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"Alright, are we all good and stretched?" Nods went around the circle. "Okay, set up a series – you know what to do."

Kaycee pulled her leg slowly off the hurdle and helped the other girls set up their hurdle series – otherwise known as lining up four hurdles in a row and doing various form and technique exercises while walking over them. Occasionally, their coach, Max, would comment on a change they should make.

"Bring that knee high, Kaycee!" Kaycee nodded and concentrated on her trail-leg knee. "Good, that's better. Don't forget your arms."

Kaycee got back in line behind the other girls, joking with Ali and Beth.

"So," said Beth, "how was tutoring yesterday?" Ali smirked.

Kaycee rolled her eyes. "Shoot me now. He doesn't want to learn; it's like trying to teach a wall for all he pays attention. We worked on Spanish, and I swear all he did was stare out the window," she said as she followed Ali through the series again.

Ali laughed once. "And that surprised you?"

Beth shook her head. "She thought there was hope." Ali laughed.

"Okay, if you little monkeys are done, let's do some over-the-tops," said Max, coming over to usher them to the start line.

After practice, Kaycee walked home, contemplating on whether or nor to end the tutor sessions with Reid. The idiot wasn't worth her time if he wasn't willing to be helped. Kaycee sighed, and decided to give him one last chance.

XXX

Kaycee lost her patience. "Garwin, honestly! The worksheet isn't that hard!"

Reid jumped at the reprimand, accidentally drawing a line through the geometric design he'd been working on in the margin of his history worksheet. He looked at the question he was on. For how long did the Civil War last? He glanced quickly over at Kaycee and saw that she was focused on her notes again. He went back to his doodling.

Beside him, Kaycee sighed heavily. She shut her notebook, put it in her backpack, and, with one last glare at Reid, who was completely absorbed in his drawing, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left.

Reid smiled.

XXX

Kaycee brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, staring out at the horizon.

The bluff was deserted, just the way she liked it and well worth the thirty-five minute drive and the half-mile hike. The ocean sparkled in the sunlight, the black spots of seagulls gliding over the water. The light breeze, smelling of salt and seaweed, blew her blonde hair across her face, but Kaycee didn't bother to brush it away.

With a small sigh, she rested her chin on her knees, looking down at the little seaside town, a quaint tourist-trap if she ever saw one. The sun glinted brightly off the cars below.

This was where Kaycee came to think. It was peaceful, unlike her house with the four little rug rats running around and screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs.

Tomorrow, finally, she would end the painfully frustrating tutor sessions with Reid Garwin. She just had to talk with the school counselor, and then she'd be free.

The sun was balancing on the horizon when Kaycee decided she'd better get home to help put the six-year-old quadruplets to bed. She slowly stood up to avoid getting a head rush, and jogged back down the winding path.

XXX

"And there's no way we can try to fix that?" Mr. Royce asked.

Kaycee grimaced. "No. He doesn't want to learn the material, and, I'm sorry, but it's not worth my time."

Mr. Royce nodded unhappily. "Well, I'm sorry things turned out this way." He straightened the papers on his desk and sighed. "Alright Miss Collins, thank you for your effort. I'll notify him that the sessions have ended."

Kaycee nodded, taking that as her dismissal. The secretary wrote her a pass and Kaycee made her way to her history class, coming in just after the bell rang. She went to her seat quickly after handing Mr. Wayne her pass.



Mr. Wayne tried to start the class, giving those who were still talking a look. When the class quieted he began. "As you know, today is the day when we begin our projects. You've had two weeks to think about what you would like to research. Sometime in the next two days, I would like you to come tell me what you plan on researching, just so I have a general idea of what's going on. Any questions?" Mr. Wayne glanced around the silent room. "Alright. There are some general history books in the back on the table – get started."

There was a scraping of chairs on the dirty linoleum floor as some of the more industrious students went to grab a book. Kaycee took one and sat at her desk again, flipping it open to a random page. The Spanish-American War… no. She flipped again. The Boston Tea Party… no. Those weren't interesting enough… The Salem Witch Trials. Kaycee glanced over the page. Perfect. Kaycee had always had a soft spot for the supernatural; it fascinated her endlessly. She went up to Mr. Wayne.

"Ah, have you chosen your topic?" he asked, putting down his pen and papers.

"Yeah, I'm going to study the Salem Witch Trials."

"Excellent. Tomorrow we'll be in the computer lab so you and anyone else who've chosen their topic may start their research."

"Okay." Kaycee went back to her desk, skimming through the section she'd found in the text book. But the bell rang before she could get past the introduction.

"Tomorrow we're in the computer lab down the hall," called Mr. Wayne, but half the class was already gone, and the rest weren't listening.

Kaycee waited for Beth and Ali at her locker after school. Bored, she spun the dial on the padlock randomly. Suddenly, something jabbed her in the side, making her gasp and squeak.

"Ha ha! Gotcha!" Beth danced out of the way as Kaycee tried to retaliate.

"Not funny." Kaycee stuck her tongue out and poked Ali instead.

"Hey!" Ali complained, massaging the spot.

"Sorry," said Kaycee, smiling mischievously. "I had to get someone." Ali rolled her eyes and the three of them went out to the parking lot.

XXX

Reid swung the bat and connected solidly with the apple, making it explode into juicy bits.



Tyler frowned, wiping apple juice off his face. "I was going to eat that, you know." Reid grinned and sat down in the grass across from Tyler. "So… why are you skipping class?" Tyler asked.

Reid shrugged. "Why not?"

Because you'll get thrown out of another school, Tyler wanted to say. Instead he just sighed and let it go, picking another subject. "How are those tutoring sessions going?"

Reid laughed. "Over. I think she got fed up with me," he said happily.

"You know, it wasn't nice to act like that; she was only trying to help."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "I don't care."

"There's the ass we missed." Sarah, Caleb, Pogue, and Kate joined Reid and Tyler on the grounds of the Simm's estate.

"Lovely to hear your voice again, Sarah," said Reid.

"How've you been, man?" Pogue asked, clapping Reid on the shoulder. "Skipping like usual I see."

Reid shrugged and smirked. "What else is there to do?"

"Going to class is always an idea," said Sarah.

"And ruin my fun?" Reid pretended to be shocked at the very idea, and Sarah just rolled her eyes. "Besides, if I went to class, I couldn't be here with your oh-so-charming company." He reached over to mess her hair, and she swatted his hand away.

"Well, it's Friday," said Pogue. "Why don't we take this opportunity now that we're all together again and go to Nicky's and stir up some trouble?" Caleb rolled his eyes, but no one disagreed, and they made plans to meet at the popular bar at seven.