Chantel Acevedo - Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth

For Didi

My room looked like it had imploded. There were items of clothing draped on every surfacemy dresser, the doorknob, the door itself, my sisters new microscope (an adoption day gift from our twin brothers), and even on my sister.

Callie, this is entirely unacceptable, Maya said, a long sock dangling over her face.

Sorry! I said, snatching it away. I cant figure out what to pack for New York. I was out of breath and sweating. It was summer in Miami and the air-conditioning in our house had conked out that morning. Even my elbows were damp.

Maya glanced at her own suitcase, already packed and propped up by the door, ready for our flights tomorrow morning. She was heading to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Meanwhile, I was going to New York City to spend a month with my papi; my stepmom, Laura; and my new baby brother, Rafael Jr. My brothers were staying in Miami to earn money to buy a used car. At least, that was the excuse they gave. Papi had asked them to visit, too, but theyd said no right away. The truth is, when Mami and Papi broke up, the twins got really angry at Papi for leaving, and a part of them was still mad.

Mayas summer sounded infinitely cooler than mine. While she would be learning about space and gravity and actual rocket science, I would be stuck in a small walk-up apartment in Queens, staying in the babys room while the baby slept with Papi and Laura in a cradle by their bed.

I wish I was going to Space Camp, I grumbled.

Since when do you want to be a scientist? Maya said. Because astronauts are scientists first, you know.

I didnt have to take long to consider it. Science was Mayas thing. Did I even have a thing? I thought of my best friend, Raquel, who just knew she wanted to be a performer. What did I want from life? I had no clue. Whenever anybody asked me, What do you want to be when you grow up? I nearly always just shrugged. Could a person make a career out of hanging out with friends, eating snacks, and watching television?

I dont think so.

Why the face? Maya asked me. Im sure youll have plenty of a-muse-ing adventures this summer.

Stop it, I said, rolling my eyes. Maya was the only person in my family who knew I was one of the nine muses. Its supposed to be a secret, but you try keeping information from your genius sister!

There have always been nine muses, and usually, theyre grown-ups. But now, for the first time ever, four of us are kids. Were the Muse Squad, which is a silly name, but weve gotten used to it. Im the Muse of epic poetry. It sounds a little boring, but isnt as it turns out, because epic poems are about heroes, which means I am a hero-maker.

Maya was right. Something interesting would probably come up this summer. But the thing was, I hadnt heard from the other muses in ages. Nia was trying out for a gymnastics club team in Chicago. Melas mother had bought her theater passes for the summer, and she was catching every tragic play she could, and Thalia had volunteered to be a junior librarian at the British Library. They were all pretty busy with non-muse activities.

As for the other muses, the grown-up ones, I hadnt heard from any of them either. Usually every few weeks our leader, Clio, would call us to headquarterswhich was in London, England, at the Victoria and Albert Museumeither for training or missions. Maybe things were quiet in the summer. Did muses go on vacation? I didnt know. But the silence made me nervous. It made me feel as if something was up.

Earth to Callie, Maya said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Sorry, Mission Control. Weve got a problem. Im panicking, I answered her, then slumped on the floor on top of a pile of a sweatshirts and tees. It was so hot, I couldnt concentrate.

Maya smiled. She liked it when I called her Mission Control, and I liked to imagine her there, behind panels full of technology, solving important scientific problems. Maybe she could solve my problem, too. Without asking, she started plucking different clothing items off the floor and the furniture, folding them deftly and sliding them into my suitcase for me.

No need to panic, Maya said, cool as can be. When I was in foster care, I had to pack up a lot. You dont really need to take too much. Plus, youll want room in your bag for all the souvenirs youre going to buy me, she joked, rolling a pair of jeans like a burrito. Maya had started wearing her hair like Princess Leiain two buns over her earsand they bobbed a little as she packed, like a pair of loose headphones.

Why arent you sweating? I asked. I was drenched. The ceiling fan was spinning, but it was really just moving the warm air around. It felt like a giant was blowing his hot breath on us.

Maya giggled, lifting the bottom of her T-shirt a little. There, duct-taped to her stomach, were three ice packs.

You wont be laughing when its time to pull those off, I said.

Mayas smile slipped a little. Climate change. We all have to manage somehow. Last fall, before Mami adopted her, Maya had won the county science fair with her projecta plan to address sea-level rise in South Florida.

It hadnt been an easy win. The competition was tough. Plus, a rogue muse who happened to be our evil science teacher, Ms. Rinse, and her three siren minions, did their worst to try to stop Maya from succeeding. Maya doesnt know it, but shes a Fated Onemeant for great things thanks to that massive brain of hers, which means shes under the protection of the muses.

Maya zipped up my suitcase and said, Voil! All packed. Now can we please go to the mall where the temperatures arent trying to kill us?

Shed done it. Shed packed my suitcase. Sometimes Maya saved me.

Vamos, I said, well ask Fernando and Mario to take us.

Maya crossed her fingers and her eyes. She was right. Wed need all the luck we could get if we wanted to convince the twins to be our ride to the mall.

Bros. My bros. My wonderful brothers, I called down the hallway. Mario popped his head out of his bedroom.

What do you want? he asked.

The answer is no, Fernando added from inside. The twins would be seventeen soon, but Maya and I usually had them beat when it came to maturity.

Please? Maya squeaked, her hands clasped under her chin and her eyes doing their best puppy dog impersonation.

Mario blinked. Well

Dont you give in, Fernando barked. I could hear their favorite video game, Underwatch, blaring away.

Itll be nice and cool at the mall, I said. We wont even bother you. You can spend the whole time at Gamer Place.

Air-conditioning, air-condiiiiiitioning, Maya sang, the perfect backup.

Fine, Mario said.

Ugh. You always fall for it, Fernando said, shutting off the game. The truth was, they both always fell for it. When wed gone before the family court judge in May to make Maya an official member of the family, the judge had given my brothers a big speech about what it meant to have a new little sister. And though it kind of bugged me that he was giving them the whole men of the house talk (I mean, lets be real here. Im in an all-girls-with-ancient-powers squad, and my mom is the head of the house, no question), my brothers had taken it to heart. That meant Maya got away with a lot when it came to them, the big softies.

As for me, unlike Maya, I was old news. Just last week, theyd covered my bed in a hundred sticky notes that read dork. It took all my willpower to keep from inspiring them to drink a ketchup milkshake.