The first day of the new school term was anything but quiet.
"KIEFER! CATCH!"
A juice box flew across the hallway.
Kiefer sighed before casually catching it with one hand without even looking.
"Thanks."
Rose laughed. "I honestly thought that would hit your face."
Lily slung an arm around Kiefer's shoulder.
"One day we'll actually surprise him."
"You've been trying for three years," Kiefer replied. "You've failed every time."
Rose dramatically placed a hand on her chest.
"Did he just roast us?"
"He definitely did," Lily agreed. "That's it. Operation Annoy Kiefer is officially back."
"Oh no," Kiefer muttered.
Lily and Rose burst into laughter.
They were absolute chaos.
If someone started a paper airplane war...
It was probably them.
If glitter somehow ended up inside a teacher's desk...
Probably them.
If someone replaced every classroom clock with pictures of potatoes...
Definitely them.
Yet somehow, they were also the friendliest people in school.
Everyone knew Rose and Lily.
Everyone liked them.
And everyone knew to stay out of the blast zone whenever the two of them came up with "brilliant ideas."
What nobody knew...
...was that Lily had another side.
Behind the jokes and endless pranks, she was one of the city's youngest detectives.
Only one person shared that secret.
Kiefer Waston.
Whenever a mystery appeared, the goofy smile disappeared from Lily's face, replaced by sharp focus and quick thinking.
Kiefer and Lily had solved dozens of cases together.
Rose had absolutely no idea.
She just assumed they disappeared so often because they were "being weird."
The classroom door opened.
Mrs. Carter smiled.
"Class, today we have a new student."
A girl stepped inside.
"My name is Jay Mariano."
She smiled politely.
"My family recently moved here. I hope we can all get along."
Mrs. Carter looked around.
"The only empty seat is beside Kiefer."
Jay walked over.
"Hi."
"I'm Jay."
"Kiefer."
"...That's it?"
"...Yeah."
Jay blinked.
"You're not very talkative."
Rose immediately leaned over from the seat behind them.
"He actually talks a lot."
Kiefer looked at her.
"I do not."
Rose grinned.
"See? That's the longest sentence he's said today."
Lily couldn't stop laughing.
Jay smiled.
Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad after all.
Lunch break.
The four of them sat together.
Rose opened her lunchbox.
"...Who stole my chicken nuggets?"
Lily froze.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Rose slowly looked at Lily.
"Lily..."
"No."
"Lily..."
"I said no."
"You have ketchup on your face."
Lily wiped her cheek.
"...Oops."
Rose pointed dramatically.
"THIEF!"
The cafeteria exploded with laughter.
"I WAS HUNGRY!" Lily protested.
"You stole my nuggets!"
"They looked lonely!"
Kiefer quietly slid two of his own nuggets onto Rose's tray.
"There."
Rose instantly smiled.
"See? Kiefer cares."
"I just wanted peace."
Jay laughed harder than she had in weeks.
These people were complete idiots.
She loved it already.
After school...
Rose grabbed Lily's arm.
"Come on! Race you to the gate!"
"You're on!"
The two girls sprinted away while screaming dramatically.
"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!"
"I'M LITERALLY RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"
Kiefer watched them disappear.
"They're exhausting."
"They seem fun."
"They are."
Jay smiled.
"You've known them a long time?"
"Since we were kids."
"Must be nice."
For a brief moment, Kiefer noticed something in Jay's expression.
Loneliness.
Before he could say anything...
His phone vibrated.
MISSION ALERT
His expression changed instantly.
Lily's phone buzzed at exactly the same time.
The playful smile vanished from her face.
She glanced at Kiefer.
"Same message?"
He nodded.
"Looks like work."
Jay watched them from a distance.
Just seconds ago they had been laughing.
Now...
They looked completely different.
Focused.
Serious.
Professional.
"...Who are they?" she whispered.
Without realizing it...
Jay Mariano had just taken the first step toward uncovering the biggest secret at Maplewood High.