Chapter 84 The Mystery

Maria had to text Miley for directions to Vicky's house. She ran down Apple Grove.

Miley was standing in the doorway by the time Maria found the house.

“What are you doing here? Is something wrong?” Miley asked. Sonya peeked out from the doorway nervously.

“Katie forced Ryan to break up with Sara!” Maria said.

“Ok, but how does that connect with the Vicky thing?” Miley asked.

“What's going on?” Sonya asked nervously.

“Listen to what I discovered – Katie didn't know Vicky or Sara until like halfway through the school year, right? Yet she forced Ryan to break up with Sara just before the first school day! It just doesn't make any sense,” Maria said.

“Whatever, let's just skip that part for now. WHY did Katie enforce the break up?” Miley asked.

“I... I think I know.”

Surprisingly, it was Sonya who spoke.

“What?” Miley asked.

“You guys... know about Clovervicky, right?” Sonya began tentatively. “The more annoyed Vicky gets, the closer she gets to Clovervicky. It's her... Supul state.”

She paused for breath.

“Over the course of the year, Vicky has been getting more and more annoyed from the whiny Sara. It seemed really weird to me. And that's when Katie popped up out of no where. Somehow, Katie knew of Clovervicky. So I think the only reason Katie became Vicky's friend in the first place was because... she wanted to turn Vicky into Clovervicky. She needed to keep a close eye on her.

“So, while we don't know how she did it, the only reason Katie made Ryan and Sara break up was so that Vicky would be annoyed into Clovervicky by an innocent Sara. Why? Because she's evil, and hates my sister.”

By the end, Sonya was almost in tears.

“That's it,” Miley said after a pause. “That's the answer.”

“Katie's the bad guy, not Vicky!” Maria said. “Vicky's innocent.”

She could barely think straight. It had all happened so quickly.

“So how are Katie and Clovervicky to be stopped?” Maria asked.

“And how did Katie time travel back to the first day of school and force Ryan to break up?” Miley asked.

“That's it!” Maria gasped.

Miley and Sonya stared at her.

“Time travel!” Maria continued. “Katie learned of Clovervicky and time traveled to start her plan. And we're going to travel back to stop Katie before she even starts.”

“Hon, I was only kidding,” Miley said.

“No, listen!” Maria exlaimed. “A while back, just before we went to the Supul House, I saw Katie at the Fountain of Time in the girl's bathroom, angrily whispering something to it. Fountain of TIME. She must have gone back in time sometime while we were in Switzerland. That's how she traveled, I'm telling you. And that's how I am, too.”

Miley seemed to struggle for a response.

“But... how would a fountain be able to time travel?” she asked.

“Um, this is SUPUL Academy. Anything is possible,” Maria replied.

“Ok,” Miley finally gave in. “But only because there's no other explanation.”

“Only one more question, then,” Maria said. “How do we stop her?”

Miley and Maria turned to Sonya.

“Do you know a way?” Maria asked.

“Um...,” Sonya was clearly uneasy about something.

“I know a way... but Vicky made me promise to never tell anyone,” Sonya bit her lip.

“Vicky could be in grave danger,” Maria reminded her. “She may not... survive if you don't tell us how to stop her.”

Sonya caved in.

“OK. Vicky is afraid of 3 main things. She made me swear never to tell anyone, but... One is me, jokingly, of course. The second is apples, obviously. Vicky's third greatest fear is... the chorus teacher. Mr. Connelly.”

Maria was silent.

“Uh... boqay,” Maria said.

All eyes were on Maria. It was time to move.

“I need you guys to gather as many apples and Mr. Connellys as you can. Be quick – I don't know how long I will take.”

“What are you gonna do?” Miley asked.

“I'm going to do my best to stop Katie, in the past. Wish me luck.”

Maria walked to the door.

“Wait!”

It was Sonya. Maria turned around to face her.

“Yeah?”

“Maria, I've known you since the beginning of the year, almost. And you've changed so much. For the better. It's like you went from tired and uncooperative to brave and... so much better. It's like... you made a climb, or something.”

Maria briefly met eyes with Sonya, then Miley.

“No,” Maria smiled. “At least, not yet.”

She then ran out to save the world.