Five hours.

That's how long it took for the school's police to get us out of the safe room.

Not only did it mean the tutors had all gone home, but it was also pitch black when we finally emerged from the pit.

I just don't understand why it took so long to gather a few ladders.

"Hey, Theo, do you have a roommate?" I asked. I stopped walking and Theo did the same, turning to face me with an inquisitive look. "Is that a no?"

"Not at the moment," he replied.

"Well, now you do," I said, coming up behind Elio and straining to put an arm around his broad shoulder. "Meet your new roommate, boys." I grabbed their hands and forced them into a handshake. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to go take a long nap." I left them there in shocked silence as I walked off, waving my hand casually.

"Sleep will be difficult if you take a nap this close to bedtime," Wren said, jogging to catch up to me.

"Who are you? My mom?"

"I am far too young to be your mom."

I ended up taking Wren's advice and resisting the urge to just flop onto the bed and sleep for the rest of eternity. The main reason wasn't my concern for my sleep schedule. It was because there was something far more important on my mind.

Project Desdemona.

If it had anything to do with its meaning, then I knew it was trouble.

The headmistress was leaving in less than a week. She had announced so in that morning's assembly. But Wren was still working out all the details of the woman's office security so it was difficult to make any plans concerning our break-in.

"I deeply apologize for this impromptu decision. You all know I'm not one for surprises...or vacations," the headmistress said with a wink, her full-scale projection flickering as she laughed.

She cleared her throat. "My sister has managed to get herself sick, and as her older sister, it is my duty to take care of her. Can you believe she hasn't managed to get herself a boyfriend yet? She's almost thirty for goodness sake!"

This time the crowd of students laughed with her. As her remaining chuckles died away she called, "Alright, alright." She raised a hand to silence the room. "I will be leaving in one week time. While I am away, Deputy Headmaster, Levi Terris, will be in charge. He will be handling all matters concerning my position. Thank you. I will now leave you to general announcements." She bowed her head and then disappeared.

According to the many times I've overheard her conversations with suspicious characters over the phone, it was true that she was leaving for the virus. But not because her sister had caught it.

Actually, the whole sister thing could be a lie for all I know. She's never mentioned any siblings other than Theo's dad before now.

"Wren, do you think you could get me Theo's number?" I asked my friend. Her slim frame was outlined by her bright computer screen as she typed away with her right hand faster than she clicked her pen with her left. She put the pen to her mouth, holding it between her teeth as she nodded and continued to type even faster with both hands. I looked down at my own. I'd be lucky if I could type my name with my two pointer fingers in less than an hour.

I gave a little chuckle before turning to my own computer and continuing my research.

Suddenly the door swung open, revealing a red-faced Theo. He huffed as he entered the room, his mouth opening. Before he could speak, I said, "Perfect timing, Theo." I rolled my chair over to him. "I had a question for you."

His mouth lay open still and his arm posed in the air as though in mid-gesture.

"Does your dad have another sister?" I asked.

"You're asking because of what my aunt said this morning," he stated.

I nodded.

He turned away as he ran a hand through his hair. He sighed and admitted, "I don't know. My dad's the son from a second marriage."

"So a brother from another mother situation?"

"Yeah," he replied. "My grandfather's first wife managed to get custody of their child, and he didn't like talking about it. So I guess there is a possibility my aunt's telling the truth."

"Gotcha." I twisted in my chair and pushed myself back to my desk. "One more question. Have you ever heard your aunt mention a project called 'Desdemona'?" My chair cradled my back as I leaned into it, creaking slightly from the added pressure.

"Actually, I have," he answered, his eyes narrowing slightly. "My aunt called it a miracle drug when she talked about it at one of my dad's dinner parties. Is it something we should be concerned about?"

"'We'?"

"We're in this together, aren't we?"

"That's funny because I kinda got the impression that we were enemies." My eyebrows met as I pined him with a fierce glare.

The only sound that filled the room was Wren, still typing away at her computer. I stared at Theo, straight into his eyes, unwavering, unblinking.

Silence settled, then I heard the sound of Wren's soft slippers tapping against the floor. She appeared in my peripheral vision and crossed in front of me to look up at Theo.

"What do you want, brat?" he snapped.

Wren lifted one of her slim arms and ran a gentle finger down Theo's cheek to soften his harsh glare and catch his attention. I rose from my seat and walked toward them so I could get a better view.

She was reading Theo's eyes, searching for lies or truth, genuine feelings or trickery. Theo appeared to be stuck in a trance.

Wren gave a subtle look of triumph. "It seems as though one sheep has strayed from the mindless flock."

"Are you saying we can trust Theo O'Dell, The Prince of Jerks?"

