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Monday morning, I entered the Commons, surprised to see Jerry, Shelby, Kyle, and Chad sitting at a table. I had to walk past their table. I did my best to ignore them but knew Jerry wouldn’t pass the opportunity to say something.
"Hey, it's Finklefart," Jerry spat.
Why did the guy have to be so predictable? That's the thanks I got for saving his sorry butt. Pissed, I halted. "You in trouble, Jerry? You and your buddies?" I grinned.
"None of your business." His upper lip curled.
I shrugged and moved on. As I reached the lockers, I ran into Officer Maguire. "I was on my way to talk to you."
"I heard you helped with capturing the ringleader." Officer Maguire placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Good job.”
"I had some help."
"Maybe Jerry will be nicer to you now."
I snorted. "I don't think so. None of those guys knew I was there."
Officer Maguire frowned, confused.
"They were all—” I paused, almost letting it slip about the magic spell. I quickly added, “Drugged. Believe me; they had no clue what they were doing or who was there to rescue them. And I'd rather they not know."
He nodded as if he respected my secrecy. "You're an unsung hero, David, but it’s what happens when you work undercover. Are you going to continuing to work for the FBI?"
“Maybe, but again, maybe not.” I gave him a toothy-grin.
Office Maguire laughed. He squeezed my shoulder again and nodded. "I’m here for you if you ever need any advice. See you around."
I nodded and headed for the main hall. Spotting Mr. Otto talking to another teacher, I tiptoed away from him, hoping to sneak away.
"Finkleman!" Mr. Otto cried.
Crap. I pivoted.
He waddled over to me. He studied me for a moment and released a long sigh. "In light of what transpired on Saturday, I've decided to cancel your detention."
I raised my brows. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes. I suspected Valdez for some time and tried to get close to him, hoping he would slip up." Otto pursed his lips. "I guess I'm the one who slipped up. I’m pretty sure Valdez took the green notepad from me. The one I thought you stole. I found it in his classroom and when I opened it and it had notes regarding drug trafficking and Valdez’s connections to it. I was going to turn it over to Officer Maguire, but it disappeared twice. From now on I intend to leave the detecting to Officer Maguire."
I nodded.
"What brought you there?"
"I knew a drug was going through our school and thought I’d investigate on my own."
Mr. Otto curled his upper lip. "Maybe you should leave it to the professionals as well."
"I think I will." I nodded.
"See you in class, Finkleman." Mr. Otto walked away.
I knew, getting out of detention was Mr. Otto's way of thanking me. As I headed to my first class, I realized being a wizard was hard, but being a hero was harder. No one knew I had helped or rescued them. I wouldn’t hear a thank you, be appreciated for my skills, or revered like my brother. I remained to everyone, David Copperfield Finkleman, a short, sports-challenged, average high school sophomore.
The End.
(Or is it the beginning?)
