Author's Note: I've been working on this story since January and I'm glad it's finally done. There are some OCs, but they aren't the main characters.

Betaed by the awesome BRMM on the Recess forum.

"I can't believe it! This is the third cookie he's gotten today!"

Douglas put down his binoculars as he watched Third Street's resident snitch get rewarded yet another treat from Miss Finster. He sighed and turned around to face the rest of the top area of Old Rusty and his friends. Lizzie was sitting on one side, leaning against the bars and playing with her long brown hair. Matt was opposite her, trying to get his Monstickers in order to put in with the rest of his collection.

"Well, we'reall out of cookies," said Lizzie, annoyed. She stopped playing with her hair and sat up straight before leaning over and grabbing the bag that previously held their cookies. She looked inside as if more would magically appear. Of course, they didn't and she pouted.

"Yeah, it's too bad you couldn't keep that snitching job with Miss Finster," Matt muttered. Douglas sent him a glare, but Matt didn't even bother to look up. He paused to push his glasses back up his nose and put one of his Monstickers into a plastic slip and put it in a pile. "There's got to be a better way to get free cookies and pudding anyway."

Douglas rested his chin in his hands. He had been about to give up when Miss Finster finally took him up on his offer to replace Randall. He had told her before of his desire to replace the red-head, and he even caught a few kids doing things they weren't supposed to, to prove to her that he'd be better. It seemed like she was ignoring him until that day. It didn't last long however. Not ten minutes later she took the little weasel back and kicked Douglas to the curb! The next day, Douglas couldn't help but notice Randall walk by, grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary. His anger began to simmer at the memory.

Douglas's train of thought was interrupted when he dimly heard someone climbing up the metal ladder up to the top of Old Rusty. He glanced up to see his third friend, Gilbert. There was a big grin on Gilbert's face and he was practically bouncing where he stood. "Hey guys! Lookit what—"

"There isn't." A crunching sound filled the area as Lizzie crumpled the bag. "If he could get that job then we'd have a whole bag of cookies every day! And that's not even including the pudding and whatever else he'd get!"

"Maybe…"

"Guys!"

"Maybe?! I know he'd make more cookies than Weems. He has those new binoculars that have a light on them! Don't you?"

Douglas realized Lizzie was looking at him. He picked up his binoculars and moved the eye pieces around. "Yeah. They weren't cheap."

"Guys!—"

"And," Lizzie continued, louder than she needed to, and turned back to Matt. "Remember that day we went to the mall? He saw that boy who was stealing almost half an hour before the store noticed." She crushed the bag into a tight ball before throwing it into the air and catching it. "So, I'm sure he'd make at least a few cookies every day." Douglas thought that if Randall could do it, he could too. It couldn't be too hard to catch a few kids every day. He stayed quiet, though, perfectly fine to hang back and listen to his friends talk.

"Guuuys?" Gilbert was visibly pouting now and Douglas tried hard not to laugh at him. Sometimes he could be so overdramatic.

Matt gathered his Monstickers and placed them in a small metal container before finally looking up. "Yeah, but…Well…If he did get the job then…" He scrunched up his face in thought for a moment before turning to Douglas. However, Douglas frowned. He had no idea what his friend was trying to get at. So, he turned to Lizzie. She and Matt had been friends for longer than any of them and sometimes they could just about read each other's minds. She looked back at him, just as confused.

Then, her face lit up as she understood. "Oh, come on! Of course we wouldn't get into any trouble. Other kids will get caught. Not us. Though," She leaned back and tapped her lips, "maybe it would be worth it if we got caught for something small if we'd get a bunch of cookies. Hmm…"

"Hmph! Well, fine then! See if I care!" Gilbert practically strutted past them and sat down in a corner. Douglas wasn't worried about him. If it was something important he'd start bugging them about it again in a few minutes.

Matt grabbed the lid to his container and pushed it closed. "Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. He lost his chance. Miss Finster hasn't come to him again and Randall's been catching enough kids that she probably won't any time soon. So, it doesn't matter."

Douglas narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to just give up." The memory of Randall's smug face flashed in front of him and he clenched his fists. "I just have to get her attention at the right time. If we could get him out of the way somehow…"

This time, it was Lizzie's turn to frown. "But how—"

All of them jumped when loud static filled the air and they turned toward Gilbert. "Oops." The boy said sheepishly as he fiddled with a dial on a plastic, dark gray object.

Matt shifted and leaned closer to get a better look at it. "What is that?"

