Epilogue
MAKO
“All right, men, are we ready?” Tino asked. I looked up and down the hallway as if Bear and Crossy were going to spawn out of nowhere to join the mission.
“I’m not sure you can say men when it’s only me,” I pointed out.
Tino rolled his eyes. “Mako, we talked about this. We have to treat it as though the whole team is here—“
“Bear hasn’t shown up for this once! I’m not sure he can be considered on the team.”
“—even when they’re stuck in a club meeting,” Tino continued, ignoring me.
I sighed but decided it wasn’t worth the argument. Tino pressed his back to the hallway wall and tapped the imaginary earpiece he didn’t have.
“Target is in Lilah and Poppy’s room,” he whispered.
“You know they can hear you, right?” I whispered back.
We were not secret agents. We were two sleep-deprived teenage boys in hoodies, creeping down the girls’ dorm hallway like criminals whose greatest enemy was a door advisor. But when your best friend was locked in an ongoing custody battle over a stuffed penguin, you showed up.
The room was dark except for a string of fairy lights over the desk as Tino eased the door open.
Tino slipped inside like he actually knew what he was doing, while I hovered near the door, keeping watch and trying not to think about how humiliating it would be to get caught stealing a plush toy.
Tino beelined for Lilah’s bed, but froze as he came up beside it, which made me tense up too.
“No,” he muttered. “No, no, no.”
I stepped inside and scanned the room. Lilah’s pillows were stacked. Poppy’s desk chair was tucked in. There was no penguin in sight.
From the shadows near the window, Lilah’s voice floated out, smug and delighted. “Looking for something, Agent Valentine?”
Suddenly, the lights flipped on. I muttered a curse and held a hand over my eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light.
Lilah sat cross-legged on Poppy’s, arms folded, like she’d been waiting for us.
Poppy leaned against the dresser, chewing gum and grinning like this was the best show she’d seen all week.
Tino put a hand over his heart. “You moved him.”
Lilah shrugged. “Prove it.”
“This violates the Geneva Convention,” Tino said. “Penguins are neutral parties.” Tino scanned the room again, growing more frantic by the second. “He was here this afternoon.”
“And now he’s not,” Lilah said sweetly. “Crazy how time works.”
Tino scanned the room and straightened suddenly. “Where’s Saylor?”
The room went quiet. Poppy blinked. Lilah’s smile faltered just a fraction. Tino swore under his breath and spun toward the door. “She’s got him.”
I barely had time to react before he was sprinting down the hall.
I followed, mostly because running after Tino had become a full-time job.
I was on his heels by the time we reached Saylor’s room and when he burst inside, I came tumbling in behind him, almost leap-frogging over him as I slammed into his back.
Saylor, who seemed to be sitting at her desk doing homework, yelped.
“What is wrong with you?” She yelled.
Tino ignored her as he focused on her bed. “There you are!”
He dove toward the bed, hands outstretched, fully prepared to tackle the mattress if necessary. I didn’t even notice the penguin sitting there until he pulled it out from under the covers and clutched it to his chest like a rescued child.
“Victory!” he yelled.
Lilah and Poppy came skidding in behind us, Lilah already protesting, “That doesn’t count! You cheated!”
“There are no rules in love and war!” Tino countered.
I laughed and moved over to the extra bed in Saylor’s room to sit down.
She had a double room but no roommate, since her roommate had decided not to come to boarding school at the last second, so we tended to use her room as a common space, calling this bed “the couch.” But something about it was different when I sat down.
Normally, the bed only had a basic bed sheet on it and maybe a blanket or two.
But now? The bed was perfectly made. Hospital corners.
Extra pillows. A neatly folded throw at the foot.
I frowned. “Hey, Saylor?”
She glanced over. “What?”
I nodded toward the bed. “Since when do you make that bed?”
She followed my gaze, then shrugged a little too casually. “Oh. Yeah. That.”
Tino stopped mid-rant about parental visitation rights. “Wait. You’re getting a roommate?”
Saylor laughed. “I guess you could say that.”
Poppy nudged her friend. “What Saylor means to say is that we have a guest coming for a few days.”
“Since when does the school allow that?” I asked.
“They don’t,” Lilah said cheerfully. “That’s why we didn’t ask.”
Tino snorted. “Bold strategy.”
“Who’s is this friend?” I asked.
“My sister’s boyfriend’s little sister,” Poppy chimed in.
“Otherwise known as one of the Take Five boyband sisters-in-law,” Lilah added, as if that was any less confusing.
Saylor’s mouth curved into a small, knowing smile. “You’ll meet her soon. Her name’s Elodie.”
Elodie. A pretty name.
Tino cleared his throat loudly. “Okay, as riveting as this is, I believe custody currently rests with me.”
Lilah lunged for the penguin. Chaos erupted, and somehow, this counted as a normal Saturday night for us.
Thank you for reading!