Aisha and I stepped through the school doors.
The hallway was dead silent. Well, almost.
Our lovely school janitor was lost in his own world, gripping the handle of the vacuum cleaner like it was the love of his life, swaying his hips in rhythm to whatever music was playing in his head. Completely oblivious to the two teenagers watching him with mild amusement.
Damn, the old man was killing it.
"So, you're saying," Aisha began, the stick of a lollipop lazily hanging from her lips, "you want me to spend the better half of my day running around with you to catch some loser?"
My eye twitched. That made it sound like I was the villain here.
We still hadn't taken a step forward. Classes had long since started, but neither of us felt the rush. Let's just say we weren't exactly model students.
We were the worst of the worst. The bad eggs.
And we were immensely proud of our reputation.
There was something deeply satisfying about having teachers look at you like a walking nightmare.
"Listen, girl," I said, making an effort to sound serious—it kind of worked when dealing with Aisha. "Think of this as a game. A thrilling, action-packed game. The five of us working together to catch some bastard—how cool would that be? If this works out well, they could make a movie about us. Imagine it: rolling cameras, dramatic slow-mo shots of us looking badass while a bunch of hot guys fangirl over us. Dreamy, right?"
Aisha gave me a look. The kind that made me feel like a certified lunatic.
She pulled out the lollipop and raised an eyebrow. "Have you lost your mind?"
"You bitch."
"Even if, by some shitty luck, we catch your bastard, I am NOT having my first appearance on camera tied to some joke of a case. I deserve better," she said, shoving the lollipop back into her mouth. "Besides, solving your so-called mystery won't get me a fan club. It'll only attract boring old men watching the news at six. Not really my idea of fame."
I tilted my head. "I don't care, you know. From the very start, I planned on being a little pushy."
Aisha narrowed her eyes. "It's not like before, Ada. Forceful won't work on me anymore."
"I know," I replied smoothly. "That's why I have to take it up a notch."
"And how exactly—"
"I'll tell Lucian you have a crush on him."
"I DON'T!"
"Exactly."
Aisha gritted her teeth, and I flashed her an 'innocent' smile.
Stomping her foot, she glared at me. "Watch your back, bitch, because I'm coming for you."
"So… that's a yes?" I asked, my smile widening.
She didn't answer. Just snorted, turned on her heel, and walked ahead of me into the hallway.
Yeah. That's a yes.
---
I was frustrated.
I had been so excited for all five of us to finally meet up after the mid-break. But this? This was NOT how it was supposed to go.
Somehow, the conversation had derailed into coding and programming. The four of them were chatting animatedly, throwing out words that sounded like complete gibberish to me.
And I had never felt so ashamed of my intelligence.
We were in the cafeteria, which for the most part had turned into a noisy hellhole. But they didn't care. They just kept talking in their weird nerd language, completely ignoring me.
It was getting annoying.
No. Scratch that.
It was already annoying.
"SHUT UP!" I finally yelled.
Four heads snapped toward me.
That's better.
"Now that I think about it," Matthew mused, raising an eyebrow, "you were kind of drunk last night. You good now?"
"She isn't," Luke cut in, studying me with amusement. "She's just cranky from the aftereffects."
"Hasn't our little princess always been snappy?" Obinna teased, sipping his juice.
Aisha smirked. "She's just mad that her IQ is too low to understand us."
I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to calm down before Aisha and I ended up in one of our legendary word battles. The problem was… she was a little too accurate. And that stung.
Shaking off my irritation, I straightened. "Listen up, idiots. We have a mission. A real one. I assembled this team, and the first thing you guys do is geek out over computers? Have I been too soft on you all?"
Obinna slurped his juice loudly through his straw, making me shoot him a glare. His mouth hung open mid-sip before he quickly raised his hands. "Not on purpose! Carry on, boss."
The others were looking at me like I was some rare species of entertainment.
I sighed. This can't go on.
"Listen," I said, my tone shifting. "I need your help. I can't do this alone. It wouldn't feel the same. And honestly… I don't trust anyone more than you guys."
They grew quiet. The amusement in their faces faded.
I pressed on. "This could get dangerous. We don't know what we're getting into. Whoever we're after could be a murderer, a psychopath—hell, he could be worse. And I don't want to be at the receiving end of his next attack. I refuse to just sit back and hide like a coward.
"And if this guy realizes we're getting too close… if our luck is really bad and he is a psycho… he might come after us."
I let that sink in. Their faces were unreadable.
"So, yeah," I muttered, rubbing my forehead. "I guess I'm an asshole for dragging you all into this. I just realized that now. Sorry."
For about two seconds, there was silence.
Then chaos.
"That was hot," Luke grinned. "I almost couldn't believe you were getting all emotional."
"Ai, ai, boss!" Obinna exclaimed. "How can I remain complacent when you've bared your soul to me? I'd be a disgrace of a man!"
I scoffed inwardly. I still feed you most of the time, you child.
"Hey, Aisha," Matthew called. "We can stop pretending now, right?"
"Of course, of course. I'm completely satisfied," she replied, waving her hand lazily.
I squinted. "Wait. You were all planning to help me anyway, weren't you?"
Obinna nodded way too quickly.
"But because you know how much I hate getting emotional, Aisha had you guys pretend to be disinterested… just so she could watch me crack?"
Obinna started clapping. Matthew gasped dramatically. "Wow, Ada. You're so smart."
I was too focused on Aisha to even process the insult.
"You BITCH."
Aisha cackled. "Ha! I told you I'd get my comeback. I even recorded you! I have your voice on playback, just so you know. Who has the wild card now?"
I slowly narrowed my eyes at her phone.
That device… should not be left alive.
Aisha immediately clutched it to her chest, scowling. "Shoo away."
Luke chuckled. "I'll admit it. You have very talented friends, but apart from Matthew being a computer geek and me knowing a thing or two about machines," he hesitated, then mumbled something suspiciously like, "At least, that's all you know," before continuing, "I don't get why you think Obinna and Aisha can help."
Obinna and Aisha looked at me, curious.
I smirked. "They have bigger brains than you, idiot."
Luke gasped. "You wound me, woman."
"Alright, enough!" I said, straightening up. "No more messing around. We begin our first mission."
"Which is?" Matthew asked.
I grinned. "Where it all began. With the teacher who went mad. Mr. Cyprian."