03x22: Down and Up Again

Erika tells Nelson what she knows. Meanwhile, CV plans to fix their relationship witht their advisers. Also, Austin tries to get himself a partner for FS Night.

DOWN AND UP AGAIN

 

     “Erika!”

     Nelson grunted on the ground, trying to break free from the steel girder.

     “Derek! Scarlett! Help!”

     Erika then phased up from the ground.

     “Nelson, take my hand.”

     Nelson grabbed Erika’s hand and she phased him out of the girder.

     “What the hell were you off to?!” Nelson exclaimed.

     “Look, I don’t want to fight them. Austin’s right, we have a single enemy and Scarlett’s starting to believe that.”

     Nelson wiped the rubble off of his armor.

     “What’s wrong with Derek anyway? I never understood why he hated Austin so much.”
     “Look. I have had enough of these secrets, Nelson. I promised Derek I wouldn’t tell Scar but I’ll tell you but you have to promise me the same thing.”

      “I thought you hated secrets!”

     “Please, Nelson. If you don’t want to know, fine by me.”

     “Alright, then. What is it?”

     “The night we left for Japan, I eavesdropped on Derek. We were sneaking to the portal in the Mastermind’s base. Derek had already set up our own base.

     “On the way there, Landers stopped us, remember?”

     “Yeah.”

     “Derek told us to go through the portal. I went through then I went into ghost form and snuck back in. I witnessed everything.”

 

Landers shut the door behind him.

     “Derek, leaving already?”

     “James, don’t try to convince me to stay.”

     “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him. He already knows anyway.”

     “What do you want?”

     “I’m just going to lay down the facts. He won’t hunt you when you pass through that door. He’ll wait for you and your little family to go insane first. Then he’s gonna wait for you to wear the kids on the Island down a little. Once they’re worn down enough, he’ll just kill you and your family, head on over to the Island and kill them, get the kid’s info and his plans will be complete.”

     “I told you not to convince me to stay.”

     “I’m not telling you to stay. I’ve worked with him for years, I know him very well. I know that that would be his plan, let the pawns do the talking before he brings in his officials. If you step through that portal, you will simply be furthering his plans.”

     “What do you want me to do, James? He single-handedly destroyed the lives of my family, you expect me to continue working for him?!”

     “No, Derek. There’s nothing you can do. “

     “Then what the hell are you talking to me for? You’re wasting my ***damn time!”

     “Tell me, Derek. Where do you think you will be if you continue working for him? Any better or worse than if you carry on with your escape plan? Hmm?”

     “I’ll be miles away from him, that’s for sure.”

     “And what do you think of his plan? Doable?”

     “You want me to be honest, James?”

     “Sure, cous.”

     “I don’t understand why anyone in here is still working for him. Everyone knows his plans and I don’t know if they just think that it’s too impossible and they just want the money or they’re truly just idiots who want to be a part of the most ruthless genocide ever plotted but they’re just committing indirect suicide!

     “In the end, when he gets his own planet, he’ll just kill you all along with himself. He’s insane and the only reason anyone works for him is for the money in his pocket!”

     “Phase One, Derek.”

     “What?”

     “That whole blow up the planet bullshit? That’s only phase one. You seriously think he can do that with just psychic powers? He’s going get all of the kid’s powers. He’s going to turn himself into a god!”

     “I don’t understand.”

     “Derek, did you know that that kid could be a god if he wanted to? He just has this weakling sense of morality and humanity that the Mastermind does not have and thank God for that. Otherwise we’d be in a world ruled by a thirteen year old who doesn’t know any better. But that kind of power in the Mastermind’s hands? S**t, he’s gonna kill everyone except for himself and start his own damn universe.”

     “That’s impossible.”

     “No it isn’t. Have you seen all the spokes used, Derek?”

     “Most of them, yeah.”

     “Out of the twenty-four spokes, I’ve seen twenty-three used. The last one, if I remember correctly, was nearly used on me whilst unconscious by the kid himself. If the Mastermind had that power, he could succeed in this Genocide thing and kill everyone. Then all he’d have to do is create Adam and Eve all over again. Don’t you get it, Derek? He’s taking control.”

     “He’s insane.”

     “Open your eyes, Derek. That insanity is the ONLY F*****G REASON HE’S SUCCEEDING! He’s implanted the nihilistic view of the world on me and Spike and now he’s going to take charge. Regardless of you walking past that door, he will get the kid. I’ve seen him in action and if he continues to fight like that p***y he is, the Mastermind has already won.”

