"This is the third letter this week!" Mei shouted while waving the letter in Priya's face. Priya swatted the letter out of her face as Mei unfolded the envelope.

Dear Mei,
Your eyes are the most beautiful color ever. They may seem basic to others but they're special to me. I imagine myself staring at you under a starry night sky with your eyes illuminating the darkness. The light in my heart comes from you, my love
-Admirer

Mei read from the paper. Priya smiled a bit but Mei was staring intensely at the paper. She then sighed and folded it back up.

"Whose handwriting is this? It's so perfect!?" Mei waved her arms around in frustration and then sat on the floor.

"Mei, those floors are dirty get up,"

"But who is writing these to me! I need to know!" Mei said while standing up and crossing her arms.

"Hey girl!" Miriam and Abby came over to the duo.

"Sup Mei! What's that?" Abby pointed at the letter in Mei's hands. Mei handed it over so Abby and Miriam can read it over. After Abby finished she passed it to Miriam who when she finished passed it back.

"You have an admirer!" Abby rubbed her hands together. This meant she can play good cop bad cop.

"Do you know who it is?" Miriam asked carefully. She looked around the school but nobody seemed to be paying attention to them.

"No. Ugh! I want to know who it is!"

"We can help you find out," The trio turned to Abby and then to Mei.

"Yeah,"

"I'm in girl! Let's come over to my place and develop a plan!" Miriam said and the girls nodded, Mei, being the first. She had not even the slightest clue who could be sending letters to her. She's not friends with a lot of boys and not a lot of people in general. Whoever it was, was being secret all right.

The bell rang during the final period of the day and Mei was the first one out of the classroom. She raced down the hallway and past students that were exiting the classrooms. The urge to discuss the messages fueled the power in her steps and gave her motivation to leave school faster.

"Slow down Mei!" Mei slowed down and whirled around to see Miriam following her. Miriam stopped when Mei stopped and leaned over to catch her breath.

"You're fast!"

"Sorry, I didn't know you were here," Mei apologized. Miriam straightened her posture and gave Mei a thumbs up so the two made their way to Mei's locker.

"How did you get out before me?"

"I asked my teacher to use the bathroom, and took my bag," Miriam said, motioning to her book bag over her shoulder. She adjusted the skateboard in her arms as the two stopped by Mei's locker.

"Have any ideas?" Mei asked while she unlocked her locker. Miriam leaned against the adjacent locker and shook her head.

"I'm saving the thinking for later," Miriam smiled as Mei opened her locker. Mei hummed to show she was listening as she dug through her locker.

"Another one!?" Mei exclaimed, pulling another letter out of her letter as Miriam's eyes widened.

"Two in a day?!" Miriam leaned off the locker and looked down at Mei's hands where the letter was. Whoever this was, had a real soft spot for Mei and she knew that.

"I'll read it when the group is here,"

"Good idea girl, now come on!" Mei grabbed everything she needed and joined Miriam outside the building. They met up with Priya and Abby and they walked past the Daisey Mart, avoiding Devon this time. They created small talk during the trip which distracted Mei from the situation. When they reached Miriam's house, Miriam unlocked the front door and they went inside.

"Hello, girls!" Mrs. Mendelsohn said from the kitchen where she was washing dishes. She put the clean dining plate on the drying rack and took the rubber gloves off of her hands.

"It's been a while,"

"Hi, Mrs. Mendelsohn!" Mei waved enthusiastically towards Miriam's mother, joined by Abby and Priya who said their hellos and waved.

"So Miriam, how's it going with your-"

"Later mom, this is more important!" Miriam said as she grabbed Mei's hands and lead her into her bedroom, Priya and Abby trailing behind. It was when they entered Miriam's bedroom that Mei realized Miriam was holding her hand. Not her wrist, her hand. A faint blush spread across her cheeks and she found herself staring at Miriam. The way her brows scrunched up when she was focused and how her mouth hung open.

"So what's the plan?" Abby asked as Priya closed Miriam's door and dropped her book on the floor. Miriam turned to their friends and moved her hand out of Mei's.

"Hm, I don't know yet. Mei?" Miriam turned to Mei and tilted her head slightly. Mei blinked, being brought to the present, and shook her head.

"Sorry, what's going on?"

"Your admirer?" Priya commented. Mei's mouth hung open in an o shape before she grinned. She began pacing around the room as she tapped her chin with her finger. Abby and Priya sat on Miriam's floor as Mir hopped on her bed.

"If we're going to take this seriously, we need to act like adults," Mei finally said as she stopped pacing and stood facing the wall, hands behind her back.

"So like detectives?"

