"Wait, this yellow wire here?" I asked, holding up the brightly-colored cord in Shirako's field of vision. He smirked."Wrong. Try again," he commanded me, turning back to his work.

I frowned and scratched my head. This was all so very confusing to me. I guessed that I would need a Y chromosome to really understand how all this worked. Okay, okay..I said to myself. Yellow to blue, no no. Blue to green...wait, what about this red cord here?

Putting together a mega sound system was harder than it looked(at least to me)! Shirako, on the other hand, finished his task an hour and fourty-five minutes ago. Since he stole the instructions earlier to teach me himself, it was taking a lot longer. It didn't really matter. I wouldn't have been able to follow the instructions manual anyway. Too much of a bore and a complication on my part.

"Brooke, you really are having trouble, aren't you?" Shirako questioned me mockingly. As much as I hated to admit it, I really needed his help. I nodded in defeat.

"Look," he began, scooting closer to me and showing how to do it for the twentieth time today. I thanked him by threatening to break his headphones if he ever hid the instructions again.

Finally, it was finished. The sound system was amazing. I grinned at my accomplishment. It better be amazing, I told myself. I spent half an afternoon working on it!

"So, Shirako? Who's this car for, anyway? Is this just an extra?" I asked him, skimming my hand across the hood. It was a deep blue with yellow tinted windows. I had decided to get creative with this one. Across both sides, I designed the logo TEKU in bright white letters outlined in black. The font was what I called "Halloween." The letters seemed to drip down the sides, all spelled in jagged lines. I thought it just rocked. The wierd thing was, Shirako let me do whatever I wanted to it.

Shirako looked at me like I was being stupid. Then, he did something completely mean:as I was leaning in the driver's seat to retrieve my ipod, he suddenly blasted the music through the huge sound system, causing me to jump and slam my head on the top frame. I got ticked.

"Shir-" I growled, cutting off my yell as I saw his small form racing away from me. As I was carressing my head, I dashed after him. Now that I had a brother, I now wished I had a little sister instead.

"Nolo, can you help me with this?" Loni held a heavy cardboard box in her hands, struggling not to drop it. Nolo, as soon as he heard her voice, ran over to help her.

"Sure, no prob," he replied, taking the box from her. It really was heavy. "Man, what's in there? Boulders? Cement blocks?" Nolo questioned, turning to lug the box up the stairs.

Loni laughed. "Nope. They're books. For Brooke," she added, opening the flap to reveal them all. She took one out from the top and showed him. It read: Algebra. Nolo smiled.

"It's a good thing it's just for Brooke," Nolo remarked as Loni put the book back in place. "In school, I never really paid much attention," he added lightly. Lani narrowed her eyes.

"Too busy looking at girls?" Loni asked, flashing him a grin. Instead of lying to her, he grinned back and said, "You got it!"

I felt the bruise on my forehead. It wasn't swollen. That was a good sign. Now, to catch my creep of a brother and give him payback...

"Boo!"

I screamed, surprised. I was caught completely off guard and that was all Shirako intended to happen. As he laughed, I tackled him. That surprised him, and that was all I intended to happen.

"Hey, no fair!" He shouted as I yanked his headphones off his head. This was what always ticked him off. I laughed at him. "Payback," was all I managed to say before he tried to take them from me. I ran away, trying desperately to find a place to hide them from him. After all, he did give me a bruise, even if it was by accident. He still deserved punishment, I decided.

"Why does she need all these books, anyway?" Nolo asked Loni, who had been busy taking all the books out of the box and onto the floor. Physics, Mathematics, Science, and Algebra were all scattered across the floor. Loni looked his way.

"Because," she said, now stacking them into piles. "When she left home, she hadn't finished school yet. If she doesn't work on all of it now, she'll have to repeat eleventh grade."

Nolo nodded. He knew how important school was to some people, especially Brooke. If she was anything like her uncle Tezla, he realized how important it must be to them both. Besides, there's just no way Tezla will allow her to fail, Nolo thought, helping Loni stack the rest of them.

