Raising my pinky finger, I clasp it around hers. “Best friends forever.”
The door opens, and Dylan comes in first, Conner following. Sammy and I sit up straight in our seats.
“What’s the verdict?” Sammy asks before they can even sit down.
“Well…” Dylan scratches his head with a grave look on his face. “He went around nine times. He had his windows up and drove slower when he neared where we hang out.”
I then turn towards Conner. He takes a sip of his water before handing it to me. “He drove fast around the front until he got to the car park. He slowed down. I think he was scanning it, in case you were there, getting ready to leave, and then he sped off after passing the car park.”
I unzip my bag and search for the rest of the sandwich. After listening to this news, I need something to eat and something to do before I panic and hyperventilate.
I rummage for it while Sammy talks about what to do next. Moving my pencil case out of the way, I grab the packaged sandwich when something catches my eye. I furrow my brows while holding the block piece of machinery that fits perfectly within my hand.
“Can I have a look?” Conner asks, immediately at my side.
“Oh… okay.” I hand him the device. He flips it over, pulls out his phone, and types in the serial number on the back of it. Sammy stops talking, also curious about what I handed him.
“What is it?” Dylan asks.
Conner closes his eyes and breathes out deeply. “It’s a police GPS tracker,” he announces.
“What the fuck,” Sammy breathes. “Your dad is going into full FBI mode on you. That’s fucked up.”
“What should we do with it?” Dylan demands. “We need to get rid of it. Destroy the evidence, right?”
“No.” Conner places it back in my bag. “From what I read online—don’t quote me—this type of tracker is enhanced. Some trackers show a location that you’re around that general area, but this one is…” His eyes focus on his phone. “This GPS tracker knows she’s in this building specifically. It knows she’s in this room. This GPS shows her exact location. So, wherever her bag goes, her dad will know.”
“Can’t we swap, then?” Sammy asks. “Put it in my bag, and you two head to the parking lot while I pretend I’m still at the school.”
“We don’t know how long it’s been in her bag,” Dylan chimes in.
“And?” Sammy questions.
“Think about it. What if it was in her bag for weeks? Even months. Her dad has been tracking her location this entire time and knows her school routine. Taking the GPS tracker won’t do anything but make her dad more suspicious.”
“Shit.” Sammy groans. “What do we do now?”
“Pretend as if we never found it,” Conner declares. “We’re going to sneak away tonight while she’s at work. If it fails, we can think of how to abuse this knowledge for tomorrow.”
“What happens after our plan succeeds?” Sammy asks. “Her dad will probably ask the principal if Noya has been at school. He will call me, but he will also try to call Andy. And we all know Andy and Noya aren’t on good terms.”
“I don’t think he’d do anything to harm Noya,” Dylan defends. “I know he doesn’t like Noya’s dad. He has mentioned it a few times when he was drunk, talking about Noya and hoping she was okay at home. I thought it was because Noya had strict parents… nothing like this batshit crazy, living in astalker thriller movie crap.” He smiles apologetically at me. “No offence.”
“None taken,” I murmur.
“That still doesn’t help us if Noya’s dad rocks up at school while she’s here,” Sammy says.
“I thought of that when we planned to move in together,” Conner muses. “If the principal agrees, I can attend her class to get the work she needs. She might not need to, considering school is nearly finished.” He places his hand on my leg and turns to me. “You might need to do online Year Twelve next year, though, if your dad persists. Also, get rid of that phone. Who knows what your dad secretly installed on there?”
“Now?” I question.
“When we leave,” Conner replies.
The bell rings for class.
Before leaving with Dylan, Sammy says, “Message me if you end up doing it tonight.”
Conner wraps his arms around my shoulders and presses his lips against my temple.