Gilbert flashed him a large, toothy grin. "Oh? So now you want to know what I got? Well, maybe I won't tell you now that you—Hey!" He rubbed where the balled-up bag hit him in the forehead and glared at Lizzie. She covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a giggle.

"Okay! Okay! Fine!" Gilbert's eyes lit up and he beamed with excitement, clearly more than happy to show off what he had. "The birthday present from my uncle finally came!" He grabbed the antenna on the device and pulled it out to its full length. "They're walkie talkies! He says they're the best ones on the market. They can reach, like, a million miles…or something…" He gestured to the small booklet in his lap. "I don't know. It says in there. And," he reached into the large pocket on his hoodie and pulled out two more walkie talkies, "there's enough for all of us!" The boy stuck his hand back into his pocket and started to root around for the fourth one. Matt and Lizzie both came over and they each grabbed one of the walkie talkies and started playing around with them.

Douglas didn't get up. Something seemed to click in his mind. He could almost feel a light bulb turn on above his head. It seemed so perfect. After all, if four eyes were better two then eight eyes would be much better. "I think…I think I know how…"

Randall carefully pushed the branches aside as he crawled into the bush, keeping himself out of sight from the large hole in the ground just a few yards ahead. The first rule of spying was finding a good hiding spot and making sure you weren't seen. And, since Randall could only see out of a small area that wasn't obscured by branches, he doubted they could see him.

He rubbed his hands together in glee and reached down the grab his super cool spy listening device, only to feel a sharp pain.

"Ow!" Randall tried to be as quiet as he could since being quiet was spy rule number two. He pulled his arm back and scowled down at the white mark where the branch scratched him. Quickly, he rubbed it until it disappeared and tried again, this time being careful not to hit a branch. That probably wasn't the best sign, but he didn't see either of the Diggers coming out to investigate, so he stayed put.

He slipped the headphones on over his ears and turned the dial to turn on his listening device before aiming it at the hole. Unfortunately, he didn't hear anything yet. Some people just had the nerve to be quiet. Well, he'd wait it out!

He wondered what kind of information he might learn from them. He hadn't been having the best luck lately and he needed something extra moist. Maybe he'd learn about some secret stash of illegal digging tools that were hidden in one of their holes somewhere. That would be the best! Or maybe he'd hear about something they or someone else was planning on doing. He'd even take one of them saying a bad word. That would be better than noth – suddenly, his view was blocked by a big, fat caterpillar.

He easily hit the bug away and went back to listening in on the Diggers. He still didn't hear anything…wait. He didn't hear anything. Randall didn't hear talking, but he also didn't see or hear them digging. His listening dish couldn't be broken because he could hear other kids playing and the leaves on his bush rustling. Randall frowned and turned off his gadget. He didn't want to do what he was about to do - it went against the first rule after all - but he quietly crawled out of the bush and towards the hole.

He kept himself low to the ground, every so often stopping to listen to see if they heard him. Every time, it was completely silent. Finally, he reached the edge of the hole and slowly pulled himself closer until he could just see inside. The hole was empty. Randall pulled himself closer and looked around for any tunnels the Diggers could be hiding in. Nothing. That was weird. The Diggers rarely ever left their hole alone during recess. Randall stood up, scratching his head as he looked down into the hole. Where could the Diggers be then?

"What are you doing to our hole?!"

Randall jumped and nearly fell into the hole. It took him a moment to get his balance again before turning around. Both of the Diggers were standing there with their shovels and they both looked angry. "U-uh…Well…" He hadn't expected the Diggers to just show up and it took him a moment to think up a story. "I…I-I was making sure there wasn't anyone in there with candy," Randall finally finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

The Digger with the mouth guard around his neck – Randall could never tell the two of them apart – stepped forward. He hefted his shovel up threateningly and Randall froze. "Get out of here, Randall." Randall didn't need to be told twice. He turned and ran away.

He glanced back at them as they jumped back into their hole and he frowned. He didn't find out anything. And now they'd be on the lookout for him.

"Oof!" Randall bumped into someone hard enough to cause his headphones to fall off. He looked up to glare at whoever was in his way. "M-Miss Finster!"

"So, do you have anything for me today, Randall?" Her arms were crossed and she did not seem happy.

"Err…um…" He didn't have anything to tell her and he knew it. Still, he had to say something! Randall bit his lip as he frantically glanced around, looking for something he could tell her. She'd be angry with him if he couldn't come up with any dirt.