     “Are you turning against him?”

     “No, family comes first, Derek. He’s my best friend, you’re my cousin, my priorities are clear there. For all I know, me telling you this is part of his plan so I’m not serving two masters.

     “Back to the point, if you want to foil his plans, the kid’s the target but the way I’ve seen you fight, Der, you have no chance at all.”

     “If it’s the Mastermind’s plans in my hands, I’ll rip him to shreds!”

     “Oh, man. I see the hesitation in your eyes already! I hear it in your voice. You wouldn’t kill that kid even if he had your girlfriend in his guillotine hands.”

     “You’ve said enough, James.”

     “Hey, tell Scarlett I said hi.”

    

“He put a magnetic scrambler on the portal and set it to go off in ten seconds, you know, to shield our tracks. He walked in and I followed.”

     “Did he catch you?”

     “Yeah, he did. He just told me not to tell Scarlett.”

     “He never told us that Landers was his cousin!”

     A portal opened near them. Scarlett stepped out.

     “You two, get in here now!”

    

Janella was asleep in the female ward. She had an IV attacked to her. Austin was asleep in his chair, alone. Bianca already left for the night.

     Austin woke up after a while, she was still asleep.

     “Bianca?”

     He looked around. He looked at Janella, who looked like an angel at the moment. Then, she woke up.

     “Austin? You’re still here…”

     “I told you I’m not leaving, didn’t I?”

     “Get some rest. It’s… what time is it?”

     “Ten thirty. Wanna eat dinner?”

     “Not hungry. What’s with the IV?”

     “John thought that you might experience appetite loss so, yeah.”

     “Seriously, get some rest.”

     “I just slept in my seat. John still having a hard time finding an antidote right now.”

     “He’s still here? John! Get some rest!”

     John entered the room.

     “Did she call me?”

     “Get some rest. I’ll be fine.”

     “No really, it’s okay. I have nothing better to do.”

     “How about sleeping? There’s school tomorrow.”

     “Which is why an antidote has to be found,” Austin said.

     “Exactly,” John said as he went back out.

     “Wait, is it raining outside?” Janella asked.

     “Yes. There’s a storm in the Philippines and our weather’s synchronized with the school back in the city so, yeah. I got a text earlier, there are no classes tomorrow.”

     “Does John know?”

     “Yeah, he was just acting but the cat’s out of the bag now, isn’t it? Anyway, either let me get you some food or go back sleep… or do you wanna watch TV?”

     “I’m perfectly fine, Austin. You don’t have to watch over me.”

     “Are you just being shy? Look, it’s been ten months since December and seven months since March, both of which hold two of the most significant days in our lives. You don’t have to be shy anymore.”

     “Oh, fine. Thanks.”

     “No problem.”

     “Are the others fine?”

     “Yeah. Nurse Jen fixed up Ivan’s bone quickly.  He should be up and… running by tomorrow. Get it? Up and running?”

     Janella didn’t react to this, closing her eyes.

     “Yeah, that wasn’t funny. Hey, here’s the good news: Antidote or not, you should be able to go to school on Tuesday. Still no powers though.”

     “Oh… that’s kinda… sucks…”

     She fell back to sleep as Austin stood up and went to the telephone in the ward.

     “Hello, this is Austin Fernandez. Can you send some pancakes to the Base, please? Umm… two… golden brown… EXTRA SYRUP! Please. Thanks!”

     Austin sat back down and waited for a while.

     “Austin, did you order pancakes?” John asked from outside.

     “Yeah, you mind bringing them in here,” He said telepathically.

     “Oh, no problem.”

     John brought the food in.

     “Hey, I’m starved, do you mind if you treat me to a burger or something?”

     “No prob. Tell they guy up front to put it on my tab.”

     “Thanks.”

     John went back outside as Austin at his comfort food.

 

The next morning, Janella woke up to a breakfast in bed.

     “I was going to order pancakes but you didn’t like pancakes anymore since that incident so I ordered tapsilog instead. Hope that’s adequate.”

     “Thanks. Hey, if you wanna go out and watch a movie or something, it’s fine. I’m feeling a lot better.”

     “It’s okay.”

      “Hey, remember that guy, Clutch? He could split himself up, right?”

     “Well, if you’re expecting me to split up into multiple fire breathing telekinetics, you’re out of luck. All my duplicates would not have any other power.”

