When Maya, Auggie, and Riley all walked into Riley's room, Riley closed the door behind her.
"Okay, guys. I have officially recruited you to the Master Planning Committee," Riley began.
"Oh, but when can we join the Corny Naming Committee?" Maya asked, smiling slyly at Riley and sitting by the window.
"Very funny, Maya, but we need to get down to business," Riley said.
Auggie's face turned down as he said, "So this isn't about babysitting?"
"No, Auggie. I'm sorry. I recruited you for your spy skills. You do like spying don't you?" Riley tried to entice Auggie.
"Maybe a little," Auggie said, trying to hide his smile.
"That's what I thought. But I promise next time I babysit, we'll do something awesome! Okay?"
"Okay," Auggie said, now content.
"So, we have to go over the mission," Riley started.
"Riles, can you at least try to make it less corny?" Maya asked, trying not to laugh.
"Maya! The words don't matter! We need to focus on the matter at hand!" Riley said, exasperated.
"Okay, continue," Maya said, still half-smiling.
"Well, we need to work together," Riley said. "All for a common goal."
"That's right. We need to get Shawn and my mom together," Maya said, finally getting down to business.
"Yes, Maya- the Master Plan. Now, we've already initiated their meeting," Riley said seriously.
"And we made it look like my mom was talking about Shawn," Maya said.
"But we need inside information," Riley continued. "Auggie, that's where you come in."
"What can I do?" Auggie asked.
"Auggie, you're a spy. We need you to listen to their conversations and give us any info that could help us," Maya said, trying to get Auggie excited.
"Like what kind of info?" Auggie asked.
"Like if Shawn starts talking to my mom like he likes her," Maya said.
"Or if he starts talking to Angela," Riley continued to list. "At which point we would need to intervene."
"Ooh, or if he talks to your dad, Auggie. They're best friends, so I'm sure Shawn will tell your dad what he's thinking!" Maya said, her eyes lighting up.
Riley smiled excitedly and said, "Good one, Maya!"
"So can you do that for us, Auggie?" Maya asked.
"I think so," Auggie said slowly. He stopped for a moment and rubbed his chin, appearing to be thinking seriously about something. "But I also require a payment."
"What kind of payment?" Riley asked tentatively.
"Hmm," Auggie started. "I want all of your candy from Easter!" he exclaimed.
"Nice try, Auggie," Riley said, smiling and shaking her head.
Auggie raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes at Riley.
"Okay, half," Riley negotiated.
"Deal!" Auggie shouted.
"But remember- don't let them catch you spying, or the deal's off," Riley said, shaking her finger at Auggie.
"You don't have to worry about me," Auggie said confidently. "I'm a super spy!" Auggie opened the door and ran out of the room.
"Well, at least we got him on our team," Maya said, getting up and closing the door.
"Yeah," Riley said. "Now what's our plan?"
"Let's see. We've completed phase one- create suspicion. Shawn clearly saw my mom talking about him and then she blushed. But I think we're forgetting about our biggest competition: Angela. Moore," Maya said dramatically.
"You're right," Riley said. "So how do we defeat the competition?"
"We have to be brutal," Maya said.
"But not that brutal, right?" Riley asked. "I like Angela. She's very nice and she doesn't deserve to be hurt."
"Riley! It's her or my mom. You do want this as much as I do, don't you?"
"Of course! It's just that I don't want to hurt anybody. First, she's one of my parents' best friends. And second, didn't you see how nice Angela was to you? And to your mom?" Riley asked, bringing Maya's conscience to light.
"Riley, the competition is always a nice person, but once the fight starts, they are tough and mean and strategic. We can't allow that to stand in our way. We need to look past that," Maya said, like a coach to her team.
"Just promise me that we won't hurt her," Riley said.
Maya looked at Riley, concentrating, before she sighed and reluctantly said, "I promise."
"Thank you," Riley said sincerely. "Now what's your plan?"
"Well, we need to eliminate the competition."
"And how do we do that- without hurting anyone?"
"It'll be trickier, but I think we can do it," Maya said, smiling and nodding to herself. "First, we need to show Shawn that he and Angela don't belong together. Then, we need to show him that he and my mom do."
"So we need to find out what Angela's been doing these past few years. Maybe she's already fallen in love with someone else," Riley said, raising her eyebrows and smiling.
"Maybe," Maya said. "But I know how we can find out."