Someone You Knew-After Stellarlune

Chapter 3

"What do you mean you found the leak?" Sophie was the first one to ask.

"Turns out there was a leak in the Black Swan all along, and she was right under our noses." Mr. Forkle said, sounding impatient. Sophie noticed that he didn't seem like his usual self. He seemed much more angry. It all made sense since he just figured out a member of his organization, who swore felty was working under the Neverseen, but he looked different. He looked nothing like the Mr. Forkle Sophie remembered. 

"She?" Fitz asked.

"Yes, and I need all of you to come with me to my private office," Mr.Forkle said. Sophie was the first to stand up, ready to leave, but Mr.Forkle suddenly glared at her as he said, "Except for Ms. Foster."

"What! Why, just because I ran away today? I deserve to know!" Sophie said angrily.

Mr. Forkle shook his head as he sighed, "I have my reasons, Ms. Foster. Now the rest of you follow me."

Everyone looked at Sophie for a second, all hesitating to leave Sophie out. "No, she deserves to know." Keefe said, looking determined. 

"If she can't go, I'm not going too." He continued.

"Yeah, me too." Biana chimed in.

"Keefe's right." Dex agreed.

Mr. Forkle looked very impatient and frustrated as he massaged his temples. "It's not about Sophie running away today. We don't have the time to argue, the rest you will come with me now.!

"He's right," Fitz whispered, looking at Sophie then avoiding her eyes. "This is important information. At least some of us have to know."

Everyone fell silent for a minute, and then Edaline came closer to Sophie as she forced a smile on her face. "Sweetheart, it's okay. You need to rest anyway." She was right. Sophie head felt foggy from her meeting with the Neverseen, and she felt tired. Sophie glanced at the window and realized that it was already noon, the sky turning pinkish orange with the clouds dancing in the sky. She just wished she could just fly into the sky and leave the Lost Cities, leaving all her problems, leaving everything behind, and starting a new life. 

Sophie closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Fine, you guys go and find who the leak is.  "

"No, you should come -" Dex argued.

"No, it's okay, just.. hail me later."

Her friends hesitated for a minute but followed the collective to the beam of light Mr. Forkle created with his pink leaping crystal. 

And they were all gone. 

"You need to sleep," Edaline told her. 

"Yeah, there is nothing better than a good nap," Grady agreed.

Sophie nodded as she hurried up the stairs and into her room, Grady and Edaline followed her, tucked her inside her blanket, and kissed her. 

After Grady and Edaline left, Sophie tossed and turned around in her bed. Who could the leak possibly be? Seeing it was  a known member inside the organization. Was it someone from the collective? Sophie wanted to slap herself after she thought that. How could she think such things? She shouldn't be suspicious of her friends and the collective. They trusted her, and she trusted them back. Whoever the leak was, Sophie was ready to punch her in the stomach. After all these years and her hard work trying to defeat the Neverseen, the leak betrayed them! How could she? All her hard work gone for nothing!

Sophie gritted her teeth, and she was so angry. Angry at the leak and Mr. Forkle for  excluding her from their little " finding the leak" party. She squeezed Ella tighter. There was no way she was going to sleep tonight.