Secrets

The lunch bell rang, and I made my way to the bench near the basketball court. It wasn't as crowded here, which meant fewer voices rattling around in my head. I flipped open my notebook and began scribbling down notes for class, enjoying the relative peace.

"Hey, Ava!"

I didn't bother looking up. I recognized that annoyingly cheerful voice immediately. Of course, it was Liam.

"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my eyes on my notes.

"Wow, straight to the point," he said, plopping down beside me. "No 'hello'? No 'how's your day?' You're harsh, you know that?"

"I know," I replied. "Now, what do you want?"

"Can't a guy just sit and enjoy the company of a friend?"

I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "We're not friends."

"Ouch!" He laughed, pretending to clutch his chest like I'd wounded him. "You're lucky I'm nice, Ava. Most people would cry if they got roasted like that."

"Feel free to cry," I said flatly, returning to my notebook.

Liam chuckled like I'd said the funniest thing ever. "You know, you're the first girl who's immune to my charm. It's kind of impressive."

"Is it?" I asked without looking up. I didn't really care for his charm or whatever fan club he had following him around.

Before he could continue his nonsense, a group of basketball players came over, calling for him. "Liam! Practice. Coach is waiting!"

"Ugh, fine!" he groaned, standing up. Then he turned back to me with that ridiculous grin of his. "Don't miss me too much, okay?"

I waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, I'll try not to cry."

As soon as he was gone, I thought I'd finally have some peace. But, of course, that was too much to ask. Two boys I didn't recognize came over and stopped in front of me.

"You're Ava, right?" one of them asked. He had a confident smile, while the other guy stayed quiet, just watching me.

"Depends. Who's asking?" I said, glancing up.

"I'm Ethan," he replied, gesturing to his friend. "And this is Kia."

The quieter one, Kia, nodded politely, and I nodded back. "Okay. What do you want?"

Ethan leaned against the bench like he owned the place. "So, what's the deal with you and Liam?"

"The deal?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Yeah. He's never this friendly with anyone before, especially not a girl. It's kinda weird seeing him joke around with you."

I sighed, already annoyed. "There's no deal. He's annoying, and I tolerate him. That's it."

Ethan laughed. "Sure, doesn't seem like that from where I'm standing. You must be special or something."

"Great observation. You done?" I asked, shutting my notebook with a snap. Before he could reply, I stood up, grabbing my things. "Nice meeting you. Or whatever."

I walked off before either of them could say another word.

That night, after dinner with Dad, I settled on my bed and opened my laptop. The glow of the screen lit up the room, and I logged into Mr. Spy.

As soon as I saw No_Name online, I smirked. "Finally," I muttered and typed out a message.

Me: "You're late. What took so long?"

The reply came quickly.

No_Name: "Patience, little spy. Good things come to those who wait."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "If good things come to those who wait, why are you here?" I muttered, then typed:

Me: "Says the guy who can't even show up on time. Did you finish the last mission?"

No_Name: "Obviously. Unlike you, I don't need babysitting to win."

I raised an eyebrow at the screen. "Oh, please," I said under my breath, typing back.

Me: "Careful, No_Name. One day, I'll figure out how your brain works, and then what will you do?"

The response didn't come immediately this time. I stared at the screen, wondering if I'd finally stumped him. After a pause, his message appeared.

No_Name: "Good luck with that. You'll need it. Let's see if you can keep up tonight."

I grinned, cracking my knuckles. "Keep up?" I muttered. "You're about to regret saying that."

The game loaded, and my focus sharpened. I didn't know who No_Name really was, but he was infuriating—and I was determined to beat him tonight.