Chapter Nine:

Come Home With Me

Two Weeks Later…

Population: 98 students…

Her blue eyes narrowed in concentration as she connected the last blue wire in its proper place. Closing the hatch, Carlotta stared at her science project she had been spending the last two weeks designing and effectively creating.

The sound of heels clicking against the floor alerted Carlotta to the presence of another person and she turned, finding Maxie beaming at her with a coffee take away cup in her hand.

"Here, I thought you might want something to keep you up," Maxie passed it to her and Carlotta took a sip, detecting the taste of caramel. "Caramel latte, the only coffee you'll drink."

"Thanks," Carlotta smiled, having a couple more sips as Maxie studied the Barred Owl that sat on the bench.

"It's so…realistic…" Maxie commented, reaching out and stroking its pure white feathers, feeling how soft they were. She glanced back at the female nerd who adjusted her glasses. "Does it work?"

Carlotta shrugged her shoulders, placing the cup on the bench. "I'm about to test it now," she answered as she logged onto the computer, entering a few last important details. With the science fair coming up in the next two days, she wanted it to be perfect.

If all goes well, we can even use Nix as a counter-measure to ensure Max and Kara aren't up to anything, Carlotta thought, typing in the last command before standing up and walking towards Nix, the robotic owl she made.

"The center will hold," Carlotta spoke and after a few seconds, the black eyes flashed green before returning to their usual black. Nix began flapping his wings, chirping loudly.

"Oh my god, it's working!" Maxie exclaimed, clapping her hands together but noticed the slight frown on Carlotta's face. The brunette returned to her computer, finding an error in one of the commands.

Activating voice box….now, she pressed enter as the chirping suddenly cut off, followed by a cliché, robotic British voice.

"—That is better," Nix ruffled his wings and now a smile graced Carlotta's face. Maxie's jaw dropped slightly, stunned at what she was witnessing. "I say madam; you should not have your mouth open so wide. No doubt disgusting creatures will fly into it."

That closed her mouth pretty quick.

"Now he's working," Carlotta grinned, walking over and stroking Nix's head.

"I thought Nishan was a genius," Maxie breathed, staring at the nerd who chuckled, shaking her head slightly.

"I haven't gotten a thing on Nishan. He's far more advanced than I dare hope to become," Carlotta admitted honestly, tightening her ponytail before checking the time on her white watch. Surprised that school had ended only an hour ago, the brunette blinked and rubbed her tired eyes slightly.

Maxie's phone buzzed in her hand and she glanced at it. "Oh! Autumn wants to know where you are. I'm guessing your phone is off."

"Possibly…"

The blonde shook her head, giggling slightly as Carlotta grabbed her phone, turning it on and finding five miss calls from Autumn, three from Mia, ten from Payton and one text message from Julian.

Opening up the text message, Carlotta found herself smiling a little.

~You should answer your phone. Prep keeps bugging me and demanding to know if I got you or something.~

Rolling her eyes, she dialed Payton's number and listened until the prep answered her phone. The prep girl automatically began spewing out how worried she was, accusing her of making out with Julian and ignoring her phone call.

When she finally calmed down, Carlotta was able to speak. "Sorry, I was putting the final touches on Nix and he's working perfectly. I'll see you guys at my house in ten minutes to set up the party."

"Okay! We'll see you soon!" Payton cheerfully hung up and Carlotta pocketed her phone. She grabbed her bag, coffee and held her arm out to Nix whose programming recognized it and flew onto it.

"I'll see you tomorrow Maxie," Carlotta called out to the prep, heading straight for the door.

oOo

Richard was studying Nix in amazement as the robotic owl sat on the kitchen counter, unaffected by the older man's gaze.

"You've really outdone yourself, kiddo," Richard grinned, reaching over and patting her head just as the doorbell rang. He gave Nix a curious look. "Can he open doors?"

