We made our way to the table, which wasn’t much to look at, but it was where we were sitting. Malachi glared at me with a sharp, almost accusing gaze and asked, "So, are you ready to finally explain yourself?"

  September was quick to jump in. "Just leave him alone," she said, her voice cutting through the tension. "He saved us, and there’s no obvious reason to keep asking questions. Let’s just call Mr. Drails and get out of here."

  "But we didn’t even eat," Tisiah complained, clearly still hungry.

  "We’ll grab something from a drive-thru or whatever," September responded, brushing off Tisiah’s concerns. We stood up, ready to leave the diner, but before we could take a step, a shimmer of weird, abstract light--- just like Mr. Drails---opened a portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I barely had time to react before I was screaming as we fell through it and landed outside the YMPA.

  I was frozen, struggling to breathe as I processed the bizarre turn of events. The scene from just moments ago still felt like a blur, and my mind couldn’t catch up with what had just happened.

  And then, standing in front of us with his usual unreadable expression, was Mr. Drails.

  "Well, this is certainly a surprise," he said, his voice dry, betraying none of the emotion I expected.

  "Mr. Drails," I said, finally catching my breath. "It’s good to see you."

  He chuckled, but it wasn’t the cheerful kind of laugh—it was flat, almost resigned. "It’s good to see you all too, but the news you’ve brought with you isn’t exactly great. Follow me in."

  "Why?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

  "Because I want to hear what you’ve got to say," he replied, turning on his heel and heading toward the building. We followed, not knowing what to expect.

  Inside, he led us to what appeared to be a meeting room. He took a seat at the head of the table, gesturing for us to sit down. "Now, tell me what you’ve discovered on your mission," he said, his tone businesslike.

  I started, trying to keep things light. "Well, we did learn that the enemy wasn’t using a lot of magic in their attacks."

  "Yes, but I want an actual list of what you found," Mr. Drails said, his eyes sharp as he looked at each of us in turn.

  Nikki took over. "Connor discovered that Demetrius Rocke was the one who kidnapped Dr. Michael Jones and that they might be transporting him to an underground base called the BMO Facility."

  "The British Mage Organization, allied with the TSA," Mr. Drails muttered. "That seems legitimate; fortunately, someone else will handle that."

  "Someone else?" Nikki asked, sounding confused.

  "Yes," he said, "I’ll assign a different team to take over the rest of the work. You’re all blacklisted from any further missions for the next four months."

  We all sat there, stunned. Our eyes widened, and our mouths hung open as the full weight of his words hit us.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "But, Mr. Drails, that’s too long!" I protested, my voice rising.

  "I know," he said, his voice unwavering. "But it’s necessary. You’ve practically shut down the entire town! It’s lucky no one saw you through that flash of light you somehow managed to create. You were reckless, and now it’s all over the news. You did this, Connor, and you will face the consequences."

  "But, Mr. Drails, we didn’t mean to cause this!" I tried to argue.

  "You did exactly that," he snapped. "You punched a truck! You knew exactly what you were doing."

  "We were trapped behind a huge pile of rocks!" I countered. "Did you want us to just sit there and die?"

  "No," Mr. Drails said, his voice hard. "I expected you to call me! I can track you on the grid map, but I can’t see your surroundings. If you really needed help, I could’ve gotten you out of there. But no, you decided to play hero, and now your entire team is getting punished for it. Congratulations, you’ve made a mess of everything."

  We were all left in stunned silence as he stood up. "Now, get out of my office."

  "But, Mr. Drails," I pleaded, desperation creeping into my voice. "Please, I’ll do anything! Just don’t punish them."

  "Anything?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Yes," I said quickly. "I’ll accept being blacklisted, but not them. Please."

  Mr. Drails sighed, his shoulders slumping. "What one does affects everyone else."

  "What?!" Nikki exclaimed, clearly upset.

  "Yes," he said. "I’m sorry, but I can’t risk exposing my other agents to your recklessness. All of you need to go home and think about what you’ve done. Think about how you’ve failed." He paused, his gaze sweeping over us. "I’ll send you all home."

  We left his office, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air. The others walked ahead in silence, frustration written on their faces. "Guys, I’m really sorry," I began, my voice full of regret. "I didn’t mean for any of this to happen."

  "Shut up," Malachi growled, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "I don’t have time for excuses. And you’re 110 percent a joke."

  He turned and walked away, Nikki following closely behind. "Wait, Tisiah, you believe me, right?" I called after her.

  "I do," she said without turning around, her voice distant. She kept walking, her footsteps echoing down the hallway.

  "Nikki, you know I was trying to save us, right?" I asked, my voice pleading.

  She didn’t respond, not even slowing down as she disappeared around the corner.

  The only one left behind was September. I hesitated, unsure of what to say. "September?"

  She stopped and turned back to me, her eyes unreadable. "You know I’m sorry, right? Do you forgive me?"

  She sighed, her expression softening for a moment before hardening again. "My father was a street racer. He made just enough money to keep us going. He had to stay one step ahead of the police and everyone else just to provide for us. My mother died when I was born, and my dad had to raise five brothers and me on his own, while still trying to make money."

  She leaned back against the wall, looking down at the floor. "I idolized him. I wanted to be just like him. But when I got older, I realized that if I joined the YMPA, I could use my powers to help people—and maybe even get a lot of money, like my dad did. I could do more for him, make sure he didn’t have to struggle anymore."

  "But we’re blacklisted for months," I said, trying to offer some hope. "You’ll still graduate eventually, right?"

  "When you’re blacklisted, you can’t graduate!" she snapped. "You don’t get it. When I turn eighteen, I’ll be kicked out. This is my only chance, and you ruined it."

  She walked right up to me, her face twisted with frustration and anger. "You’re not allowed to be friends with me anymore. Ever. I don’t want to see you again, and if you even try to talk to me, I’ll make sure you regret it."

  My heart sank as I stammered, "I... I’m so sorry."

  "Good," she said coldly, and then walked away without a second glance.

  I stood there, completely frozen. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. The weight of her words crushed me, and I slowly sank to the floor, overwhelmed with guilt and despair. Tears flowed freely down my face as I sobbed. I didn’t know what to do. I thought I had to fix this, but how?

  I considered going back to Mr. Drails, begging him to change his mind, but I knew it would just be a waste of time.

  As I sat there, trying to calm myself down, Mr. Drails's portal suddenly opened before me, and I stumbled forward, finding myself standing at the front door of my house. I let out a heavy sigh, trying to wipe the tears from my face before ringing the doorbell.

  When my mom answered, she raised an eyebrow. "Well, you’re home late. You have school in the morning."

  "Yeah," I said, trying to keep my composure. "I’ll change my clothes."

  "They might get dirty," she said with a sigh, watching me hurry inside.

  I didn’t respond. I just ran up to my room, my thoughts swirling around everything that had happened. I didn’t change. I couldn’t. There was something else I had to do—something to prove I was worthy of this mission.

  And then it hit me.

  We could do the mission ourselves, without Mr. Drails' oversight. We just needed to find a way to get to the base faster than the other agents. It was risky, but at this point, what did we have to lose? If we couldn’t graduate, then what was the point of staying in this school? We had everything to gain by going rogue.