Trouble Makers

Chapter 12

Rowan:

Arriving at my house, I notice two other cars parked outside. I've never seen them before, and my parents are in New Mexico right now. Rachael or Rosie must have invited some people over? No offense, but I don't think they have any friends, at least not any new ones.

Bosco, my dog, comes running out to greet me. He jumps on top of me, causing me to stumble back. "You miss me boy?" I say in a sappy voice. You know those voices that people use on pets or babies and can annoy the crap out of you, but it's okay if you do it?

"Yes, I did miss you." A voice says from behind me. I turn around and see Luke standing there.

Ignoring his comment, I ask him, "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember? We're working with each other now. So don't worry, you'll be seeing lots of me in the next few weeks." Luke winks at me.

I roll my eyes. "Oh great. Just what I was hoping for." I pause thinking, "Does that mean we're having a meeting right now?"

"Yeah, we were waiting for you. So c'mon, let's go."

I follow him into my house and we go into my living room. Rachael, Rosie, and sadly, Ashlyn are sitting scattered around the room. Rachael has her lap top out, and Ashlyn is scrolling through her phone. Ashlyn looks up at the sound of me and Luke walking in.

She sighs loudly, "It's about time you got here. Am I going to have to be waiting on you all the time?"

I sit down far away from her. "Don't worry about me. I'm always on time, I just didn't know we were having a meeting." I say the last part slightly glaring at Rachael, but she seems too busy on her computer. Bosco enters the room and I pat my side, and he jumps up right next to me, laying his head on my lap.

"Okay guys! Let's start the meeting. I think it's important we get our ideas and strategies ready. I don't want to go into this assignment blindly. We don't need anything getting messed up." Rachael addresses us.

I know what Rachael's thinking. Rosie and I make sympathy eye contact. This is our first assignment that we're doing on our own since the accident three years ago. Since that last assignment, we've always worked small assignments that our parents were running.

"I totally agree. I think we need to interrogate this Kylie girl and get her to tell us where Johnathan and Rico are hiding!" Luke says from beside me.

I look at him dryly. Boys. Always rushing into ideas with absolutely no plans. "Okay Einstein, what about the steps leading to that? Besides, we don't even know if Kylie knows anything. We just know her father may be involved with Johnathan and Rico."

"Exactly, which is why Rosie is getting close to Kylie." Rachael looks over at Rosie. "What have you got for us?"

Rosie smiles, happy to be needed. "I started Student Council today. I saw Kylie too. She's the co-president. I also volunteered to help shop for homecoming decorations with her. I'm gonna try and become friends with her so I can go over to her house."

Luke cuts in. "I like this idea and all, but how can we help?"

Rachael sighs. "I've been thinking about that. I'm doing research on her to find anything suspicious. Ashlyn, maybe you could find out where Kylie likes to hang out and who her friends are?"

Ashlyn looks up, like's she thinking, "Yeah, I could do that."

"Oh, and Kylie is helping a lot with the homecoming dance. Student Council needs extra help setting up." Rosie says.

"Perfect! Rowan and Luke, you guys are going to volunteer yourselves to help out with the dance. Actually, we'll have the night of homecoming as our big night. That'll be the night we get Kylie and interrogate her." Rachael pauses thinking. Then, her eyes light up, "No! Wait! We need to get into her house."

"How the hell are we going to do that?" Ashlyn exclaims.

"We need to get Ashlyn and her parents out of their house. Rosie, stay out shopping with Kylie for as long as possible. Go out to eat if you have too."

"Can I sneak in?" Luke practically shouts. "I've always wanted to go undercover into someone's house."

"Sure Luke. But pick Ashlyn or Rowan to go inside with you."

Luke immediately looks at me and grins. I glare at him. "Rowan."

"Seriously? Rowan's big feet will probably make too much noise. She'll compromise the whole mission!" Ashlyn exaggerates.

"Shut up. No one was talking to you." I spit. She pisses me off so much.

Rachael cuts in. "Ashlyn, you'll be helping out too. You'll be on the look out inside a car outside the house." Rachael secretly winks at me. The great thing about being identical to someone: you guys and practically read each other's mind.

Ashlyn rolls her eyes. "Yippee."

"Great. Let's do this on Monday. Kylie's parents will be at work, so we'll go right after school."

"What about soccer?" I ask.

"Yeah, and I have football." Luke adds.

"Can't you guys miss it?" Rachael sighs.

"One, no, because then we get benched. Two, It'll look weird if both me and Ashlyn miss the same day." I state.

"Fine. If you guys want to go to practice, then go. But that'll just mean you guys have a shorter time to get inside and out of the house."

We all nod in agreement, okay with the plan. We finalize any questions, making sure we know exactly what to do. On Monday, Rosie will go out shopping for decorations with Kylie, keeping her away from the house. Then, me, Luke, and Ashlyn will go to Kylie's house. Ashlyn will be on look out and will communicate via walkie talkies. Luke and I will go into the house to scope out Kylie's house for any clues leading to Johnathan and Rico.

****

Ashlyn leaves straight after. Not really shocking. Rachael goes upstairs to take a shower and Rosie is making herself something to eat. (Our chef leaves at eight) I decide to be a nice house guest and walk Luke to the door. It seems Bosco has retired to his bed for the night.

"Well, goodbye and see you tomorrow!" I say starting to shut my front door.

"Wait!" Luke puts a hand to the door. "You know, we should start hanging out at school more often."

"Oh? And why is that?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Because we'll be with each other a lot outside of school. And if someone sees us, they'll wonder why we're hanging out when we don't talk to each other at school." Luke pauses. "If we hang out at school and someone sees us outside of school, they'll just assume we're two friends hanging out." Luke grins at me and nudges my shoulder. "Or, they'll think we're dating." He winks at me.

I punch his arm. He winces as if I actually hurt him. But I think over Luke's observation. As much as I hate to admit it, Luke's right. People will find it weird and become curious if we just randomly start hanging out together outside of school. And what's so bad about becoming friends at school? I mean, all we have to do is say hi in the hallways or wave at each other.

I nod my head. "Okay, that's smart. Good thing to know you have a brain."

Luke puts a hand over his hear. "Ouch Princess. You wound me, truly."

"Never said I was nice."

Luke smiles. "No, no you did not. But you know what they say. Bad boys and bad girls go great with each other." He waggles his brows at me.

I furrow my brows. "I've never once heard that saying before."

Ignoring my comment, Luke asks, "Will you be going to the football game tomorrow night?"

I hesitate before saying, "Yes, I will."

Luke's eyes light up. "Great! Look out for me on the field, #20! I'll be looking for you! See ya later Princess!" Luke waves goodbye, retrieving into the darkness.

***

Chapter 12. Done.

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