“So… you guys are dealing with the mole situation right now, correct? ”

  Tisiah glanced at Malachi. “Should we say yes…? ” he whispered—terribly.

  “I figured,” Mikey said, proving he heard every syllable of Tisiah’s whisper. He folded his arms, looking oddly calm for someone stepping into a conversation he absolutely should not know anything about. “While I don’t know all the details, I did hear someone was planning to mess up the game. Right? ”

  Silence answered him.

  “Gotcha. And from what I heard, Jamal, Elf, and Maddie are the ones most likely behind it? ”

  We didn’t speak—but we nodded, painfully slow, which gave Mikey more confirmation than any words could have.

  “I think you guys are wrong,” Mikey said simply. “And here’s why—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,” Tisiah cut in. “What makes you think you know anything? If you even saw what we—”

  “I,” I corrected him, since Tisiah somehow made my trauma group-owned.

  “…what he’s been through, you’d know all the evidence points to Jamal.”

  “Which makes it not him.”

  Tisiah stared at him like Mikey had just announced he was a toaster. But for me? The confusion was mixed with curiosity. No one just randomly inserts themselves into a mole investigation unless they’re either stupid, bold… or onto something.

  “Let him finish,” I said, motioning gently. Malachi stayed neutral, arms crossed, listening without blinking.

  “I’m not saying Jamal, Maddie, and Elf aren’t planning to mess up the game,” Mikey said, “but they’re not the moles.”

  “Why not? ” Tisiah asked, offended. “The whole reason they’re doing this is to pin it on Connor. The evidence is literally screaming it.”

  “Which,” Mikey repeated patiently, “makes it not them.”

  Tisiah looked like he was buffering.

  “Listen,” Mikey continued, “this is an act of self-defense—which, yes, makes it an offense. Instead of trying to prove they’re innocent, they’d rather redirect suspicion onto someone already vulnerable.”

  “But if they didn’t do it,” Malachi asked carefully, “why would they even need to frame Connor? ”

  “For the same reason Connor is still looked at sideways,” Mikey said. “It would take the literal hand of God to prove their innocence. It’s easier—and safer—to shove the target onto somebody else. This is a spy academy. Nothing is ever straightforward. Which brings me to my next point…”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “Jamal, Maddie, and Elf being moles is too straightforward. Ever thought about that? ” Mikey asked. “Whether they share a single goldfish brain cell or not, why would the real mole orchestrate a plan that leads the investigation directly to them? Why would they confront the same people who are hunting the mole? ”

  “They probably do share a single brain cell,” I muttered.

  “I wish life was that simple. But I don’t think it’s them,” Mikey said. “Let me leave you with some advice—and listen carefully, because Mr. Nikko told this to our class—”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Who? ” Tisiah asked.

  “Freshman Espionage teacher,” Malachi said with a sigh. “Continue.”

  Mikey nodded. “He said… when he infiltrated an underground organization selling weapons to TSA elite assassins, he worked his way up to become head of production. He even killed their distribution director and halted operations.”

  “What happened? ” I asked, invested despite myself.

  “The whole place got raided and blown up by EMO.”

  “Fair enough,” Tisiah muttered.

  “What he did—and here’s the important part—was influence where security should look. He created holes deliberately, distractions that made the mole-hunting department chase illusions while he stayed hidden in plain sight.”

  “So you’re saying…” Malachi leaned in. “The mole is probably involved in the mole-searching process? ”

  All three of us turned to Malachi with synchronized confusion and disappointment.

  “Stop that,” Mikey scolded. “Acting like you’re scholars from—”

  “Stanford,” Malachi corrected.

  “Something-ford,” Mikey dismissed. “My point is: Jamal, Maddie, and Elf are too obvious. They’re distractions by nature itself. You’re chasing wind while the real mole encourages it.”

  He gave a polite, unsettling smile, then walked off, leaving the three of us staring at each other like idiots.