     “I meant so you could multitask…”

     “Oh. Oh right. Haha… I’m sorry, I couldn’t think straight recently.”

     Berna entered the room.

     “Hey, Austin. How is she?”

     “She’s feeling a lot better.”

     “Hey, Berna. Sick or not, I can still beat you.”

     “You’re on but not now. Austin, they’re asking for you.”

     “Okay.”

     Austin switched to physical manipulation and split himself into two.

     “You know what, I stand corrected. I can use other powers, as long as they involve physical manipulation.”

     “Come on,” Berna said.

     The duplicate Austin went with Berna to the hotel lobby.

     “Don’t worry. My main mind is still in this body,” Austin told Janella.

 

Austin arrived in the lobby where Kyle, Rica, Nica, Lui, Dory, Alyssa, and Marella were there.

     “Hey Group B, what’s the matter?”

     “I wanna take them training,” Kyle said.

     “No problem. I’ll ask John to load up last year’s program.”

     “You mean the one with you going crazy in Pasig River?”

     “No, I mean the one where you had to deflect power orbs from some cannons. You know what, just go to him.”

     “Why aren’t you watching over Janella?” Nica asked.

     “I am. Sneak a peek in the ward when you get there, I’ve been watching her since yesterday.”

     “Where are you going?”

     “I’m gonna watch Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, any objections?”

     “Nope, not at all.”

     “Nica, about the,” Alyssa said.

     “Oh! Right, right… Austin, the FS Night? It’s ago. Bulletin’s out tomorrow. The theme is cartoon characters. You gonna ask her?”

     “Of… Of course!”

     Cue screech tease.

     “Bye, Austin,” Kyle said as he led his team to the Base.

    

The Austin duplicate got to watch three movies that day. Kyle sent his team to a brutal training course. The original Austin watched TV in the female ward with Janella. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

     Ironically, there wasn’t that much rain. The rain came the next day. They were still confused whether there were classes or not since the rule was, if there was heavy rain, classes were suspended but “heavy rain” was a bit subjective.

    

Austin got to wear a jacket the next day (at least his duplicate since the original one was still watching over Janella). He just loved jackets and wearing them a lot more.

     There were a lot of people missing due to the confusion but by recess, most of CV was present.

     The same cannot be said for most of the other sections. DDN wasn’t too empty but SC had only about seven or eight students.

     During English time, Ms. Sharon announced a new project.

     They were going to have English Day on December 7, 2010. Each level would have a different activity. For the second year, they were having a speech choir contest.

     All the sections had to present their interpretation of The Congo by Nicholas Vachel Lindsey. Each student could only join one of the contests so not everyone would be part of the speech choir.

     The other activities were mural painting and essay writing. Austin was one of the candidates for CV’s representative in essay writing.

     Ms. Sharon told them to put together the speech choir and start practicing. Austin went to the front to “conduct” using his ruler.

     After a while, they got the hold of the rhythm and Austin was no longer necessary so Austin spoke to Ms. Sharon. She just happened to be returning the Reservoir Dogs DVD. She loved it.

     Science was still uncomfortable to be in for CV.

 

Meanwhile, in the Base, Austin was drinking orange soda while watching TV. Janella was asleep.

     She finally woke up at around 9 AM.

     “Austin…”

     “Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?”

     “Umm, yeah. And I’m not that�"“

     “Yes, you are.”

     “Anyway, shall we go to school?”

     “You ready? Berna dropped off your uniform. I’ll call a transport car. Suit up.”

     Austin went out of the ward and inserted his ID into a slot on the right side of the doorway of the base.

     After a while, there was a transport car waiting. Janella came out in her uniform.

      “Aren’t you gonna put on your uniform?”

     “The other me has a uniform on. It’ll be easy.”

     They took the transport car to the school and Austin excused his duplicate.

     He took him the restroom and fused into one. His uniform ended up under his civilian clothes so he teleported his civilian clothes back to his suite.

 

For the rental service, Jib got Reservoir Dogs and Forrest Gump. Sr. Philip got Scream, and Ms. Sharon got Pulp Fiction.

     Austin also noticed that his duplicate took the initiative to write down the quote of the day: “Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?” from Reservoir Dogs.

     Their TLE had already changed for the quarter into Culinary Arts. Austin’s groupmates were Sean, Rica, Jade, Chili, Bade, and Bettina.