She sighed and he looked up. "Randall, it's been over a week and you haven't given me anything." Miss Finster sounded disappointed. Somehow, that was worse than her being angry. Randall stared down at the ground at his loafers. "You're off your game again…and I'm not sure for how long this time." Randall wasn't sure either. He'd never gone this long without catching anyone. Miss Finster was quiet for a moment and he wished the ground would just swallow him up. That would be better than standing here, knowing he had failed her. He stared down intently at his headphones as he waited for her to speak. They didn't look like they were too scuffed up too bad from their fall. "…Maybe…maybe you should take a break."

Randall's head shot up and he stared at her, his eyes wide with panic. "What?! No!"

Miss Finster seemed to come to a decision. "Yes. I want you to take a break and rest for a few days. Then you'll be refreshed and ready to fill out your snitch reports again." Randall wasn't so sure about this. A forced break felt like being retired. And what would Miss Finster do in the meantime? She seemed to sense his concern. "While you're gone, Douglas has volunteered to take over. He's already reported several miscreants."

Randall stiffened at the name. Douglas. He was the guy who tried to take Randall's job once. He'd been after it for a while before then, but Randall'd thought he had given up. This was even worse than being retired. He was being replaced! "B-but, Miss Finster, y-you can't do this to me!" He stopped when he felt his throat beginning to close up and he looked down at the ground again.

Miss Finster's eyes hardened. "Randall, it's only temporary. Douglas knows it's only until your break is over." That made Randall relax a bit. It would only be a couple of days and then everything would be back to normal, right? "Now quit worrying and make sure you're back on your game by Monday." He nodded slowly and she walked off.

What if he couldn't get back on his game? He wasn't sure why he was off in the first place. Randall didn't think he was doing anything different. And yet, it seemed like every attempt at spying ended badly. Sometimes, he'd see whoever he was about to spy on looking for him. Somehow, they knew he was coming. Other times, he couldn't even find people. He tried spying on Swinger Girl the other day, but when he got to the swings she wasn't there. That wasn't normal. It was the same with Upside Down Girl.

Randall bent down and picked up his headphones. What now? Miss Finster wanted him to take a break, but he just couldn't. Maybe…if he could catch just one person doing something it would fix everything; it would prove that he wasn't off his game. Or, at least, not completely off. Even if she still made him take a break she couldn't possibly replace him then. He just had to find a good place to spy from. There was one good place he knew of off the top of his head.

He looked up at the top of Old Rusty. Someone was up there. Randall couldn't make out who, but whoever they were they quickly retreated into the shadows. He felt pretty sure that whoever they were, they had been watching him. Ther person looked like maybe they had blond hair and glasses, but that didn't really narrow down who it could be. He glared up at them. This wasn't the first time he'd thought about getting a bird's eye view on the playground. He'd looked up there a few times over the past week, but every time there was someone there. And he couldn't exactly spy on people if there was someone standing next to him.

"Hello, ex-weasel."

Randall turned to see exactly the person he didn't want to see. "What do you want, Douglas?"

The taller boy crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard you're no longer the snitch of Third Street." Randall narrowed his eyes and Douglas smirked. "I also heard who the new one is."

Randall waved him away dismissively with his headphones. "Yeah, yeah. I know it's only temporary." He turned to walk away; He wasn't going to stick around and let Douglas brag about him taking his job.

"Oh, is that what she told you?"

Randall stopped and turned back around. "What? Of course it's—"

"That's if you can actually manage to snitch on anyone again," a smug Douglas told a scowling Randall. "Otherwise, you're useless to her. She might not want you back anyway."

Randall stomped his foot on the ground and threw his hands up in frustration. "Miss Finster and I have been working together since – since forever! Of course she'll want me back!" Randall's face scrunched up in anger. He didn't even want to think otherwise.

"Maybe…" Douglas tapped his chin in mock thought. "Or maybe she'll realize that you're the biggest slime ball in the whole school. And even she wouldn't want to work with someone who no one wants to be friends with. There's a reason you don't have any friends and maybe she figured out why."

Randall gritted his teeth. That had stung, but the comment reminded him of something that his dad once told him. "Snitches don't need friends! Miss Finster wouldn't want to work with someone who was too distracted by friends to hand in reports!" He straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, confident he had won. Randall knew the other boy had four friends. There was no way he could have all of those friends and still be able to work for Miss Finster.

Douglas merely shrugged and Randall's shoulders fell. "She said I've been doing a fine job. She even told me she wished she had hired me sooner. I know how to manage my time. I've even had time for others things."

