Dr. Mercer called a private meeting with the families whose equipment had come through Mobility Bridge.
There would be inspections.
The school district arranged temporary replacements where needed.
Nobody announced details about a possible investigation.
Rumors appeared anyway.
Middle school had always seemed capable of generating a complete fictional universe from three facts and half a sentence.
By lunch, students claimed that Julian had stopped an international wheelchair-smuggling organization.
By afternoon, someone insisted the FBI had interrogated the principal.
Maya rolled beside Julian through the cafeteria.
“Apparently we’re famous.”
“I hate this.”
“I’ve been told you’re an undercover agent.”
“I got a C-minus in Spanish.”
“Excellent cover.”
They sat at their usual table.
Ethan Park joined them.
He was the student who had helped steady Maya’s broken chair.
“You two know people are selling versions of this story faster than concert tickets?”
Julian groaned.
“What are they saying now?”
