Monday, I entered the Social Action room. The twins were arm wrestling as Connor and Bishopp watched them.

                "You're definitely on steroids," Talon groaned, trying to push his arm up.

                "Or you're just getting too lazy to workout," Nyssa said.

                "Kick his ass, Nyssa," Connor said.

                "Shut up, noodle arms," Talon said, just barely managing to get an advantage over Nyssa.

                "This is why you lose when we race at rock climbing," Nyssa said, easily taking back her advantage and getting his arm dangerously close to the desk.

                Talon braced himself, shoving back with all his might. "No way. Nu-uh. I'm not losing to you again."

                The two seemed locked in a never-ending arm wrestling match, their arms trembling with the force of it. Tyson and Farren came into the room, talking to each other. They noticed the match happening and Tyson walked right over, knocking their arms apart.

                "We're not having another half hour long arm wrestling match," he said. "Farren, shut the door. We have real things to discuss."

                "Dammit," Talon said, rubbing his shoulder. "I was so close."

                "We were tied. You were not close," Nyssa said.

                "We're racing to the car when this meeting ends," Talon said.

                "You are so insecure," Nyssa said, shaking her head. "Fine, sure, whatever you want. I'll have the tissues ready for when you start bawling over your loss."

                "Shut up, I have things to say," Tyson said as Farren shut the door. "I'm the president of this club so I'm the only one whose words matter."

                "I think my words matter a little," Bishopp said.

                "Oh, sorry Bishopp, did I stutter there? I'm the only one," Tyson said. "Everyone shut up and sit down."

                We circled the desks around and Tyson took his folders out. "Connor, type up a financial report for the sales we made over the weekend. Here are the numbers." He passed a sheet to Connor. "Twins, I'll give you the money to deliver once we have everything sold out and tallied up."

                "Now on to real business?" Talon said hopefully.

                "Real business," Tyson confirmed, nodding. "Farren?"

                Farren pulled out three papers. "These are the three Connor looked into over the weekend. After the surveillance we did on Friday, I determined that this would be the easiest target. With the new guy joining in on this one, we don't want a challenge." He folded up the two other papers and set one on the desk. "Marcus Crawford, a senior. We've gotten two complaints about him. He gets physical around exam time and has been at the bullying game for three years."

                "Farren and I checked out his house. No pets, automatic lights in the front, several ground-level windows with no screens. His dad is out of town on a business trip all week," Connor said.

                "Also, a backdoor," Farren said. "That always makes life easier."

                "Bishopp?" Tyson said.

                "I've never had him as a student," Bishopp said, shaking his head.

                "Talon and I had gym with him last year," Nyssa said.

                "We did? I don't remember that," Talon said.

                "Shocker. He was the kid who body slammed three people into the wall during speedball," she said. "He's aggressive. You could always tell who his targets were."

                "One of the complaints said they consistently beat Marcus at tests so he consistently beats them in general," Farren said. "Still, $40 for an easy job? Let's get moving."

                "I need to know how this works if you want me to be a part of it," I said.

                "Connor keeps an eye out for us," Tyson said. "The twins will get us in. Farren will watch the outside of the house. You'll stick with me so I can make sure you don't fuck anything up."

                "That's a fairly quiet neighborhood. There won't be any police patrols nearby," Farren said. "Even if something goes wrong, we'll have time to get away. I'll map out escape routes."

                "Give me time to get what I need to do my job," Connor said.

                "Get it quick. We move in two days," Tyson said. "We have a schedule to keep and we're behind on jobs thanks to the outcast throwing us off. The cops will be on guard after our last move. Switch the lockers."

                "What do you plan to do to him?" I asked.

                "Leave that part to me and Farren," Tyson said. "You're just going to follow along and do what you're told."

                I felt frustrated that they were still being so vague with me, but I took a deep breath and reminded myself to be patient. They couldn't fully trust me yet. Of course they wouldn't tell me every detail.

                "How easily can you sneak out of your house?" Tyson asked me.

                "Very easily," I said. Brian barely noticed when I was there; I highly doubted he would notice if I wasn't.

