Saturday came sooner than Marie wanted. She had both dread and excitement for this day. She had no idea when Mr. Germain was planning on giving her the interview, and the wait did nothing to ease the anxiety she already felt.

She went about her morning ritual with her small group of hobo friends. It started to feel like a new normal for her now. After she witnessed the Germains’ fight, Marie tried to stay up again the next night to see if Mrs. Germain would come, but after midnight, Marie called it quits and went to bed. Friday morning was the first time Marie reviewed the night and realized she had gone to sleep way too easily the night before. Maybe Mrs. Germain was being more careful with her visits with Sophie. Or maybe Marie was just plain exhausted.

They were all in the middle of weeding when Sophie glanced up and frowned. Numbers also glanced up when he saw Sophie’s frown.

“That guy looks like he hates the world and everyone in it. What do you think his problem is?” Sophie said.

Marie’s heart jolted. She turned and saw Mr. Germain. True she expected to see him today, but it still startled her when he walked right toward her.

“Oh right. I guess it’s Saturday,” Marie said loud enough for Mr. Germain to hear.

Mr. Germain stopped in front of Marie and she slowly stood up. Mr. Germain glanced at Sophie, and Marie had no idea how to read his face. He was doing an excellent job of keeping it neutral. A growing panic swelled inside her. She had been careful getting Sophie’s friendship back, and she knew Sophie started most of their conversations, but it still made her panic to think making friends with Sophie again was a dead giveaway that she still had her memories. Maybe Mr. Germain wasn’t paranoid?

“Are we having the interview now?” Marie asked.

“Yes. I have other business to attend to later, so we’re doing this now,” Mr. Germain said.

“Oh. You work so much on the weekend?” Marie asked.

“One must work hard for their city,” Mr. Germain said.

Marie brushed off the dirt from her hands. “Did you okay it with the farmers and what not?” It was a ridiculous question, but Hobo Marie would need to make sure of that.

As she figured, Mr. Germain smirked. “Let’s just say I know their boss.”

Marie gave a sideways glance at Sophie as Mr. Germain grabbed her elbow and started pulling her away. Sophie was quietly shaking her head.

“What a jerk!” Sophie mouthed.

Marie couldn’t help but nod and felt the strongest desire to smile. If only Sophie knew.

Marie and Mr. Germain left the fields, Mr. Germain still holding her elbow. Marie had to struggle not to force it away and assert her independence. Hobo Marie wouldn’t do that. Instead, when Mr. Germain got her in the back of the car, hobo Marie tried to act glad she had the next hour or so off from work and settled into the car.

The drive was short, and she was taken to the same place as she was before she got her memories wiped a second time. She tried to act like it was her first time seeing this place.

They walked into a different room with the same set up. Mr. Germain pointed to the chair she should sit in and Marie obeyed. Mr. Germain settled himself on the other side. He pulled out his laptop and hit a few keys.

“How has this week been?” he asked, trying to sound like he cared.

“Good,” Marie said.

Mr. Germain’s eyes never left the screen as though he was having a conversation with the laptop instead of Marie. “And how has it been adjusting.”

“Good.” Marie knew she had to say more than that, but she wasn’t sure what she should say. There was still a part of her that was scared Mr. Germain would trip her up.

The keys on his laptop clacked together, then stopped as Mr. Germain read through whatever he just pulled up. The air was still except for the quiet whir of the air conditioner.

“I see you’ve made some friends,” he said.

Marie tried to let nothing show on her face. “I guess I made some friends before I forgot I made some friends. They’re pretty great, and they’ve helped me adjust this time.”

Finally Mr. Germain glanced over his laptop and met her gaze. “And the hobo they call Thief?”

Marie felt her pulse quicken as she cocked her head to one side. “What about her?”

“We’ve been keeping tabs on her. She doesn’t make friends. Seems like you were pretty persistent.”

Marie gave a little shrug. “She’s just angry. Once the anger went away, she’s a pretty cool girl.”

Mr. Germain narrowed his eyes. “What was she angry about?”

Marie touched her finger to her chin. “Something about being accused of stealing blankets in the night.”

Mr. Germain’s fingers curled over the keyboard. “The S.E.A. are aware of those complaints. Maybe you should leave her alone,” Mr. Germain said.

Marie felt her throat tighten. She could hear the slightest hatred under Mr. Germain’s words aimed at her. She scrambled to think about what hobo Marie would say in this situation.

“I… I don’t know. I mean, you work for the S.E.A. right? Seems like stealing would be a bad crime. If you have proof she stole something, wouldn’t she be stopped somehow? Arrested?”

Mr. Germain drummed his fingers on the table, staring Marie down. Marie wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep pretending to be hobo Marie under his gaze. Thankfully his phone went off and Mr. Germain broke eye contact. He flipped it open and placed it to his ear.

