Elvis and the Underdogs by Jenny Lee

half asleep when the first paper airplane sailed into the room. I didn’t even see it. But Elvis, who was asleep on the floor next to me, sat up suddenly.
    â€œWhat was that?” he asked. His tone of voice was very serious.
    â€œWhat was what?” I mumbled, sitting up.
    â€œI heard something. Shhhhhh.”
    â€œI didn’t hear an—”

    â€œShhhhhhhh!”
    Okay, no one likes getting shushed in general. But getting shushed by your own dog? Even more annoying.
    And right then, another paper airplane sailed into the room. This time I saw it against the mermaid night-light my mom always puts in my rooms. (Apparently, when I was really small and we were on some beachy vacation, I saw it in a gift shop and pointed at it and said, “Mama.” The mermaid has big blond hair like my mom’s. So she bought it and made up stories about how she used to be a mermaid in a past life.) I reached up to grab it when Elvis said, “Stop! Don’t touch it!” The tone of his voice was so stern, I pulled my hand back in. Elvis galloped to the other side of my bed to investigate. I flipped on the lamp, and three more paper airplanes sailed into my room, one after the other.
    â€œThere’s more! Hey! I bet this is the beginning of my surprise from Dino.”

    Finally the last plane sailed in, landing perfectly at the foot of my bed. I leaned forward to grab it when a big black paw slapped down on top of it.
    â€œI said don’t touch it.”
    â€œElvis, it’s fine. Now lift your big fat paw and let me get it. It’s a paper airplane, for Pete’s sake. What’s the worst thing that can happen? I get a paper cut?” Elvis lifted his paw, and I grabbed the now-crumpled plane. The plane had the number 6 written on one wing. On the other wing it said, Open me last .
    â€œQuick, we gotta find all the other planes!” I scrambled out of bed and found all the planes except for number three. I looked everywhere until Elvis finally admitted he had caught one in his mouth and spit it out in the trash can. I pulled out the soggy mess, but I couldn’t read it because all the ink had blurred.

    â€œI really hope all the important stuff wasn’t in that airplane,” I said as I laid them all out on the bed.
    â€œI’m not too worried, I’ve been trained in code cracking.”
    I rolled my eyes. Of course he’d been trained in code cracking.
    Here is what the planes said:
    Paper Airplane #1: Surprise! Congrats on the tenth hole in your punch card!
    Paper Airplane #2: At exactly 3:33 a.m., go to the far left elevator and push the SB3 button.
    Paper Airplane #3: Blurry mess (thanks to Elvis).
    Paper Airplane #4: Bring a sweatshirt. It might get a little cold.
    Paper Airplane #5: Try not to get caught leaving your room.
    Paper Airplane #6: If you get caught, do not tell anyone anything.

    Great, the third paper airplane probably said where we were going to go, I thought. I guessed now it really would be a surprise. It was already 3:27 a.m. I grabbed my sweatshirt and put on my slippers.
    â€œWe’ve got to go now. C’mon!”
    â€œI don’t think it’s a good idea to roam the hospital at night. You should stay in bed, Benjamin.”
    â€œOh, come on. I’ll be fine. I feel great. And Dino’s a nurse. What are you? Chicken?”
    â€œOf course not. I have very few fears. Well, I’m not thrilled to be in a thunderstorm, but I’m not scared of it either.”
    â€œThen let’s go.” I made a move toward the door, but Elvis blocked me.

    â€œAll I’m saying is you are in the hospital for a reason. Perhaps it’s not the best time for an adventure. There are rules of conduct for every situation.”
    â€œFirst off, I’m in the hospital because of you and your big mouth.”
    â€œPlease, pray tell, how this could possibly be my fault?”
    â€œYou’re the one who talked, you’re