                "Meeting up could be tricky," Farren said.

                "Shit. Outcast, you're staying over my house the night we do it. It'll make it easier on us," Tyson said.

                "Couldn't I just drive somewhere to meet up with you guys?" I said.

                "Your car needs to be in your driveway. Nothing can give away that you weren't home the night it happened," Tyson said.

                "So I have to stay with you? You could be a serial killer," I said.

                "I could be," he agreed. "It's just a risk you'll have to take."

                "It's a big risk. One time I found a bloody hammer in Tyson's dad's car," Farren said.

                "It was paint. Probably," Tyson said. "That's got nothing to do with this situation. Toss a toothbrush and a clean uniform in your car on Wednesday and you'll head home with me after our meeting that day."

                "The scandalous rumors that will start," Talon said, waggling his eyebrows.

                "Probably not. Most people around here have more maturity than a twelve year old. Catch up, Talon," Tyson said.

                "How do we know we can trust Nolan with this?" Connor asked.

                "We don't. But you trust me, so you're going to go along with whatever crazy plans I decide on," Tyson said.

                Bishopp checked the time. "I've got to meet with a teacher in a few minutes, so I'm going to head out. That was a good talk about the fundraiser, everyone."

                "A fantastic, innocent chat," Tyson said.

                "Nothing suspicious that I need to report," Bishopp said, giving us a wave before leaving the room.

                "Don't ask," Tyson said, holding up his hand before I could even open my mouth to get the questions out. "Play along and figure things out as you go."

                "Are you sure it's safe to bring Nolan on this? He could just run surveillance with Farren or Connor," Nyssa said.

                "I want him in on the actual action," Tyson said. "Don't worry, we won't get caught." He cut his glance to me. "You'll protect us too, because if one of us goes down, we all do."

                "I'm not a snitch," I said.

                "Good. You know what they say about snitches." Tyson flipped through some papers. "I think we're settled for now. Get yourselves ready for this. We meet again Wednesday to finalize our plans. Connor, get everything you need settled before then."

                "On it," Connor said.

                "Then we're done here. You're all free to get out of my sight," Tyson said, putting his stuff away and getting up. "Outcast, if anyone asks, we talked about the candy bar sales and discussed future fundraisers. Not a word of what actually went on."

                "I'm not stupid," I said.

                "Debatable, considering you're willingly going along with plans you know the cops are involved in." He slung his bag over his shoulder and checked the time. "I've got way more important things to do right now."

                He left the room, Farren hurrying to catch up to him. Connor stood up with his stuff, shooting me a suspicious look.

                "Follow Tyson's orders when we run this operation," he said and left the room.

                "Tyson won't let you get caught. It'd be too much of a liability," Nyssa said. "Just do what you're told and you'll be fine. God, I hope you're not clumsy."

                "I have very steady footing," I said indignantly.

                "You'll need it," Nyssa said. "Let's go, Tal."

                Talon grinned a little. "I can't believe Tyson is bringing the outcast to his house for the night. I'm tempted to spread rumors just for the drama of it. Let's go before my impulses get the better of me, Nys."

                They left together and I looked around the empty room. They didn't trust me, but they trusted Tyson enough to let me join along with them.

                I grabbed my bag and left the classroom. I started heading down the hallway towards the exit.

                "Oh, Nolan!"

                I turned at the sound of Mrs. Parisio's voice. She was walking down the hallway, her stuff gathered together in her arms.

                "Are you just getting out of the Social Action Club?" she asked.

                I smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am."

                "How are you liking it? Are the other students treating you kindly?" she said.

                I nodded. "I like it. They're...being welcoming. I think I just surprised them by joining so suddenly."

                "Yes, well, Tyson Strazio was very adamant about keeping the club small so they could operate easier. He only got away with it because all students are welcome to volunteer for most of their projects," Mrs. Parisio said.

                "I think it just threw him off a little because they had a clear way they operated and now they have to find a spot for me," I said. "Tyson is adjusting, though. I'm grateful they're accepting me."

                "The only member I've ever personally met was Farren, and that's because I'm his academic counselor, too. A nice boy," she said. "Very charismatic. What were you discussing in the meeting today?"