"Brooke, report to the conference room immediately."

The intercom message echoed down the hall, the hall I was busy running through to escape my annoyed brother. I smiled and took off for the conference room. I made it inside and locked the door behind me. As I turned around, I noticed that I was not alone. Tezla sat across from where I stood, reading a book. I smirked at him and my brilliance at escaping brother trouble. I tossed the headphones on the table as I sat down. Tezla lifted an eyebrow at the headphones that I had casually tossed aside.

I flashed my teeth in a dazzling smile. "Just a little trouble with brother," I said, crossing my arms. He rolled his eyes, until he noticed my bruise. "What happ-" he tried to ask.

"Shirako happened," I muttered. "Just a harmless prank. On the other hand, if you feel like punishing him, go right ahead."

Tezla mumbled something inaudible. It sounded something like "Arguments already?"

"So," I said, streching the "s" syllable. "Whatcha reading?" I tried to examine the cover. He nodded and handed the book to me. I studied the front. It said "History" across the front cover. I groaned. I knew where this was going, and I didn't like it. "No," I answered simply.

He gave me a you-have-no-choice look. My eyes stared wholes in the floor. "Brooklyn."

I glared. "Brooke," I corrected him, handing back the book. He wouldn't let me. "It's yours to use. Believe me, you'll need it," he remarked, lifting a stack of(you guessed it) books and sitting them in my lap. I said "Woah!" before I dropped some onto the floor. He didn't seem to notice.

"You will be studying American History, Literature, Science, Biology, Chemistry, Algebra, Art, English, Mathematics, Geometry, Spanish, Economics, Physics, and Mechanics and Engineering. The last subject is something I added to the list. It's the most important to me for you to study, but you'll still have to study the rest of them as well."

I gaped at him. All those subjects!! I couldn't even keep track of all those subjects! I couldn't imagine how many lessons there was going to be. Lessons I was going to have to complete and study for! My brain started to hurt just from thinking about all that...

"We'll start with American History and work our way-"

"What?" I interrupted him, trying my best to keep a light tone in my voice. I failed, miserably.

"What what?" he questioned, picking up a book I dropped and adding it to my mile-long stack. Okay, so he noticed.

I was too upset to laugh this time. "How long do you expect me to be here? I don't want to stay here forever. I have a life. I have friends. And, even though they aren't really related to me, parents. I don't want to leave all that behind! Are you crazy?" My temper suddenly reached a pretty dangerous level. He seemed completely calm. That made me even angrier at him.

"Brooke, it's not that bad here, you know. You'll be able to do all your studies here, and go and get your degree afterward. After your studies are completed, you can stay and help us in our task to defeat the drones and the silencers. Friends? You have plenty friends here."

Angry tears brimmed under my eyelids. I forcefully blinked them back. "You don't get it," I snapped at him. I quickly stood, scattering the textbooks across the floor. I ignored that.

"Look! I didn't say you all weren't my friends, but I miss my school friends! My friends who happen to be my own age! I don't care about your stupid quest,either(that was a fib. I honestly cared a great deal about rescuing Vert, but what could I do?)! Maybe, I don't want to live and work here forever! Did you ever think about that? Oh, and why do you even care?! Why are you trying so much to keep me here?!"

I gasped for air. My screaming at him was tiring me. I didn't dare stop, though. I was too far in the argument to quit so soon.

I flash an angry glare his way. "I know now. You only care about using me to find one of your valuable drivers! Ugh, I hate this place and I hate YOU!!"

I had had enough. I stormed out of the room, leaving a troubled and(probably) calm uncle behind me. He had a way of keeping his emotions secret from you. He does a good job at it, too.

As I ran, crying my eyes out, down the hallway, I bumped into Shirako. He was still angry with me for taking away his headphones. Luckily, before I left the conference room, I snatched his headphones off the table. I forcefully thrust them into his open hand and took off for my room.