“No need. Everything’s fine.”

He hung up. He didn’t bother saying hello or goodbye. Marie realized it was probably Charles or someone like Charles who had the formula in case they needed to inject her again. Marie tried not to shiver.

“I’m pleased to see you’re doing well. Being a hobo is tough but going through the forests outside the wall is even tougher. It’s clear only the strongest survive that kind of ordeal to come back here,” Mr. Germain said.

Marie swallowed. “Thanks.”

“Let’s take you back to the farms. No need to keep you from your work any longer than you have to be.”

Marie nodded as they both stood. She remained silent next to him, and Mr. Germain didn’t have anything to say. She always felt so awkward in the silence, but she didn’t want to start up a conversation with him. She might trip up again.

Mr. Germain dropped her off right at the edge of the farm, and Marie tried to find her friends again. After searching for too long, she simply started working where it seemed like no one had started. She gave a deep breath and let it out, feeling glad that was over.

The rest of the day seemed to drag. Now that the hardest part of the day was over, Marie was counting down the hours until she saw her friends again. She was excited to talk with them. Now she could invite them to join the underground so they could break into the basement and get her father back. And also to steal the ingredient for the cure. That was the most important to the underground, but seeing her dad again was most important to her. Her soul ached to know if he was okay.

At dinner as they sat at the table enjoying their meal, Marie closed her eyes and let her mind wander the dangerous path of thinking about her dad. Now that there was a chance, now that she could begin to let hope inside, her heart ached for her dad. The last time she saw him, Marie had stumbled upon the blackmail Mr. Edison had against President Arnold, and her dad kept asking her questions. She was too terrified to tell him anything. She wanted to keep him safe, so she lied to him. The hurt twisted like a knife in her heart. She hated lying to her dad. What was worse was she couldn’t apologize for it. The next day Marie stumbled on even more dangerous information, and the S.E.A. arrested her dad.

Marie frowned. No, it was kidnap. The S.E.A. kidnapped her dad. She kept her dad in the dark purely so he wouldn’t get arrested, and they arrested him anyway. He was innocent.

A fresh wave of anger hit Marie. She hated the S.E.A. They had no right to take her dad. They had no right to keep her dad. He did nothing wrong. She wanted to see him so badly. She needed to make sure he was okay.

The ache turned into a pain, threatening to crack her heart in two.

“Hey, everything okay?” Marie opened her eyes to see Pusher looking at her. Marie nodded as she picked up a spoonful of soup.

“Everything’s just fine,” Marie said, practicing her ability to lie.

Marie slipped off her watch at 11:30 pm. She had a feeling Mrs. Germain would be here to check in on Sophie, and she didn’t want to get caught in the sleeping gas. She slipped out of the barn and headed into the streets.

She tried to take the back alleys, so she didn’t seem so vulnerable in the streetlamps. She was a little early to their meeting spot, so she took up a normal hobo pose sitting by the dumpster. She remembered why she didn’t like to come early to things. Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind went through every worst-case scenario of what might happen to her. She might get caught out here, and she doubted Mr. Germain was the forgiving type. Her friends might get caught, and they might join her as a hobo, except their memories would be wiped. They might all get caught. They had been so lucky lately. She was sure their luck would run out soon.

She eventually had to take a deep breath and force her brain to stop worrying. They were in a different spot then last time. She wasn’t being followed. She made sure of that.

Billy, Abe, Edgar, and Albert arrived around midnight. Marie rose from behind the dumpster and Billy almost jumped out of his skin.

“Macbeth! Do you have to do the most classic, terrifying hobo thing in all the universe?” Billy asked.

Marie glanced at Billy confused.

“Everything all right, Marie?” Albert asked.

“Yes, things are fine. Thank you for your help. I was able to talk to them.”

Billy, who had been breathing deeply through the conversation, eventually leaned down and gripped his knees. Abe rolled his eyes. “I told you and Edgar not to go to that play they were showing down the street.”

“But it was getting all the great reviews!” Billy said.

“Yeah, about how terrifying it was,” Abe said. “Didn’t they ban kids eighteen and under from going?”

Marie smiled, forgetting how much Abe mothered Billy. Billy puffed out his chest, his voice going a touch deeper. “What’s the matter? Don’t think I can act like an eighteen-year-old?”

“Maybe for a minute or two,” Albert said. “That’s about the extent of your acting ability.”

“Ooo hoo! Albert!” Billy gave Albert a quiet high five. “Sick burn! To be honest, I had to go out of playwright curiosity. I’ve got to stay on top of what’s popular. Though I will say one thing. The conspiracy that they take condemned prisoners and actually kill them on stage during that play? Totally see it,” Billy said with a shiver. “My compliments to the writer.” Billy placed his hand on his heart and gave a small nod in what Marie figured was honor to the writer of the play.

