Inside the park Ally began scanning people's minds. Mateo kept trying to hurry her along.
"Hmm, people are mostly thinking about the eclipse," Ally said.
"Ally, Mateo!" Julius waved to them from across the green. "Over here!"
Ally and Mateo went over to their friends' blanket.
"Sorry we're late," Mateo said. "We got a text from Barry that made us worried. We think someone is spying on us and sharing our recipes with the other teams."
Bethany looked stunned.
"Whoa! Who are the possible suspects?" Julius asked.
As they ate, Mateo answered Julius' question. "It's got to be someone who spends a lot of time at the diner. I doubt it's Randy or Phil."
"And Flo would never spy on us," Ally said.
"Ooh!" Bethany gasped. "The eclipse is starting."
Ally looked up. The moon was turning a beautiful red color. She felt a chill go up her spine, and goosebumps appeared on her arms.
"It reminds me of Zorgab 8!" Ally cried.
Julius looked at her, confused.
"Never mind! Ha-ha! That's an old joke."
Julius laughed and nodded, but he still looked confused.
"Ugh!" Ally thought. "What is he thinking about me right now? Probably that I'm weird, and he'll never date me again!"
She tried to read Julius' mind, but she couldn't hear any thoughts. Instead all she heard was a buzzing sound, like static. She was about to try again when Julius looked at her.
"I'm glad you're here." He smiled.
Ally smiled back, forgetting to worry about his thoughts. Instead she watched his smile—and the bright red moon above.
After the eclipse the kids started packing up their picnic.
"That was amazing!" Julius said. "It makes me want to learn more about the moon and space stuff."
Mateo grinned. "Ally's a space expert. Hey, Ally. You should take Julius to the UFO museum."
"How about tomorrow?" Julius said.
Ally blushed. "Okay."
"Do you two want to come?" Julius asked Mateo and Bethany.
Mateo shrugged. "We have plans. Right, Bethany?"
"Yep." Bethany nodded.
"Hmm," Ally thought. "Why is Julius inviting them? Maybe he doesn't want to be alone with me."
She tried to read Julius' mind again, but it didn't work.
"That's so strange," Ally thought. "Maybe—" Suddenly something caught her eye. Across the green Flo was talking to a woman.
"Flo!" Ally waved, but Flo just stared at her blankly. Then Flo and the woman fled the park.
"Who was that, Ally?" Julius asked.
"Flo. She works at the diner. I think she's mad at me."
Julius shrugged. "She looked like she didn't want to be seen or something. Maybe she's the mole."
"No way," Mateo said. "Flo and Papi are close."
"I read a lot of spy novels," Julius said. "Spies are trained to get close."
Ally shook her head. "There's no way Flo is the mole—and I'll prove it tomorrow at work."
The next day Ally kept trying to talk to Flo. But the diner was so busy, she finally decided to try reading Flo's mind.
Reading minds had always been easy for Ally. She'd never had to think about what to do. But today was different. Whenever she tried to hear Flo's thoughts, all she heard was static.
"It's like I forgot how to do it." Ally turned, trying to read the thoughts of a few customers.
"Oh no!" She started to panic when she heard the static again. "Something's wrong with me!" Suddenly something occurred to her. "Maybe Alpha is right. Maybe I am becoming too human!"
At the end of the lunch rush, Ally finally got a chance to talk to Flo.
"So . . . " She kept her voice light. "Did you hear another food truck is making chocolate hand pies?"
"No," Flo said.
"It's the second time that another team seemed to steal our idea." She shook her head. "It's almost like someone is giving away our secrets."
"Huh." Flo shrugged and walked away.
"Flo doesn't even seem to care," Ally thought as Barry arrived.
"Hey, Ally." Barry yawned. "I was up all night, but I finally came up with a recipe that no one else will think of. Mateo is going to meet me at the food truck later to test it out. It's—"
Ally slapped her hand over his mouth. "Don't say it out loud!"
"Why not?" Barry mumbled.
Ally glanced around before releasing her hand. "It's not safe!"
"Okay." Barry nodded. "I'll keep this recipe close to my chest."
Ally frowned. "Won't that get messy?"