"We need to be busy today", said Eloise. "If we talk about hanging out today, Mr. Patel will probably just decide to give us the day off from the mission, so he'll stay at the school for longer.
Then we'll have more time to go to his."

"So we pretend to hang out together?", asked Elliott.

Eloise shook her head.
"No, it's gotta be a well-known event, I think."

"My friend Jake is having a party at his today", suggested another classmate. "You can chill there for a bit."

"Really?
He won't mind?", questioned Rowan.

The boy shrugged.
"He won't notice.
He'll be too busy entertaining the other guests."

"Thanks, Ellis", said Eloise.

Before anyone could continue the conversation, a tired and dejected Aahan entered the classroom.

He didn't walk with the same sense of purpose and determination he did last week, but he also didn't look like the students hoped he looked—riddled with guilt.
So they didn't feel sorry for him.

"Morning, class.
Today, we're going to finish off painting the community centre", he said.

"Wait, Sir... can't we do it tomorrow?", asked Eloise.
"We've kind of got invites to a party today."

Aahan's eyes widened, as if someone had just told him they gave birth to a unicorn.
He held Eloise's gaze for just a few seconds longer, looking away when she didn't break.

"What, all of you?", he questioned.

He looked at Rowan.
"Gotta admit, a party doesn't really seem like your thing."

"He's actually quite popular", said Eloise.

"Rowan?", he asked.

Eloise nodded.
"This isn't like the movies, Sir. Sometimes popular people are just nice, friendly people you like to hang out with."

Rowan smiled at Eloise's kind words. Aahan was right though.
Rowan had never been to a party.
He had been invited to a few, but his anxiety always got the better of him, and he decided it was best to stay home.

"What about you, Zee?", asked Aahan.

Zee scowled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"

Aahan took a step back and held his hands up.
He shook his head.
"Nothing, nothing."

What?
Zee was scary.

Aahan threw his arms up in the air.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"You could mark the essays we had to write for homework?", suggested Elliott. "You know, the one's we were supposed to do in class?"

Aahan groaned.
"Ugh, not marking."

"Isn't teaching ninety percent marking?", asked Irene.

"Ooh, it'll take you all night, Sir", said Spencer.

Aahan frowned.
What was he supposed to do?
Take the books home and mark them? After the disastrous breakfast this morning, he was keen to spend most of his time away from his house.

"What are the staff room chairs like?"

"We're students", reminded Irene.
"We don't have access to it."

"I had to refill a hot water bottle in there once.
The chairs look hella comfy", said Eloise.
"Not like these spine compressing monsters."

"Right then, uh... I guess we'll finish the paint job another day.
I'll be in the staff room for most of the day then.
Have fun at your party, I guess."

◆◆◆

The group met up in the park near Atlas' house.
Zee was pacing back and forth, further away from the group, but still a close enough distance to be able to hear them.

"What were we thinking?
I've never been to a party!", exclaimed Irene.

In all honesty, none of them had. Parties always seemed like something college or university students went to. Of course, there had been a few parties, but the group had never gone to them.

Even Eloise, who knew more than half of the school.
Like Rowan, she had been invited to a couple, but always turned them down in favour of spending time with her little brother, or studying.

"It's not that hard to function properly at a social event", said Elliott.
"I've been to a few business dinners with my family.
I can teach you how to act."

Zee stopped pacing when she heard Elliott's offer.
She turned to face the group, but her eyes were on Elliott's face.
A conflicted expression covered her face, as if she were debating whether she should say what she wanted to or not.

She needed tips on what to do at parties.

"We'll just have to stick together", said Eloise.
"We only need to be there for a couple of hours, so enough people see us.
That way, Mr. Patel won't suspect that we've been to his house instead."

"But won't his parents tell him we came to visit?", asked Irene.

"Oh, you weren't here when we went over that part of the plan", said Spencer.
"We're going to say we're from another school, and that we're selling stuff as a project."

Eloise nodded.
"Yeah, we'll change our names and everything", she added.

"Yeah, I'm Cole", said Rowan.
"Atlas is George, Spencer is Levi, Elliott is Will, Eloise is Rose, Irene you're Daisy and Zee is Eesha."

"Yeah, we kind of just picked the first ones that came into our heads", said Atlas.

"And after we go to Mr. Patel's house, we'll go back to the party for like half an hour, then head home", said Eloise.

◆◆◆

The party wasn't exactly like a rave, but there were quite a few people, including Alex and Naomi.

