The substitute continued lecturing about the summer reading assignment—at least, that’s what Michael assumed was happening. He still hadn’t finished reading the book, nor was he interested in the discussion. All he could focus on was last night.
Remembering what had happened, he felt guilty. How could he have been so useless? He couldn’t stop those guards from trying to take Asante; in fact, they almost dragged him along with him. They barely escaped being chased throughout the school. And all of them watched as the van sped away from the parking lot, but none of them ran after it.
Michael balled his hand into a fist. He’d witnessed an innocent man get kidnapped. And he did nothing. Anger stirred inside him, but with nowhere for it to go, he banged his fist against the table. The sound made the desk rattle, making a few pencils roll off onto the floor. It felt good to let out some frustration. However, it also gained the attention of the substitute, who was confused by the sudden noise.
“My bad,” he apologized.
The teacher looked mildly annoyed but gave him a quick nod and returned to the lecture. Michael let out a sigh, plopping his head onto the desk. Next to him, Zuriya was focusing on taking notes. But upon closer inspection, Michael realized that she hadn’t written anything down yet. Instead, she looked petrified. It was as though someone had replaced her with a perfect statue replica.
“Hey, Zuriya?” he whispered.
No response. She didn’t even move. He poked her in the shoulder, which made Zuriya jump in her chair. She immediately looked around as though she’d forgotten where she was. Upon seeing Michael’s shocked expression, she calmed down.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
She gave a slight nod. Then she returned to her position, once again looking lost in her mind. Michael wondered if she was thinking about last night. He glanced across the room at where LaNiye was sitting. She looked composed for the most part, except for her continuous foot tapping. But then he saw her turn around and hand something to the person behind her. Taking a closer look, he noticed David sat directly behind LaNiye. It looked like she had handed him…a phone?
David had already taken the phone back, quickly hiding it under his desk, before he saw Michael looking at him. He stared at his phone, tapping the side while looking at Michael earnestly. Michael wasn’t sure what he meant, but he soon felt his own phone vibrate. While making sure the teacher wasn’t looking, he checked his notifications: one text from his foster mom, another from an unknown number, and an app invite to SmartChat. Ignoring the text from his foster mom, he opened the message from the unknown number.
Unknown: Download the app. Password: copycats.
How did anyone get his phone number? Was this David? But thinking back, Michael remembered Asante mentioning the SmartChat app. Who else would have access to the app? He downloaded it and entered the password. A group chat appeared, showing three members. There were already messages shared, so Michael scrolled through them.
A: Hey, David? It’s Asante. Can you tell the others to meet up in the cafeteria next block? I could only find your and Michael’s numbers.
D: Sure thing. We’re all in the same class.
A: Great.
D: I let LaNiye know about the meeting. She’ll be there. I’ll get Michael to ask Zuriya.
Michael looked up at David, who was pointing towards Zuriya. He placed his phone on the desk between himself and Zuriya. She didn’t notice, but after a few pokes, she turned again and saw the phone. Quickly reading the messages, she gave a weak thumbs-up. Michael reclaimed his phone and gave David a nod. He then added his message to the group chat.
M: Zuriya is in. We’ll all be there.
A: Perfect. See you all there.
“Next in line,” the cafeteria lady called.
Michael picked up his tray and turned from the register. He looked down at his lunch tray: one stale bun overflowing with sloppy joe, a handful of dry carrot sticks with a tiny container of ranch dressing, a crushed bag of potato chips, and one sad-looking pudding cup. Lunch looked disappointing, as usual.
Walking away from the counter, Michael observed the cafeteria. Some students were busy chatting with friends, while others were too focused on completing homework before the next period. He kept scanning the room, looking for one of his club members in the sea of students.
“Over here,” someone yelled.
He finally spotted David waving from the patio doors. Guess the group was meeting at one of the outside tables. Michael made his way over, trying his best to balance everything on his tray.
“Is everyone seated already?” he asked.
“I think the girls are still in line. I was gonna wait here to let them know where we are. Asante is already at the table, though.”
Michael spotted Asante on the far end of the patio. Thankfully, they got a table with an umbrella to block out the sun. Michael thanked David and left. He took a seat across from Asante, who was busy tapping away on his tablet.
“Hey,” Michael said.
“Hey,” Asante replied without looking away from his screen.
“What are you working on?”
“Stuff.”
Michael gave up on starting a conversation, seeing that Asante’s eyes remained glued to his tablet. Whatever it was he was working on, he was locked in. But he soon saw David walking their way with the girls.
“So, how’s everyone’s day go—” Zuryia began.
“No point in beating around the bush,” Michael interrupted.
“Agreed, “LaNiye said.
“Same,” David added.
Zuriya looked over to Asante, still focused on his tablet. But he must have noticed the lull of silence because he gave a thumbs-up, never taking his eyes away from the tablet.
“Fine,” Zuriya said, “In that case, when do we plan to tell the authorities?”
“Who would even believe us?,” David asked. “We have no proof.”
“Wait,” Michael exclaimed, turning to LaNiye. “You recorded it, right? Remember, you took your camera out?”
Zuriya and David snapped their heads at LaNiye. That could be all the proof we need. But he lowered his excitement when LaNiye’s expression faltered. She sighed, pulling out her phone.
“I did,” she answered, quietly tapping through her camera roll. “But…I don’t know what happened to the video footage.”
She laid the phone down on the table for everyone to see. For just a second, you could make out a dark room. That’s from behind the boxes. Likely whenever she turned on the camera. But suddenly, the screen glitched. Static crackled across the video, distorting the figures and warping the audio into broken screeches and noise. It skipped and jumped around before finally cutting to black.
“What the heck?” Michael yelled.