Edgar shrugged. “Didn’t scare me.”

“I’m not surprised,” Albert mumbled.

Abe turned to Marie with a smile. “So, Marie, what’s the next step?”

Marie had enjoyed the presence of her friends so much that she almost forgot why they needed to meet. “Well, the underground is... low... on its numbers, and I want to extend an invitation to you guys to join the underground, if you want.”

Billy frowned. “You mean we weren’t a part of it already? I thought we were.”

“Well, you know. This is the official invite. See, we need to break into the S.E.A. skysc-”

Billy covered his mouth as he squealed, dancing on the balls of his feet. Marie stopped mid sentence just to make sure he was alright.

“Guys! This is the best day ever!” Billy tried to be as quiet as possible.

“I thought it was a couple weeks ago that was the best day ever,” Albert said.

“This is the best day ever too! Does the underground have awesome gadgets? Cool glasses that let you see all around you without you having to move your head?” Billy turned his head every which way just to illustrate. “Do they have awesome laser guns? Or both! Glasses that shoot out lasers? What about cool shoes that make you stick to the walls?”

Marie bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I mean, my guess is probably not? They’ve had to relocate so many times, I’m sure they had to cut down on some of their gadgets, if they had any at all.”

“Do they have a secret lab? Is it behind a bookshelf? Or you pull a lever and the wall slides open?” Billy asked.

Marie paused in thought. “They did have a shed once. There was a secret panel in the floor that slid back when you put your thumb print on it.”

Billy grabbed Edgar’s sleeve and tugged it. “Best! Day! Ever!”

Edgar didn’t look at Billy. Instead he kept his face as neutral as ever, meaning a permanent frown and a hint of a scowl. His head bobbed from Billy’s tugging. It looked like Edgar was tolerating the gesture, waiting for Billy to be done.

“So, I have Billy’s answer. What about the rest of you?” Marie asked.

Albert awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’m in. I mean, I may not be as enthusiastic as Billy, but I’m willing to help.”

Abe nodded.

Edgar stared at something past Marie’s shoulder. “I can hardly contain my excitement.” His voice was so dry and monotone, that Marie waited a few seconds for things to process. Did Edgar just make a joke? Was he joking? Billy bent over to stifle his laughter.

“Dude, you are the funniest guy I’ve ever met!” Billy said.

Abe and Albert exchanged glances, and Marie shuffled her feet, not exactly sure if she agreed with Billy on that.

Billy straightened. “So, when do we learn the secret handshake to get us into the underground?”

Marie gave a lame smile. “I feel like you’re going to be really disappointed, Billy. Being a member of the underground isn’t nearly as cool as you make it out to be.”

Billy raised a finger as though to stop Marie. “Did you not just say the underground was planning to break into the S.E.A. skyscraper?”

“Um, yeah. The basement.”

Billy nodded in satisfaction. “I shall not be disappointed.”

They chatted for another half hour. Marie told them everything she could think of about the basement, what they needed to expect, and tried not to sound terrified about how dangerous this would be for everyone involved. But what other choice did they have?

Billy explained more of the plot of the play they went to go see, since Marie needed something light to keep her mind off of what her friends enlisted to do. The play was mainly about a mad scientist who had a hobo side kick and how they were trying to slowly take over the city using fear and manipulation, because of course the evil scientist was super hot. Marie felt guilty for imagining Charles in the role.

“I’d say the sidekick was the most sympathetic character there. So lost and confused, having no trouble at all murdering just to be loved by the mad scientist,” Billy said.

Marie rolled her eyes. “Why does it seem like all the villains are mad scientists?”

“It’s more aesthetically pleasing,” Billy said. “The evil lairs, the awesome gadgets, you know.”

“I mean, technically you just agreed to be a member of a place that has awesome gadgets and a lair of some sorts,” Albert said.

“True, but this is totally different,” Billy said. “What I agreed to wasn’t evil.”

Marie could only smile and shake her head. “Some very high up people wouldn’t agree with that.”

“But that’s what’s so intriguing about it. You know, Marie, your life could be a great play one day,” Billy said.

Marie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Depends on whether or not I succeed.”

It made Billy think for a moment. “Well, I guess if you don’t succeed, you’ll make a great villain in a play one day. You’d make a great femme fatale.”

“Wonderful. Every girls’ dream.” Marie layered the sarcasm on thick.

Marie saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over. She saw Albert’s eyes had gone wide and he grabbed Marie’s shoulder. He was looking at the alleyway. Marie spun around and felt her heart drop. Sophie stood in the lap light, staring at the little group with surprise. More importantly, Marie saw the watch Sophie still had on her wrist.

“Murphy’s law,” Marie swore under her breath.