     One thing that was failed to be mentioned was Austin posting a poster of Kill Bill with Bade’s head photoshopped on. Since she was being shipped with Jack Bungag, the title unofficially became “Kill Jack”.

     Austin also photoshopped Owen and Renz’s faces on the Face/Off poster and Dorothy and Dior’s faces on a Titanic poster. To top it all off, a picture of Sean was partially greyscaled and became a poster for “Memoirs of a Geisha”. He took this pretty well though.

     During the planning process for next week’s cooking activity, Austin and Sean discussed a few possible poster ideas. The top contender was Renz on a Forrest Gump poster or a Curious Case of Benjamin Button poster.

     Also, the bulletin was given out. The name of the party was “Forever After”. They began to tease Renz.

     Since the “Ngiting Guioguio” thing was demoted to ineffective since the play, they began another trend of insults. They called Renz, “Shrek” because, quite frankly, he looked like Shrek, especially while smiling.

     After the last period, Ms. Mac told the class that the new seating arrangement wasn’t working so she changed the format back to the usual eight rows, six seats, twenty-one pairs set-up. Austin’s seatmate was now Queennie. Marise and Pat were now seatmates as were Aika and Basti. Jasvir was still in front of him and Mo-on was now closer behind him.

     In the waiting area, after Janella had left for Woodridge, Joel approached Austin.

     “Hey, Austin. How are ya?”

     “Hello. I’m… I’m fine. You?”

     “I’m good too. Anyway, what do you think of Shaq jumping ship to Celtics?”

     “You really wanna talk to me about basketball?” Austin thought to himself.

     “I liked him better in yellow,” Austin said.

     “Oh…”

    “Anyway, I gotta go.”

     “See ya.”

     Austin teleported to his suite where he was caught by two surprises. One was that his civilian clothes were scattered all over the floor and the other was that Erika was waiting on his balcony.

     “You!” Austin shouted as he telekinetically pinned her to the balcony.

     “Calm down. They’re not here.”

     “You think we had fun last Sunday? Your sister shot my friend in the neck!”

     “Tough luck but I had nothing to do with that. We have to talk.”

     “Fill me with lies?”

     “Look, only now I realize that it is imperative that you know the information I am about to tell you!”

     “Fine, what is it?”

     “I found this out months ago. You know how the Mastermind wants to take your knowledge on the psychic spoke, right?”

     “Yeah, what about it?”

     “He wants to take all of your powers.”

     “Doesn’t he have his own Dome? All he has to do is take out the S-21 component and step in. Why does he need me?”

     “I don’t know. That’s all I know.”

     “Why are you here? Surely you have an ulterior motive.”

     “Yes and no. My sister is desperate and she really wants to fix us. Derek went out of the Base in depression. She told me to ask for your help.”

     Erika pointed out the S-21 component on his bed.

     “Let me take a look at it.”

     Austin sat down on the bed and switched the band to Steel powers. He used the Technopathic part of that to reverse the S-21 component.

     “Here, just place that where it says in the blueprints and you’re clear.”

     “That was it?!”

     “Without technopathic powers, it would take a few hours but luckily, I have those powers. How about that truce?”

     “Don’t you get it, Austin? Why do you think Derek won’t let you close?”

     “Because he’s a, no offense, retard?”

     “He knows about the Mastermind’s true motives. If we formed a truce, he’d be leading the Mastermind right to you. He’s trying keep you away because he can’t bring himself to destroy you. Especially after what you did to…”
     Erika began to tear up a little.

     “Look, I’m�"“

     “Sorry… Past is past. Thanks for the help with the S-21 component but that’s all you can do. We’ll fix our lives and you’ll never hear from us again. I can’t be sure about Derek but�"“

     “Wait. So he’s trying to kill me?”

     “He thinks he needs to but he can’t bring himself to it. Anyway, I have to go. Thanks for the help.”

     Erika fired the Telegun and went in the portal.

 

The next day, they slightly lost the beat so Austin had to reestablish the beat.

     He got a bit too caught up in the beat…

     “BOOMLAY! BOOMLAY! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

     SNAP!

     Austin looked down and his ruler broke.

     “Aww… That ruler’s vintage…”

     “Can’t you fix it?”

     “I’m not fixing this ruler with my powers. I’m a sentimental type of person. Scotch tape will suffice.”

     Austin sadly marched to his seat and taped it back together.

