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Nina was walking down the hallway towards room 307 when she heard giggling from a bed pushed against the wall. She could see a little girl hiding under the bed, half-concealed by the low hanging sheet. She met Nina's eyes, holding her finger to her lips.
Nina smiled and nodded at her, stepping away from the bed as she heard a familiar voice coming from around the corner. "Ahhh, we've stumbled into the natural habitat of the Gracie bird,"
"Will this be our bird scientist's first ever successful expedition? History suggests otherwise, dear viewers"
Richard wandered down the hall, followed by a teenage boy recording him on a phone. Richard raised an eyebrow as he spotted Nina, but didn't break character. "The Gracie bird might be very, very shy... and very good at hiding... but she'll never outsmart this ornithologit,"
"Hey, Richard," she smiled at him as they reached her. "Am I allowed to bask in the presence of a famous orin... whatever?"
"Ornithologist," he giggled. "It's someone who studies birds. Right now, I'm tracking down the elusive Gracie bird. You haven't seen her, have you?"
"I'm afraid you've come to the wrong girl," she said, fake sympathy on her face that made Richard's eyes brighten that she was going along with their game. "I'm a bird activist, and I protect Gracie birds from hunters like you,"
The boy holding the phone looked from Nina to Richard with a wry smile. "Friend of yours?"
"I wouldn't go that far," Nina said. "We met earlier today,"
"But after that game of Plead the Fifth, we're at least acquaintances," Richard pointed out, "EJ, this is Nina. She just started at Willow Creek. Nini, this is EJ,"
"Ricky's better half," EJ wrapped an arm around Richard, who shoved him off, a large smile on his face.
"Hey! Don't forget about me!"
The two boys immediately snapped back into character at the sound of a little girl's voice. "Did you hear that?" EJ asked, holding the phone up again. "Sounds like the signature call of the Gracie!" Richard pretended to inspect tracks on the floor.
"Ah, yes!" he nodded. "Gracie footprints! We just have to follow the trail..."
"I think I saw a Gracie bird flying up the hall," she pointed in the opposite direction to where Gracie was hiding.
"Ah, always one step ahead of me," Richard said. He walked past the bed and up the hall. "Let's see if she's hiding... around the corner!" he jumped out and slumped dramatically when he saw nothing there. "Nothing! She's foiled me again!"
Gracie giggled from beneath the bed, Richard's head snapping up at the sound. "Wait... that Gracie call is coming from back there. You lied to me?" he turned to NIna, mock hurt on his face.
