The science fair scheme, p.1
The Science Fair Scheme, page 1
To my awesome agent, Laurie McLean; my exceptional editor, Brianna Kaiser; Andy Cummings for continuing the series; and to my own special Code Busters—Bradley Warner, Stephanie Warner, Luke Melvin, and Lyla Melvin—my inspirational muses
Copyright © 2024 by Penny Warner
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
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Cover art by Víctor Rivas.
Interior illustrations by Laura K. Westlund on pp. 24, 25, 29, 72, 73, 118, 155 (bottom), and 159. Additional images: Wikimedia Commons PD, p. 99; alejomiranda/Getty Images, p. 156 (top); PeterHermesFurian/Getty Images, p. 156 (bottom).
Main body text set in Gazette LH Std Roman 12/21.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Warner, Penny, author.
Title: The science fair scheme / Penny Warner.
Description: Minneapolis, MN : Darby Creek, [2024] | Series: The Code Busters Club ; case #8 | Audience: Ages 8–12. | Audience: Grades 4–6. | Summary: The Code Busters are competing in their school’s science fair, but when a mysterious drone ruins their project, it is up to sixth-grader Cody and her friends to figure out who is responsible. Back matter includes keys to the codes and solutions to the coded messages that appear throughout the text.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023003421 (print) | LCCN 2023003422 (ebook) | ISBN 9781728486680 (library binding) | ISBN 9798765612149 (epub)
Subjects: CYAC: Cryptography—Fiction. | Ciphers—Fiction. | Science fairs—Fiction. | Drone aircraft—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories | LCGFT: Detective and mystery fiction. | Novels.
Classification: LCC PZ7.W2458 Sc 2024 (print) | LCC PZ7.W2458 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023003421
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023003422
Manufactured in the United States of America
1-52603-50777-4/17/2023
Code Busters Club Rules
Motto
To solve puzzles, codes, and mysteries and keep the Code Busters Club secret!
Secret Sign
Interlocking index fingers (American Sign Language sign for “friend”)
Secret Password
Day of the week, said backward
Secret Meeting Place
Code Busters Club Clubhouse
Code Busters Club Dossiers
Identity: Quinn Kee
Code Name: “Lock&Key”
Description
Hair: Black, spiky
Eyes: Brown
Other: Sunglasses
Special Skills: Video games, Computers, Guitar
Message Center: Doghouse
Career Plan: CIA cryptographer or Game designer
CodeSpecialties: Military code, Computer codes
Identity: MariaElena—M.E.—Esperanto
Code Name: “Em-me”
Description
Hair: Long, brown
Eyes: Brown
Other: Fab clothes
Special Skills: Handwriting analysis, Fashionista
Message Center: Flower box
Career Plan: FBI handwriting analyst or Veterinarian
Specialties: Spanish, I.M., Text messaging
Identity: Luke LaVeau
Code Name: “Kuel-Dude”
Description
Hair: Black, curly
Eyes: Dark brown
Other: Saints cap
Special Skills: Extreme sports, Skateboard, Crosswords
Message Center: Under step
Career Plan: Pro skater, Stuntman, Race car driver
CodeSpecialties: Word puzzles, Skater slang
Identity: Dakota—Cody—Jones
Code Name: “CodeRed”
Description
Hair: Red, curly
Eyes: Green
Other: Freckles
Special Skills: Languages, Reading faces and body language
Message Center: Tree knothole
Career Plan: Interpreter for UN or Deaf people
CodeSpecialties: American Sign Language (ASL) and fingerspelling, Braille, Morse code, Police codes
IDENTITY: Mika Takeda
Code Name: “Senjin” to honor ancestors
Description
Hair: Black, short, straight
Eyes: Brown
Other: Petite
Special Skills: Origami, Haiku poetry, Drawing Manga characters
Message Center: Under front door tatami mat
Career Plan: Artist, Poet, Anime illustrator
Code Specialties: Japanese language, Puzzles, Puzzle boxes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
*To crack the chapter title code, check out the CODE BUSTERS’ Key Book for ASL Fingerspelling on page 155.
Reader
To see keys and solutions to the puzzles inside, go to the Code Busters’ Key Book & Solutions on page 154.
To see complete Code Busters Club Rules and Dossiers, and solve more puzzles and mysteries, go to www.CodeBustersClub.com.
Introduction
Afew weeks after school started in the fall, Cody received a text on her phone. Quinn had typed the message in LEETCode, using keyboard symbols and numbers to substitute for letters. Cody deciphered it in a matter of minutes.
Code Busters Key and Solution found on pp. 157 and 160.
Cody loved going to the Exploratorium with her dad and sister. The science museum was full of interactive gadgets, experiments, and fun. There was even a Tactile Dome, where you felt your way through a pitch-dark tunnel, but she’d never been to it. Sounded scary and exciting!
