Page 41 of The Unravelings

Wade shakes his head as he continues to dump lemony Lysol into the room. “Yeah? Well, the dogs don’t talk back. Well, some of them,” he snorts, sucking in a deep breath. “See? No more germs. Now, it’s your room’s turn.” He gestures to the can and sets it on the counter. “Later?”

I nod, biting my lip when Simon huffs at his antics again. “Ignore him. Seriously. Eat your soup and get better, yeah?” Simon winks, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Besides, I need you better; we have tons of parties to attend, and maybe an initiation to get into?” He wiggles his brows.

“How do we know if we’ve gotten into that?” I blurt hurriedly.

On a list of things I’ve done since I got to Greenwood—I forgot I applied to be in my ex-murderer’s frat. Fuck me running. How will that go? I’m sure swimmingly.

Simon cocks his head. “Well, I’m not sure. It’s all very hush-hush.” He touches a finger to his lips. “But if there’s anything I can do, it’s find out anything and everything.” He grins. “Now, eat your damn soup and get better.” He turns on his heels and marches to the shared living space, plopping on the couch.

I sigh, shutting and locking my door. I make my way back to my bed with my bags in hand and sit on the edge. The aromas coming from these bags smell heavenly, and I know I’m going to devour every single bite.

As I’m about to scoop a mouthful of soup into my mouth, my phone beeps again.

“Damn it, JJ,” I grumble, carefully grabbing my phone and opening it. My stomach falls when I read the email that came through.

Oliver Davenport. Please report to Dr. Temperance Moreau’s office tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. for your mandatory advisory meetings. We have many things to discuss, including your failing grades and multiple absences.

I blink several times and reread the email. Failing grades? There’s no way in hell I’m failing anything. The year has barely begun, and my only grades are from pop quizzes and homework, which I’ve aced. I mean, I’ve taken these classes before in online school.

How the hell?

My face screws up when I log in to my online portal to access my classes and grades, and I nearly choke on my soup.

All failing grades? Every. Single Class?

What the fuck is happening? There’s no way this can be real. I can’t be failing. If I fail my classes, then my scholarship gets ripped out from under me, and I won’t be able to attend.

On second thought…

I take a bite of soup and contemplate my options. Oh, sorry, Jonathan. My mission failed because you put me here on a scholarship that depended on my grades—giving me no time to focus on my mission and the murders happening around town.

What a shame.

But then again, I do want to get to the bottom of the people disappearing and showing up with their guts removed. Ugh. Images of Dane pop into my mind. Whoever uploaded those to the SlamApp should burn in hell. Thankfully, they were taken down within hours of being posted. So, there’s some sort of moderator keeping an eye on things.

After eating my soup and my amazing chicken-and-avocado sandwich, I decide to become a person again. So, I shower and clean myself up.

I’m a real human now! I think as I stare in the mirror and note that my shaggy hair has already grown out a little. I may have to get a real haircut to keep this disguise going. Whatever. I quickly dress, forcing myself into my binder, which I’m thankfully getting used to. It’s still snug against my aching ribs, but everything seems to be getting better.

Agent Seven: Seems I’m failing classes, and they’re going to be threatening my scholarship. Might need a little backup.

Agent Zero: I will look into it. Do you think someone tampered with it?

Well, me being me—I didn’t even think about that. I mean, who would have the skills to hack into the school’s system and set me up for failure? Carter? Nah. Why would he touch my grades? I mean, he’s an asshole, but he wouldn’t set me up. Okay, maybe he would for fun. He’s the first person who crosses my mind other than JJ. But… Is JJ that good at hacking? I shake my head. I have no damn clue.

Agent Seven: No clue.

Agent Zero: Stand by, I’ll have Dave investigate it.

Fucking Dave. He’s useless. He failed to cover my tracks in my records, letting JJ discover my shoddy files, and now he’s going to have the skills to track whoever did this? Yeah, right.

For the rest of the day, I avoid Simon and Wade again. I opt to stay in my room and clean up the mess I’ve made over the past few days. I’m not technically ready to step outside this room and face my newest reality.

But my hands are tied.

And I’ve been summoned to the academic advisor. I have to show up. Jonathan would have my ass if I purposely got kicked out of Greenwood for something as trivial as low grades. So, I pull up my big girl panties—or should I say, boxers— and face everything head-on.

I’m on a mission, anyway. There are people in this town who need help, and that’s what I’m here for. Being a secret agent is more than solving cases; it’s helping the people who genuinely need a helping hand.