The rookie Groupchat

Nyla Harper's Undercover Disaster

N:I almost blew my own undercover op. I swear, it was like something out of a bad sitcom.

A:Wait, you messed up an undercover mission? That's hard to believe. You're like the queen of undercover.

J:Yeah, seriously. I thought you were too cool for something like that.

N:Oh, trust me, I thought so too. But this one was a train wreck from the start. So, I was supposed to infiltrate this small-time drug operation. The guys running it were sloppy, but their boss was paranoid. I had to play it cool, act like I belonged, and everything was fine until,get this,I ran into someone from high school.

L:No way. What are the odds?

N:I know, right? Of all the places in LA, I run into Lauren.this girl who used to sit next to me in algebra. She's with the guy I'm supposed to be tailing, and the moment she sees me, her eyes go wide, and she's like, "Nyla? Is that you?"

T:No. Please tell me you played it off.

N:I tried! I gave her this blank stare, like, "Who's Nyla? You've got the wrong person." But she wasn't buying it. She kept going, "No, no, it's definitely you! Remember? Algebra class, sophomore year? You were so good at math. What are you doing here?"

C:Oh my God. That's the worst.

J:I would've panicked right there.

N:Oh, I was panicking, alright. But I tried to stay calm, told her I didn't know what she was talking about and tried to walk away. But then she grabs the guy's arm,the one I'm supposed to be watching,and goes, "Babe, this is Nyla. She was one of the smartest kids in school. You should've seen her kill it in algebra."

L:Oh no.

N:Oh yes. And the guy just stares at me, and I'm like, "Well, this is it. I'm blown." But then the weirdest thing happens. He just shrugs and says, "Cool." Like, no questions, no suspicion, nothing. Just "cool." I couldn't believe it.

A:Wow. That guy must have been a real genius.

T:Right? You'd think someone running a drug ring would be more... paranoid?

N:I was just as shocked as you are. So I thought, "Okay, maybe I'm safe. Just play it cool, Nyla." But Lauren wasn't done. She keeps chatting me up, asking me all these high school reunion-type questions: "Where have you been? What are you up to now? Are you married?"

C:You've got to be kidding me. How did you not blow your cover?

N:Barely. I'm trying to dodge the questions, but Lauren keeps pushing. She's like, "Are you still into math? You were always the math nerd." So now, I'm thinking, "This is how it ends. Death by algebra."

J:I'd pay good money to see that. You, in full undercover mode, getting outed by high school gossip.

N:It was bad. But then it got worse. The boss,the paranoid one,finally shows up. He's sizing me up, and I can feel him trying to figure out if I belong. Meanwhile, Lauren is still talking my ear off, trying to introduce me to everyone like I'm some long-lost friend.

L:Oh my God, Nyla. That's a nightmare.

N:Exactly. I'm sweating bullets, trying to keep it together. The boss pulls Lauren's boyfriend aside, and they start whispering. I'm convinced my cover is blown. Then the boss looks straight at me and says, "I've got a job for you."

T:What kind of job?

N:That's the crazy part. He wanted me to do accounting for them. He figured, since I was "so good at math," I could help them with their books.

J:No. Way.

A:That's hilarious. They wanted you to be their accountant?

N:Yup. At this point, I'm thinking, "Okay, maybe this is actually going to work." So, I go along with it. I start pretending I'm interested, asking questions like, "How do you guys track your cash flow?" and "What kind of inventory system are you using?"Just to buy myself some time.

C:And they actually believed you?

N:They were eating it up. I don't think they had ever even heard of proper accounting. The boss was impressed. He's like, "We've needed someone like you. Our last guy couldn't even handle basic math."

L:This is unreal. You were undercover as their accountant?

N:For about twenty minutes, yeah. I'm sitting there, pretending to work through their finances, when I manage to slip a message to my backup team. Luckily, they were close by. But of course, things don't go smoothly.

T:Of course not.

N:As I'm wrapping up the "accounting session," Lauren suddenly says, "Oh my God, we should totally catch up after this!" I'm sweating, trying to stay calm, and then, just as she's about to go in for a hug, the backup team bursts in. Guns drawn, shouting, "LAPD!" It was chaos.

A:That sounds like something straight out of a movie.

N:Oh, it gets better. Lauren freaks out, throws her purse at me, and screams, "I knew you looked familiar!" as if she'd figured out the whole thing from the start. Meanwhile, her boyfriend and the boss are too busy trying to figure out what the heck is going on. They're running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Total disaster.

J:I wish I could've seen that.

L:I can't believe it. So, did you arrest them?

N:Yeah, we got everyone. But Lauren kept looking at me like I'd betrayed her, and honestly, I felt kind of bad. She was just trying to reconnect with an old classmate. She had no idea she was dating a criminal.

C:That's wild. Only you, Nyla. Only you.

T:So let me get this straight You almost blew your own op because of a high school reunion moment?

N:Pretty much. But hey, it worked out in the end. We got the bad guys, and I didn't have to fake my way through any more accounting.

A:Honestly, Nyla, I'm impressed you didn't break earlier. I don't know if I could've kept a straight face through all that.

N:Trust me, I was barely holding it together. But next time? No more undercover ops near anyone from high school. That's a rule.