If you told Paul at the beginning of the school year that Melissa's little brother and he would be spying on a new history teacher, he would have looked at you like you were crazy. However, there he was making a plan to do just that, and this was in fact crazy. It was the end of the night, so Paul closed down the tavern and the pair made a plan. Paul volunteered to skip a couple of football practices so he could keep an eye on their teacher. A schedule was made between the two.
The next morning, he woke up early so he could park outside of Mr. Everald's house to see if he’d go anywhere before school. To Paul's luck, he did. However, it was only a council meeting. His mom was there as well as Aiden's parents, the sheriff, the town's priest Father Tivy, and some other people. What he didn't expect was Noah. Paul had no clue why Zane's brother was even there. Noah appeared not to care about anything.
Hearing anything from behind the doors was impossible. The doors were too thick and they spoke too quietly. It was almost like they didn't want anyone to listen in. Spying was pointless in that building so he went back to his car to wait. Mr. Everald eventually left and went straight to school.
He was kind of exhilarated. He never tailed someone. Paul still wasn't really sure of Aiden’s theory, but it was better than doing nothing. Getting caught also terrified him. It was hard to focus at school that day. Even at lunch he was only half listening. Although, he did remember to return the black cat plushie from the town fair to Beatriz.
After his final class, he was supposed to rush to meet Aiden, but Mr. Everald asked him to hang back. Paul didn’t know why. Was he into him? Of course he did stay back. Running away wasn't an option.
"Yeah, Mr. E. What's up?" Paul said while the other students left.
"I figured you have more insight because you're friends, but how are Tyler and Beatriz? I asked. They said they were fine, but that's what all teenagers say." Mr. Everald explained.
"They're fine. Same old twins.”
"Good," the history teacher replied. "And Quinn? How's he doing with the news of his dad?"
Paul paused for a second, "That I don't know. He’s playing it cool, but I don't know how he'll be at the funeral."
"And you? How are you doing? There's been a lot of chaos recently. Your thoughts and feelings about everything going on?" asked Mr. Everald.
This question blindsided him. “Well, uhh, it just sucks."
Paul left the room and hurried to meet Aiden. Aiden was pacing back and forth. He looked a little crazy and very nervous. Paul walked up to him and the pair went on to wait for their target in the car. They took this time to download a police scanner app. This way they can monitor the going ons of the town.
One hour later the teacher left school and headed to his home. The pair waited to see if he had other plans for the night. He did. They tailed Mr. Everald to the movie theater where he met with Delilah's aunt, Sophia.
“Mr. E and Delilah's legal guardian. Wow Aid, this conspiracy goes all the way to the top.” Paul joked.
“You didn't expect to crack the case on day one did ya? Although part of me wants him to be clean for Delilah's aunt's sake.”
Two hours later, the couple came out and kissed, and went to their separate cars to drive to their homes. Paul and Aiden followed their teacher, who went straight home. Paul felt silly. However was going to stick with his friend's plan just in case.
Tuesday was even more uneventful. The history teacher went to school and then went home. That was it. Wednesday was a little different. School ended and Mr. Everald went to the library for a bit. Afterward, he went to Noah's house. Paul and Aiden waited outside. Melissa and Delilah also arrived at the house to hangout. There was silence in the car. Paul broke it with a question. “Your sister isn't dating that Noah guy right?”
“I don't think so. The real question is why are Mr. Everald and Noah friends.” Aiden replied.
Paul laughed. After an hour of waiting, loud voices came blaring out of the house. Although it was clear two angry people were arguing, it was not clear as to what was being said. Loud thuds and metal crashing sounds came next. The pair were about to rush in when all noise stopped so they decudes to wait.
Another hour passed, and eventually the teacher went home, so they followed him and waited to see if he'd stay home. He did.
On Thursday, the teacher went to Fireside’s to have a couple of drinks with Noah. That day, he also ran into Delilah and Zane. They had a quick chat.
"Paul, what’s up, man?" greeted Zane.
He didn't want to simply blow them off, so he replied, "Hey, you two, what's on the agenda for tonight?"
Delilah explained, "Just some pool and pizza. You should join us. When was the last time we played pool?"
Paul kept trying to casually glance over his shoulder to see if Mr. Everald was still drinking. He didn't want to seem weird or act like he was spying. He excused himself to the bathroom to end the conversation without looking suspicious.
He went in, waited a couple of minutes, and then washed his hands. When he came out, Noah and Mr. Everald were gone. Delilah and Zane had disappeared as well. Paul called Aiden, who was waiting outside in the car in case he needed to follow. There was no answer.
Paul didn't know what to do. Aiden had his car and he lost the guy he was supposed to be following. A half an hour went by and he was still unsure of what to do. So he decided to walk home since it wasn't too far.
As he walked down the street, he saw his car parked in front of Delilah's house. He checked his car first to see if Aiden was in there. He was not. Paul then walked towards the house when he noticed the door was kicked in and a window was broken. He ran up to the door to check inside. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad had happened.
As he peaked from the doorway, he discovered his friends were all standing there. Delilah, Melissa, Tyler, Beatriz, and Zane. Mr. Everald and Noah were there as well. The only one missing was Quinn. The group all looked very surprised to see him.
Delilah walked up to him. "Hey Paul, what brings you here?"
Paul was annoyed and anger. "What brings me here? Well, my car is here? Where's Aiden? What's with the secret group meeting? Why is your window smashed? Why do you guys disappear so fast?"
Noah made a quick remark. "Why were you spying on someone?"
Delilah shushed him and continued, "Well, I got a call from Sophie about the broken window and the door, so the guys came over to help board up the windows and make sure everything was okay in here."
Paul looked around, their story seemed plausible. That was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Maybe it was all in Aiden's head, and Paul might have been too agreeable. Perhaps he should have talked some sense into his friend. However, he then noticed some blood, so he questioned, "And the blood?"
His first thought was it's Quinn's blood and they all murder him that's why he wasn't there. That was a ridiculous thought. Before he could ask anymore questions a voice to his right said, "A bird flew in and cut its wing, so it made a little bit of a mess."
It was Aiden. Paul was confused and angry. Before he could say anything, Aiden jokingly continued, "So it was kind of an animal attack.”