“No stakeout is completely without donuts,” Paul said, sliding the small box towards Noah.  While he waited for the other boy to take one out, Paul zipped his jacket up and lifted the binoculars to his eyes.  From the roof of the school, it was easy to see everyone entering the parking lots.  Thanks to Naomi’s idea, they had the best seats in the house.  Noah tried resisting but ultimately gave into the temptation of pastries.  He removed a glazed donut from the box and took a bite, looking through his own binoculars.  If or when they saw a Prius, they would mark it down in their notebook.

The plan was that they would use their free time during lunch and skip last period to go looking through the parking lot for the cars they marked down.  It seemed like a long shot, but they had to at least try it.  They had until Friday to get their baby back.  Five days, today included.  It wasn’t nearly enough time.  The idea of turning up to class on Friday without the baby scared even Noah.  He would never admit that, though.  He wanted to seem determined.  If both he and Cole were frantic, nothing would get done.  He took another bite of his donut.

“We’ve got a Prius pulling through the main entrance,” said Paul.  He blindly reached for the notebook and pencil, not wanting to lose sight of the vehicle.  Noah helped by putting the supplies in his hand.  He also followed the car.  The silver Prius pulled into a parking spot by the gymnasium entrance.  Out climbed a timid-looking guy who had to be a sophomore.  Neither Paul nor Noah had seen him in any of their classes before.

“Probably not our guy, but mark him down anyways.  You never know, I might have pissed him off in the past,” Noah instructed.  Paul began scribbling down where he had parked.  He turned and said,

“I don’t really think you’re a bad guy.”

“Don’t I feel special,” he said sarcastically.  Paul sighed and reached into the box again.

“Cole likes you, you know.”

“Bullshit.  He deals with me because we have to.  But only for five more days.  Then we can go our separate ways.  We’ll graduate and never have to speak to each other again.”

“You really think he hates you as much as he lets on?”  Noah glanced at the boy and snorted.

“Of course I do.”

“If you really knew Cole, you’d know he was only putting on act.  I think you’re putting on an act as well.  Whether you believe it or not, you’re more similar than you think.”

“Look, Dr. Phil, can we just get on with this stakeout peacefully?  I don’t need to argue with you as well.  You’re the only one out of the three of you that I actually enjoy being around.”  Paul shrugged and returned his focus to the cars pulling into the parking lot below.  The idea had already been planted, though.  It hadn’t occurred to Noah that Cole might be putting on a show as well.  He knew that he was acting, but Cole?  The guy had always seemed like an open book.  An emotional, overdramatic book that was constantly changing its plot.  Constantly making things more difficult, digging a deeper hole.

Noah didn’t want to think about that.  He wanted Cole to be the big, bad villain that trumped and stomped on everything and anything.  It made him feel better to think that Cole hurt everyone like he’d hurt him.  He didn’t feel so alone if he believed that he was the only one Cole used.  He took a breath and finished off his food.  Noah peered through the binoculars once more, ready to mark down any more Prii.

Parenting class had been as tense as ever.  Cole wanted desperately to see if Noah had found anything out but was too afraid to whisper during the lesson.  He knew the boy didn’t want to talk to him in private, let alone in a classroom setting.  When Ms. Baxter had finished her lesson and allowed everyone to chat for the last ten minutes, Noah slipped his headphones in and turned on the music.  Cole tapped his pencil uncomfortably, left without anything to do.  He checked his usual social media sites on his phone but that took no time at all.

He caught pieces of conversations around him and risked a glance back at Anthony.  The boy had a busted lip but it looked like it was healing.  As bad as it was, Cole felt satisfied with Noah’s actions.  Sure, he’d gotten bitched out, but seeing that Anthony was in a less than perfect state made him feel good.  That’s what he deserved for being such an ass.  When they met eyes, Cole smiled at him and turned around.  From the back of the room, he heard Anthony mutter an insult about him.

The bell rang minutes later, releasing everyone to lunch.  Cole waited until the rest of the class disappeared before he collected his things and walked towards Ms. Baxter’s desk.  She looked from her computer with a friendly smile.  “How can I help you, dear?” she asked.

“I was wondering if there was any way you could check and see how Noah and the baby are doing?  I know, I should trust him, but I still worry,” he laughed bashfully.  Of course, he hated lying to the teacher considering how sweet she was, but he needed to know how Robert was.