"Yes! Exactly!" Priya smiled, she liked that idea. She had read a detective story recently so she knew how to get into character. Abby giggled mischievously and rubbed her hands together.

"Can I be bad cop?" Abby asked, her smile widening when Mei nodded.

"Sure!"

"I guess I'll be good cop," Priya raised her hand.

"And I'll be Detective Lee!" Mei said, pointing to herself. Abby cheered and clapped her hands, knowing this was going to be fun. Priya nodded but then turned to Miriam.

"What about you? What title do you want?"

"Ah, it's ok. I don't need a title," Miriam said while shaking her hands.

"What?!"

"But we're playing detective!" Mei whined, holding onto Miriam's arm. Miriam eyed Mei's hands before looking into her eyes and smiling.

"I know Mei, but there's no title that fits,"

"We can both be good cop," Priya said.

"Yes! Double the chaos!" Abby said and they heard laughter coming from outside the room. Miriam recognized the laughter as her mother's and blushed embarrassingly.

"Give her the title of the murderer!" Mrs. Mendelsohn said jokingly. Miriam quickly glanced at Mei before hopping off her bed and leaving her room.

"Mom! Seriously!?" As the door closed behind them, the girls locked eyes with each other and laughed. However, they all stopped or tried to silence it when Miriam came back inside.

"Not cool guys, why were you laughing!?" The girls didn't mean to laugh but Miriam's voice cracked at the end of her sentence and it sent the girls in a frenzy. Miriam knew what made them laugh again and sighed as she accepted her fate. Though, that didn't stop her from blushing.

"It's ok Mir, it was cute," Mei said while patting Miriam's shoulder. Miriam looked at Mei, and for a moment they locked eyes. The longer Mei stared, the more mesmerized she became in Miriam's eyes. They were green and Mei swore she saw stars in them.

"Uh, what is this?" Abby motioned to Miriam and Mei causing the two to look in opposite directions.

"N-Nothing! Look, we need to play smart. So how about we ask everyone to write my name down," Mei changed the subject.

"So we can compare handwriting," Priya said and Mei nodded towards her, sharing the same idea. Priya smirked and crossed her arms.

"Smart,"

"Yeah, and anyone who doesn't comply gets bad cop!" Abby punched the air and jumped to her feet. Priya stood up and joined Abby in punching the air, with less energy.

"O-Ok," Miriam mumbled as Mei joined the punching air thing. Miriam laughed at her friends and joined them in punching the air.

Of course, they didn't spend the rest of their time punching the air. Mei read them the note and Priya determined that the admirer was in their grade since they used a vocab word that Priya recognized from English class. Once that was settled, they did however tease Miriam about her mom who popped in once in a while to check in and give them treats. However, their fun ended when Mei received a text from her mom to come home for dinner. Because of the text, her friends decided to bounce as well.

"Bye guys!" Miriam waved to her friends as they left the Mendelsohn house. She stopped waving and turned to Mei, hugging her before she left the house.

"Bye Mei,"

"Bye Mir, I hope we find this admirer tomorrow," Mei said with a determined look. And I hope it's who I want it to be. Mei thought as she turned to Miriam and smiled. Miriam smiled and waved to Mei as she left her house.

"You have some smart friends Mir," Miriam whirled around to her mother who was sitting at the dining table.

"Yeah..." Miriam hesitated for a moment before she closed the front door. She walked over to the table and sat next to her mother.

"I know,"

The four met up at Mei's locker early in the morning. Mei arrived last because she had to convince her mom to let her leave this early, stating it was to increase her academic grades.

"Alright guys, we'll split up and start with everyone who is in Priya's English class or has the same class," Mei said as she looked at each of her friends for confirmation. They all nodded and Mei began digging through her backpack. She pulled out four sheets of paper and handed them to her friends as well as a pencil for each.

"And here are the sheets," Mei said. They agreed to create a rumor that all the kids in Priya's English teacher's class could get a treat if they get enough signatures. Soon they broke off separately. As Miriam started walking off, Mei caught up with her which startled Mir.

"Girl, didn't you say we were splitting up?" Miriam whispered, leaning over to match Mei's height. Mei nodded and hummed, not understanding what was wrong. Miriam didn't argue and they went off together.

The duo went around and asked for signatures from the students. They signed the sheet, most of them not even reading what it was for which Mir and Mei found odd. They could only get so many before the bell rang so they put the sheets away and went to class.

During lunch, they finished getting signatures and sat inside at their table, looking at the signatures and a letter Mei let them borrow.

"None," Priya spoke up causing the group to look up from the sheets.

"Me either," Abby mumbled as she pushed the sheets towards Mei who took them with a sigh. She then turned to Mir, hope in her eyes.