“No idea,” LaNiye muttered. “I hadn’t tried to view it again until this morning, and it just…looked like this.”
“Did anyone else have access to your phone?” David asked.
“Not likely. It’s just me and my parents. And they were both…too busy to have any interest in my phone.”
Zuriya started to look terrified again. “Can they do that?” she whispered, as though talking to herself. “Mess with your phone without actually touching it?”
“It’s highly possible,” Asante said.
“So those guys tried to cover their tracks? How’d they even know about it?” Michael asked.
“I didn’t say it was them,” Asante corrected. “It was likely the suit. To keep the lab confidential, there are many devices around it that are designed to scramble outside cell phone tower signals as well as cameras not already linked to the network.”
The group seemed to be just as confused as Michael. Asante must have sensed it because he added on.
“Meaning, if the device didn’t already have clearance, it would be subject to scrambling and possible corruption within the immediate vicinity of the suit.”
“Okay, but so what? Don’t you still alert the police or the government for missing people cases?”
“You heard the sub. ‘Dr. Reed has requested a sudden leave of absence due to personal reasons.’ According to the school, he’s not even missing. What officer would take the word of five students over that of an educator or principal?”
Michael saw Zuriya glaring at him, but she continued.
“So, the school doesn’t know yet. Maybe those guys faked his request.”
“Or the school is in on it,” LaNiye said.
“Impossible.”
Zuriya looked a bit shaken at that last statement. She stared down at her lunch tray like she had in her notebook this morning. She saw Michael watching her and started munching on an apple.
“It’s very possible. They knew who we were,” Michael said.
“What?” David asked, “What do you mean?”
“I meant just that. The guy in charge of those guards knew about us, even about the fight. He slapped Asante.”
Michael and the group all glanced over at Asante. Even though he was still busy tapping away on the tablet, he touched his face where the man had slapped him.
“Meaning, someone here told him what happened,” Michael continued.
“Who?” Zuriya asked.
“I don’t know.”
Michael looked around at the patio. There were students and teachers scattered throughout the tables. Any one of them could have been the culprit. Anyone could be listening to their conversation right now. But who?
“Then what would you suggest, Michael?” Zuriya asked, “We find Dr. Reed ourselves.”
“Exactly.”
“WHAT?!” the table shouted in unison.
A couple of people turned around to see what the commotion was about. The group quickly calmed down.
“Why not? We find Dr. Reed ourselves.”
“You really are nuts. This isn’t a comic book, Michael. We can’t do anything against those guys. We’re kids,” Zuriya said.
“The way I see it, the only other option is to do nothing. And I’m not doing that.”
“Telling someone IS doing something.”
“What if he doesn’t need to be rescued?” A quiet voice interjected.
Zuriya and Michael looked questioningly at LaNiye, who seemed to cower back into her chair.
“I mean, what if he doesn’t need us to help him? They may just let him go in a little while.”
“But we don’t know that. Not for sure,” Zuriya insisted.
“Well, we can’t do anything yet. Not until we have some sort of plan,” David said.
“Oh no, David, don’t tell me you’re on his side,” Zuriya whined.
“I’m on no one’s side.”
Michael realized he wouldn’t get much farther with his group members. They all seemed hesitant to want to get involved. He couldn’t be too upset with them for wanting to prioritize their safety, but he couldn’t stand by while someone could be suffering, especially when he didn’t do anything to help. There’s no telling who knew about Dr. Reed’s true situation at the school, but he also didn’t want to make matters worse for him. Maybe he should just start looking by himself. At least then, he wouldn’t have to involve the others.
“I know you want to do something,” David said, “but we can’t just jump into something without a plan. We’re open to ideas, right guys?”
“Finished!” Asante said, shocking the group with his outburst.
“Finished? What were you even working on?” Zuriya asked.
“I’ll show you,” Standing up from the table, he said, “Just follow me.”
The others shared a confused look. But after a moment, they stood up and followed Asante back towards the cafeteria doors. He stopped in front of one of the lunchroom attendants, responsible for watching the students during lunch.
“Excuse me, our club needs to visit the library before the next period. Can we have a pass, please?” Asante asked, holding up his planner.
“Sure, but there’s only 30 minutes left. Be sure you all make it to your next classes on time, ” the attendant said, scribbling a signature in the planner.
“Thank you,” he smiled, waving for the others to follow.
Michael only managed to nibble on some of his lunch. He kept the bag of chips but tossed the rest of the tray into the trash. But while turning towards the doors, he bumped into someone.
“Back again, huh?” Lance said, “Looking to start something else today?”
Michael felt his face contort into an immediate frown. But he knew he couldn’t afford to cause a scene right now. He tried his best to ignore Lance.
“You’re lucky my father’s so caring. You and your dumb friends should have been expelled.”
“They’re not my friends,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Don’t even engage, Michael,” LaNiye said. “He’s not worth it.”
Michael watched LaNiye follow David and Zuriya towards the doors; Asante was waiting. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore Lance. He finished dumping his tray and set it alongside the other dirty trays. He then walked past Lance. Though try as he might, he couldn’t help but bump the jerk in the shoulder on his way out. No matter what, he wasn’t going to let Lance get them into even more trouble, but surely that small bump couldn’t be too much.
“Ooo. Does the goth girl have you on a leash or something?”
Michael turned on his heel, ready to say something back, but LaNiye simply pushed Michael from behind towards the cafeteria doors. Behind him, he could hear Lance and his friends snicker. He tried his best to ignore him and followed the group into the hallway.
“Dragged out again,” he muttered under his breath.
“Forget about him. Come on,” Asante said.
“Wait. The library is that way,” Zuriya said, “Where are you headed?”
“To the lab,” Asante smiled, waving for his club members to follow.
