"They've been in there a long time. What do you think they're chatting about?" Lexi said to no one in particular as she was pacing the length of the spacious living room. The large, plush white couches and big TV screen easily made it the most lived in room of the house.

Mindy and Cole had settled to play a game on the Xbox when her parents went into the garage to talk to the strange man that had come in. He had been briefly introduced as Scarlett and Jason's friend from college before they left to speak in private.

"Lexi, for the hundredth time, I have no idea," Cole said in between shouts at the TV screen. "Mindy! That's against the rules!"

"Well, I did it, so it's not!" she shot back.

Lexi sighed and looked out the window. She saw a black SUV with a driver standing outside, likely the ride of the man that was in her house. For the next hour, she tried to busy herself by watching Cole and Mindy's game, cleaning up the kitchen, and reading up on advanced hacking techniques.

After what felt like an eternity, her parents emerged from the garage with wide smiles and the tall man in a suit in tow. Lexi jumped up from the couch as her parents walked him out. "Cole, Mind, turn the game off. They're coming back in and I feel like it's going to be big news."

"Okay, let's just say I won," said Mindy as she set her controller down.

"There's no way in hell you won," Cole said after setting his own controller down and exiting the screen.

"Kids! We have big news!" Scarlett yelled across the room as soon as they came back in. Lexi could've sworn she saw her dad skipping to stand in front of them.

"What is it, Mom? Tell us! Who was that man?" Lexi shifted on her feet and made her way back to the couch where her parents motioned for her to sit.

"Kids, our prayers have been answered! We just got assigned a very, very large case!" Scarlett's words drew out wide smiles around the room.

"That man was Hasan Mohammad. You guys know Hasan, right?" Jason asked as he lifted a hand towards the door.

"I've never heard of a Hasan in my life," Cole responded.

"Same. Dad, we don't know your friends."

"Hasan! He was my best friend in college! That Hasan!" Jason paused to let his words sink in but the silence prompted him to move on. "Well, anyways. Hasan owns a large national, billion-dollar conglomerate that just got hit with a large ransomeware attack. So far, it's only hit one of his companies, but he fears each will get hit soon and he'll lose out on millions of dollars."

"Isn't that just wonderful?" Scarlett jumped in and clapped her hands together.

Jason nodded along with his wife and continued. "He's desperate. We need to stop whatever is happening as soon as possible and put the crook behind bars."

"What? Why us? Why not go to the police?" Lexi glanced between her parents.

"He did go to the police but they've been no help at all. He saw my ad on Facebook and he wanted to try everything before giving into the hacker's demands."

"This is a big one, kids." Scarlett clasped her husband's hand and continued. "We're going to need all hands on deck. Mindy," Scarlett turned to Lexi's best friend before continuing, "Jason and I discussed it, and you're hired."

Mindy shrieked and jumped up from the couch. "Oh my God! I cannot wait! You will not be disappointed! I'm going to crush it!" She hopped up and down and Lexi jumped up too, giving her a big hug. Mindy's wide smile faltered and she settled before speaking again. "Wait. What's a ransomware attack?"

"Oh, aren't you glad you hired her?" Cole said under his breath and looked up the ceiling.

"We'll teach you everything Mind, don't worry!" Lexi lightly squeezed Mindy's arm. "But, to answer your question, ransomware is a type of software that's bad. It blocks access to a computer until money is paid. So, like Hasan's company won't be able to access their files. Not until they pay whatever this hacker is asking them for."

"But can't they get new files?"

"It doesn't work like that. All of a company's intellectual property is stored on their server and once that's been breached you essentially can't access anything to do your job."

"And, remember, it could cost a company millions of dollars!" Scarlett said with a little too much excitement.

"Hasan has already given us a small check upfront. He's estimating that his other businesses will get hit over the next few months and would like for us to stop it before more files get breached. It'll be tricky and time sensitive. Are you guys up to the job?"