"Anything?" To her disappointment, Miriam shook her head.

"Sorry girl, but I got nothing," Mei collected the sheets and neatly put them in her folder. She groaned and let her head fall on her arms.

"We'll never figure this out!"

"Mei, calm down it's ok."

"But-"

"Miriam's right, we got this," Priya said, cutting Miriam off she could start rambling. Miriam smiled at Priya for giving Mei support.

"Haha! Mei can't figure out her secret admirer!" The girls turned their heads to find Tyler doubling over with laughter. Everyone else started quieting down to listen to Tyler teasing Mei.

"It's probably just her writing it to herself because she knows nobody would have a crush on her!" Tyler purposely got louder as he talked so the volume of his laughter was louder too.

"This isn't funny Tyler!" Miriam snapped back.

"Mei just loves herself so much," Tyler made a kissing face causing the cafeteria to start laughing. Mei blushed a dark shade of red and hid her head in her hands. Miriam noticed and stormed over to Tyler.

"Knock it off!" She shouted and Tyler screamed before running out of the cafeteria. Surprisingly, Miriam ran after him and some kids even followed in case there was a fight.

"Woah,"

"FIGHT FIGHT FIG-"

"Not the time Abby, come on!" Mei yelled over Abby's voice before she stood up and ran after Miriam. She pushed past students and ran after the crowd. The murmurs grew louder and Mei finally got to the end of the hall, only to realize nobody knew where the two ran off to.

"Has anyone seen them?" Some students shook their heads and some said no. Mei looked around and sighed, retreating into the crowd and finding Priya with Abby.

"Nothing?" Abby asked and Mei shook her head. She didn't expect Miriam to run after Tyler like that, if anything it sounded like an Abby thing to do. But she knew Abby would've stopped at the door just to make sure Tyler believed he was being chased.

The crowd disbanded and left down the two hallways when the bell rang. Mei sighed disappointingly and the trio walked down another hallway towards Mei's locker.

"She better have scared him away!" Abby said, her brows furrowing at the thought of Tyler. Always have to say something Tyler.

"She probably did, never seen Miriam that angry before," Mei said as she unlocked and opened her locker. At that moment, the new letter didn't phase her and she handed it to Priya to read.

"It's about the way you dress," Priya simplified. Mei froze and turned around to Priya.

"I dress? I-Is it Tyler!?"

"How would it be Tyler?"

"Well, connecting the dots earlier today there wasn't a letter but after Tyler ran away there's a letter," Mei explained.

"Ew,"

"I hope not! You deserve so much better than him!" Abby said. Mei smiled as a form of appreciation before she closed her locker.

"Yeah, there's no way,"

"Stupid Tyler," The trio turned to Miriam as she walked back over to them. She adjusted her green beanie and smiled at the group.

"Hey,"

"Never seen you snap like that," Priya commented causing Miriam to chuckle awkwardly.

"Yeah, it was epic!" Abby supportively punched Miriam's shoulder.

"Thanks, uh, you ok Mei?"

"Y-Yeah!" Mei said, still trying to grasp the idea of Tyler being the secret admirer. Suddenly an idea sparked in her head and she grabbed the signing sheet from her bag.

"Mir can you sign this?" Miriam was taken aback by the sudden question. She rubbed her hands together and nodded, grabbing the pencil and the paper. She signed her name against a locker and handed the paper to her. Mei took it back and frowned.

"The handwriting doesn't match," She muttered.

"Ugh! This is so confusing!" She would be lying if she didn't hope the handwriting matched. She's had a slight interest in Miriam for a while now and if she was the admirer she would've been thankful.

"Mei it's ok, we can try again tomorrow,"

"We're gonna have to," Priya said, pointing at the clock on the wall. Right on time, the bell rang and the girls separated for their classes.

Tomorrow morning came around and the girls agreed to meet at school about ten minutes before the rest of the students. Mei decided she would get there a few minutes earlier just to make sure the admirer wasn't Tyler.

Mei walked up the steps of the middle school with her Tamagotchi in hand. She tapped the buttons of Robaire Jr as she pushed open the school doors. She looked around the hallway and silently closed the door behind her. She walked down the hallway and turned the corner into the next one but stopped when she saw someone familiar standing by her locker.

"Miriam?" Mei whispered. She watched Miriam take a slip of paper out of her pocket and slip it through the cracks of Mei's locker. She stepped back and walked down the hallway and when she turned the corner Mei gasped.

"It's Miriam!?"

"What's Miriam?" Mei jumped and whirled around to find Abby and Priya. She relaxed her shoulders before adjusting her backpack on her shoulders.

"Miriam is the secret admirer,"

"Are you sure?"

