[Janitors 01] Janitors by Tyler Whitesides Page A

Daisy shrieked.
    “Got it!” Spencer answered.
    Spencer and Daisy met in the center of the cafeteria. “This way!” Spencer retreated to a corner. Daisy followed, drops of melted ice cream still flinging off her face.
    “What now?” Daisy asked. The two kids had their backs to a wall. The two janitors slowed, spreading into attack formation Alpha Beta and coming slowly toward the children.
    “We’re cornered,” Daisy moaned.
    “No!” Spencer gritted his teeth. In desperation, he pulled off the latex glove.
    “Spencer Alan Zumbro!” his mother’s voice pierced the cafeteria. “You come here this instant!” But Spencer wasn’t listening. He couldn’t, or his mom’s voice would break his heart. Focus on the secret mission.
    “Hold my hand,” Spencer whispered to Daisy.
    “Wha–?”
    “Just do it!”
    Daisy grabbed Spencer’s hand. Walter and Marv pounced. Mrs. Natcher hung back in case the kids managed to break free.
    And they did break free!
    In the last possible instant, Spencer had shoved the latex glove over their clenched hands. The janitors’ grasp held them for only a moment before Daisy and Spencer slid easily between their fingers.
    It was awkward to run holding hands, trying to keep their palms close so the stretchy glove wouldn’t slip off. The mob of parents had filed outside along the back cafeteria steps. It was difficult to navigate the crowd, even though no one could hold them. With the parents forming a barricade, there was only one place to run.
    “You have to take off your shoes!” the bouncy castle worker screamed as Daisy and Spencer dove through the mesh flap into the air-filled arena. There were three first graders bouncing reluctantly, but they quickly vacated the castle as Spencer and Daisy leapt inside.
    The big inflatable castle was square, with four blowup turrets, one on each corner. Mesh walls connected the corners, but the top was uncovered. Spencer glanced up. If they could get over the back wall, it would be an open field to the rendezvous site.
    The inflated floor suddenly shifted. Spencer went down as Daisy went up. The motion caused their hands to release, and the latex glove fell to the floor.
    The cause of the disruption was Marv’s great bulk, leaping ungracefully through the castle entrance and displacing a lot of air as he landed. The entrance flap, designed for elementary-school-sized children, had proven to be tighter than Marv had apparently expected, and he was tangled up in it.
    As the janitor struggled, Spencer handed the nail and hammer to Daisy. Interlocking his fingers, Spencer made a quick stirrup for her. She stepped into his cupped hands and, with a bounce, he sent her over the wall.
    Daisy didn’t fly too gracefully. On her way up, she screamed, dropping both items. Daisy landed hard on the grass outside, but the hammer and nail landed with a bounce on the castle’s inflated floor.
    Spencer caught the bronze hammer on the first bounce. But before he could recover the nail, Marv jumped.
    It was like fighting on the moon. Spencer bounced out of reach. Marv came down, sending Spencer higher on his next bounce. Walter Jamison climbed through the castle flap, his gaunt face set with determination.
    The bronze nail was like a single kernel of corn in a popcorn popper. Every time someone landed, the nail went in a new direction.
    Spencer went for the glove, possibly his last chance of escape. Walter beat him to it, dive-bouncing across the castle floor. As Walter landed, Marv went up. The big janitor lost his balance and came down on his belly as the nail rolled under him. The sharp nail pierced the tarplike material of the bouncy castle with a tearing sound. Marv rolled away from the split and a gush of air went up. The castle turrets began to fold and tilt inward.
    The irate bouncy-castle worker shouted and switched off the air machine that kept the castle upright. As the castle collapsed, Spencer made a final leap and vaulted over the sagging mesh