Wren cocked her head. "I did not know you were royalty, Theo," she said.

The spell was broken, and Theo blinked a few times before replying solemnly, "She's just trying to say that I've been a bully the entire time we've been fellow students here at Prodigious Prep." He broke eye contact. "And she's right."

"I am," I echoed.

Wren backed away, then turned and walked over to me. "We do not have the time nor the luxury of denying genuine aid," she said, staring deep into my eyes. "Three against the world is better than two."

I couldn't hold her gaze and my eyes wandered to the floor. "You're really good at reading people's faces, and I'd trust you with my life. So if you say he's telling the truth, then I believe you."

Wren gave a tight nod. She headed back over to her desk and went back to work without another word.

I looked back at Theo and saw that he was still staring at Wren. I padded over to him and poked his face. "She's not the stuck-up brat you thought she was, is she?"

His eyes finally left Wren as they found their way to mine. He nodded.

I pressed my arms against my back and leaned forward. "You know, you never actually apologized," I pointed out. "To either of us." I aimed my finger at myself and then Wren's stiff figure.

He cleared his throat. "As Theo O'Dell, the Prince of Jerks and hopefully not future King of Jerks, I deeply apologize and beg for both of you lovely ladies' gracious forgiveness."

"As the Tempest who will shatter the calm before the storm, I accept your apology," I replied with a grin. "Now about that so-called miracle drug."

———————

I thwacked my hand against the projection, causing a boom to resonate through the room. "Thanks to Wren's hours of hacking work, we now have the original blueprints of the building housing headmistress' office in our possession." I brushed the hand now resting on the wall across the image and a 3D version of the blueprints appeared in its place. "I'll be going in alone and that's final."

I heard the door crash into the wall. My head whipped toward the loud sound, and I saw Elio looming in the doorway. "You will be doing no such thing," he said in a voice that portrayed his fierce disposition without raising his tone from its normal volume.

Theo's eyes focused on the blond as he stormed into the room with a straight face and rigid back. Our new recruit looked as though he were staring at a ghost.

"How did he get out of my triple infinity fire tongue knot?" Theo questioned shakily, his voice barely above a whisper.

Elio ignored him and headed to where I stood with my hand resting on my hip. I gave him a casual eyebrow raise.

"This is far too dangerous," he continued.

"Just try and stop me," I seethed. I lifted my booted foot into the air and aimed it where the sun never shines.

He doubled over in pain, the look on his face totally priceless as he tried to hide his pain. I heard what sounded like a small female sneeze from behind me but when I turned, Wren was focused on her iPad screen, her lips set in a straight line. Turning back to Elio, I saw that he had managed to straighten and was attempting to let out a word or two in his defense. It came out sounding like a dying crow.

"I'm glad we're on the same page," I stated, walking around him and going back to headmistress' office projection. "But seriously, I'll be fine. I have my cloaking device. Plus, we're making a foolproof plan with lots of plan 'B's."

"Your cloaking device is still broken from your previous mission," Wren spoke up.

"Also, someone could hear you," Theo pointed out. "Or it might be discovered that you're more of a fool than your 'foolproof' plan—plus all the other plan 'B's—can handle."

I let out a quick pressured breath of air as a sign of resistance. "There are risks in everything in life," I gritted out, my eyes glowing blue from the floating image before me.

"As the one..." Elio's voice broke. "...charged with protecting you with my life, I can't..." His eyes turned glassy as he struggled to get out his words.

I didn't think I hit him that hard—

Maybe I should think twice before...doing that again.

"Are you okay? You sound kinda constipated, to be honest."

"I am just fine...miss princess," the blond replied, wincing as he settled in a low bow.

"You know, it kinda looks like you're mocking me again," I stated, folding my arms and sticking my nose away.

"'Miss princess'?" Theo questioned.

"Don't ask."

"It was not my intention," Elio returned.

"Pfft. It's never your 'intention'," I mumbled to myself.

I finally turned to face the small group gathered in my dorm room. When I made eye contact with each one of them, I put all my determination to fuel the flame burning in my eyes. "I don't plan on dying," I said.

"You're also not planning on your plan failing," Theo pointed out.

"Fine. If I die, you all can laugh at my funeral. But if I win, and I take part in the change coming to this world, then you're buying me a lifetime supply of avocados."

"Avocados?" Theo and Elio questioned together as Wren cocked her head.

"Yeah. It's not a weird request. Avocados are delicious."

I got three oddly similar blank looks.

I turned back to the glowing projection. "Talking about avocados has got me hungry. How about we grab some food?" I pulled out my phone with more energy than was necessary. "Never mind, I'll just order some pizza so we can keep working."