"We don't want to make her feel awkward if that wasn't the case," Priya said. However, Mei continued nodding as Priya talked. She saw it with her own eyes and she emphasized that through her hand gestures.

"I saw!" She pointed at her eyes then down the hall at her locker. Her hands then found their way to her face and Mei covered her face.

"It's Miriam..."

"How do you feel about this?" Abby asked but Mei stayed silent. Her face was beet red and she whimpered at the thought of Miriam. She wasn't upset, not even the slightest. She was just so surprised and kind of confused why Miriam would do it this way. It was just easier to tell Mei instead of attempting to drag it out.

"I'm... I'm not mad." Mei slowly moved her hands off of her face and she looked at Abby.

"Not at all, I'm kinda happy!"

"Why? Did you have a crush on her too?" Priya asked, closing the book she was reading and looking up to pay attention.

"To be fair, I thought it was just a feeling of immense besties! But the thought of her liking me makes me happy, so I guess it's a yeah,"

"Look whose coming," Abby said while she tugged on Mei's shirt and pointed down the hallway.

Miriam.

Miriam came jogging over to her friends while waving jovially. She stopped in front of them and caught her breath.

"Hey girls! Hey Mei," She addressed Mei separately. Mei eyed Miriam for a second, scanning her up and down.

"Uh, what is it?" Miriam asked, watching Mei stare at her closely. Mei stopped eying Miriam and stepped forward.

"How come you're here later than everyone here?" Mei started with a simple question, she had hopes of catching Miriam in a lie. Just for confirmation.

"By skateboard, there were a ton of people walking today so it was kinda a wait to get here,"

"Where's your board?" Abby pointed to Miriam's left arm with a suspicious look. Miriam's eyes widened and she hugged herself while smiling awkwardly.

"Uh, I put it away,"

"You usually carry it around,"

"Y-Yeah? W-Well maybe I'm trying something new!" Miriam snapped at Priya. Priya scoffed at Miriam's response but didn't take it to heart. She could tell Miriam was lying and knowing the truth behind it made her words feel like sand.

"Hey! Not cool!" Abby poked Miriam's stomach aggressively.

"Sorry, I'm sorry Priya. It's just-"

"Are you the admirer?" Mei stepped forward, blocking Miriam from looking anywhere else. Miriam froze and stared at the ground to avoid eye contact with Mei.

"How did you know?" She muttered quietly.

"Well, if you must ask then you shall receive. First, your lie about skateboarding here wasn't adding up. If you skated here you would've been here before Abby but not before Priya. Second, I saw you slipping another note into my locker before you left. And since the evidence matches, you are the murderer Miriam!" Mei said in the most detective-like tone she could muster. Miriam sighed and reluctantly held her hands up.

"Caught red-handed I guess,"

"Really!?"

"Yeah, look, girl- er... Mei. I didn't know how to tell you and, well, I didn't want things to be weird between us. I... like you, like-like you. And I know we're only in eighth grade and your mom doesn't really like me, but I would be open to try being in a relationship with you,"

"Maybe Robaire Jr doesn't need a father," Mei whispered before hugging the Tamagotchi to her chest. She smiled and locked eyes with Miriam.

"He needs another mother,"

"So yes, I will take your offer,"

"Really?! Ahaha yes! Yay!" Miriam jumped around excitedly and cheered as the other girls clapped for them. Support was a language they spoke very well. Mei giggled at Miriam's excitement and opened her arms for Miriam to hug her. Miriam was quick to understand and hugged Mei comfortingly.

"Thanks, girl, I promise I'll be the best girlfriend you'll ever be with! Ride or die," Miriam said, sincerely putting her hand over her heart.

"Aww,"

"Cute,"

"Thanks, Mir, and circling back to my mom. I think we can make something work," Mei put her hand on Miriam's shoulder and grinned. She knew her mother can't hate forever so she was willing to find a compromise.

The bell rang which confused the girls until they realized they were in school. Turning to the duo, Mei nodded to both of them.

"Thanks, guys, good cop, and bad cop," Mei said, motioning towards Priya first and Abby last.

"Yes! I earned the title!" Abby laughed as she raced down the hallway. Priya simply hummed and began walking away too. Mei turned her head to Miriam since the two shared the first period and began walking to math. Miriam looked down at Mei and slowly brushed her hand against Mei's. However, when Mei turned to Miriam, she was already looking in another direction.

Mei accepted Miriam's attempt at holding hands and the two walked into math class, smiling from ear to ear. They slid in their seats and Mei smiled at Miriam as she watched her, now girlfriend, set up for math class.

I'm glad my admirer turned out to be someone I admired as well. Love you Mir.