An old team member returns. What happens next ?
As usual, I don't own MI High or any of its characters. The story is mine. I thought I would try something a bit different. Hope you like it.
The pencil communicators started to flash in the middle of lunch break. "Aw what ? Why lunchtime ? Why not English ?" moaned Tom, quickly shovelling his remaining food into his mouth.
"Maths," mumbled Dan through a mouthful of something.
"Geography," added Aneisha.
"Mm. Well, anything taught by Mrs. King," said Keri thoughtfully.
"Keri !" complained Aneisha.
"Well, I'm sorry, but her fashion sense is like, medieval !" complained Keri. "They're not clothes so much as body armour," she added, draining her cup of water, oblivious to Aneisha's scandalised glares.
Their chairs scraped on the floor as they all stood up, still trying to force the remains of their food into their mouths. Dan grabbed his bowl of jelly and decided to take it with him. Frank probably wouldn't notice. He could scoff it while Frank was briefing them. The chaos of the school corridors at lunchtime meant they didn't have to disguise their run to the janitor's cupboard which hid the secret lift to the basement. Aneisha pulled the door shut behind them and Tom pulled the broom handle before they plummeted through the floor.
Dan had a worrying thought as he felt the familiar lurch of his stomach. He had eaten in rather a hurry. Would his lunch stay down, and what was going to happen to the bowl of jelly when his clothes changed ? He closed his eyes and winced in anticipation of getting covered in the sweet gooey mess. Dan staggered slightly when the lift stopped at the bottom before squinting down at himself. Hm, it looked like he'd got away with it. He looked to his left and saw the full bowl of jelly and spoon, still safely held in his hand. The day was getting better. With a pleased smile he followed the others out of the lift. His expression changed to shock when he saw what was waiting for them in their underground base.
Frank was standing with a happy grin on his face. "I thought I'd keep it a surprise for everyone," said Frank, cheerily bouncing up and down on his feet and looking down to his right.
"Hi everyone !" said Zoe, "I'm back !" she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Zoe !" said Aneisha, looking shocked. "When ? How ? Oooh, welcome back !" she squealed finally, rushing forward and hugging Zoe excitedly. When Aneisha let go, Tom gave her another big hug.
"When did you get back ?" Tom asked.
"Oh, this morning," said Zoe. "Frank picked me up from the airport. It's so great to see you all," she said. Her smile looked like it would split her face in half. "Oh, you must be Keri," she said, walking towards Keri, who was looking uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. "Hi Sis !" she said, giving Keri a big hug.
Keri smiled back and said, "Well I finally get to meet the famous Zoe ! These guys never stop talking about you. It's really great to finally meet," she gushed. "We've got so much girl stuff to catch up on !" she said as the two embraced again.
At last they all turned to look at Dan. He hadn't moved or spoken. He seemed to be frozen in place, still holding the bowl of jelly in his hand. "Hi Dan !" said Zoe cheerily. "Ooh, jelly ! Thanks !" she said, taking the bowl from his hand and starting to spoon the sweet into her mouth. She seemed to be unaware of Dan and obviously loving the jelly.
The others looked at Dan, expecting him to say something, but his mouth simply hung open and silent. Tom and Aneisha glanced at one another worriedly. The look on Dan's face had fixed somewhere between shock, bewilderment and vulnerability. Tom thought that this was probably the only time in his whole life where he could have taken a swing at Dan and knocked him out cold on the floor. Who was he kidding ? He could probably push him over with a single finger.
"Dan ? Are you OK ?" asked Aneisha gently.
"Um ?" he muttered.
Frank glanced at his watch. "Well, you'd better get back upstairs," said Frank, rubbing his hands together. "Your lessons start again in a minute."
"We'll see you later Zoe," said Keri. Zoe nodded happily, her mouth fully of jelly. Tom had to take Dan's elbow and steer him into the lift with the others. He looked at his friend with concern. This was not going well.
Their next class was geography with Mrs. King. She was giving a lesson about rivers and why human settlements naturally built up along their banks. Dan spent the lesson apparently in a daze, staring off into the distance. Finally, Mrs. King noticed. "Daniel Morgan ! Have you paid attention to anything I have said in this lesson ?" she demanded angrily. Dan's eyes moved to her face, but remained unfocussed and his expression was blank. "Daniel ? Are you listening to me ?" asked Mrs. King. She was about to give him a severe dressing down when she saw the tears starting to well up in his eyes and her manner instantly softened. "Thomas, I think Daniel is not feeling well. Would you please take him to the medical room," she said more softly this time.
Tom looked across and saw the tears starting to roll down Dan's face. "Oh yeah, of course Mrs. King. Come on Dan," he said quietly, pulling at Dan's arm and then guiding him out of the room. Dan went with him blindly.
"Aneisha, is everything all right with Daniel ?" asked Mrs. King in concern.
"I think he had a bit of a shock at lunchtime," said Aneisha, watching as the door closed behind Tom and Dan. She turned to find Keri looking at her in puzzlement.
"I thought he liked her," Keri whispered once Mrs. King's back was turned to the white board.
"He did. A lot," whispered Aneisha. Mrs. King frowned at the two girls and they had to separate and go back to the lesson.
Meanwhile, Tom had managed to half drag Dan to the medical room. He shut the door firmly behind them and sat Dan in the most comfortable looking chair he could find. Dan sat with silent tears rolling down his face.
"Dan, mate, I know that couldn't have been the reunion you were hoping for, but at least she's back," said Tom reassuringly. "Things must be getting back to normal, mustn't they ?" he said, his voice pleading.
Dan looked at Tom, his face showing the hurt he was obviously feeling. "A year," he whispered finally. "A whole year." He stopped and looked down at his hands on his knees. "She didn't answer my texts. I wrote her letters and sent them via MI9. I asked her to answer. She never did. Not once. It's like I never even existed for her," he said, looking up at Tom again. "Why ?"
Tom didn't know what to say. Dan was always Mr. Efficient. The only time he showed emotion was when he was worried for one of the team members. Nobody would know that he could be so passionate if they hadn't seen him trying to save his friends. Tom had seen it more than once, and had sometimes been on the receiving end of Dan's frustration when he was unable to help. He knew that Dan was not just the efficient, emotionless operative he sometimes appeared to be. Tom didn't need Aneisha's empathetic skills to know that Dan was dying inside. Zoe had turned up and pretty much ignored Dan, treating him like some casual friend. Zoe had been so much more to Dan, but did she even know ? Surely she had to know. She wouldn't be cruel to Dan on purpose would she ?
There was a soft tap on the door and it opened slightly to reveal Aneisha and Keri. Tom looked at Aneisha in relief. Maybe she could think of something to say to Dan. Aneisha picked up the desperate look on Tom's face immediately. She didn't have to be a genius to read the devastated expression on Dan's face. "Dan," said Aneisha gently as they all gathered around him. "Mrs. King says that you can go home if you're not feeling any better."
Even Keri was now realising how upset Dan was. She knelt on the floor by Dan's feet and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. "She probably doesn't even realise that she's upset you," said Keri. "Maybe you should let her settle in and give her time to get back to where she was," she suggested. "She's been away for a while," she added, looking up to Aneisha and Tom for reassurance.
Aneisha just smiled sadly back at her. She had a feeling that things weren't going to get any better, any time soon.