Carlotta chuckled, shaking her head and getting up from the stool. "No, I didn't put that into his commands," she answered as she opened the front door, greeting Autumn, Mia and Payton.

"Thanks for having us over," Autumn smiled as the three of them walked into the house. "Where do you want us to put our stuff?"

Carlotta held a hand up before glancing at Nix. "Nix, show them the nest."

Nix, recognizing the command, flapped his wings and flew towards them, shooting straight up the steps and waited at the railing for them to follow.

"That's what you've been working on?" Mia exclaimed, eyes widened while Payton squealed at how cute she found him.

"Follow me, ladies," Nix swept a wing up, gesturing for them to follow him. Carlotta was grinning as she and the others followed the owl, heading towards the nerd's bedroom. Inside, the girls put their stuff down as Nix perched himself on his stand.

"He's so realistic," Autumn said, amazed as she stroked his head before Payton began taking over the party. Since Carlotta had no clue as to what happened at a slumber party, the prep was more than happy to take the lead.

So that's what they began doing, painting each other's nails, gossiping, eating junk food and having a good laugh with some music on. Nix had been put on sleep, resting on his stand to conserve power.

"Okay, finally some gossip," Mia clapped her hands together, grinning at Payton. "So what's going on with you and Ezra?"

Autumn nodded. "Are you two together or what?"
Payton blushed a little, giggling a little as she hugged the fluffy purple cushion in her arms. "I'm hoping we can be. He asked me out this Friday night after band practice."

"How's that going by the way?" Carlotta questioned, wondering how the school band was going since The. established. The members themselves were Ezra and Elyon on the guitar and bass, Nishan on the keyboards, Payton as lead singer and Julian on the drums.

"Great! We're waiting on word from the competition organizers to know whether or not we got in," Payton answered before winking at her slyly. "Aren't you a lucky girl."

Carlotta blinked in confusion and Payton and Mia giggled at her innocent expression.

"Your boyfriend is a drummer and a jock!" Payton squealed and Autumn's face turned into a slight frown.

"What? Since when does Carlotta have a boyfriend?" she asked and Mia rolled her eyes at the artist.

"Are you serious? She and Julian have been dating since three weeks ago," Mia informed her bluntly and Carlotta didn't miss the crestfallen look that hit the artist's face.

Autumn glanced at her, hurt. "How come you never told me?"

"I…I assumed you already knew," Carlotta confessed, rubbing the back of her neck slightly. She felt awkward in this situation, having been made aware by Mia that Autumn harbored some form of crush on Julian.

It wasn't like she was hiding it, but Carlotta didn't know how to tell Autumn and when half of the school knew of the female nerd's relationship with the jock, she assumed Autumn was fine with it.

"Clearly I didn't," Autumn spat, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away. Mia and Payton shifted, slightly uncomfortable with the situation as Carlotta gave her a 'are-you-serious?' look.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't fit the time to inform you of my relationship with Julian into my schedule, Autumn. It must have slipped my mind with everything else going on," Carlotta spoke in a deadpanned tone, getting up and about to leave the room when Nix suddenly activated himself.

"There are intruders on the property, ma'am," Nix flapped his wings and Carlotta narrowed her eyes. She opened her laptop, pressing a few buttons.

"Payton, open the window please," the nerd instructed the prep who did as she asked. "Nix, observe the early worm."

Another command she had installed as Nix flew out the window. The video feed streamed through and onto her laptop as the girls gathered around. They watched as Nix flew around until he perched himself on a tree branch overhead the intruders.

Carlotta switched on the night vision feature and enabled audio.

Mia's lips twisted into disgust. "Ugh! I can't believe those two."

Streaming onto her laptop was a visual of Julian and Nishan quietly discussing the best way to try and sneak in, scaring the girls for a good prank.

"Isn't Carlotta going to be furious with us? Along with Payton and Mia? I'm not physically capable enough to withstand a woman's fury," Nishan stated nervously as Julian shrugged his shoulders.