Alex and Naomi were the school's
IT couple.
They both ran in the popular circle, with Alex being a fun-loving and friendly guy.
Naomi preferred to keep up appearances more, and although she was a bubbly girl, she reigned it in when they roamed the halls.
She adopted an intimidating presence that acted like a repellent, stopping being from getting too close to Alex.

Eloise wore an orange tank top, with the black flared trousers and orange biker boots.
Her hair was styled into a tight high ponytail, and she opted for a no-makeup makeup look.

Irene had a loose black jumper on, which she tucked into her blue jeans. The jumper had a beautifully drawn yellow sun on it.
She left her hair down, but had her trusty hair tie on her right wrist, just in case she needed it.
She had applied a little bit of concealer under her eyes, to help her look less tired.

Zee chose to wear a black turtleneck with a long grey overcoat.
She wore black leggings and black ankle-high boots.
Her hair was straightened, with the front pieces draping her face.

Spencer just threw on his favourite mint green hoodie and black jeans.
He wore a simple pair of black trainers.

Elliott opted for a more sophisticated look.
He wore a blazer, but didn't button it up, making it look more casual.
He wore black boots that had laces on them.

Rowan wore a dark red shirt and a black leather jacket over it.
He had black jeans on as well.

Atlas wore a simple grey polo neck, with the sleeves rolled up.
He accompanied it with black jeans and grey trainers.
It was definitely the most casual look out of the group's, but it was Atlas' natural charm that made him appear stylish.

The group moved as a pack, with Atlas being the only one to break formation. Eloise wasn't particularly nervous, but shs felt protective of the others, and didn't want to be too far from them, in case they needed her.

"Guys, you're not atoms in a
solid object—disperse!", encouraged Atlas.

"Right, right, yeah", muttered the others.

Zee walked around, desperately searching for someone she knew.
Her best friend, Aurelia, was a social butterfly, but she preferred to stick to one group of friends, and they rarely attended things like this.

In all honesty, she hadn't seen much of Aurelia since she dumped Atlas before the summer break.
They hung out a lot after school, but ever since she moved house, their conversations became mainly virtual.

Zee would say Aurelia is the only true friend she has, but she was also keeping her parents' situation a secret from her.

She walked towards a small group of people that looked harmless enough.
As she got closer, one member turned to look at her.
Their eyes widened and they reached for their other friend's arm, tugging it.

They all turned to face Zee, a look of disgust forming on one of their faces. Before Zee could speak, they turned back around and walked away.

Of course this would happen.

Most people avoided Zee, because they believed she listened in on conversations to learn secrets.

"Hey, are you alright?", asked Elliott.

"I'm fine."

"I wouldn't worry about those guys.
I mean, they don't exactly scream
'life of the party' do they?"

Zee looked at the group again.
They were huddled closer, and were mostly looking around.
Elliott was right—they didn't look like the most exciting people to be around.

"Shouldn't you be off somewhere shoving sweets down your throat?", asked Zee.
"Your stash is probably empty by now."

Elliott furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"How'd you know about that?"

"Well it's hardly top secret.
You keep a bag of sweets with you, not a gold bar."

"Yeah, but... it just doesn't seem like something most people would find significant."

"I'd be pretty sh*t at my job if I didn't pick up on small things."

"Speaking of that, how do you do it?"

"I'm just observant."

"Most sixteen year olds are too busy dealing with their own sh*t to care about anyone else's."

Zee didn't know how to respond.
It was something Zee wanted to believe. If it was true, then maybe she wouldn't have to worry so much about keeping her home life a secret.
But she couldn't take that risk.
After all, who's to say that people don't interfere in other people's problems to distract them from their own?

"Well, would you maybe want to–"

"I'm going to get some air", she interjected.

Elliott watched as Zee pushed past the groups of people, scowling at the one's that shouted at her.

◆◆◆

By the snacks table, Eloise and Spencer were checking out the food options.
Out of everyone in his history class, Spencer was probably closest to Eloise.

They were a part of the
Dead Parent's Society—a play on words for the famous book and movie
'Dead Poet's Society.'
Eloise started the club last year, as a way of helping other students deal with the loss of a parent.
They meet in the local cafe every Sunday.

The name is rather morbid, but the club's members liked the idea of using humour as a coping mechanism.

"I hope this plan works", said Spencer.

"It will.
Gosh, I thought I could count on you to be up for a risky plan like this."

"Rebelling against authority sometimes doesn't make me a risk taker, Eloise. Besides, I only break the stupid rules, not the one's that make sense."