According to the Science Fair rules, the winner could take up to five friends—perfect for the Code Busters!
But winning this year wouldn’t be easy—not with Bernie Bunsen participating again. The son of the school’s science teacher had won the top prize two years in a row. No wonder. He was supersmart. And he probably had help from his dad.
Besides, she didn’t have a clue what to do for her project this time. And even if she did, what if Matt the Brat tried to steal the idea like he did last year?
No, this year the Code Busters had to come up with something brilliant . . . and keep it top secret.
When she finished brushing her teeth, she grabbed her backpack and cell phone, and was about to head out the door for school when her phone chirped. Probably M.E. or Mika, letting me know they’re on their way, she thought.
The text was in code, but it wasn’t what she expected from her friends. Someone had used the periodic table to write a message. Cool, Cody thought. It must have taken some time to create, but luckily it was easy to decipher.
Hmmm, Cody thought, after reading the message. So, Matt the Brat’s planning to prank the Code Busters again? She searched the internet and found a site that turned English words into the periodic table code, then copied and pasted it in her reply:
Code Busters Key and Solution found on pp. 158 and 160.
Now, all they had to do was win.
Chapter 1
Dakota “Cody” Jones sat in her class reading a biography of Samuel Morse, the scientist who invented Morse code. Since the Berkeley Cooperative Middle School Science Fair was coming up, Cody’s teacher, Ms. Stadelhofer—Ms. Stad for short—had asked the students to read a biography of a famous scientist to give them ideas for a project. Cody thought if she learned more about her second-favorite code—American Sign Language was her very favorite—maybe she would come up with a good idea to submit. She found the idea of using Morse code in different ways, such as tapping a sound, tapping a person, using a flashlight, and blinking her eyes, interesting and fun.
But Cody was more interested in visual communication, like sign language. She wondered if there were any scientific studies on body language and facial expression as a means of communicating hidden thoughts and feelings.
Cody felt a tap on her back. She turned around. Stephanie slipped her an intricately folded note from her best friend, M.E.—MariaElena Esperanto. Glancing at Ms. Stad to see if she was watching, Cody quickly took the note. Tucking it in her hand, she pretended to read her book, sensing the teacher’s intense gaze on her.
Tiny beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.
Please don’t let me get caught! Cody thought.
After a few moments, she took a chance and glanced up. Thankfully, Ms. Stad was busy correcting papers at her desk.
Whew! Cody thought. Close one. Ms. Stad had caught Cody and M.E. passing notes a couple of times in c lass, so the girls had to be extra careful when communicating through secret messages. Whatever M.E. had written to her this time must be important or she wouldn’t have taken the chance of getting caught again.
While Ms. Stad continued to correct papers, Cody carefully unfolded the origami note behind her open book. It had been folded so many times, she fumbled a few times opening it.
“I said SILENT READING!” Cody started at the sound of Ms. Stad’s loud voice.
Cody glanced up, feeling her face turn red. Ms. Stad was looking right in Cody’s direction, but she quickly realized Ms. Stad was staring at Matt the Brat, who sat in front of her. Cody hadn’t noticed, but apparently Matt had been reading his book aloud—or else talking to himself—instead of staying silent.
Maybe I should read the note later, Cody thought, as Ms. Stad returned to her work, but her curiosity got the better of her. Still pretending to read her book, she scanned the note she’d hidden inside. The message was written in Egyptian Hieroglyphic Code, one of M.E.’s favorites.
Cody carefully pulled out her hieroglyphics decoder card from her backpack pocket. She kept all the decoder cards in a special origami-folded packet and had decorated the outside with “Keep Out” and “Top Secret” stickers she’d made using the computer.
With half an eye on her teacher, Cody began cracking M.E.’s coded message, replacing the tiny drawings with alphabet letters.
Code Busters Key and Solution found on pp. 156 and 160.
Cody frowned at the message. M.E. must be in some kind of trouble. She turned around and saw the urgent look on M.E.’s face. But there was nothing she could do until class was over.
“Cody,” Ms. Stad called out. “Focus on your reading, please.”
Cody nodded and quickly returned to her book. She wanted to do well on her Science Fair project—maybe even have a shot at winning the top prize this year. Like her other school subjects, she viewed science as simply another code to crack.
But she still hadn’t decided on the perfect project. Maybe the four other Code Busters Club members—Quinn Kee, Luke LaVeau, Mika Takeda, or M.E.—could give her some suggestions at their clubhouse meeting after school. Quinn was brilliant at math and science. His parents were math professors at the University of California, Berkeley, and he planned to create computer games when he grew up. Luke was more into sports, so his project would probably be related to that. As for Mika, their newest club member, she was really good at combining art with codes using something called steganography, which is a way to hide a secret message within a message—like how Leonardo DaVinci hid letters inside the painting of Mona Lisa’s eyes. And no doubt M.E. would create a project that had to do with fashion, which was her passion.
