The Thursday Night Spy Club

Marcus pulled his fedora down lower. The hat was his dad's, too big, but it made him feel like he belonged in the shadows behind the 7-Eleven. That's where he'd been seeing the strange guy every Thursday night for three weeks.

"You're being ridiculous," Jasmine had said at lunch. "He's probably just waiting for his mom."

Jasmine, who had somehow become his best friend since seventh grade, despite them being nothing alike. She was volleyball team captain and TikTok famous; he was the guy who sat in the back and drew characters in his notebook.

"No, look," Marcus whispered, nudging her arm. They were crouched behind the dumpster. "He's doing the signal."

The strange guy — leather jacket, hair that needed cutting — tapped his phone three times against the lamppost. Definitely a spy. Marcus had seen it in movies.

Suddenly, a golden retriever trotted around the corner. The dog paused, sniffed Marcus's shoe, and then sat beside the mysterious guy like they'd been best friends for years.

"Buster!" a woman's voice called. "Buster, where ARE you?"

Marcus froze. That voice. The one that announced morning announcements over the PA system. Principal Chen.

The spy guy turned. "Ms. Chen? I found your dog wandering by the parking lot."

Marcus's brain short-circuited. The mysterious spy figure was just some guy returning a lost dog to the principal. The spy signal was probably just him checking his phone.

"What?" Jasmine hissed. "Is that — is that your older brother?"

Marcus turned to her. "You KNEW?"

"I recognized his hoodie three weeks ago!" Jasmine stifled a laugh. "I thought you knew and we were just doing this for fun. Like a game."

The hat suddenly felt extremely heavy on his head.

Principal Chen spotted them. "Marcus? Jasmine? What are you doing back there?"

Marcus stood up, slowly removing the fedora. "Just, uh. Quality time with Buster. Great dog. Very noble creature."

The dog, Buster, chose that moment to knock over Marcus's backpack. His notebook spilled open, revealing pages filled with drawings of spies and dramatic scenes.

Principal Chen's son — the spy guy — picked it up. "Wait, are these — are these drawings of me?" He sounded genuinely delighted. "These are awesome. You're really talented."

Marcus felt his face burn. But then the guy handed it back with a grin. "I'm Leo, by the way. Senior. If you ever want to talk about art or comics or whatever, I'm around."

Later, walking home with Jasmine, Marcus couldn't stop thinking about how none of it had gone according to plan. The spy mission was fake. The dog wasn't a secret agent. His cool, mysterious persona had dissolved into pure awkwardness.

But somehow, for the first time in forever, he didn't feel like the invisible kid in the back of the classroom anymore.

"So," Jasmine bumped his shoulder. "Same time next Thursday?"

Marcus adjusted his hat. "Absolutely. Can't leave the world unprotected."