Safiya is a high school senior at DuSable Prep and the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, *The DuSable Spectator*. She works at her parents' shop, Mirza Emporium, and plans to study journalism at Northwestern University. When her school is vandalized and a local boy goes missing, she launches her own investigation despite strict pushback from the school administration.

Jawad is a 14-year-old freshman whose family emigrated from Iraq to the United States. A creative student who loves the makerspace club, he builds a jetpack costume out of recycled soda bottles. After an English teacher mistakes the costume for a bomb, Jawad faces severe public harassment and eventually disappears, later narrating portions of the story as a wandering spirit.

Richard is the wealthy, blue-eyed co-captain of the varsity swim and lacrosse teams at DuSable Prep. He presents himself as charming, attentive, and socially aware, actively pursuing a romance with Safiya. He brings her favorite garbage cookies from Medici Bakery and frequently checks in on her well-being during stressful events at school.

Nate is the son of a Chicago alderman and a student at DuSable Prep. He runs a highly popular bird-watching YouTube channel called Fowl Play. At school, he openly aligns himself with controversial ideologies, quotes philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and frequently clashes with Safiya over her progressive journalism.

Asma is Safiya's best friend and a fan of true crime documentaries. She provides logical, grounded advice, texting Safiya lists of rules for solving cold cases and warning her to watch out for confirmation bias during her investigations. She helps manage the online presence for the search efforts.

Usman is a dedicated staff member of *The DuSable Spectator*. He takes an active role in researching the hate speech incidents on campus, identifying the origins of specific quotes, and interviewing Jawad's parents to gather facts the mainstream media ignores.

Rachel is a Jewish student at DuSable Prep, a member of the Jewish Student Association, and a writer for the school newspaper. She also works in the front office, granting her access to administrative information that proves useful to Safiya's investigation.

Dr. Hardy is the principal of DuSable Prep. He prefers to minimize scandals and protect the school's reputation rather than address the bigotry occurring on campus. He actively works to silence Safiya's reporting by suspending her and mandating administrative approval for all future articles.

Suleyman is Jawad's father and an Iraqi immigrant who moved his family to the United States after working as a translator for the American military. He works tirelessly to find his son after Jawad disappears, facing immense media scrutiny and false accusations in the process.

Dina is Jawad's mother, affectionately called "Mama" by her son. She shares a deeply spiritual and loving bond with Jawad, holding onto his memory through the scent of incense and her steady prayers during his disappearance.

Patricia is Jawad's English teacher. She misidentifies Jawad's recycled jetpack costume as a bomb and immediately contacts law enforcement. She remains unrepentant about her actions, insisting she did the right thing to protect the school.

Ms. Ellis is the sponsor of the makerspace club where Jawad built his jetpack. She feels tremendous guilt over his subsequent arrest and leaves a supportive poem in his locker to show she still cares about him.

Dakota is Richard Reynolds's previous girlfriend. She intentionally tries to make Safiya uncomfortable and jealously shows off a scarf she claims Richard brought her from his winter trip to London.

Joel is a student at DuSable Prep who frequently acts as an audience and backup for Nate Chase. He follows Nate's lead and briefly helps corner Safiya before walking away.