Cole, Lexi, and Mindy nodded vigorously. Lexi clapped her hands. "Yes! Where do we start? Can we access their mainframe? I'm so excited to dig into their code and localize the software!"

"Well, the thing is Lex, he already had a team localize and actually found where it's been originating from. They just keep hitting a wall and can't seem to gather any more information."

"What? Where? So what are we supposed to do if they've already localized it?" Lexi shifted her stance and crossed her arms.

"So, here's where it gets a little interesting, and where our on-the-ground expertise will come into play." Lexi's stomach dropped as soon as the words left her father's mouth. "They've traced the origins back to LMU and the software is originating from somewhere on that campus."

"Lion Mount University? Like twenty minutes away LMU?"

Scarlett nodded. "It could be anyone there - a student, faculty member, or even someone in the administration. It'll be our jobs to put a stop to it, uncover who did it, and put then put that person behind bars for a really long time." Scarlett paused for a moment, which Lexi assumed it was for dramatic effect. "So, all that to say, we're all going undercover!"

Lexi's jaw fell open. Mindy screamed next to her, "Eeek! This is so exciting! My first job and it's an undercover one!"

"This is awesome, thank you parents for the early birthday present!" Cole said as he nodded.

Lexi looked down and kept quiet while her parents continued going into the details. She was hardly listening to what they were saying before glancing up at Mindy. "Mindy, don't you have a full time job? How can you do this?"

"Oh, girl. I already quit weeks ago. I've just been selling stuff on Etsy waiting for you guys to hire me! So, I'm free as a bird!"

The group seemed pleased except for Lexi who was far from it. "I think we're all just getting a little ahead of ourselves."

"Lex Bex, what do you mean?" Scarlett answered.

"Like, is this Hasan guy even legit?"

"Of course, honey! I know him well and we have a check to prove it," Jason said while taking his glasses off.

"I don't know about all this." Lexi shook her head.

Cole laughed. "You're just scared to go undercover again."

"I'm not! I just think we should think through this before we jump into anything! Besides would we all have to go undercover? Don't you need me to hang back and work out the details?"

"Lexi, we need you on this. We need to cover as much ground there as we can and we plan on getting you three signed up as students while your mom and I go through faculty and the administration."

She shook her head again and her nostrils flared in the process. "And when were you going to ask us? Do we even get a say in any of this?"

"Lexi, chill! Don't be so dramatic!" Cole faced his sister and raised his arms up.

"Of course, you get a say!" Scarlett spoke firmly.

Lexi continued to shake her head. "Well, it doesn't really seem like it! I just – This is just too much. I need some air." She swiftly turned around and headed for the door.

"Lexi, wait!" was all she could hear as she grabbed her keys and sprinted out the door. She swiftly jumped into her gray Prius and sped out of the driveway.

Where am I even going? Ugh! Thoughts of the potential mission weighed on her and before she knew it she was pulling into the parking lot of a grocery store. She took a deep breath in and rested her head on the steering wheel. College. She had never even been to college. How was she supposed to act like a college student?

I need chocolate. She pulled the keys from the ignition and headed into the grocery store. Sounds of the scanners beeped their way into her ears and she looked around for the freezer aisles. After finding the Ben & Jerry's section, she evaluated each of their chocolate ice cream offerings. She clasped the Chocolate Fudge Brownie pint and was about to close the freezer door when she saw him faintly through the fogging glass.

She ducked down closer to the freezer and kept an eye on the couple standing a few feet away. Tom Miller. Memories of the day she saw him and kissed him in the Sky Residence's hot tub flooded through her mind. Her stomach fluttered being this close to him again. He had on a casual black t-shirt that clung to his broad torso (a torso that Lexi couldn't forget even if she tried), and jeans that loosely hugged his legs. She swiped a line through the fogging glass to allow her eyes to peer through. Her heart sank when he held the hand of the tall brunette woman beside him.