"Do you remember last year, when we went on that school trip to Middlehook Forest?
You left your group so you could go exploring on your own.
It was stupid and risky, but you did it anyway.
I need you to channel that Spencer."

Spencer exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes.
"Fine.
But you make it sound so dramatic."

Eloise slapped his arm.
"Dude, we had to eat lunch late because we spent half an hour looking for your dumb a**."

Spencer chuckled, earning an eye roll from Eloise.

Meanwhile, closer to the front door, Irene and Rowan were watching some of the people that were dancing.

"I thought you were the smooth-talker", said Irene.
"Why aren't you mingling?"

"I wanted to keep you company", he admitted.

His ice cream date with Irene reignited the hope that had faded months ago.
He never thought he'd actually have a chance with her, but now?
Well, maybe he did.

Irene smiled sweetly, and Rowan felt his heart thump faster in his chest.
She gently nudged him, making the boy giggle nervously.

"You're very sweet, Sterling.
Thanks."

"Yes, well, you'd do the same for me."

Irene tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, as if she were in deep thought.
She placed an index finger to her chin, and tapped it a few times, before furrowing her brows deeper, in an exaggerated manner.

"Hmm, maybe.
If you brought me some ice cream."

Rowan mock-gasped, before placing a hand to his chest.

"Is your friendship not unconditional?"

Irene shook her head, a goofy grin on her face.

"Nope!
Sorry."

"Your words... they wound me, Weber."

Irene chuckled.
"Dork."

"Hey, so are you!"

"Yeah, but I'm an elite level dork."

"A what?"

Irene nodded.
"Yeah, you're here", she said, before grabbing Rowan's hand and raising it just above his belly button.
"And I'm here", she finished, grabbing his free hand and raising it above his head.

A warm, tingling feeling coursed through Rowan's body when Irene held his hands.
It felt unusual at first, but it was the kind of unusual feeling you welcome.

"Is that so?", he questioned.

Irene nodded.
"Yep!
Sorry, I don't make the rules."

"Are you sure?
Because it sounds like–"

Rowan and Irene's phone vibrated, and he couldn't help but feel deja vu.
Why were text messages ruining his alone time with Irene lately?

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

ELOISE
Caw-caw! Caw-caw!

SPENCER
Wtf???

ELOISE
CAW! CAW!

ATLAS
Bing whizz!

ZEE
Wth Atlas??

ELOISE
That's the signal! Idk wtf Atlas is doing though.

ATLAS
Didn't want you to feel alone.

ELOISE
Aww cheers mate!

ROWAN
What's going on?

ELLIOTT
Yes, I was in the middle of getting a girl's number.

ZEE
Lucky escape for her then.

ELOISE
We've been here long enough.
Let's go to Mr. Patel's now.
Zee, what's the address?

IRENE
How do you know the address, Zee?

ZEE
A girl never reveals her secrets.

IRENE
Not creepy at all.

ZEE
Calm down, Weber.
There's a local Mandir not too far from the Mosque.
I've seen him with his parents a couple of times.
They always go into a house not too far from the Mandir.

ELLIOTT
Wait what's a Mandir?

ZEE
Place of worship for Hindus.

SPENCER
How come you never mentioned seeing him before?

ZEE
Because it's not relevant.
I used to just see his parents, or atleast I think they're his parents.
It's only recently that I saw him with them.

IRENE
Maybe they're going more because of his sister's wedding?

SPENCER
Why does it matter?

IRENE
Well, it helps piece things together.
If he's making more trips with his parents, things must be getting hectic at his.

ELOISE
Well we're not going to know unless we see for ourselves.
Ro and Irene, you leave first.
Then Spencer and I will leave a couple minutes later.
The rest follow in like five minutes.

SPENCER
We're leaving a party, not having an affair.

ELOISE
It'll look weird if we're seen leaving as a group.

ATLAS
Just let her live out her spy fantasy.

________________

Hi!

I was going to make this into two parts, but the actual house visit happens in the next chapter, so I thought there's no point.

We got to see more of the group interacting! Zee is taking her mother's advice, or is atleast trying to. Could this prove to work in Elliott's advantage?

Full disclosure, I did not think of pairing Irene and Rowan until I saw their connections. I loved writing their scene! Rowan seems to think that he could have a chance with Irene, but is that something she wants?

Spencer and Eloise have quite a playful friendship, and I'm excited to develop it more.

The group have a plan, and they're going to execute it perfectly... right?

Is there a particular friendship that you like the most so far? Or one that resembles the kind of friends you have?

Any theories?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

1-800-SHAWNHUNTER-

Tornado-Jockey