Jess hesitated for a moment. Then she sighed and turo face Risebelle.

  “Risebelle, it’s… it’s about my ex-boyfriend. He was involved in some shady stuff and then without even realizing, I became ensnared in his web of shady stuff. The individuals he associated with, they’re relentless... They’ve been trying to get some information out of me.”

  Risebelle’s mind raced as she tried to process what Jess had just revealed. “Information? What kind of informatiohey after, Jess?”

  Jess swallowed hard, her eyes filled with fear. “I ’t tell you all the details, but it’s somethied to the school. They think I help them, but I ’t, Risebelle. We’re not together anymore.”

  Suddenly, a young man interrupted their versation, surprising both Risebelle and Jess, who had believed their discussion rivate in the courtyard. He spoke with a shy and nervous demeanor, his curiosity getting the better of him.

  His presence exuded a delicate yet enthralling charm. His cropped hair, meticulously arranged, framed his visage with precision, enhang his allure. Ethereal qualities graced his features, captivating the observer. Notably, his verdant eyes shimmered with a glint of inquisitiveness, addih to his captivating gaze. His slender physique and graceful bearing tributed to his singur magism, f an irresistible bination.

  He approached Risebelle and Jess with a soft and timid tone of speech, “I’m sorry to interrupt but I couldn’t help but overhear your versation. It sounded important and I thought I might be able to help.”

  Risebelle and Jess exged surprised gnces before turning their attention to the young man. Risebelle spoke cautiously, “Who are you? Wait. You’re Harty, aren’t you? The Uable chess pyer.”

  Harty nodded, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks at the reition. “Yes, that’s me. I’m Harty.”

  Risebelle aowledged Harty’s identity with a nod nition. “Aren’t you from the chess club? Your name is Harty. You’re quite the pyer. I’ve never mao beat you. The hell are you doing eavesdropping on us?”

  Harty chuckled nervously, “Oh, well, I’ve been pying chess for a long time, so I’ve had a lot of practice bu--”

  “—That’s not what I asked you. Why, Where. You. Eavesdropping?!”

  Harty rubbed the back of his head” W-Well you see, I uh, I was just happeo be in the area at the time and you girls both started talking so…it sounds like you’re in some trouble?”

  Jess sighed, realizing that their versation was no longer a secret. “Yeah, we are. And it’s not just any trouble, Harty. It’s dangerous.”

  Harty nodded with a foocused look in his clear green eyes. “I help you, Jess, Risebelle. I am not a full-fledged detective yet but I’m in training, and I’ve learned a few things. Besides, I’ve always had a knack for solving puzzles and this sounds like a case that needs solving.”

  Risebelle and Jess exged gnces, sidering Harty’s offer. Jess finally spoke with gratitude, “Harty, reciate your willio help. We’re just not sure how to hahis situation ourselves.”

  Harty smiled warmly, relieved that they were willing to accept his assistance. “Great. Here’s the pn. After the chess club meeting today, I’ll ih of you to stay. I have permission to use the entire room as my base of operations. It’s a quiet pce, and we brainstorm and e up with a pn to deal with this.”

  Risebelle nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a pn, Harty. We’ll meet you there after were done ying chess. Thank you for your help.”

  Harty gave them a reassuring nod. “You’re wele. We’ll get to the bottom of this, together.”

  As the chess club meeting began, Risebelle settled into her usual spot, preparing for a challenging game. She had always ehe intellectual stimution that chess provided and it was a nice distra from the worries of the day.

  The members arrived and started to set up their boards. Risebelle’s eyes widened in surprise though when she saw Jess entering the room. It was a rare sight to see Jess ing to a pce like this.

  Risebelle could only find herself smiling at the ued surprise. She waved at Jess, gesturing for her to join the game. “Jess, I didn’t expect to see you here… you’re usually too busy to e to events like these. Are you up fame?”

  Jess grinned mischievously as she approached Risebelle’s board. “Hay girl, I figured I’d ge things up a bit today. Why not? Let’s see if I beat you at your own game.”

  The other people within the room looked on in curiosity as Risebelle and Jess began their match. It was clear that Jess was not as experienced as Risebelle but she pyed with enthusiasm and in a slightly seductive manner.

  The chess pieces moved methodically across the board as Jess tried her best to outmaneuver Risebelle. She had a fierce look in her eyes and her moves were bold, desigo trap Risebelle’s king.

  However, Ohe game reached a critical moment, Jess’s excitement got the best of her. She made a move that she believed was a brilliaup to checkmate Risebelle. With a fident smile, she looked at Risebelle and said, “I’ve got you now, Risebelle. There’s no way out of this one!”

  Risebelle surveyed the board keeping calm and focused. She saw the opportunity for a quick victory and seized it. With a sly grin, she moved her rook horizontally and said, “Checkmate.”

  Jess blinked in disbelief, her excitement turning into astonishment. She couldn’t believe how quickly the game had ended.

  “What? How did that happen? I thought I had you ered!”

  Risebelle chuckled, realizing that Jess had overextended herself in her eagero win. “You pyed well Jess, but sometimes in chess it’s better to be patient and not rush things. It’s all about strategy and thinking ahead.”

  The group gathered around them appuded Risebelle’s victory, impressed by her quid decisive win. Jess, though surprised ended up ughing. “Well, you got me there, Risebelle. I guess I o work on my ‘patience’.”

  Risebelle smiled aended a hand to Jess. “It was a good game, Jess. You’ll get better with practice. And hey, it’s all in good fun.”