"Like wha—"

Static buzzed suddenly and both boys jumped. A voice came through the static, but Randall couldn't make out who it was or even if it was a boy or a girl. Douglas had a slightly panicked look on his face and grabbed at something attached on his side.

"What's tha—"

Douglas was turned around so Randall couldn't see what he was grabbing at. "Oh, this? This is just a little present Miss Finster got me. She needed me to be able to come to her at any time." He pulled whatever it was out. It looked like something gray and Randall thought it was a walkie talkie, but Douglas's hand was around it too quickly, so he couldn't tell anything about it. "Well, I'm needed elsewhere, unlike you. Good-bye, ex-weasel."

Randall glared at the taller boy as he walked off. He couldn't help but feel a bit worried now.

That was it. He had to find someone to tattle on and he had to it now. He would not let Douglas replace him.

First, he had to find someone doing something wrong.

All around him, kids were playing and laughing. But Randall didn't see any illegal toys or anyone bullying anyone else or even anyone with candy. It might be a little harder than he thought. Briefly, he thought about just making something up to tell Miss Finster. It would certainly be easier. But he prided himself on not having to make things up to keep his job. Besides, if Miss Finster found out that he'd made things up, she'd be even more disappointed in him than she'd been just a bit ago.

Then something clicked. "TJ and Them!" Randall said suddenly. "Those guys are always up to something!" He grinned at his idea and put his headphones on over his ears. With any luck they'd be discussing their next plan to steal back their confiscated playthings. He wasn't exactly sure where they were, but he'd hunt them down eventually.

Randall had barely taken a step when a girl ran right into him. Stumbling, he grabbed onto his headphones so they wouldn't fall before glaring at her. She pushed her long, brown hair out of her face. "Oops! Sorry Randall." She giggled and ran off. She seemed to be holding something, but Randall couldn't see what.

He thought about going to Miss Finster. Then maybe he could get her in trouble! He liked that idea very much, but even if she did end up in trouble Randall doubted it would be enough to get him his job back. No, he had to focus on TJ and his friends. Then he'd tell on them and the girl. He nodded to himself and continued his search.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Randall pressed himself back against the side of the Cheese Box. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had done everything he could to make sure they didn't see him get into his hiding spot. He couldn't mess this up. After taking a moment to collect himself he turned and peered through the holes in the box. TJ and his friends were all hanging around the merry go round. They were talking about something, but Randall couldn't make out exactly what yet. He had to keep looking through different holes to see all of them. It made it harder to keep track of all of them, but he thought he counted all six of them. He settled down behind the Cheese Box and turned on his listening device.

The sounds were a little distorted from having to travel through the Cheese Box, but it didn't seem like they were talking about anything useful to Randall. His hunched shoulders fell and he started to worry even more. He knew he needed to pay attention to them, but he couldn't help but think back to what Douglas said.

Randall didn't want to think that Miss Finster liked Douglas at all, but if he was just a temporary replacement then why would Miss Finster get him a walkie talkie? Miss Finster knew that Randall wanted a walkie talkie, but she never got him one. Once, she had gotten him a pager, but after it broke in less than a week – it wasn't his fault that Gelman caught him and pushed him, making him land on it – she said it was too expensive to keep replacing it and that was that.

What if Miss Finster did like Douglas? What if he really was better than Randall? Maybe…maybe she liked him more than Randall. Maybe that was why she was getting him things and saying that he was doing a good job. Maybe she really wouldn't want Randall back. Just the thought made Randall feel nauseous. What would he do if that were true? He shook his head to clear it. No. He couldn't think like that. He had to concentrate on getting TJ and his friends in trouble and getting back in Miss Finster's good books!

He turned his attention back to his listening device. They still weren't discussing anything that could get them in trouble. Still, Randall was glad that they hadn't noticed him yet. With the luck he'd been having lately he would have thought Spinelli would have been threatening him by now…

Suddenly, Randall's stomach dropped. He pulled his face closer to the Cheese Box and frantically looked through the holes. He counted. 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5… Where was Spinelli?!

Something grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him up. He struggled to get away, but he was dragged out from behind the box.

"Look, I caught a rat!" The others had gotten up from the merry go round and had various expressions of anger on their faces. Spinelli finally let him go and he turned to glare at her. She glared back. "Quit spying on us, Randall!" She took a step towards him.

Randall waved his free hand in front of him. "I'm not spying!" None of them seemed to believe him for even a second. "I…I wanted help!"

"Help with what?" Tj said as Spinelli grumbled under her breath.