Wren focused back on her screen and Theo began studying the blueprints, mumbling to himself as he did. Elio just stood still in the middle of the room—staring at me. I ignored him as I thumbed the screen of my phone.

"Toppings everyone?" I questioned.

"Meat."

"Meat."

"Vegetables."

Everyone turned to stare at Elio.

"Like vegetarian pizza?" I questioned. Elio nodded in reply. "Do you not eat meat?"

"I refuse to eat other living beings."

"But you're okay with beating up humans?"

"That is something very different, miss. It is to protect other humans."

I paused, silence filling the room.

"Right..." I finally said. "Just pick off the meat."

I pressed the order button several times but never received confirmation. Finding their number on the website, I called and put the phone to my ear.

"I would like to order a pizza," I said once the dialing noise cut off. "Extra meat, extra sauce, and no vegetables."

Silence.

"Hello?" I called into the phone.

"This is not Perfecto Pizza," a deep Italian accent oozed into my ear. At least, I think it was Italian. The voice modifier the person spoke through made his or her accent almost indistinguishable.

"Look, I just want my pizza, so if you could give the pizza guy his phone back—"

"This is not the pizza restaurant's phone number!" the person snapped. I heard them take a deep breath and then say, "It is fortunate that there was someone awake at that time to save you from that bullet."

"How do you know about that?"

"Because we are the ones who sent it."

"Why would a pizza place send me a bullet when I ordered a pizza?"

Theo's focus was suddenly on me, his eyebrows pressed together. "I wouldn't push their buttons if I were you," he said.

"Hold on one second, dude or lady or whatever you are," I told the phone. I pulled it away from my ear as a string of curses followed. "And why not?" I asked Theo. "They're an obstacle on my path to food. Why should have to be courteous?"

"That's not what I meant. I had school security find the angle and distance from which our mysterious sniper shot that bullet."

A shadow drenched me in darkness as Elio came to stand beside me. "This is my first time hearing of a sniper," he interrupted. His voice was calm and level but held the power of a lion protecting its cub.

Theo gave me a disapproving glare before turning to Elio. "Then I'm sure you'd like to know that it came from a roof a few blocks away. More specifically, the roof of Forward incorporated."

"And that means what exactly?" I questioned. "Anyone could get access to the roof of a public company like that."

"It's not a public company," Theo replied. "And breaking in just to get access to the roof is more trouble than it's worth. Especially since there's an easily accessible ten-story condo with an empty rooftop balcony right beside it with an even better view of the dorms."

My eyes trailed back to my phone, which was still emitting foul language. Someone needs to get that dude or lady a bar of soap and a Bible.

"What's not to say they did go through all the trouble just to put the blame on someone else?" I questioned, looking back up at Theo. "Not to mention setting up a gun in a public place even in the middle of the night doesn't seem very inconspicuous."

"There was no police report," Theo pointed out. "With their security, there's no way a break-in wouldn't eventually be reported."

"There actually was," I answered. I lifted my phone and opened my messages app. I held it out in front of Theo, the mysterious voice on the other side sounding like screeching background noise as the light from my bright screen lit up his face. "Apparently it was an above level sixty crime. Something like that is almost always kept from the public for one reason or another."

He looked from the text from my dad to me. "Why would your dad have that kind of access? He's in the research and development area, not security."

"I was a little confused about that too," I replied. I rubbed my hand on my neck and murmured, "My dad must have thought the break-in made a huge ruckus and decided it would be safe to ask me if I was okay. It wasn't very smart considering it was kinda unnecessary—I wasn't even close to the scene of the crime at the time it was active. For a MIA dad, he sure is overprotective. Not to mention, it was a break-in from the inside. A smooth and clean in and out."

"You're saying that your dad—a scientist—has access to top secret information that not even my own dad has access to?"

I began to nod but suddenly stopped with my head angled toward him. "How do you know your dad doesn't have access to that information?"

The room went completely still. You could hear a pin drop—or maybe just a pen falling onto a desk. Everyone's head snapped to Wren, who in turn, rotated her head in the same direction. Her fallen pen lay on her desk, shifting back and forth before going completely still.

The silence was broken again when Wren slapped the wall. She turned back to us and held up her hand. "There was a spider," she explained.

Suddenly she cocked her head and stared at something beside me. I followed her eyes to Theo, who was looking extremely relieved.

"Is there something you want to say, chipmunk?" I questioned.

"Chipmunk?" he echoed.

"I can't really call you 'Theo The Jerk' or 'The Prince of Jerks' anymore, now can I? Plus, your cheeks always puff up when you use your fake British accent."

"It isn't fake!"

"Just answer my question."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ruining its perfect style and letting his curls pop out from their confinement.

"I sometimes...spy on my dad," he finally admitted.