"Carly won't be that mad," Julian reassured the nerd who continued to look like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. "Besides what's the worst those girls can do? Throw a pillow at us?"

The girls glanced at each other as Carlotta pressed the microphone key on her keyboard. "How about hear everything you two say?"

Both of them froze and glanced up, spying a white barred owl with glowing green eyes.

"Nix, defend the nest."

Nix swooped down, hitting both of their heads a couple of times before flying back up to the window where Payton waited with her arm out. Nix perched himself on the dark skinned teen's arm, looking pleased with himself.

"You jerks!" Payton called out as the others left Carlotta's room, heading downstairs and meeting up with the guys, unimpressed at their actions.

"Such disgraceful display of behavior," Nix commented from Payton's shoulder as Carlotta crossed her arms over her chest, giving a hard look at her boyfriend. Nishan on the other hand, was fascinated with Nix and practically drooling at the sight of the robotic owl.

Julian rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at his girlfriend. "So…I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"You're damn right you are," Mia replied, answering for all of the girls.

oOo

Two Days Later…

Population: 100 students…

"There! The Venusian Vapor Volcano is done!" Nishan declared from across Carlotta's station and she glanced up from her laptop. The large volcano loomed over the surrounding stations and students who had their science projects set up.

"Professor Edwin is definitely going to be impressed with the level of work and dedication shown," Carlotta commented as Nix chirped in agreement from his perch beside her. "Alright, Nix, go to Jock Bird."

Nix flew into the air, flying eastwards as the video feed showed up on her laptop. Within seconds, Julian came into view as he finished setting up his project on the science behind arm wrestling.

Nishan had joined her and was watching the feed as Carlotta equipped her headset and moved the microphone closer to her lips. "See if Professor Edwin has arrived yet."

"Find Professor Edwin," she instructed as the feed switched onto Professor Edwin entering the hall, Elyon on one side and Richard on the other as they walked through, observing the projects.

"I have to admit, when I heard about your school, I was skeptical. I had assumed it would be a place for the children of the wealthier families," Professor Edwin admitted to Richard who chuckled lightly.

"I believe you'll find that this school is a shining example of efficiency and organization," Richard informed the board member as they passed through a few more.

"I hope everything goes well," Carlotta murmured, biting her bottom lip and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Nishan hummed in agreement as they watched Professor Edwin take a look at Julian's, Mia's and Payton's science projects. "Nix, return to base."

Nix's view changed from observing Professor Edwin into a bird's-eye-view of Carlotta and Nishan at her laptop just as Professor walked over towards them.

"Charlotte, Nishan, it's good to see you two again," the dark skinned professor confessed in delight, beaming at the two nerds. "May I see what you two have come up with?"

Nishan nodded, heading over to his spot and allowing Carlotta to show off her project first before his grand finale.

"I built a robotic Barred Owl that can act as security and a bodyguard," Carlotta informed the professor, gesturing up above them. Professor Edwin glanced up and was surprised to find such a realistic owl flying above them. Carlotta held out her arm and Nix flew down, perching himself on it before moving to his wooden stand. "Nix, introduce yourself."

Nix swept out one of his wings and bowed low before straightening up, ruffling his feathers slightly. "How do you do, Professor Edwin. I am Nix, the animatronic owl built for security purposes. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Professor Edwin clapped her hands together. "The pleasure it all mine," she turned to Carlotta and outstretched her hand. "You continue to astound me, Miss Winters."

"I think you'll enjoy Nishan's as well," Carlotta smiled, looking over at said nerd who began to show off his giant volcano.

"This over here is the pinnacle of our science fair... literally... the Venusian Vapor Volcano!" Nishan declared proudly as Professor Edwin watched in amusement.

"A surprising twist on the classic," she hummed in approval before raising a brow at Nishan. "I assume it's fully operational?"

Nishan nodded, pulling out his switch. "Of course. Let me merely activate it, and..."