Since Cody had been reading about Samuel Morse, she decided to write back to M.E. using Morse code, hoping to find out what was up.
Code Busters Key and Solution found on pp. 157 and 160.
Cody started to pass the note to Stephanie behind her, who would pass it to M.E. in the back, but suddenly Matt the Brat turned around and snatched it out of her hand.
Cody’s eyes went wide. Oh no! she thought, her empty hands suddenly damp. He’s going to tell on us! Cody poked him in the back and whispered, “Give that back! It belongs to me!”
Matt shook his head, but instead of telling Ms. Stad, he unfolded the piece of paper and began to write on it. A few minutes later, he wrinkled the paper into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder to Cody. It landed in the middle of her open Samuel Morse biography.
Cody glanced at Ms. Stad, certain she would be in trouble any minute. But her teacher was still busily marking papers.
Whew! Cody said to herself for the second time that morning, as she sunk back into her chair. She decided to wait to give the note to M.E. after class. It was just too risky to do it now. But what did Matt write on it?
She smoothed out the paper and saw a drawing had been added at the bottom of her reply to M.E. It looked like a mousetrap contraption sprawled across the page, with lines, squiggles, holes, ramps, ladders, spirals, ledges, and levers, all leading into the mouth of an ugly monster with sharp teeth, drooling lips, and bulging eyes. Inside the wide-open mouth were five stick figures, their arms outstretched, their faces twisted in terror.
Underneath, Matt had written something in Anagram Code, where the order of letters in a word are scrambled up:
Stamt trinblial doce betruss nicesce raif part.
Code Busters Key and Solution found on p. 160.
Real mature, Cody thought, after deciphering it. She rolled her eyes at the gory drawing. What was Matt the Brat planning to do to the Code Busters this time?
The bell rang and Cody slammed her book shut with the note inside.
“Cody!” Ms. Stad said, shooting her a tense look. “That’s not necessary. We treat our books with respect.”
Cody felt her face flush. “Sorry, Ms. Stadelhofer.”
Matt turned around and gave her a look that pretty much resembled the monster face he’d drawn on her paper.
* * * * *
At the end of the school day, Matt stood in the aisle, blocking Cody’s fast escape from the classroom. He was taller and bigger than the rest of his classmates, and his overloaded backpack took up more than his share of space. Every time he turned around, his backpack knocked over something, sometimes even a kid.
As soon as he was out of the way, Cody slipped out the door and met up with M.E., who was waiting for her in the hallway. As usual, M.E. was dressed creatively, from her Dr. Seuss socks and pink Crocs, to her bedazzled jeans and tie-dyed top, to the pink strands in her dark hair. Cody felt nearly invisible in her simple red sneakers, plain jeans, and “I Escaped from Alcatraz” souvenir T-shirt.
“I got your note,” Cody said to her, “but Matt the Brat stole it out of my hands and messed it up. Sorry I didn’t answer, but it seemed like Ms. Stad was watching me the whole time. You said you needed help. What’s wrong?”
M.E. shrugged. “I’m worried about my Science Fair project. I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s it? You’re worried about your project?” Cody said. “I thought something was seriously wrong.”
Moments later, Matt lumbered out of the classroom, his backpack swinging from side to side as he walked. As usual, he wore an oversized T-shirt, this time with a picture of Godzilla on the front, as well as his usual baggy jeans and his black hoodie.
“I got your note,” Matt said to M.E. in a singsong voice. “I wrote you back. Cody has it, don’t you, Cody?”
“Grabbing it away from me wasn’t cool, Matt,” Cody said angrily. “You almost got us all in trouble.”
He grinned. “How did you like my Science Fair project idea? Pretty awesome, eh?”
“You mean the Monster Mousetrap? Good luck with that,” Cody said.
M.E. looked up at Cody. “What’s he talking about?”
“I’ll show you later,” Cody answered her.
“Actually, my real Science Fair project is top secret,” Matt said. “And it’s totally awesome. I’m gonna win the prize this year, so you Code Losers don’t have a chance. Might as well give up now and just grow moldy bread.”
He laughed at what he thought was a hilarious joke. Cody knew growing moldy bread was about the most boring project you could do for the Science Fair. No way would she do something that simple. Besides, Matt’s “top secret” project was probably just another batch of failed Flubber like he’d tried to make last year.
“Well, good luck beating Bernie Bunsen this year,” M.E. said to Matt. “He’s won the Science Fair two years in a row, you know.”
“Yeah, that’s only because he’s the science teacher’s kid,” Matt said. “He probably had lots of help. Not gonna happen this year. Just watch.”
