My mind was racing as I walked over to feed Mr. Left's cats the next morning. It was a big stretch. But what if this guy really was a Super? It’s like that story that Dad tells about the dog who chases his tail and one day finally catches it. Fido didn't know what to do. What would I really do if Mr. Left was a Super? I took a deep breath and felt the knots in my belly relax, then I knocked on the kitchen door. Supers were good and helpful. Besides, those fellows didn’t have any proof.

Ms. Higley didn't open the door right away, so I knocked again. I heard footsteps on the other side, except they weren't Ms. Higley's. A man answered the door. "May I help you?"

I stared up at him. He was tall. "Uh, yes, sir. I'm Tyler Kelly? I feed the cats for Ms. Higley." He smiled. If Sydney had seen that, she would have turned into a puddle.

"Yes, she told me about you. Come in, Tyler." He held out his hand. "I'm Stenway." I shook. "You do know where everything is? Then I'll leave you to it. Close the door on your way out, please!" He vanished around a corner.

The cats were very well behaved today (they weren’t as underfoot as usual…) and so I got to school a bit early. I could not wait to see Sydney and tell her about the man who answered the door, so I decided not to go to the drugstore or the park, and instead write up my notes from the day before once I got home. I looked for the fellows before school started to fill them in, but I couldn’t find them. A new person in the Left household wasn’t a big deal, but even little things could add up to big things.

When I finally found Sydney after school, I told her about Stenway. She goes for boys like I go for Supers, except less logically and more crazy. Right away she tried to figure out how to “sneak a peek,” but every idea she came up with was ridiculous. We never took treats to the cats and I could always handle them on my own, and Sydney was definitely allergic to them.

As a result of yesterday afternoon's “problems”, Sydney decided that unless I told Mom and Dad well in advance where I was going to be after school, she was going to stick right next to me, and I next to her. Unfortunately, she decided that she definitely needed new eyeshadow from the drugstore right now, and I had to go along with her. As long as I had to be there, I figured I might as well tell the fellows about Stenway; IF Mr. Left was a Super, THEN Stenway might be his sidekick.

Sydney stayed next to the counter for a few minutes, looking at the pens and stationary, chatting up the counter boy. Keeping an eye on her, I slipped away to the back and found all of the boys except for Peach. I told Chris Blue about the cat feeding and Ms. Higley and, finally, about Stenway. They were mostly quiet, but still I had to describe Stenway four or five times and Dennis took notes.

"So he could be a sidekick."

"Or he could be completely unconnected, a cover for Mr. Left?"

"Or he could just be a normal person, hired by another normal person, to work." I rolled my eyes. Someone had to carry the reality torch.

Chris glared at me. "Dennis’s job. Kelly, do you want our help or not? You don't seem open-minded."

"I just don't want to get too excited. We don’t want to..." I searched for the word... "Bias ourselves." I looked at each of them. "If we can find evidence, then I'll be open-minded. I just think..."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"TJ. Oh, TJ." Sydney almost knocked me into a toothpaste display. "Is that him? Oh, my stars, it has to be him."

Clive nudged Sydney away from me. "Get lost, knee socks."

"Hold up. This is my sister." I pulled her back.

"So you brought a spy?" Clive grabbed my arm.

"No..."

"TJ. Is. that. him." Sydney yanked me towards a rack of magazines and pointed through the gaps, towards the front of the store.

It was definitely Stenway. I signaled back over my shoulder. "Fellows, look. He's there." One by one the boys snuck over to poke their heads over the racks to look.

Sydney sighed. "He's even better than you told me. So tall..."

Clive was glaring dangerously at Sydney so I decided that it was time for her to leave. I bumped her out from behind the stand. The counter boy glanced over. Sydney waved awkwardly, turning back around to me. "TJ..."

"Go. You're going to ruin this for me. Just go. Talk to him for gosh's sake."

Sydney glared at me, and grabbed a comic book at random off the shelf. We watched her march up to the counter. Clive grinned. "Bold move. Bet she doesn't even know what Thor's hammer's is called." Somebody chuckled. Sydney was saying something to Stenway, and he had taken the book out of her hand. He flipped through it and pointed out a page. She leaned over to look. Clive elbowed me and made smooching noises.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm leaving. I'll catch you at the park tomorrow."

"Are you bringing her?" Clive jerked his head at Sydney and smirked. "She’ll be a great addition."

"I'll get rid of her. Don't worry."

"Good luck." Donny shook both of my hands. "Keep your eyes open. Find us if there’s anything suspicious. He doesn’t LOOK dangerous, but you never know, alright? Keep an eye on your sister, don’t let her get too close."

"Right." Always with the theory. "Sydney?" I walked casually to the front of the shop. "Can we go home now?" It felt like everyone in the store was looking at me.

"Tyler. Hello!" Stenway looked from me to Sydney. "You're Sydney's sister?"

I stayed focused on Sydney. "Yeah, we're sisters. Syd, I have homework that I really need to get started on."

Sydney was definitely struggling. As badly as she wanted me to behave myself, was it worth leaving yet?

"Syd, the bus will be here any minute. Come on."

"You're taking the bus?" Stenway handed Sydney back her comic book. "I am as well. I'll ride with you, if I may? I should be going as well."

Sydney nodded and turned to me, grinning. "Come on, Tyler."

"Aren't you going to buy your comic book?" I smiled back at her. I could hear Clive snickering.

"Of course, I almost forgot." Sydney tossed her hair back and bought the book. We followed Stenway out onto the bus, where he paid our fares. Then I got to listen to Sydney giggle and make conversation and try to carry on about comic books. I kept quiet and no one talked to me, so I guess it could have been worse.

When we got to our stop, Stenway shook Sydney's hand, then mine, then Sydney's again. She waved to him when we got off and he waved back. I saw him, though, stare at our house as the bus started to pull away, and it looked like he wrote something down, but I wasn't positive.

Sydney tried to find a way to feed the cats with me again the next morning, but I ducked out the door while Mom was giving her last minute instructions for dinner. She would have just been in my way. Besides, that was my time to think and get ready for my day at school. Stenway wasn't there, anyways. Ms. Higley let me in and told me about her sister's flu and how the pipes were all backed up in her house. I got out of there fast.