However, Nishan barely pressed the button as the volcano rumbled in displeasure.

"Madam, I suggest you hide under the desk," Nix warned her, flapping his wings and she followed his advice, ducking behind her desk with her laptop and Nix just as the volcano exploded paint and goo all over the surrounding area, the students and most of all, Professor Edwin.

"What? No! How... how could this happen! This is impossible!" Nishan cried out in dismay, staring wide eyed at his project.

Professor Edwin wiped the paint off of her face, which was red from anger. "Impossible? It's clearly not impossible. What this is... it's... simply appalling! Does this school have no regard for safety?!"

The students watched the professor stormed out of the gym, clearly not happy and Richard sighed, going after her to do some damage control.

"Well, this was a disaster," Autumn sighed, wiping off the small amount of paint that got on her.

"I just don't understand. This shouldn't have happened. It couldn't have happened!" Nishan continued to argue, consulting with his notes to find the answer.

"There's no point on dwelling it. Let's just get this place cleaned up," Carlotta wiped off the paint that managed to get in her hair, frowning in disgust.

oOo

Forty minutes later…

After the gym had been cleaned up and cleared from the science fair, with all of the students gone home, the group came together to sort out what happened.

"I can't believe Nishan ruined the science fair," Mia scowled at the nerd who held his hands up in defense.

"It wasn't my fault!"

Carlotta pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing tiredly. "Guys, just calm down for a second—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Mia snapped at her. "I made charts! I actually did work for this! And then his weird volcano ruined everything!"

Nishan shook his head, not believing it as he turned to Carlotta. "My measurements were perfect! I conducted three trials to ensure no amount of error would creep in! I didn't even use any elements that could cause this kind of reaction," he informed her as Nix's chemical testing beeped, making note that the assessment was done.

Carlotta turned to her laptop and studied the results, frowning. "Nishan, traces of gunpowder came up. Something like that would be commonly found in firecrackers or fireworks."

Nishan frowned as well, looking at the laptop before shaking his head. "That shouldn't be. The volcanic eruption is a chemical reaction, not the result of firecrackers..."

Mia turned her harsh glare onto the artist in the group. "Then maybe it was Autumn's fault! She's the one that painted it any everything! Maybe she used explosive ink!"

"All I did was decorate it! And that's not even a thing!" Autumn cried out in defense, not liking Mia's accusing tone and looks.

Fed up, Carlotta slammed her hand on the desk and grabbed everyone's attention.

"How about we cut it out with the 'Blame Game,' and actually focus on who are real enemies are?" she barked, placing her hands on her hips as Nix flew past them and began attacking something….no….someone.

"Get this bird off of me!"

Autumn's eyes widened as she instantly recognized the voice. "Wes? What are you doing here?"

"That's not important," he ducked as Nix went to swoop at him again. "Call off your guard bird!"

Carlotta raised a brow at him, noticing Julian's tense stance beside her. "Nix, at ease."

Nix understood the command but seemed to peck at Wes's hair once more for good measure before flying over and sitting himself on Julian's shoulder. Wes glared at the white robotic owl as Nix kept his eyes on him.

"Max and Kara…they…they ruined my volcano!" Nishan shouted, his face becoming slightly red as Mia rolled her eyes.

"This is about more than your stupid volcano! They ruined the whole school's chance to impress Professor Edwin!"

"It's not over yet. There are three members of the board. You need to impress two out of the three to win the vote," Wes reminded them and glanced at the ruined volcano. "Since you just sprayed one with goop, it's safe to say you're not getting her vote. But you've still got one last chance to save your school... you just have to make sure you don't mess up with this final board member."

The others glanced at each other, seeing the resolve in each of their eyes.

Sorry for the late update with this one! Anyway, the science fair is done and dusted and introducing….

Nix!

Latin for snow by the way…

Special cameo appearances by maxie-the-shy-prep and sketchymcsketcherson