Identity: Dakota-Cody-Jones
Code Name: “CodeRed”
Description:
Hair: Red, curly
Eyes: Green
Other: Freckles
Special Skill: Languages, reading faces and body language
Message Center: Tree knothole
Career Plan: Interpreter for UN or deaf people
Code Specialties: Sign language, Braille, Morse code, Police codes
Cody – Dakota Jones – Code Red
Hi, I’m Cody Jones. My real name is Dakota but no one calls me that unless I’m in trouble. I look like my dad—he’s tall and thin and has the same red hair and freckles, while my four-year-old sister Tana looks like my mom—blonde, blue-eyed, and sturdy. Tana is deaf, so I’ve learned sign language.
My bedroom is upstairs in our two-story house. We live in Berkeley, which some people called Bezerkley because some of the people here are kind of “interesting.” We used to live in the Gold Country, and I miss my friends there.
But I’ve made new friends here so it’s getting better. We moved because my parents got a divorce and my mom took a job as a police officer in Berkeley. My dad is a lawyer and he moved his practice here to be near Tana and me.
I go to Berkeley Cooperative Middle School, a few blocks away from my home. I usually wear shorts or jeans, t-shirts, my red hoodie, and tennis shoes. I sort of adopted the neighbor's have a cat—his name is Punkin—but Tana is allergic so he spends most of his time in my yard. I made him a cool collar. He’s orange.
More about me later. I have to get to school.
Identity: Luke LaVeau
Code Name: “Kuel-Dude”
Description:
Hair: Black, curly
Eyes: Dark brown
Other: Saints cap
Special Skill: Extreme sports, Skateboard, Crosswords
Message Center: Under porch step
Career Plan: Pro skater, Stunt man, Race car driver
Code Specialties: Word puzzles, Skater slang, Anagrams
Yeah, I’m Luke LaVeau. I made up the nickname, “Kuel-Dude” from my name. “Kuel” is an anagram of “Luke.” Plus it sounds cool. I used to live in New Orleans, until the hurricane came. I don’t like to talk about that much, but I still have my New Orleans Saints hat.
I’m pretty athletic. I like to skateboard, play basketball, football, do parkour, which is climbing up buildings and going around obstacles, just for the fun of it. Nothing scares me much, not after that hurricane—except girls. I don’t have them figured out yet. Especially Cody...
The kids in the club tease me about my accent. They say I talk funny and say “Y’all,” instead of “You guys,” but I don’t mind. I live with my grand-mere and she was from Louisiana too. She’s always teaching me stuff like how to make home-made remedies. I think she was a voodoo queen a long time ago, but she won’t admit it.
Anyway, enough about me. I’d rather be outside doing something than indoors writing. Later, dudes.
Identity: MariaElena-M.E.-Esperanto
Code Name: “Em-me”
Description:
Hair: Long, brown
Eyes: Brown
Other: Fab clothes
Special Skill: Handwriting analysis, Fashionista
Message Center: Flower box
Career Plan: FBI handwriting analyst or Vet
Code Specialties: Spanish, I.M., Text messaging
Hi, I’m M.E. which stands for MariaElena. but I like just using the initials. It’s easier. I come from a large Hispanic family—we’re from Mexico, but my grandma is American Indian. I speak Spanish at home with my parents and English at school and with my friends. I look like my madre. We both have long dark hair and brown eyes, and we love to wear colorful clothes with sparkles and glitter. I’m kinda known for my funny socks and creative outfits. My three brothers are older than me and they tease me a lot. But I love them.
I met Quinn and Luke at summer camp, in a class called Cryptology for Kids. That’s when we formed the Code Busters Club. I’m so glad Cody joined, otherwise I would have been the only girl, but now Mika joined. They’re my best friends now. I wish I lived next door to her, but I’m only a block away. She says I have a lot of “energy,” which is probably true. But she’s braver than me. I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to doing scary stuff—like sneaking into a burned out house or meeting up with a mountain lion. But who wouldn’t be scared about that?
I’ll write more later, after I get done with my homework. Unless I get a coded note from one of the Code Busters about something mysterious…
Identity: Quinn Kee
Code Name: “Lock&Key”
Description:
Hair: Black, spiky
Eyes: Brown
Other: Sunglasses
Special Skill: Video games, Computers, Guitar
Message Center: Doghouse
Career Plan: CIA cryptographer or Video game designer
Code Specialties: Military code, Computer codes
Hey, I’m Quinn. I started the Code Busters Club ‘cause I like doing puzzles and codes and stuff. I’m good at math, probably because my parents are math professors at the University of California, Berkeley. I live across the street from Cody, who’s new to the club this year. But she’s cool.
I like designing video games for the other club members to play, especially ones that have zombies. I also like to create new codes for them to solve. And lately I’ve been getting into origami—that’s paper folding. I put secret messages in them.
That’s about it for me. Gotta go.
Identity: Mika Takeda
Code Name: “Senjin” to honor ancestors
Description:
Hair: Black, short, straight
Eyes: Brown
Other: Petite
Special Skill: 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
Hey,