  After the chess club meeting cluded, Harty, who had been quietly the games, approached Risebelle and Jess with a warm smile. “I hope you both had fun, especially with Jess’s rare appeara’s not every day we get to see her here.”

  Risebelle nodded, clearly enjoying the ge of pace. “Yeah, it was a nice surprise. Jess always brings some excitement.”

  With a quice around the area, Harty began rearranging the desks aing up the chalkboard in a mahat resembled a iigator’s workspace. He pinned up several pictures and notes, creating an anized yet mysterious atmosphere.

  Once everything was in pce, Harty gestured for Risebelle ao take a seat. “Alright, dies, now that we have some privacy, let’s get down to business. As I mentioned earlier, I am a greenhorn at detective work and I believe I help you with your situation.”

  Risebelle and Jess exged curious gnces before turning their attention to Harty, ready to hear what he had to say.

  Harty wasted no time iing down to business. He began by dispying a series of photographs, dots and notes on the chalkboard. Risebelle and Jess exged surprised gnces when they saw the extent of the evidence he had gathered.

  Risebelle couldn’t help but speak up with awe. “Harty, this is... impressive. How did you gather all of this information?”

  Harty smiled modestly, adjusting his gsses as he expined. “I have access to various resources and I’ve been things for a while now. You’d be surprised what you learn if you pay close attention.”

  As Harty tio expin the evidence he had gathered, Jess batted her eyeshes and fshed a flirtatious smile, leaning in closer to Harty. “Harty, you’re not just a chess prodigy; you’re a cool iigativey guy too? That’s incredibly impressive. You must be quite the catch.”

  Harty blushed slightly at Jess’s flirtatious demeanor but maintained his posure. “Thank you Jess but I am still just in training...haha...”

  Risebelle lowered her eyes as she gently addressed Harty while folding her arms. “Harty, don’t take Jess too seriously. She has a way of being flirtatious. We’re here for your skills and assistah our situation.”

  Jess pouted and turo Risebelle “Oh, Risebelle, you’re no fun! ’t a girl appreciate talent when she sees it?”

  Risebelle sighed softly. She has a hint of in her eyes .“You have a habit of being an idiot most of the times aing yourself in trouble. We’re dealing with a serious situation here. Harty’s helping us out and you should respect that.”

  Jess rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement. “Fine, fine, you’re right, as always, Risebelle. I’ll behave myself.”

  Harty, who had been their exge cleared his throat and redirected the versation back to the matter at hand. “Thank you, now, let’s focus on the information I’ve gathered. It appears that Jess has bee trapped in a situatioed to her ex-boyfriend and there are people who want something from her.”

  Jess nodded, her pyful demeanor shifting to one of seriousness. “That’s right. They think I have information about the school and somethied to my ex.... But I don’t and I don’t want to be involved in whatever they’re pnning.”

  Harty leaned in with his eyes narrowing. “This is precisely why we must obtain the identities and motives of these individuals. I have reason to believe that we possess a lead that could serve as our starting point.”

  Harty tapped his finger on one of the dots dispyed on the chalkboard as he spoke. “Our first lead is the meeting scheduled for 7 tonight. It’s a crucial opportunity for us to gather information about who’s involved and what they’re pnning. We have approximately two hours to prepare and gather any additional details.”

  Risebelle nodded in agreement. “You’re right, Harty. We ’t afford to waste any time. Jess’s safety is at stake. We o find out who these people are and what they want from her.”

  Harty gave a reassuring smile. “Great. First we’ll o find out the location of this meeting. Jess, do you got any clue where it might take pce or who might be involved?”

  Jess thought for a moment before shaking her head. “I holy don’t know much about their pns. My ex-boyfriend was always secretive about these things. But I ask around discreetly and see if I gather any information.”

  Risebelle chimed in with a suggestion. “In the meantime, Harty, maybe you could dig deeper into the es your evidence has revealed. We might uncover something useful.”

  Harty nodded in agreement. “That’s a good idea, Risebelle. I’ll tinue my iigation while Jess looks for leads. Let’s revene in an hour with any new information we’ve gathered.”

  As Risebelle left the meeting and made her way outside, she spotted Ating on a school bench looking annoyed. Angie was deeply engrossed in pying a handheld game, tapping the s and shouting at it

  “e on! e on! Hit the bastard damn it!”

  Risebelle approached her friend and greeted her with a warm smile. “Hey, Angie. Waiting for your ride again?”

  Angie gnced up from her game and was clearly irritated.. “Yeah and they’re te, as usual. I swear, it’s like they have no cept of time.”

  Risebelle took a seat o Arying to offer some fort. “I’m sorry to hear that, Angie. I bet it gets you pretty mad doesen’t it. How about I give you some help on that game? It seems to be beating you up.”

  Angie shrugged, her eyes never leaving her game. “Nah, I’ll survive. I just wish they weren’t asses whet their daughter. It’s not like I have all day to sit around here.”

  Risebelle chuckled softly, uanding Angie’s impatience. “I get it. Maybe you should sider taking the bus or something. At least then you’d have a more reliable way to get home.”

  Angie grumbled in respoh a pout of her face. “Ugh, I haaaate buses. They’re always so crowded and noisy!”

  Angie’s Anger seemed to grow as she tio tap on her game. After a moment of silence, she g Risebelle with a curious yet irritable look.

  “By the way, Risebelle,” Angie began, “I saw you talking to that Harty guy from the chess club. What’s up with that?”

  Risebelle raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. “E-Eh?”