Free Spark by Melissa Dereberry

and the old building.  She was waiting for me in our customary spot on the front steps of school, her jaws chomping on an extra large piece of gum as she texted someone.
                  “Ok, I have a plan,” she said, putting her phone in her backpack.  “Operation Mystery Man starts now.”
                  “What are you talking about?”  I knew, of course, but I was hoping I was wrong. 
                  “You know—Zach Webb.  The old abandoned building?”
                  “What are you up to?”
                  Just then, Alex walked up.  “Hey guys.” 
                  I expected Cricket to change the subject, but when she didn’t, I realized she had pulled Alex into her crazy operation.  “What’s going on here?”  I asked.
                  Alex told me, “Cricket and I have been talking and we’re worried about you.”
                  “Well don’t, ok?”  I was getting mad and could feel my cheeks start to tingle.  “I’m fine.”  It really burned me up that they’d gone behind my back to discuss my business.  Then to pull me in on some stupid scheme to spy on Zach?  It was just too much.  I walked away.  “Call me when you’re done trying to run my life.”
                  “Tess, wait!”  Alex came after me, grabbing my arm.  “We just—it’s just we’re your friends—”
                  I glared at him.  “Yeah, well friends don’t talk about each other behind each others' backs.”
                  “We weren’t—Tess, I’m sorry.  We just thought you might need our—”
                  “Help?”  I asked, glancing at Cricket.  “That’s the last thing I need.”  I really was getting pretty defensive over Zach, and I hardly knew him.  Why was I so upset that they wanted to know more about him or that they wanted to help?  I wanted to know more about him, too.  I just wanted to find out for myself, not by spying on him with Alex and Cricket.  Still, I had to admit they were right.  Zach was a little strange.  “Ok,” I admitted.  “Maybe you can help.”
                  Cricket bounded over.  “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do.”
                 
                  We sat in Alex’s car in the parking lot adjacent to the old building, just staring at it.  The lot was virtually empty and no one had come or gone in the last fifteen minutes.  “Ok, so now what?”  I asked. 
                  Cricket bit the inside of her jaw and squinted, obviously enjoying her devious jaunt.  “We go in.”
                  Alex nodded.  “You think it’s safe?”
                  “Look around.  The place is dead.”
                  I got goose bumps thinking about a building being so deserted as to be dead.  It just seemed wrong.  “There’s no way we’re getting in there,” I said.
                  Cricket shot me a look.  “Why not?”
                  “It’s locked—”  I hesitated, not wanting to let on that I had followed Zach there and had watched him put the key away.  “I mean, it must be.”
                  “So there’s probably a key somewhere,” Cricket observed.
                  “Yeah, probably in Zach’s pocket, I muttered half under my breath”
                  “Well, I guess there could be an extra.  Maybe.”
                  “You want to go look?”  Alex asked.
                  Nobody said anything and it was clear we were all too scared to venture out of that car.  Almost on cue, the three of us looked up past the building to the sky.  It was getting dark, and it looked stormy.  The wind whipped an old piece of banner on a fire escape.  I shivered.
                  I don’t know who