  “But Jamal came for me first,” I argued. “There’s no way it wasn’t—”

  “He said it was the perfect distraction,” Tisiah cut in. “But maybe Jamal and them aren’t the distraction. Maybe someone else steered us toward them.”

  “Who encouraged us to look into Jamal? ” Malachi asked.

  “Connor,” Tisiah answered.

  “Doesn’t help, Malachi,” I said.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Tisiah sighed. “But who engineered us to go full throttle on Jamal in the first place? ”

  “Because we have no one else! ” I snapped. “We keep circling Jamal or Maddie or Elf. Yes, maybe one of them, maybe not. Maybe all of them or none of them. But my gut says Jamal.”

  “Does it really? “Malachi?” Malachi asked softly.

  That tone—gentle, probing—made both of them stare at me with thoughtful eyes that heated my nerves.

  “Yeah,” I said, forcing the conviction. “It has to be. It has to be…”

  Before anything else could be said, the locker room door opened.

  Coach Wallaby walked in—WITH the defensive coordinator—which I’m 99% sure violates some sort of privacy law. God forbid someone was in the shower. Imagine your coach busting in to talk about game strategy while you’re shampooing. I'd move schools.

  “Listen up,” Wallaby barked as we yanked shirts on. “Next week is the tryouts game. I’m sure you all saw the email—obviously sent anonymously—from the council. You arrive here at 7 AM sharp. There will be a bus to drop us off at the CAMEO stadium. From there, we win. Got it? ”

  Nods from everyone except me.

  “I know it’s nerve-racking,” Wallaby continued, “but you’ve worked hard and shown good teamwork—despite some… flaws.”

  Silence.

  He sighed. “Y’know what, forget the script. You guys are an embarrassment to my career. But at least if you lose, we can kick you out. So don’t lose. Otherwise you won’t need to come anymore. Got it? ”

  “Uhhh—yes, sir…”

  “Good. See you next week Friday.”

  Monday

  “One week. One week. One week.”

  Tisiah repeated it every single time he caught the ball, and even as he threw it—gripping with such force the ball was deflating with each pass.

  “One week until everything blows up,” Nikki added.

  Mari exhaled sharply. “If something happens, it’ll be the council’s fault—not ours. We’re spies, and they’re treating this like a car crash report. Honestly… I’ll be more scared if nothing happens.”

  “Why? ” I asked.

  “Because then we have nothing to go off,” Mari said. “We’ve been spinning circles around Jamal, Elf, and Maddie. We haven’t even considered anyone else. We need broader suspects.”

  “You want to wait,” Nikki said, “or accuse a random person? ”

  “Well…” Tisiah began, “during Mage Football, someone told us something.”

  Mari and Nikki both squinted at him, and I almost laughed—until I realized I hadn’t said anything either.

  “Would’ve loved that thirty minutes ago,” Mari muttered. “What did he say? ”

  “He said he doesn’t think Jamal, Maddie, or Elf are the moles. They’re too obvious. Too easy. He called them the perfect distraction.”

  “What’s this guy’s name? ” Mari asked.

  “Mikey,” Tisiah said.

  “Mikey…? ” she repeated.

  “Y-Yeah,” I said.

  “Well then we investigate him next,” Mari declared.

  “I’m sorry? “Tisiah!” yelped, the football slipping out of his hands.

  “Why him? ” I asked.

  “How did he hear about our mission? Who told him the details? ”

  “I don’t know—maybe because the entire school thinks I’m the mole at some point,” I said. “And if he were the mole, why would he risk saying any of that to us? ”

  “Do you have anyone else in mind? ” Mari challenged.

  Silence settled over us.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jamal, Maddie, and Elf walking toward Malachi’s group. The moment slowed.

  Jamal’s eyes locked onto mine.

  Not goofy. Not careless.

  Something deeper. Something heavier.

  Something unreadable.

  I immediately looked away.