"I'm telling you, something's up with those guys." Cole leaned over the back of the bus seat.

"Quit bugging me, Cole." Gianna went to pull her headphones on, but Cole stopped her. She rolled her eyes.

"Seriously. At practice the other day? Some guy came and talked to that Seth kid, and he just ran off. Didn't even talk to coach. That's practically asking to be booted off the team, but he didn't care." Cole shook his head. "Come on. What's Kendra like? You share classes with her, right?"

Gianna shrugged. "She's okay. Normal senior. Smart, nice, whatever. Always texting her mystery boyfriend."

"Mystery boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Braden or something. I guess that's weird, but honestly, it's not that big a deal."

Cole drummed his fingers on the bus seat. "Yeah, I know. But you remember the rumors."

Gianna recalled what he was talking about. A couple of weeks ago a group of ospreys had been flying around town after they had escaped from a nearby nature preserve. Most people had stayed indoors when they were in their area, but a few kids in Gianna and Cole's high school had claimed to see Seth and Kendra in the animal control team. A grainy photo and a million promises of "I swear I'm not lying" were all anyone had, but it had been enough to make some kids suspicious. Including Cole.

Gianna sighed. Cole was no conspiracy theorist, but he loved a good mystery, and he had no hesitations dragging her into this as well. On the bright side, she had started being friends with Kendra. At least she had that going for her.

The bus stopped, the doors opened, and the siblings in question stepped on. Kendra curled up with her backpack and dozed off, while Seth pulled out his earbuds. Gianna nodded towards them. "If you're so curious about why Seth ditched football practice, why don't you ask him?" she deadpanned.

"I guess," said Cole. "Be right back."

Gianna watched as Cole sat down next to Seth and started talking. The two boys exchanged a bit of conversation, Seth gave a dismissive hand wave, and Cole shrugged and said something about the coach. Seth laughed.

Gianna tilted her head at Cole as he took his seat in front of her again. "So? Anything cool?"

"He said it was a family emergency, no big deal," reported Cole. "Still doesn't care about coach, either. Said he's got bigger things to worry about than football? Not sure what that meant, but it seemed a little off."

"You ask about the osprey thing?"

"No way. I'm not letting him know that I'm suspicious."

Gianna sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Whatever. You've still got plenty of time to figure this out. It's only November."

This was going to be a long school year.