Chapter Two

BRAVERY ISN'T ABOUT BATTLING BACK supervillains. Most of the time, being brave means looking at the things that scare us and pushing past them.
     Like spiders. Or thunderstorms. Or making a mistake.
     "Mae Eugenia Crumpler!" came a shout. "What in the world are you doing here in Chicago, Illinois? Did you run away from that summer camp?"
     At the sight of what must have been her granny, Mae's eyebrows shot so high, they could have bumped a bird passing overhead. And her mouth started moving, but no sound came out. I gave a jump too. Not only because the sudden appearance of a little old lady yelling at us was surprising. But also because that little old lady looked so tiny and fragile and, well, sweet.
     She seemed like somebody who'd serve us a plate of warm cookies. Not yell at us like a drill sergeant in the army.
     Mae's granny peered over her horn-rimmed glasses, eyes ablaze.
     "What do you have to say for yourself, Mae Eugenia?" she said, waving a knobby finger in our direction.
     How could we explain where we'd been all this time? And even if we did explain it--that we'd fought off a supervillain called Side-Splitter and his army of evil clowns, that we'd saved innocent people and maybe even the whole city of San Francisco from Side-Splitter's destruction, that we'd helped catch a spy who was sending secret messages to the Japanese military, and that we'd discovered Akiko's mom was working to beat the Nazis with Room Twelve, too, just like us--Granny Crumpler wouldn't believe it.
     I barely could myself.
     "Anybody want a candy bar?" asked Akiko, clearly trying to divert attention from speechless Mae. She pulled a few bars from her Hauntima bag and passed them around. "These are delicious," she said, holding out the sweets toward Mae's grandmother. "I picked them up from this chocolate shop out in San Fra--"
     "Santa's Village!" I interrupted, taking a half step in front of Akiko.
     She was going to spill the beans that we'd been out in San Francisco! When we were supposed to be at a sleepaway camp somewhere in the woods near Philadelphia! I shot her the stink-eye.
     "Santa's Village?" asked Granny Crumpler. "Where's that?"
     "Right," Akiko said, finally catching on. She shoved the last chocolate bar back into her bag. "Um. Santa's Village. It's... umm... north. Of... Philadelphia."
     I wanted to smack my forehead. This was not going well.
     "Mae Eugenia, I received word from Mrs.-what's-her-name. Mrs. Bow, Mrs. Bah--"
     "Mrs. Boudica," Mae said, finally able to speak. "We call her Mrs. B."
     My breath caught in my throat. Constance Boudica was one of the heads of Room Twelve. She needed us to find her sister, Dolores, who was better known as the remarkable Zenobia. And not just find her, but bring Zenobia--and all the other missing superheroes--back home.
     "Mrs. Boudica said you girls would be gone most of the summer at that overnight camp," continued Granny Crumpler. "Is she a librarian or a principal, this Mrs. B? I believe she works at your friend Josephine's school? Which of you is Josephine?"
     Now it was my turn to squirm under Granny Crumpler's intense gaze.
     "I'm J-Josie," I stammered. "She's a--a good teacher."
     I did not want to lie to Granny Crumpler. But I was not going to be the one to slip up and reveal our other identity--as the superhero trio Infinity Trinity.
     "Yes," agreed Mae, nodding a little too enthusiastically. "Mrs. B's teaching us so many important things."
     "Math skills, scientific discovery, language arts," added Akiko. But then she couldn't stop. "Self-defense, military strategy--"
     I bumped her with my hip to tone it down. Granny Crumpler seemed like the type who could sniff out a lie.
     "I just arrived on the train from Philadelphia a couple of days ago," Granny began. "I opened the new library branch there, and I have to go back soon. But I wanted to check on Willa and Janet, make sure things are all right here at home."
     Aunt Willa and Aunt Janet, who'd been silently nibbling the chocolate bars this whole time, now chimed in with chitchat about Chicago's weather and Granny Crumpler's hat and how tall Mae was getting. But Granny wasn't interested. She never took her eyes off Mae.
     Mae plastered a nervous smile on her lips. Words seemed to be stuck somewhere on the other side of them.
     I wasn't much help either. My mind was racing, but my face seemed to be frozen in the same ridiculous grin as Mae's. When I shot a sideways glance at Akiko, she looked a lot like Mae. Only there was a bit of chocolate on her bottom lip.
     Granny Crumpler never blinked.
     "How did you children get here? When do you go back? Who is watching after you? What will--"
     "We just got here," I said, giving a quick poke to Mae's ribs. She needed to snap out of it. Granny Crumpler was scary, but we had faced worse. We'd battled against the serpentlike Hisser in Philadelphia. We'd cracked codes. We'd trained with a spy. Why was Mae so nervous about facing off with a stooped, near-sighted little grandmother?
     "Yes, we just got here," Mae began slowly, repeating my words like some sort of dopey robot. "Josie, Akiko, and I dropped in for a bit. To see Aunt Willa and Aunt Janet."
     "Dropped in?"
     "More like swooped in, like fighter planes," said Akiko with a low chuckle.
     I stepped on her toe.
     "Dropped in," continued Mae. "As in, Surprise! We heard there might be some excitement in Chicago. So we decided to come visit."
     Granny let out a Hmph! and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She didn't exactly appear convinced.
     "So you mean to tell me that you three children decided--"
     "To visit Janet and me! And we're so glad they did," said Aunt Willa, thankfully reaching out and wrapping Mae's shoulders in a big hug. "This young lady and her friends are going to get some flying lessons. Mae is already such a capable young pilot!"
     Mae started to look a little green.
     "No! We aren't! I mean... Thanks, Aunt Willa, but we won't really have time for too many lessons," babbled Mae. "We have to get back--to Mrs. B and all. Quickly. She worries, you know."
     Her voice was high-pitched and nervous. And all her good manners scattered to the wind like planes taking off just beyond us.
     "I'm sorry we didn't let you know our plans, Granny," she added. "Next time I'll be sure and write you a letter so you know what's happening."
     "I'd appreciate that, Mae Eugenia," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I haven't heard anything from your father lately, and I'm worried."

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Excerpted from Boots by Kate Hannigan
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