The Spy Who Chewed My Homework

The new girl sat two rows behind me in AP Bio, and I was definitely not staring at her. Okay, maybe a little. Her hair was this impossible shade of purple-blue, like she'd dipped it in the ocean at twilight, and it tumbled over her shoulders in waves that made my chest feel weirdly tight.

"Bro, you're being creepy," Marcus whispered, sliding into the seat beside me. "Again."

Marcus had been my best friend since kindergarten, which basically gave him a lifetime license to roast me. He was currently failing AP Bio but succeeding at being the most annoying person on earth.

"I'm not being creepy," I protested, turning back to my notebook where I'd supposedly been taking notes. "I'm observing. Scientifically."

"Right." Marcus rolled his eyes so hard I worried they'd get stuck. "Like how you were 'observing' her for twenty minutes at lunch yesterday?'

I opened my mouth to deny it — completely valid denial, by the way — when movement caught my eye. Purple Hair was walking toward us, and my brain short-circuited.

"Hey," she said, stopping at our desk. Her voice was all low and smoky, like she'd been drinking coffee since birth. "You're Tyler, right?"

I nodded, probably looking like an idiot. "Yeah. Hi."

"I need your help." She leaned closer, and I could smell vanilla and something else I couldn't name but immediately wanted to bottle. "There's this dog..."

Marcus perked up. "You need help with a dog? My cousin's a vet tech. Or Tyler could do it, he's basically the dog whisperer."

I shot Marcus a glare. I'd dogsat Mrs. Henderson's poodle ONCE, and the creature had spent three hours barking at a vacuum cleaner. Some whisperer.

"Not that kind of help," she continued, ignoring us both. "My aunt runs this pet grooming business, and someone's been stealing client information. Credit card numbers, addresses, that kind of thing."

"Wait." I blinked. "You think someone at a dog groomer's is committing identity theft?"

"I know it sounds crazy." She bit her lip, and I tried not to notice how her front teeth were slightly crooked, in a way that was weirdly perfect. "But my aunt's freaking out, and I found these weird encrypted files on her computer. My brother says they look like spy stuff."

"Spy stuff," I repeated, because apparently my vocabulary had abandoned me.

"I know how to code," she said quietly. "I've been teaching myself Python since eighth grade, but this is next level. Marcus told me you're good with computers."

I turned to Marcus, who was suddenly very interested in his phone. "You told her I'm good with computers?"

"I may have mentioned your legendary Minecraft server hacking skills," he said without looking up.

"That was NOT hacking, I just — "

"So will you help me?" Purple Hair asked, and her eyes were actually pleading, which was unfair because now I had to say yes even if this whole situation was completely deranged.

"Yeah," I heard myself say. "I mean, sure. Let me see what I can do."

"Thank you." She smiled, and it was like someone had flipped a switch inside a dark room. "I'm Zoe, by the way. Here." She slid a flash drive across the desk. "Don't tell anyone."

"Why?"

"Because if whoever's doing this finds out we're onto them..." She lowered her voice. "We might be next."

Marcus finally looked up, eyes wide. "Dude. We're in a spy movie. This is awesome."

"No," I said, staring at the flash drive like it might explode. "This is terrible. This is the opposite of awesome."

But when Zoe walked away, her purple hair swinging behind her, I caught myself smiling anyway.

"You're gonna do it," Marcus said, grinning. "You're totally gonna do it."

"Shut up."

"You want me to come over? We can make it a spy mission. I'll bring snacks."

"Fine," I said. "But you're doing all the dangerous stuff."

"There is no dangerous stuff, you loser. We're looking at code."

"You don't KNOW that," I said, though I was already sliding the flash drive into my pocket. "Spies are everywhere, Marcus. Open your eyes."

He rolled his eyes again, but he was still smiling, and I knew we'd both be thinking about Zoe's purple hair and mysterious encrypted files and whether this weird, terrifying, completely insane adventure was exactly what my boring life needed.

"So," Marcus said. "Your place or mine?"

"Mine," I said. "My mom made cookies yesterday."

"Sold."