The meeting wrapped up and Risebelle stepped outside, greeted by the glow of streetlights and the creeping presence of nightfall. The air had that crisp, sharp edge to it—one that usually signaled winter’s arrival. Yet, strangely, she didn’t feel all that cold today.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

  “What?! The boss regained fifty bars?! What the hell? How is that fair!?”

  Risebelle turned her head and spotted Angie who was absorbed in her game and mashing the buttons on her handheld device with growing frustration.

  “Hit it! Hit i—”

  A long, defeated groan followed. Angie slumped back against the bench and gripped her device like she was about to hurl it into the abyss.

  Risebelle approached her friend and sat next to her. "Hey, Angie. Waiting for your ride again?"

  Angie glanced up to Risebelle. "Yeah and they're late, as usual. I swear, it's like they have no concept of time."

  Risebelle smirked. "Ever thought about just taking the bus?"

  Angie made a face like she just bit into a rotten fruit. "Ugh. I hate taking the bus."

  She leaned forward. "It’s always noisy, people smell weird, and sometimes—" she held up a finger, "there’s this fat driver who says ‘No games allowed on my bus.’ Like, what kind of psycho rule is that? And then—then—he confiscates my devices!"

  Risebelle raised an eyebrow. "Wait, he actually takes them?"

  Angie nodded furiously. "Like he’s some kind of school principal from hell. I almost had to fight for my console last time. I swear, if I ever see that guy outside of work, I’m decking him!”

  Angie narrowed her eyes and spoke with slight irritation. "By the way, Risebelle... I saw you and Jess with Harty behind the school building a few hours ago…What was that about?"

  Risebelle stiffened slightly. ‘Aw hell. ‘She hadn’t thought anyone was actually watching them.

  Angie huffed and crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you still haven’t stopped hanging out with that bitch Jess yet."

  ‘Woah’. Risebelle blinked. She’s missing some serious context.

  Her first instinct was to dive into her memories and try to piece together what she might've missed, but Angie wasn’t going to give her the luxury of time. That glare said ‘talk now’.

  Thinking fast, Risebelle leaned back slightly and put on a casual tone. "Huh. That’s a pretty strong opinion, Angie. Something happen between you two?"

  Angie narrowed her eyes. "You don’t know?"

  Risebelle shrugged. "Should I?"

  "Of course, you’d play dumb about it now," Angie scoffed. "Jess and I had the same boyfriend. Ryan. You were the one who warned me about Jess, remember? And you were right. I saw her for what she really was."

  Risebelle bit the inside of her cheek.

  Angie continued with frustration. "I left Ryan when he started getting into shady shit—underground gaming tournaments, competing for cash prizes. It was always high-risk stuff, like his whole damn identity was on the line in some of those tournaments."

  Risebelle frowned. "Wait. He was gambling with his identity?"

  "Yeah," Angie muttered. "Some real sketchy-ass deals. And every time I told him to stop, he’d get super pissed—like, scary pissed. And you know what he'd always throw in my face?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Jess."

  Risebelle folded her arms. "So he used Jess as a threat?"

  "Basically," Angie said while crossing her legs. "Anytime I tried to stop him, he’d act like I was replaceable. Like he had a backup plan with her. I got out before shit got worse, but I'm telling you, Risebelle… that girl is bad news."

  Risebelle hesitated. "Jess isn’t that bad."

  Angie raised her eyebrows so high that they nearly vanished into her hairline. "Are you serious right now?"

  Risebelle groaned. "Okay, okay—she is that bad, but she’s… uh…" She trailed off.

  Jess was loud. Reckless. A pain in the ass. A complete idiot.

  Risebelle’s mind went blank. Angie glared at her.

  "She’s… persistent?" Risebelle finally said while wincing just when the words left her mouth.

  Angie snorted. "Yeah, like a cockroach."

  Risebelle sighed internally. ‘Yeah, no use trying to make those two kiss and make up when I know they’re both idiots.’

  Instead, she shifted gears. “Alright, forget Jess for a second. What about Ryan? Do you know where he usually hangs out?”

  Angie leaned back on the bench. “Not really, but, you know… I’ve heard rumors about some of the places he used to game at.”

  Risebelle perked up. “Go on.”

  “There’s this run-down arcade on the outskirts of town. Shady as hell, half the machines are probably older than we are, but it’s where some of those underground gaming tournaments were happening. If he’s still in that scene, he might’ve been gaming down there.”