                "Just about the candy bar sale we did over the weekend and future projects," I said.

                "I saw the other students leaving the room, but I didn't see Mr. Bishopp leaving," she said.

                "He left early," I said. "He said he had to meet with someone."

                "I see. Well, I didn't mean to hold you up. I'm sure you're ready to head home. Please, let me know if you encounter any trouble with the Social Action Club. Have a good evening, Nolan," she said.

                "Thank you, Mrs. Parisio. You have a good evening, too," I said, holding the door open for her and heading away towards the student parking lot.

                Maybe I was just on edge because of the upcoming scheme the club had planned, but something about that encounter didn't sit quite right with me.

                "Don't you hate it when teachers get nosy?"

                I jumped a little and turned to face Tyson and Farren. "Yea, almost as much as when students get nosy."

                Tyson grinned a bit. "Touché."

                "You were right again, Ty. I can already see your ego inflating," Farren said with a sigh.

                "Right about what?" I asked, my suspicion growing. "Something was wrong about that, wasn't it? I thought it felt weird."

                "The school is spying on clubs," Tyson said. "I suspected they were, and I suspected they were getting frustrated that ours was the one club they couldn't plant a spy in. But then you came along and it was a perfect excuse to force you into our group."

                "They want to know who's behind the revenge scheme, and it's easier to spy on kids during clubs when they talk more freely," Farren said. "They're hoping someone will drop a hint about the revenge service when they think teachers aren't around. Unlike Bishopp, most teachers don't go to all the club meetings."

                "I thought it was suspicious that they forced you into our club. I had a deal with the principal that we could stay a five person club as long as we let other students volunteer with our projects," Tyson said.

                "Well, they picked a shitty spy," Farren said. "He's more eager to join than to rat us out."

                "They get a spy in the club behind the revenge service and he turns out to be a willing participant to the crimes," Tyson said. "Oh, I do love irony."

                "I'm a spy?" I said in confusion. "I sure wish someone had told me that."

                "We just did," Tyson pointed out.

                "So you were eavesdropping?" I said.

                Tyson shrugged. "We saw Mrs. Parisio waiting near the Social Action room. We hung by the doors to see what she wanted."

                "It wasn't a coincidence she just happened to run into you when you were leaving a Social Action meeting," Farren said.

                "We can use this to our advantage. Their spy is on our side," Tyson said thoughtfully. "Maybe having the outcast won't be as much of a pain as I originally thought."

                "Wow, thanks," I said dryly.

                "Shut it. I'm thinking about ways to use you against them," Tyson hushed.

                "I'm not a weapon!" I said.

                "You're whatever I want you to be," Tyson said. "President, remember?"

                "Oh, brother." Farren rolled his eyes. "I told you the power would go to your head eventually."

                "I'm conniving, not power hungry," Tyson said, hitting Farren in the arm. "Let's go. I need time to think this over and I'm too hungry to do it right now."

                "Wait, you can't just use me!" I said.

                "Outcast, spy...maybe someday you'll just be Nolan," Tyson said. "Names, titles, they're all funny things."

                "Come on, Ty." Farren gave him a shove forward. "I'm hungry too. Quit hounding the new guy and let's go eat."

                I watched them head away to their cars, neither bothering a glance back at me. I took a deep breath, reminding myself not to be judgmental. Tyson came off strong, but maybe he had his reasons. It wasn't my place to judge him.

                But, god, it was so hard not to be an asshole sometimes.

                I looked up to the sky, where only a few clouds were drifting along. I could be an asshole to Tyson, sure. It would be easy. He was rude, so I could be rude right back.

                But I'd fight against that instinct. I'd be the bigger person. I'd keep a smile on my face and swallow down any rude comments that rose up.

                "You can do this, Nolan," I mumbled to myself, taking another deep breath.

                A spy. A vigilante. An outcast. I was becoming everything but Nolan.

                I'd grab on to the nice side of myself and fight to keep that part of me in the spotlight, no matter what else I became. Someone like Tyson wasn't going to change me into anything negative.