Something that came to mind. Enjoy!

"You may note," the teacher announced, "that we have a new student in class. Mr. Membrane?"

Jake and I exchanged surprised looks—that named sounded so familiar... We looked to the back of the room with everyone else.

A dark-haired kid in the back stood up with a half-wave and a wry smile. "Dib," he provided. There were some whispers. "Yes, Crazy Dib," he said with a sort of amused eye-roll. He hadn't been in public school for several years, because when he left he was known for being insane, and people refused to work with him in class. I remembered making fun of him—he was one of the few people lower on the ladder than my own charming self. "Not crazy anymore, I promise," he added, holding up an open hand as if swearing in court.

There was some scattered, nervous laughter. Dib sat back down and opened his notebook, and the class properly began. Crazy Dib was back? I vividly remembered him raving about aliens for the first 5 years of our education. I looked at Jake, and could tell he remembered, too. It was decided without words; we'd approach him at lunch and see why he was back.

-._.-*-._.-

We got our trays and found a table near the middle. Jake kept an eye out for the new guy while I poked at my tray sullenly. Dib passed us, and Jake waved a little.

"Hey, Dib!" he called. Dib looked back, coming to a stop.

"Hey," he returned, somewhat warily.

"Jake," Jake said. "This is Marco. If you're not headed somewhere special, you want to sit with us?" he offered. Dib smiled a little more easily, relaxing slightly.

"Sure, thanks," he said, taking a seat across the table.

"So what were you up to while out of school?" I asked. "I remember you were in Mz. Bitters' class until 5th grade, then you sort of disappeared," I said, taking a tentative bite of limp broccoli. It was disgusting. Dib grinned as he stabbed at his own chicken patty somewhat gleefully.

"Oh, you know, travelling. Seeing the worlds, saving the universe. Normal stuff," he tossed out. I laughed.

"Oh yeah, you were really into the paranormal stuff. Aliens and whatnot," I said, as if just remembering.

"Obsessed is a better word," Dib rolled his eyes. "But yeah, that was me."

"So what changed?" Jake asked curiously.

"I did," Dib said with a shrug. "it's not like I've given in to the whole 'resistance is futile' garbage, but there's much better things I can be doing to save the planet than running all over, screaming at the top of my lungs about aliens. I've learned that sort of behavior can get you killed," he added with a dark sort of chuckle. There was a beat of awkward silence before he looked at us seriously.

"You guys feel trustworthy," he said. "I feel like you believe me, on some level," he paused. Jake and I exchanged a look. 'You have no idea,' I thought.

"Well, you have to admit, it is a little crazy," I said. "I mean, come on, aliens?"

"Are either of you in The Sharing?" Dib asked suddenly. It took all of our willpower not to react. I took another bite of broccoli.

"No," Jake said carefully. "Should we be?" he asked. Dib's eyes narrowed.

"Absolutely not," he said, with a conviction that left very little doubt in our minds that he knew exactly what went on there. Did we have more allies among humans? He sat back, looking around the cafeteria casually. "I'll literally have to flee for my life if I've misjudged you," he said quietly.

"Meet us outside, after school," Jake said, falling into his Leader of the Animorphs role. "If you know something about The Sharing, we shouldn't talk about it here," he said. Dibs eyes suddenly became guarded.

"Good," he said. "See you then!" he added brightly, taking his untouched tray to the tray return.

"Think he's safe?" Jake asked me quietly.

"I'm going to suggest the shack," I said. Jake nodded, and we returned to our conversation about Sega.

-._.-*-._.-

When I followed Jake and Marco out to the trailhead, I admit I was nervous. I didn't know how many allies they had, and while I was confidant I could trust them, they didn't know that they could trust me yet.

"Relax," Marco said jokingly. "We're not forest-axe-murderers," he said. "We just need to get off the beaten path, you know?" he said. Jake looked up at the sky. I followed his eyes and caught sight of a hawk. I looked past the bird, searching for any sign of a ripple in the air—like a heatwave; the telltale sign of a cloaked Bug Fighter. I saw nothing. We kept walking.

"I think we're good out here," Jake said suddenly. "What do you know about the Sharing?" he demanded.

"Oh, no. I don't think so," I said. "I said you seemed trustworthy, not that I trusted you outright. I came here as a token of faith, what do you know about the Sharing?" I countered.

"We asked first," Jake said. "And we have backup."

"We're at an impasse, then," I said. "Either we're both trustworthy, or neither of us are. I do have a proposal, however, to see who of us is which."

That got their attention.

"What, a duel?" Marco laughed, although I could tell there was a guarded edge in his voice.

"Seventy-two hours, locked up together. If you die, you were untrustworthy. If I die, I was untrustworthy. Simple. I can get someone to forge any sort of documentation you need for school," he said confidently.

"We can take care of that. We have just the spot," Jake said cautiously. Two hours later, we were at a small shack in the woods.

"This will do fine," I said, walking in. I sat down in the dirty floor and leaned against the wall. "Sixty-six hours left," I said, grinning. Marco and Jake exchanged looks, then sat down as well.