At recess, I waited until Tani and the gang were gone then slipped my codeBook out of the flap of my spelling workbook. Heading straight for the bathroom, I sat on a stall with my feet up, the door hooked, and looked at my codeBook. I was sure of three letters of Daria's alphabet so far. Until I could get their language I used a mixed-up alphabet code, plus their three letters. I didn't dare use English, not since last year when my fifth grade teacher had cleaned my desk when I was out with measles, and she found my Daria-book. I guess she'd told my mother because when I got home from school my first day back my mother had threatened to tell my dad if I ever wasted time at school on "that stupid fairy-tale trash" again. Just in case, on the front of the codeBook I had printed in English: My Favorite Movie Stars. That sounded boring, like something Tani would do, something adults expected and approved of.
The first eight pages of my codeBook listed everything I knew about Daria and her friends, a page per girl. Looks, talents, favorite things, where she'd come from.
Then there was the floor plan of the underground hideout where Daria and her friends lived. Right after Christmas a fireman had come and told us about making floor plans, so that you knew the exits in your house in case of fire. I'd made a regular one of our house for class, but I'd worked on this one secretly for several days. I studied it in delight, imagining what fun it was to sneak in the entrances and run along the tunnels. The bell rang too soon, before I had time to make any more notes, but after recess was spelling. I'd filled in the workbook for weeks ahead of time, so while the others did grammar and verb charts, I got out an index card, the kind we used for vocabulary practice, and in teeny tiny print, I started the story.
Daria ran fast through the forest, chased by a group of ruffians. These ruffians wore red uniforms. With them was a magician, sent by Erbilas the Horrible. She had orders to grab Daria and put her in the dungeon, so Erbilas could have himself crowned...
My mind raced ahead of the pencil, and I paused, seeing Daria running, laughing, her black braids bouncing against her back, her green sash with the dancing fringes. When she got tired she whistled like a certain bird and one of the other girls appeared, decoyed the chasers, and Daria dropped into one of the secret hiding places--
"Now children, it's time for Science. Take out your textbooks, please."
Jolted out of the dream, I looked down at the few words I'd written on the card. Writing was just so slow! And what about the card? I'd written it in English because the code was so slow. I could put it with the Daria Papers at home, except the hiding place between my sock drawer and the wood it slid out and in on was getting full. What if Mom found it?
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