I heard him say "Brooke?" before I turned the corner and left him there, speechless.

Dr. Tezla frowned. That didn't go very well at all. Gig floated next to him. ", Karma has been notified and will be arriving any minute." Tezla thanked him, and Gig silently left the room.

"What have I gotten her into?" Tezla asked himself, intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin on them. She doesn't realize just how much I care about her.. A second after, Karma walked carefully into the room. "Yes?" she asked, concerned.

"Karma, I made a mistake with Brooke. She has currently locked herself in her room, probably still crying," he told her, Karma's facial expression changing to surprise. Tezla sighed.

"We had an argument. Well, she did all the yelling and arguing, actually." He stopped, remembering what had happened. Karma smiled in understanding.

"Of course," she replied, sitting down. "She's sixteen. She's smart, confused, and in desperate need of someone to talk to." She saw the way Tezla was frowning and added, "It's a girl thing."

This, Tezla did not understand. He never had a sister. His brother acted a lot different from his daughter, he knew that for certain. Her temper, however, matched his brother's perfectly.

"Karma? Will you go talk to her for me? I'm afraid I'll just make it worse. Besides, she said she hated me, but she didn't say a thing about you."

This threw off Karma's balance a second. She said she hated him? Wow, she was really mad, then!

Tezla then proceeded in telling her about what had gone on between them. Karma had her own opinion about it all, but kept her mouth shut. When he finished, she said, "Alright. I'll go talk to her for you."

I skimmed through the songs in my ipod:The Things I Hate About You(no), I Hate Everything About You(no!), Don't Hate Me(no!!!). I almost broke the stupid ipod. I was trying to get over the argument, not remember it! I felt bad enough for saying "I hate you" to his face. I didn't need a reminder! I decided on "Decode" by Paramore. I got lost in the music, humming softly with the words as she spoke them. I was so busy listening to the music that I didn't hear the knocking.

"Brooke? Can we talk?" Karma asked, keeping her voice light and friendly. No returning answer. Karma put her ear to the door. She heard light music playing and Brooke's soft voice humming along with it. She smiled. Just like Shirako...

"Karma?" Shirako had walked over to her, though she hadn't realized this. She jerked her head toward him.

"Is she alright?" he asked her, speaking quietly. She smiled, nodding in his direction. "Tezla and Brooke had a little "discussion." " Karma made quotation marks in the air for emphasis. He replied by handing Karma a pair of deep blue headphones with orange speakers. She looked at them, then back at Shirako. He was looking down. "They're for ," he took something out of his pocket. An envelope. "And this," he said, handing it to her. Before she could reply to his actions, he took off. She looked at the letter she was holding in her right hand. It said, "It's Good News" on the seal. She laughed. Shirako really was trying to care for his sister. She thought he was doing a very good job.

"Brooke!" Karma shouted, knocking three times on the teenager's door. After a few moments, she heard a soft "click" as Brooke unlocked the door. Karma walked into the room, shutting the door quickly behind her.

"Hey," was all Brooke decided to say. She still had her earphones in her ears and was busy listening to "All Around Me" by Flyleaf. It was one of Brooke's favorite songs.

"Hey," Karma repeated, sitting gracefully onto the edge of Brooke's bed. She noticed the song. "It's by Flyleaf, right?"

Brooke paused the song. "Yeah, it is. How'd you know?"

Karma smiled sweetly. "When you're apart of the TEKU team, you better know your music. Oh, and your innocent brother happens to have just about every song ever made on his computer. Well, just the one's he likes."

Brooke took off the earphones and slid the ipod to the side. "I should have guessed that," Brooke declared, absent-mindfully putting her legs together and holding them against herself. Her chin rested between them.

"So, I heard of what went on between you and Tezla."

