayed on the subject of geckos.
    “What?” he asked the silent class. “Don’t
any
of you know someone with a pet gecko?”
    Now, it is a well-known fact that middle-school children do not yet have the wisdom of adults. (Well, it’s a well-known fact among adults, anyway.)
    What middle-school children
do
have, however, is a keen sense of manipulation. Not only are they experts in manipulating others, but they are also able to recognize when someone is manipulating them.
    This is why the vibe in Ms. Krockle’s science room began to change.
    Seventh-grade sonar went up.
    Manipulation radar kicked in.
    And as new vibes moved quickly from student to student, Dr. Schwarz stood there, oblivious. “How about extra credit,” he said, a testy edge creeping into his voice. “Extra credit for anyone with a gecko, or anyone who knows anyone with a gecko.”
    It was at this point that Dave felt Lily Espinoza staring at him, and with a surge of panic, he turned to face her.
    Lily knew he had a gecko!
    (Or, at least, she’d seen him rescue Sticky from her cat a bunch of times.)
    And Lily could really use some extra credit in science!
    (And, for that matter, every other course she was taking.)
    And although Dave was aware that Lily Espinoza thought he was a klutzy, dorky “deliveryboy” who liked to knock her flat with his bike, he still needed to at least
try
to keep her quiet. So, with his eyes locked on hers, Dave slyly lifted a finger to his lips and wobbled his head ever so slightly.
    Lily raised one eyebrow,