  Risebelle nodded. “Thanks, Angie.”

  Angie narrowed her eyes. “Mhm. Bet you’re on some agenda with Harty and her though. Why else would you wanna know about Ryan?”

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  Risebelle stiffened. She opened her mouth to say something, but—

  “Not that I care that much,” Angie cut in with something suspiciously close to jealousy. “As long as we can still game, whatever.”

  Risebelle smirked a little. “Uh-huh...You got a little red on your cheek, by the way.”

  Angie scoffed and looked away. “Tch. Whatever. Just so you know, trying to hunt down Ryan’s as dangerous as a boss with 100 HP bars.”

  Angie’s phone suddenly rang. She quickly answered it with an irritated look.

  Angie shouted into the phone, “MOM WHAT THE HELL! You're so! Freakin! late! I've been gaming here for ages!"

  On the other end of the call, Angie's mother sighed. "Angie, I'm sorry but I won't be able to pick you up today… I really hope you can--."

  Angie groaned loudly and interrupted her. "Oh, let me guess—something ‘super important’ came up again, huh? Work emergency? Last-minute errand? Or did you just forget—AGAIN?!"

  Her mother remained calm. "Angie, I really am sorry. I didn’t plan for this, but I need you to find another way home tonight."

  Angie let out a bitter laugh. “Of course you didn’t plan for this. You never do. You always just assume I’ll figure it out. Do you even know how many times this happened?”

  Her mother sighed. "I know, sweetheart. I really do. I don’t want you to think I don’t care—"

  “But you don’t!” Angie snapped. “If you did, you’d at least TRY to be on time! But no, it’s always the same damn excuse—”

  "Angie—"

  “—And I bet you’re not even gonna offer to make it up to me, huh? Just another ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘you’ll be fine’ and then you’ll hang up and pretend I’m not pissed about this AGAIN!”

  There was silence on the other end, followed by one last tired sigh. "...I really am sorry, Angie."

  And then—click.

  Angie stared at her phone after the call ended. A slow, angry exhale left her lips. Then, she muttered, “I hate when she does that.”

  Risebelle hesitated for a moment before speaking. “You okay?”

  Angie scoffed and stuffed her phone into her pocket. “Yeah. I can walk home. For the umpteenth time. In the dark. No big deal.”

  Risebelle frowned. “I can walk with you—”

  “Nah, I’m fine.” Angie stretched her arms. “Besides, shouldn’t you be focusing on your super-secret detective club with Harty?”

  Risebelle blinked. “...Excuse me?”

  Angie laughed. “Oh, come on. You think I didn’t notice? You, Harty, and ugh Jess— in that chess room? I dunno what you’re investigating, but damn, Risebelle. You really jumped headfirst into whatever weird little mystery he’s cooking up.”

  Risebelle scowled. “It’s not—”

  “Relax, relax, I’m not mad at you or anything.” Angie waved her off with a smirk. “Just saying, very interesting crowd you’re rolling with these days.”

  With that, she got up from the bench, turned and walked away.

  Risebelle cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “Angie! You’ve been following me the entire day, haven’t you?”

  Angie stopped dead in her tracks. Her body stiffened before she slowly turned her head. “...Excuse me?”

  Risebelle smirked and crossed her arms. “Oh, don’t play dumb now. You just happened to know I was in the chess room? With Harty and Jess? Come on.”

  Angie looked off to the side. “Maybe I saw you guys. In passing. A few times.”

  Risebelle chuckled. “Angie, you’re smarter than you look.”

  Angie huffed and turned away. “Yeah, yeah. Keep solving your little mysteries, detective.”

  Risebelle grinned. “See you around, shadow.”

  Risebelle joined Harty and Jess in their makeshift detective's room after her talk with Angie. Harty had his notes and evidence spread out on the desk, while Jess appeared anxious.

  Harty looked up at Risebelle and spoke with a hint of bitterness in his tone. "I've been trying to dig deeper but I haven't found anything more than what we already had...”

  Jess groaned. "I asked some of those girls who hang around after hours for the gaming club. Thought maybe they’d know something about Ryan. Y'know, casual questions, real subtle." She exhaled sharply. "They threatened to beat my ass."

  Risebelle blinked. "What?"