    Sr. Geck wasn’t there that day so Sr. Edmond substituted for him. It was kind of nice to relive the old days only this time with Word Problems involving Systems of Linear Equations.

     During Recess, he was planning to ask Janella to the FS night already.

     “Come on, just ask,” He said to himself.

     “Come on, just ask!” Bianca said.

     “I can’t.”

     “Why not?”

     “Because!”

     “Because?”

     “This conversation is going nowhere.”

     “Dude.”

     “Dude!”

     “Dude?!”
     “DUDE!”
     “DUDE?!”
     “It’s  weird how we can communicate just by saying the same word in differing volume and tonality whilst arranging our body language as neede�"“:

     “Dude…”

     “Whoops, it’s 10:00. Time to go to Art class. See ya.”

     Austin stood up and marched out of the DDN room. He snuck a peek at Janella and she sensed it. She looked back at him and he waved at her. She waved back and he went on to his classroom.

     Sr. Philip was no longer their teacher. Instead it was this new, nameless teacher that observed the class last week.

     They greeted him lazily but he didn’t care. They sat down and Mo-on leaned forward and whispered to Austin.

     “What’s his name?”

     Austin shrugged.

     This one had a very distinct style. First he showed everyone a video that had inaudible audio. Then he showed them a Powerpoint Presentation.

     “You, will you please read the slide?”

     Jeffrey read the slide.

     “Now explain.”

     Jeffrey tried.

     “Okay, good. Anyone else.”

     Austin tried playing this game and he succeeded. Next slide.

     “You, ma’am, please read the slide.”

     Chili read the slide.

     “Now explain.”

     She tried.

     “Okay.”

     Next slide.

     That was pretty much the whole class. Mo-on got bored and folded a tiny crane. He then threw it at Jeffrey who threw it back at Austin. He gave it to Mo-on but the new teacher accused him of throwing.

     “D****t,” Austin whispered to Queennie. “This guy, what’s his name?”

     Queennie shrugged.

     “Fine, for now, let’s call him sir *shrug*”

     They now had a little in-joke by saying “Sir” then shrugging. Austin asked Jasvir about his name and it was revealed as Mike. This just made it worse.

     “Psst. Marise.”

     “Hey, what’s up?”

     “You know his name?”

     “Nope…”
     “Thought so. Jasvir claims that it’s Sir Mike. I don’t know if he’s being serious or if he’s just referencing Mr. Hawk.”
     They laughed at this.

     “Anyway, how’s Pat.”

     “Can anyone explain?” Sr. Mike asked.

     “Wait; let me clear my name a bit.”

     Austin raised his hand and explained the slide. He succeeded again. In fact, this was his strategy in the more boring classes except AP, which was inescapable since Sr. Leo had a unique style.

     This was deemed the “Pseudo-Pet Style” by Austin. First, you recite endlessly until you gain the teacher’s trust. Usually, the teacher is quite disjointed if you’re bored in his class (Sr. Leo was not disjointed at all so this was impossible to do in his class).

     Then you can do whatever you may for a while. Multi-task: listen, write down notes, while doing your own thing. Then repeat after a few minutes.

     That method kept Austin’s grades balanced enough to get merit cards while still being able to cope with irresistible boredom.

     Bio was still very distressing to sit through but Maan, Justine and the rest of the officers started planning a mass apology later on.

     They had to have a new grouping for the Career ZL.  Austin was with Owen, Dory, and Aika. They were planning to shoot a mock trailer like the ones in Grindhouse only without the Danny-Trejo-with-two-chicks part.

     All Austin’s ideas began with an epic, “THIS SUMMER!” which Owen pointed out. At the end, they weren’t able to accomplish anything.

     During Lunch, Austin, and Janella were beside each other opposite Ernst and Bianca who were also beside each other.

     Janella was reading a novel, Ernst was reading a Genetics textbook, Bianca was reading reference material, and Austin was arguing with himself within.

     “Just ask…”

     Austin looked at Bianca and they were having a psychic conversation but without the use of powers or links.

     “Go for it, dude!”

     “I’m trying!”

     “Dude!”

     “DUDE!”
     “Hey, Janella,” Austin said.

     “Yeah?”

     “Do you have a partner for FS Night?”

     “No… why?”

     “I was wondering if you… wanted to… be my… partner…”

     Janella was silent for a while.

     “Let me think about it…”

     “Hey, no pressure. I’ll wait.”

     “Ahihihi!” Nica said as she passed by. “Double date!”