"Miss Finster's upset that I haven't been able to snitch on anyone lately. She replaced me with Douglas and it's going to be permanent unless I get back on my game!" Randall's head fell. He hadn't intended on telling TJ, but it all just sort of came out.

The others still looked angry, but TJ's expression softened. "Well, what could we possibly do?"

An idea formed in Randall's head and he lit up. "You guys can make up some plan and then I can go to Miss Finster and tell her and you guys and can get in trouble and I'll get my job back!"

Spinelli responded by grabbing the back of his shirt and dragged him away from the merry go round. She pushed him away and he fell to his knees. "Next time I'll hurt you, Randall!"

Randall pushed himself up and dusted himself off. That didn't go well. What could he do now? If he couldn't find someone to tattle on, he had to figure out a way to get rid of Douglas. Maybe he could ruin Douglas's clean record. If he could show Miss Finster some bad things he's done she would have to take Randall back. Randall had access to the permanent records, but there were other files that even he couldn't get to by himself. And he wasn't the best at going through all of those files quickly.

Maybe getting help had some merit. Douglas was right; Randall didn't have any friends –and he didn't need any! – but he did have another idea…

"No."

"What?! Why?!"

Randall stood in the doorway of the office, one hand still on the doorknob. He watched as Menlo stamped a paper and added it to the top of a large pile of papers. He had hoped that as soon as he told Menlo that he needed help, Menlo would drop everything and give him a hand. But that didn't seem to be happening.

Menlo stood up from behind his desk and picked up the stack. "I'm too busy to help you, Randall." He motioned towards a much larger pile on his desk and crossed the room to place the papers in a bin. "And that's not even all of it. I don't even know if I'll be able to finish it all today." He tiredly rubbed his eye underneath his glasses as he made his way back to his desk.

Randall scowled. He wasn't sure what he and Menlo were. Once, they took over the playground together, but they hadn't really hung out since then. They did talk whenever Randall came into the office. And sometimes he even put anything interesting he told him into the inter-office memos he wrote. Menlo even invited him to his birthday party. Randall didn't know a lot about having friends, but he knew that TJ and his pals were always doing stuff together. Still, Menlo was the closest thing to a friend Randall had and the only one who may have been willing to help him. Maybe that was why he felt betrayed that Menlo would rather stay in this office. "So? Do that tomorrow. This is important!"

Menlo fixed his glasses and shot a glare back at him. "This is important too. If I don't get these papers finished – and on time – the whole school could fall into chaos! It's very important!" He grabbed a paper from the top of the pile and a pen and started writing on it as Randall turned his glare to the door and swung it back and forth slightly, listening to the hinges squeak. How could Menlo say that a bunch of stupid papers were more important than Randall's career?

"This is more important than that!" Randall said. "If I can't get rid of Douglas I'll lose my job for good!" He quickly closed his mouth when he heard his voice start to break, and he hung his head low. Menlo paused for a moment before continuing work on the paper. Randall looked up and glared at him. "But I guess you don't care. You still have your stupid job! I bet Ms. Lemon still lik—"

"That's not it at all, Randall!" Menlo slammed his pen onto his desk and looked up at Randall before looking away again. "I just have a lot of work to do. Besides, I'm certain that you're overreacting. Miss Finster wouldn't replace you. That's absurd! If you'd just calm down you'd realize that." Menlo seemed to consider the matter done and returned to his work.

Randall gritted his teeth. How could Menlo do this to him? "That's fine, Menlo." He was surprised by how calm his own voice sounded. "I've figured out another way you can help anyway." Menlo looked up at him warily. "I think…I'm going to tell Miss Finster that you were chewing gum in here!"

Quickly, Randall slammed the door hard, but not fast enough. Just before the door closed he caught sight of Menlo's eyes filling with shock and hurt. He started to feel a little guilty, but he pushed the feeling away. It was Menlo's fault for not helping him!

Randall started walking down the empty hall, away from the office and Menlo. The thought of getting Menlo in trouble slightly eased the betrayal he felt a bit, but it didn't change the fact that he still didn't have his job back. He didn't want to do it. He knew it was naughty, but he didn't have any other options left. Randall couldn't spy on anyone without getting caught and he couldn't get to all of Douglas's files to ruin his credit without Menlo. That only left one option.

Randall would have to make up something to tell Miss Finster.

"…stupid Menlo…" he muttered. All this, because Menlo wouldn't help him.

