Same scene as the last chapter

"So what are we suppose to do? Lose our jobs?" Steve stood behind Artie , leaning against the back of the sofa.

" There's not really anything I can do. But I can do something" all heads looked up at Mrs. Frederic.

Myka looked between Artie and the rest of us before asking "What can you do?"

"You are suppose to be with these agents for a total of six months. What I can do Myka is send you to multiple locations searching for multiple artifacts. It will give you an extra four months at most. Two at least. That is if these agents don't try to look for you. They might. They might not. Either way, when you return to the warehouse, you will have a total of six months to convince these agents you should be able to stay." Leena tried to say something but Mrs. Frederic continued "However. Each of you will have to prove to them you should stay. This is not a team decision. They might only choose to keep one of you. Whatever there chose is, you either have to accept it or leave."

"Mrs. Frederic?"

"Yes, Claudia?" she turned to look at her(obviously).

"Would-would we know any of these agents?" I hadn't thought of that. What if I knew one of these agents? If so, who?

"I was told that there would be agents some of you would recognize ."

I looked up at that "Exactly how many agents are coming?" Steve asked.

"Five"

"When are they coming?" Myka wondered.

"In three days" I stood up smacking my thighs. "Then lets leave tomorrow. Stevie you are with me. Myka, H.G. you are with Claudia. I'm gonna go upstairs to pack. See you at dinner"

"Pete-" before Myka could finish I ran upstairs"

_TIME SKIP_

Knock. Knock.

I look over at the door as it opened. Stevie walked in with a plate filled with dinner. Steak, Green beans and mashed potatoes. Stevie's favorite.

"Hey. You okay?" I sighed "No."

"What's really wrong Pete? Why are you the most upset about this?"

"I just don't want to go to my high school reunion and be the one who just got fired."

"Why does that matter?"

I gave Stevie a look before answering "Can I tell you something I've never told anyone before?"

"Of course. You know you can tell me anything"

"In high school I fell in love" Stevie gave me a look "with a guy" understanding dawned on him "oh"

"and the guy I liked , bullied me everyday" "Ahhh, and you still have feelings for him. You don't want to prove him right on anything he said. Understandable. But you know, you haven't lost your job yet, so don't worry too much and get some rest"

"thanks, Stevie. I'll do just that. After eating (choking down) my dinner I changed into pajama pants and snuggled into bed. Hoping for a better tomorrow. And hoping no body got too mad at me for putting my job on postpone so I could go to my high school reunion next week.

Boring chapter. But it needed to be done. Good plot means having the calm before the storm. Besides in writing, the entire story being a fight scene means the plot will usually suck(if its multi-chapter).

Christmas break next week. Longer stories to come.

~ikki~