“Oh, of course!  It’s natural for any parent to worry, even if the baby’s not real,” she assured him, turning to her computer and opening a program from her desktop.  It opened up to a list of numbers.  “Do you remember the baby’s number?”

“Actually, I don’t, but we wrote it down on that paper you had us sign before we got them.”

“Ah, that’s it,” she laughed, digging through her disorganized stack of papers until she pulled a green folder out.  She flipped it open and thumbed through the papers inside until she found the correct one.  “Here we are.”  Ms. Baxter scrolled through the list of numbers on her computer before finding the matching sequence.  She double-clicked on the number, opening a report of every time Robert cried and how long it took them to stop her and solve the problem.  Cole skimmed the first week and looked for Friday night.  Just like Noah’s neighbor said, the baby cried for quite some time before someone used the bracelet and stopped him.  Next to that time, it said ‘BS.’

“What’s that ‘BS’ mean?  All the others say ‘P.’”  Ms. Baxter took a closer look and frowned.

“Well, the first stands for ‘babysitter,’ and the second is ‘parent,’ which is weird.  I didn’t give any babysitter bracelets out to your hour since you had partners and my other classes didn’t…”  She looked at Cole curiously.  Thinking on his feet, he tried an excuse.

“I… Oh!  Noah was out of town for the weekend.  He left it with a friend from your other classes,” he explained.

“Which friend?”

“I’m… I’m not sure.  Ashley, I think?”  He crossed his fingers mentally, hoping she would believe him.

“Oh, Ashley Nguyen.  She would always babysit for others last year, too,” Ms. Baxter laughed, closing out of the program.  “Well, you better tell Noah to start being a daddy,” she teased.

“I definitely will,” Cole laughed, glancing at the clock.  “Well, I better get to lunch.  Thank you for looking,” he grinned.

“You’re very welcome.  Have a nice afternoon,” she said.

“You too!”  Cole turned and walked to the door, letting out a relieved sigh.  He’d almost cracked and admitted that someone had taken their baby.  That had to be some kind of excuse that equated to a dog eating homework.  If they lost their baby, they’d be forced to pay a ton of money that neither of them had.  They had to find this kid.  On his way out, Cole ran into someone else.  He took a step back and began apologizing.

“I’m so sorry –,” he started.  He took a look at the girl in front of him, instantly recognizing her.  “You’re the girl from the hallway,” he said in surprise.

“The hallway?”

“When Noah and I got into that scene in the entrance of the school.”  A look of realization crossed her face and she looked over her shoulder.  Her expression then changed to guilt.

“I have to go,” she said, trying to pass him.  Cole stepped in her way again, closing Ms. Baxter’s door behind him.

“Please, I need to talk to you.  It’s important.”

“I’m sure it is, but I really have to go, so if you’ll excuse me…”  Cole sighed in frustration and put and hand on her arm.

“Look, do you have our baby?”

“What baby?”

“Don’t play dumb.  I know you heard us arguing.  Noah told me to leave the baby on his doorstep.  You were the only person to hear.  Then when Friday comes and I drop the baby off, he isn’t there when Noah gets there.  That can’t be a coincidence.  We know you had something to do with it.”  The girl looked over her shoulder before pulling Cole along with her.  She stopped once they were in a small alcove.  There sat a table and two chairs on either side.  Cole assumed this was where people sat and used their laptops or read.

“I don’t have time to talk because my mom needs me to get my brother from school early.  He’s sick or whatever… but anyways, come with me.  I’ll tell you what I know.  I don’t want anyone knowing I told you.”  Cole was confused about the girl’s secrecy but he knew she had something to do with Robert’s kidnapping.  There was no other choice but to go with her and see what was going on and what all she knew.

“Let’s go then.  I want to know everything you know,” he said to her.  She bit her lip nervously.

“Fine.  We have to hurry, though.”

“Then we’ll hurry.”  She checked the time on her phone and made her way for the staircase, Cole in tow.  He had no clue what was going on, but if she could tell him why she took Robert, that was enough.  She had to have taken him.  She was the only one that knew.  “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Laura.”

“I’m Cole,” he said, holding the entrance door open for her.  They quickly made their way to her car, climbing inside and putting on their seatbelts.

“Well, Cole, I can say this much.  You and Noah have made an enemy out of someone who doesn’t take kindly to that.  That’s exactly why I had to help.  I don’t want to be on anyone’s bad side.”

“Who… who are you talking about?” he asked, suddenly finding himself more worried than before.