  Jess shrugged. "Yeah, and I already got my ass handed to me once today, so I wasn’t about to make it twice. I got out of there real quick."

  Risebelle frowned. "Are you feeling okay? You were limping around earlier."

  Jess grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "Never better! One power nap and boom—good as new. No more limping, no more whining. I’m ready for round two, baby!"

  Risebelle shook her head with an amused scoff before speaking. "Alright, my turn. I asked around and got a possible lead. There’s a run-down arcade on the outskirts of town—one of the places Ryan used to go for those shady underground gaming tournaments. If he’s involved in whatever’s going down at seven that might be a good place to start looking."

  Harty tapped his fingers on the desk. "An old arcade, huh? Sounds sketchy enough to be worth checking out."

  Jess closed her eyes, deep in thought for a moment.

  Risebelle stared at Jess with slight awe said, "Are you actually thinking?"

  Jess ignored her. Then, she opened her eyes and she snapped her fingers moments later. “Silver Star Arcade! I remember now. That place is still kinda popular, but yeah, Ryan and I went on a date there once.”

  Harty raised an eyebrow. “And?”

  “Well… some things were weird. Ryan was on a major losing streak—like, bad. Then he suddenly left, said he had to hit the bathroom. When he came back, boom, a bunch of coins, like he’d just hit the jackpot somewhere.” Jess exhaled through her nose. “I asked him where he got ‘em, but he just brushed it off. And at the time, I didn’t care. I was just… happy, y’know?”

  Risebelle dragged a hand down her face and groaned. ‘Goddamnit that should’ve been the first red flag.’

  Risebelle exchanged a knowing glance with Harty, realizing that this piece of the puzzle might be crucial in their investigation. "So, Jess, you're saying that this could be connected to whatever trouble Ryan got himself into. It's definitely worth checking out."

  Harty nodded. “Alright, we have a location. It’s time to see what this place looks like for ourselves.”

  The group gathered their things and made their way toward the Silver Star Arcade. The place was run-down. The neon sign above the entrance flickered. The exterior had cracks running along the walls and the paint was peeling in spots.

  And yet, despite its shabbiness, the soft glow of arcade machines peeked through the windows with the nostalgic sounds of electronic beeps and chiptune music spilling into the street. People still came here, meaning the place still had a pull.

  Jess folded her arms. “Yep. Still looks the same. Kinda.”

  Risebelle sighed. “This is obviously the kind of place shady deals happen.”

  Harty adjusted his glasses. “Let’s not judge too fast. We need to find out what’s really going on in there.”

  With that, they stepped forward and entered the arcade.

  Despite the run-down exterior, the interior seemed to be thriving with life and energy. Rows of gaming cabinets were occupied by enthusiastic players who seemed to be very competitive.

  Risebelle wrinkled her nose. "Something this low-quality shouldn’t have this many people."

  Harty adjusted his glasses and scanned the room. "Well… sometimes places like this have a certain charm, you know? Cheap prices, dedicated regulars—" He trailed off and his brows furrowed. "Still, this many people… We should keep an eye out for anyone suspicious."

  Risebelle nodded, turning to Jess. "You got that, Jess—?"

  But the spot where Jess had been standing was empty.

  Risebelle groaned and rubbed her temples. "Idiot..."

  Jess spotted a classic fighting simulator that she used to enjoy playing with Ryan. ‘Rage of the streets 2’. Jess inserted a quarter into the machine but the machine spat it out. Jess then remembered she had to change it into game coins.

  Jess turned and hummed while making her way towards one of the change machines. But just when she rounded a corner—

  Bump.

  She nearly stumbled back but caught herself, looking up to see Risebelle standing there with her hands on her hips. Her eyes were lowered and she looked at her sternly.

  Jess opened her mouth. She was ready to make up an excuse but—

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  Risebelle’s foot drummed against the floor impatiently.

  Jess frowned and slumped her shoulders. "Alright, alright, I get it…"

  Risebelle sighed. "Don't ditch me again."

  Right after saying that, Risebelle’s eyes suddenly widened. Her entire posture stiffened as if she had just seen a ghost.

  “What the f—” she started, but the words caught in her throat.

  Jess blinked. “Huh? What’s the problem now?” She turned to follow Risebelle’s stunned gaze—

  She now saw it too.

  Her breath hitched. “There’s no frikin way…”

  Project Mage