The Philosophers' Game

Chapter 13: I Turn Into Russia/The Fire

Chapter 13: I Turn Into Russia/The Fire

If contemporary goddess of music Taylor Swift had walked into the hallway at that moment, not one student would have cared. The crowd around the lockers today was bigger than any of the ones which had preceded it. In fact, it took me a full two minutes to weasel my way close enough to even see the quote, and there's no way I would have escaped the bedlam without the tall Will and the brawny Miguel, both of whom I'd bumped into at the front of the crowd, acting as bodyguards. After exchanging relieved glances, we met Nathan, Plato, and some of the cheer team by their lockers. Plato was the only one who didn't wear an expression of concern.

I gave Nathan a quick peck on the cheek, then asked, "What's going on?"

Plato answered before my boyfriend could even open his mouth. "They're afraid my vandal quote implies that I stole the ledger with all the cheat codes. They think it'll make the vandal unpopular." His voice was laced with annoyance, signaling that he felt misunderstood. And that he expected me to take his side.

"Well," I began, "by no means does that one quote give everything away. But I also think people will draw that conclusion. You just have to make sure to keep too many from doing so. Maybe another quote to clarify? If whoever did steal the ledger keeps it until after finals, the vandal's image could be tainted forever."

Plato sighed. "You can be infuriatingly diplomatic sometimes."

"She is right, though," Nathan argued, peeking back toward the massive crowd of students. Teachers were now shouting, trying to clear the area, but their effort was weak and no one was listening. The vandal's quote this week was far too important and controversial.

"Rumor has it Daniel approached Elijah about putting together a team to investigate the theft. The only problem is they don't know who they can trust," Kaitlyn added in a hushed voice, and Anna nodded in corroboration. I frowned, puzzled about how the pretty redhead and Socrates's ex had heard such whispers about two Philosophers before I had.

Will suddenly jerked his head up. "Speak of the devil..." We all turned in the direction he was facing to see Elijah and Drew, aka Aristotle and Socrates, march into the hallway with their heads held high and countenances grim.

"But which one's the devil?" Miguel joked, apparently echoing the entire group's thoughts exactly; we all snorted.

In the middle of the hallway, the Philosophers stopped. They looked at each other, Aristotle nodded once, and then Socrates shouted, "ATTENTION!" It had been no louder than the teachers' orders, but no matter. Leaving the faculty baffled and probably jealous of Socrates's power, the students facing the lockers whirled around earnestly. "Elijah has an announcement to make," he finished rather assertively.

"For obvious reasons, the Open Forum is being moved up from Friday to today at lunch," Aristotle said. "We hope to see you all there. This is the last meeting we'll have before Thanksgiving next week, and it might even be the last meeting before finals and winter break. Thank you."

Beside me, Plato cursed under his breath. There would be no time for him to rectify today's quote and shift the suspicion of theft away from the vandal.

Meanwhile, the noise level of the students' mutterings picked up right where it left off, almost as if there hadn't been any interruption at all. I knew their discussions about the message's hidden meaning relating to Diogenes's ledger would not stop until the Open Forum meeting was over, and perhaps not even then. After all, the ledger couldn't be explicitly mentioned under teacher supervision.

Their job over for the time being, Aristotle and Socrates redirected their attention from the crowds to each other. After exchanging a few lines of whispers, they both glanced over at me but didn't shy away from my unexpected eye contact, thus displaying their self-assurance. Socrates gave a single nod in respectful acknowledgement, then followed Aristotle toward Mr. Ross's room at a brisk pace. I wondered if there had been a deeper meaning in their stares.