I grimaced. So that was why she came to see me...to tell me how childish I had acted. Well, I didn't feel like hearing a lecture. Not now. Not after everything that's happened! I didn't think I had been acting childish at all! Heck, I used my visions to help them all, to see if they could lead them to Vert.

"I know, I know!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. "You're here to tell me how wrong I was and how-"

"No, Brooke. It isn't that at all! Yes, Tezla wanted me to talk to you, but-"

"I knew it," I breathed, eyes downcast.

Karma sighed. She placed her hands on both sides of my face and lifted my head to face her. I wanted so much to look at anything but her. I hated to be so obedient, but I didn't really have a choice.

As my gaze met hers, she actually looked like my mother did when she wanted me to trust and understand what she was about to say.

"Brooke, I did agree to talk to you about what happened, but I didn't agree to say you were wrong."

I believed her. Besides, how could I not? She had nothing against me and was always kind to me. I actually smiled...then started crying.

I didn't even mean to cry so much, but I did. Karma scooted closer and hugged me, letting me rest my head on her shoulder. By the time I had stopped, her shirt sleeve was stained with my tears. I laughed, and she laughed with me.

"I'm sorry!" I said shakily, still trying to recover from my breakdown. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

"It's fine, Brooke. You've been under a lot of pressure lately. I mean, you learned about a brother you never knew, you start having visions, AND you just had a fight with your uncle. I'd say you've encountered a few problems..."

I laughed. "Yeah, I agree. Oh, and Shirako's the biggest problem so far."

Karma and I exchanged a few giggles at that. She perked up suddenly, and said, "Oh, I almost forgot." Karma turned around and snatched something she had sat on the floor. When she turned back towards me, she was smiling.

It was a set of headphones! In midnight blue with orange speakers! I reached for them, but Karma kept it just out of reach.

"Hey! Let me see 'em! They are mine, aren't they?" I lunged for them again, but Karma held them back a second time, laughing at my vague attempts.

"Yes, they're yours! But you can't have them yet. Not until we talk."

I stopped trying to reach them. I let my arms fall to my sides limply. "Ah, man! Come on, Karma! Don't do this to me!"

She held her ground...and my headphones. "We're going to talk about it, Brooke."

Crap. She knew how much I'd love to have those headphones. She was using them against me...crap!

"Alright!" I exclaimed, defeated. The bed squeaked as I shifted my position to become a little better comfortable. "Look, don't get me wrong, but I'm tired of all this, of all Peter's crap! He expects me to be just like all of you and do everything he says! And," I pointed my index finger to the ceiling, "He won't even allow me to have any friends! I miss them, terribly! I miss Stacy, Cameron, Leah, Paige, Kellie," I started naming people off the top of my head, counting down on my fingers. "A lot of my friends aren't under as much pressure as I am!" I grabbed my pillow in a death hold. I stuffed my face in it and screamed. It muffled the sound enough for no one else to hear it. Karma smiled, reassuringly.

"Believe me, I know. Remember that story I told you before? About how I lost my mother when I was four?"

I remembered. It was a drunk driver that hit them. "I remember," I replied, setting the pillow on my lap.

"It was very hard. I would sit in school and just cry. I couldn't stop myself, only try to cry as silently as I could. Teachers took pity in me and soon, I was all the teachers favorites. I was called "teacher's pet" and "cry baby" behind my back. Believe me, it hurt, the things they said. I was under a lot of pressure, too. Every time I started to feel happy, I thought of my mom and instantly decided to stay in a depression."

I listened, stunned. I hadn't realized how difficult Karma's life was. Compared to mine, maybe I was better off. My pride was hurt, though. "Well, at least you still had your dad."

She smiled, a pained smile. "I wouldn't say that. After her death, he drank and was barely ever sober. He started doing drugs, so I pretty much took care of myself from then on. I was only eight when I started doing the cooking, the laundry, and trying my best to find a job. Remember, I was only eight. I only ended up getting a job watching little toddlers as their parents left them for a few minutes. I rarely got any money for that. When I did, I kept it to supply food to feed us both."