     “BLEURGH!” Bianca exclaimed as she stood up and returned the book.

    

The CV party was already starting. Renz was still not ready but Austin decided to switch the song to 21 Guns instead. Everyone knew the song so there was no problem.

     “And now, the music committee!” Mo-on said.

     “Dude, you, take the mic, now!” Sean said.

     Mo-on pushed the mic towards Austin.

     “Hey, guys! We are the… nameless band. Now let me introduce us. We have Micherenz Guioguio on bass… piano!”

     “WOOO!! GO SHREK!” they cheered (honestly though? only some of them said the Shrek part).

     “Sean and Sang Woo on Rhythm!”

     They applauded.

     “Yours truly on Lead.”

     They applauded very softly.

     “And JIB LIDASAN ON VOCALS!”

     “WOOO!!! YEAH!!!!! “

     “Now this song is dedicated to our beloved section.”

     Austin began strumming the chords. Jib was still silent until Austin nudged him.

     “Oh, right…, Do you know what’s worth fighting for… When it’s not worth fighting for… Does it take your breath away and you feel like you’re suffocating?”

     Fast forward to the chorus where everyone sang along with Jib.

   “One… Twenty-One Guns… Lay down your arms… Give up the fight…”

     Fast forward to the end where they applauded Jib.

     The rest of the party was just games. They gave out a small envelope to everyone as well but the stand out scene was at the end.

     “Alright everyone,” Maan said. “We’re gonna go down and you guys are gonna wait in the ramp. We’re gonna call Ms. Mac and Sr. Jojo and when they’re there, you guys say, ‘We love you! We’re sorry!’”

     “Okay!”

     “Let’s go!”

     They all charged down the ramp as Maan and Justine went to the faculty area.

     After a while, Maan and Justine came back with Sr. Jojo and Ms. Mac. Everyone charged from the ramp and simultaneously said it.

     “WE LOVE YOU! WE’RE SORRY!”

     Ymara went out and gave them envelopes as well. Austin took his out and opened it. It contained an animated illustration of his face to be hanged on his ID. Everyone’s was an animated illustration of their face.

     They waited in anxiety for their response. The first thing that came out of Ms. Mac’s mouth was.

     “First, who was the one singing 21 Guns earlier?”

     “JIB!!!”

     “Jib, come here. Give us an encore,” Sr. Jojo said. They all laughed.

     “Are we okay?” Maan asked.

     Sr. Jojo and Ms. Mac remained silent for a while.

     “Fine… we’re okay,” Sr. Jojo said.

     Everyone charged in for a group hug and Austin was left behind at the back part of the group hug.

     The happiness they felt at this point was too great to be put in words. It was the best moment of the year for CV so far.

 

Later, before dismissal, Ms. Mac told everyone to stay for a while for one reason, new seating arrangement.

     Long story, short, Austin was in the second row from the front, third seat from the left (one seat in front of his position beside Dory and Ymara). His new seatmate was none other than Patricia Agbayani in the most ironic of ironies. (He had seen Fantastic Mr. Fox last night so the first words that came out of his mouth when she was seated beside him was “What the cuss?”)

     In front of him was Jericho who was seated beside Kristina.

     Behind him was Sean who was seated beside Aldrich.

     To the left were Bettina and Alecz. Behind them were Aldwin and Marise and behind them was Jib and Owen.

     Mo-on was on the far right row beside Dorothy. Behind him were Jasvir and Paula and in front of him were Ibarra and Rachel.

     In the waiting area, Austin slowly approached Janella’s bus.

     “Hey there…”

     “Hi.”
     “So, have you thought about it yet?”

     “Hmm…”

     Austin was anxiously anticipating the approaching answer.

     “Can you give me more time?” she said.

     “Oh, no problem. Sure, no pressure.”

     “You know what? I don’t feel like taking the bus.”

     “Yeah, I was beginning wonder why you still took the bus.”

     “Well, I could talk to my friends here and stuff but I just wanna get to the lodge already.”

     Janella stepped out of the bus and took out her Telegun.

     “Bye, Austin.”

     “Bye, take care…”

     Janella fired the gun and entered the portal. It closed and Austin took a transport car back to the hotel.

     He was finally able to relax after a long period of no relaxation but there was still one thing keeping him from relaxing completely. This time it didn’t involve the Mastermind or Derek’s dysfunctional family but just a simple answer of yes or no from the girl he loved…