Telling Miss Finster that Menlo was chewing gum didn't really count. She wouldn't really check to see if it was true, but it also wouldn't be enough to get him his job back. He'd have to make up something big. It made him queasy - if she found out he made up something serious she'd be so disappointed in him. The possibility of getting his job back would be out of the question.

Finally, Randall got to the door and reached out for the doorknob. He heard something on the other side and froze. It was almost second nature to him to try to eavesdrop on whoever was on the other side. Luckily, he didn't have to strain his ears to listen in.

"How long do I have to wait out here?...But he's taking foreverrrrrrrrr!..." It sounded like whoever the voice belonged to was talking to someone, but Randall couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. "Can't we switch?...Come on! I can be a good look out!...Anyone can be a good look out from up there!...You can follow him around and make sure he doesn't get to report on anyone…..I don't want to switch tomorrow, I want to switch now!...Tough it out?! Why don't you tough it out over here?! I don't want to follow Lizard Boy around the rest of the day!"

Randall couldn't take anymore! He finally grabbed the doorknob and wrenched the door open.

It took Randall one look at his light hair and purple-red eyes for Randall to recognize him as Gilbert Schmidt. Between being a loudmouth and a troublemaker, it would have been hard for Randall to forget about him.

The taller boy was frozen in shock, staring up at Randall with his mouth hanging open, from the bottom of the steps. Still in his hand was the walkie talkie, and It looked like the one Douglas had. This time, Randall recognized it as one of the newest, best walkie talkies around. He'd seen them in spy magazines. They could get signals up to 20 miles away! But they were really expensive and Randall really only could have used two of them.

Randall narrowed his eyes and the other boy ran off. He made his way down the steps after the other boy was out of sight.

He couldn't believe it! How dare that…that hooligan… call him names?! And apparently Douglas was lending out the walkie talkies Miss Finster gave him to his friends, something Randall highly doubted that she would approve of.

So, Randall would go tell Miss Finster about this, about TJ and his little friends having some kind of plan, and about Menlo chewing gum. That had to be enough –

He only managed a few steps before what he had overheard fully sunk in.

Gilbert had been following him around. Gilbert – who, Randall remembered, was one of Douglas's friends – had been keeping him from reporting on anyone. He didn't know if he'd been doing it the whole week, but it didn't seem to matter. Randall also recalled that Douglass also had a friend with blond hair and glasses.

It was like the sun had broken through the clouds. Now everything made sense! That was why he hadn't been able to catch anyone! Gilbert had been going and warning people that he was coming…or something. He wasn't sure on the specifics, but he didn't care.

He grinned from ear to ear. This fixed everything!

Randall ran, looking around for Miss Finster. It would be easy. He'd just have to explain to her what he saw and that he wasn't off his game. Sure, it was a little crazy that Douglas got all of his little friends together to help him steal Randall's job, but Miss Finster had to believe him! He was sure she'd want to believe him over continuing to work with a thief. Right?

Randall rounded a corner of the building and stopped. There she was!

"Douglas!" Randall narrowed his eyes as Douglas ran over to Miss Finster and handed her a bunch of little slips. Well, those were going to be the last snitch reports Douglas ever handed in. He made to walk over to them, fully intending on Relaying Douglas's evil plot to Miss Finster right in front of him, when he stopped.

"Very good job, Douglas." Everything seemed to slow down for Randall. Miss Finster actually looked happy with Douglas. Randall stumbled back as his chest started to constrict and his eyes started to feel wet. He bit his lip, trying to take a deep breath and his throat started to become tight.

Miss Finster took out a big bag of cookies and handed them over to Douglas. The boy took the bag and grinned. "Thanks, Miss Finster!" Then she patted him on the head and he seemed to swell with pride, a self-satisfied smile spread across his face, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be receiving praise from her. Randall almost felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. It should have been him there, not Douglas! He should have been the one helping Miss Finster! Now it was like he didn't even exist anymore.

Randall's chest tightened painfully and he gripped the front of his shirt. Everything was becoming blurry, but that was better than continuing to see Douglas in his place. His throat was feeling so thick that it was almost painful to swallow.

How could this happen? Yeah, Douglas took his job, but somehow he thought that it would never be like him and Miss Finster. She just needed a temp for a couple of days. It would be strictly business. Now, it seemed like she had replaced him in every way. Now it was like she wanted to eat lunch with Douglas and give him things from the lost and found box. Now it was painfully clear that she liked Douglas. She and Douglas were a team. And Randall was…

Randall's tears finally overflowed and ran down his face. His legs felt wobbly, but he managed to finally turn and run away.