I squeaked. That was a difficult life if I've ever heard one! I gripped her hand tightly. "I'm so sorry. Here I am, telling you all this nonsense of how I had it bad, when you had it worse!" I hugged her fiercly. She laughed.

"I'm fine, Brooke. Really. I've turned out alright, haven't I?" She gestured towards herself. I nodded.

"See? You'll be fine. Now, about all that homework. It's really not that hard. I majored in Literature and English, so I can help you through all that. Monkey is an expert at Mathematics, Algebra, and Chemistry. Loni is a genious at Mechanics and Engineering. Tezla-American History, Physics, and Science. You've already got all that covered!"

I snickered. "So much for a brother's help."

Karma gave me a that's-true look. "Well, you'll always know how to mix the perfect beats to form a hit song." That really hit a note. I laughed aloud, the pillow falling to the floor. "I'll also always trust him to be a fierce competitor in pillow fights!"

"Wait a minute! Nolo comes in the picture too. He can help you study your Spanish! Oh, and Kurt is the best artist I've ever seen. He's the one who chose our team name. Did you know that?"

I shook my head for once. No, I didn't know that! "Wait, that leaves..." I paused trying to remember them all. "Geometry, Economics, and Physics."

"Well, that's a - hang on! Taro made straight A's in Geometry and Physics. You're on your own with Economics."

I groaned. Perfect! Well, I'd take what I could get. "Okay, so this isn't so bad. But what about my friends? I'm dying to talk to someone my own age! Especially Stacy! Oh, she's a genious at Economics, anyway. I know she could help me.." I shrugged. "Too bad she couldn't just come here and stay with me. I know how much she adores planning. She has a planner she uses every day. A schedule that divides every hour. She uses it, too. Stacy even plans how long to study what subject, when to eat, and when to use the bathroom! She'd so be able to help me out here."

Karma simply nodded. "I understand. It's like being eight years old and hanging out with sixteen year olds."

I nodded, smiling. "Exactly!"

Karma leaned towards me. "Brooke, he really does care a great deal about you. He's only concerned for your education. And he doesn't want you here just to use you. That's his excuse to everyone for having you here. He loves you, but he doesn't know how to show it yet."

I snorted. "He said that?"

She shook her head. "But he didn't have to."

I didn't know if she was right or not, but I agreed with her just then. Maybe, she was right about him. But I wasn't exactly sure.

"Here," Karma said, tossing me the headphones. I gripped them greedily. I examined the artwork across the band. It said "Brooke Tezla" in those cool "Halloween" lettering. The rest of the band had the prettiest design I had ever seen. Millions of colorful loops overlapped each other in places, sometimes joining another. The colors just melted together, making it even more awe-inspiring. I pointed out the design to Karma who took in my expression with obvious pleasure.

"I told you Kurt was the most amazing artist. Do you believe me now?"

I nodded, dumbly. She laughed. "Oh, and here." She tossed an envelope my way. I caught it reflexively. The seal said "It's Good News". I laughed and tore the paper apart. The letter was written in Shirako's hand. It read:

Brooke:

I know EXACTLY how you feel. So,(I may get yelled at for this) I gave your friend Stacy an invite to the Acceledrome. I told her that you were on vacation at your uncle's. I didn't leave her instructions on how to arrive, just that someone was coming by tomorrow to pick her up. I told her to email me her address and she must have agreed as soon as she recieved my letter, because her address arrived five minutes afterward. Oh, and she thinks that Tezla, your uncle, is working as an owner of a very important auto repair shop(for rich people). We're all "mechanics".

Hopefully, she plans to stay for a week or two(don't worry. She's on summer break right now. You get three weeks off). She'll be here at nine tomorrow. That should give Tezla time to cool off. Hey, who ever said I never took care of you, huh?

Your Awesome Brother,

Shirako Takamoto

P.S-How do you like the headphones?? The color matches

the color of your car.