Lexi glanced down at her clothes and adjusted her gray sweatpants and black shirt. Shit, why did I have to walk out of the house looking like this? As soon as she looked back up, their eyes met. They stayed frozen for a moment, Lexi still peeking behind the glass, letting the freezer work extra hard with icy smoke billowing out around her. His piercing cerulean gaze bore through her and when his expression softened, he dropped the woman's hand next to him. Lexi looked down and gulped. Without even thinking, she threw the ice cream back in the freezer and sprinted back out of the aisle. She could hear Tom's deep voice call out a "Hey!" but continued to run anyway. Once she reached her car, she turned the key in the ignition and raced out of the parking lot.

***

"I'm such an idiot," Lexi said to herself as she licked her non-chocolate Popsicle in her car at her home's driveway. Her family's faces popped through the curtains on the front window but she kept herself rooted. After a couple of minutes her dad walked out in his house slippers and slid into the passenger set next to her.

"Lexi, talk to me. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Please let's not make this one of those heart-to-heart Father-Daughter moments, like on those old sitcom shows you watch."

"One, Full House is a timeless show, and those moments are just the best at capturing the raw emotion. And two, you really don't have to do this mission. We talked about it and we can try to work things around." Her father's round eyes met hers. "But, Lex. I think you're really going to enjoy it."

Lexi was distracted by another figure walking towards them. Her mom tiptoed to the car with her pale pink robe on, opened the back door, and slid in. "Okay, what did I miss? Tell me everything."

"You didn't miss anything, Mom. I'm just trying to eat my Popsicle in peace."

"Sweetie, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But I know you'll love it! You always said you wondered what college was like. Now's your chance, Bex."

With a sigh, Lexi was about to respond but stopped when Mindy opened the back door and slid into the middle seat. "Lex, I just can't stand you being upset! What do I need to do? I'm so sorry I shimmied my way into this job! If you don't want me, I completely understand."

Lexi turned back to face her best friend. "No, Mind, I'm actually so happy you're joining the team. I've wanted you to be with us for so long. I just-"

"What's everyone talking about?" Cole cut Lexi off as he opened the door and slid into the last available seat in the car.

"Lexi still doesn't want to do it. We're just letting her know it's her decision. No one pressure her, okay?" Scarlett said glancing between Jason, Mindy, and Cole.

"I'll do it." Lexi set her hand down that was holding the Popsicle and she kept her eyes glued to the center console. For a moment, the car was eerily silent, as if Lexi had just said someone died. Yet slowly shifting lips were heard all around. Lexi glanced up and couldn't help but reciprocate the contagious smiles that were beaming back at her. She brought up her Popsicle and caught a falling purple droplet at the base of it.

Mindy slapped her knees and began chanting, "Le-xi! Le-xi!" Her family joined in and soon they were all shouting Lexi's name in the small confined space.

Lexi laughed. "Alright, weirdos! Don't make me change my mind."

"We're proud of you Lex!" Scarlett leaned over and kissed the side of Lexi's cheek.

"Where'd you get a Popsicle? Can I have one?" Cole asked.

Lexi reached beside her and brought out a white plastic bag filled with different colored Popsicles. "I stopped by a gas station," she said as everyone took one and began unwrapping them.

They all sat in silence for a moment licking the sugary goodness. Well, all except Jason who was biting off chunks of his blue Popsicle as if it was a sandwich. "Which gas station? Don't tell me you took Lincoln Boulevard. That road is trouble during this time of night."

Lexi laughed and shook her head. "No Dad, not Lincoln."

"I can't remember the last time I had a Popsicle," Scarlett said as she sucked on a red one.

"Honey, you keep doing that and I'll just have to take you upstairs," Jason said right after glancing at his wife.

Versions of "Gross!" and "Ewwww!" were shouted by Lexi, Cole, and Mindy and they all quickly gathered their things and left the car. Jason and Scarlett followed with laughs and the rest of the evening was spent chatting about the upcoming mission. Lexi tried her best to stay optimistic, but she couldn't seem to escape the uneasiness that was flowing through her.

***

We're going to college!! Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting. I hope you're enjoying this story so far! (: