Thanks for all the reviews! I can't wait to get to the second season! I do not own anything other than Mina and Max, everything else belongs to their rightful owners. If you haven't seen them already, I've got some CKTC videos up on Youtube for Jerome and Mina! There's more to come as well!

Chapter 25

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Mina was laying in her bed, her eyes red and puffy from her crying. When she had gotten back to her room, she just couldn't stop crying. Trudy was the one adult that she actually trusted at this school, and now she was gone because of something Nina and her friends had done. On some level, she couldn't help blame Nina and her group of friends. She wanted to blame this all on them and their stupid secret that they had going on between the four of them.

She knew that Trudy would be leaving soon, but she couldn't bring herself to actually get up for the day. Jerome was going to say his good bye to Trudy when he saw the group already down there. His expression turned confused as he didn't see Mina among them. He knew that she would want to say good bye to Trudy, so where was she? He went in search of her and found her still in bed. "What are you still doing in bed, Mina? Trudy's leaving any minute now." He told her as he came more into the room.

She sat up on a second's notice, her eyes wide with fear. He couldn't be serious, could he? Why would she leave before any of them even had breakfast? "What? No way, she can't be leaving now." She said out to him as she slipped on a sweatshirt to cover up her tank top and keep the chill away. She just shook her head at him. He had to be mistaken or something. He just had to be.

He moved across the room toward her. He pulled her up to her feet, catching her when she fell from being tangled in the sheets, and pulled her toward the bedroom door. He knew how important saying good bye to Trudy would be to her. Not to say it wasn't important to him too, but he knew that she would never forgive herself if she didn't get to say good bye to her. "Come on. We don't want to miss her." He told her as he through the door opened and dragged her outside of the room.

Jerome froze when he saw Victor telling Trudy that her cab was here to take her back to her home. "No," He gasped out as he squeazed Mina's hand and dragged her along as he sped up. It was too late though, but the time they had reached the group, Trudy had already walked outside of the door. "Trudy!" Mina called out, praying that the woman had heard her.

They waited for a moment, all holding their breath as they waited to see if Trudy had heard the girl or not. The seconds went by and her hope was dying little by little. Just as she thought that Trudy had left without her good bye, the door opened and the old woman poked her head inside. "I almost forgot you two. Sorry, Victor, but I'll be quick." She said she moved over to stand in front of Jerome and Mina. She placed her hand on Jerome's cheek and smiled motherly up at the boy before she moved onto the girl behind him.

Mina let out a sob as they looked at each other. She had thought that she had missed her chance to say good bye. "Oh, sweetie. Come here." She welcome the crying girl into her arms and let her cry briefly before Amber and Mara joined in as well. From the honk outside, she knew that it was time to go. She pulled back from the girls and wiped her eyes. "Time to leave. You all be good." She told them, blowing them a quick kiss as she left the house again.

Mara wrapped her arms around Mina and let her cry on her shoulder. Victor soon dismissed them all, sending them back to their rooms to get ready for the day since classes would be starting soon. Jerome placed a hand on Mara's shoulder, silently telling her that he could handle Mina from there. He had already gotten dressed for the day, he could give her a hand in anything she needed. She nodded and slowly let go of the girl and followed Patricia up to their room.

Jerome then wrapped an arm around Mina's shoulders and directed them back to her room. He walked her to her room, stopping when they got to the door. She glanced down at the door. She could invite him inside, but she knew that if she did that something she wasn't ready for would happen. "I should go get dressed. Thanks for, um, making sure I got to say good bye. It means a lot to me." She said as she looked back up at him with a weak smile.

The smile is returned no doubt as he shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly as he slides his hands into his pockets. "No big deal, love." He told her. "So, I don't suppose you'll be letting me in then." He said to her when he noticed her hesitating with opening the door. She gave another weak smile as she shook her head no. He nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll see you at the breakfast table then." He told with another nod of his head before leaving her to get ready on her own. She took a deep breath before going into her room and shutting the door behind her.

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The teens were all sitting at the table for breakfast, a disgusted expression on their faces as they looked down at the blob of gunk Victor thought was actually considered food. Jerome and Mina shared a look as they glanced down at their globs of mush in front of them. Mina giggled as he gave her a gagging motion. They looked up at the sound of Amber gagging on her tea. "I'm not eating this." Mick said out as he looked at the mess in front of him.

Victor looked down at him with an 'oh really' expression. They were more than happy to cook for themselves. He was not their cook, nor their maid. He didn't have to do anything for a single one of them. "Trudy always gave us toast, and our choice of jam." Mara explained to them. Alfie caught both of the Martin girl's attentions as he plopped the glob in between his tea cup and plat, sticking them both together. The girls bit back a giggle as they watching him.

Jerome shot a sharp look over to his friend. Mina had been paying attention to him, finally, and now Alfie had taken it away. "Forget Trudy." Victor said out as he saw that they had gotten some amusement over his cooking as they played with it like it was play dough or something. "And if you don't like my cooking, you can always do it yourself." He told them as he returned to the kitchen.

Fabian tried to stick his fork into the food, but it didn't even dent the surface of the . . . what ever it actually was suppose to be. Mina giggled again as she saw him try that, and found herself trying to scoop it up with her spoon. "How about we go and get some breakfast from the vending machines at school, guys?" Amber said out to them all. They all voiced their agreement and were getting up to go when Mina's spoon broke through the blob, only for it to fling across the table and hit Jerome in the face.

She gasped, covering her mouth as he wiped it off of him in disgust. He slowly looked up at her, mischief playing in his eyes as he picked up his own bowl. "You better run, Mina." He warned her as he stood up. She was up and out of the room before he had even fully gotten up. They all managed to laugh as he grabbed both of their bags and went after her. He hadn't planned of her stopping though, so he had basically only ran her over when he actually got into the hallway.

They stood there in shock as they watched the men installing the cameras around them. There had to be one in at least every room, and who knows how many were actually upstairs. It wasn't long before the others joined them in the hallway. "No way. They're installing security cameras." Amber said out. Mina glanced over at Jerome to see that he certainly was not happy about that.

And neither was she. She did not want herself caught on tape after her showers, let alone any other time of the day. She could pretty much say that it went the same way for the other teens around her. "They can't do that. It's a total invasion of our privacy." Fabian said out as he looked around him at his friends. He knew that they were all thinking the same thing as well.

"And the camera adds twenty pounds."

Mina rolled her eyes at Amber. Leave it to her to worry about that. Did she not realize how wrong this really was? Besides the fact that she might look a little less than perfect because of the stupid camera adding twenty pounds? "The school is always striving to improve your personal security. This is our latest measure to help you feel safe, and secure." Victor said out from behind them all before returning back to the other room.

They all huffed as they left for their classes. "Safe and secure?" Jerome scoffed as he and Mina walked side by side as they left the doors. She just shook her head and muttered something out. She had a guess that the cameras were more than just to keep them all 'safe and secure' as Victor said. She couldn't help but remember that Nina and Fabian had been out after hours that one night trying to find something under the steps, and the night of the party when they went up to the attic once again. She had a hunch that the cameras were more about watching that group then it was the rest of them.

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Mina was walking down the hall, minding her own business perfectly fine, when she was suddenly pulled to the side and pushed against the wall as the door shut behind her and who ever had grabbed her. She looked around to see that she had been pulled into a broom closet. Her eyes finally settled on her captor. Jerome Clarke. She rolled her eyes, she should have known. "What is it, Jerome? What do you want, and why did you pull me into a broom closet?" She asked him as she she pushed him back a step.

She did not want to be too close to him, especially when they were alone and in such a tight space. "Not probably what you're thinking, love." He chuckled to her when he saw her cheeks heat up with a blush. "I was wondering, how'd you like to be my, very, beautiful assistant? I'd ask Alfie, but I thought that you'd look much better in a dress." He asked her as he gave her, her space.

She looked at him with a smile. Was he serious? Did he seriously just ask her that? Did he really just ask her to be his 'assistant'? He sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw her expression. She just laughed when he muttered something about should have had asked Alfie first. She saw that he was about to leave and tugged on his arm. "I'll do it. I will, but why the need of an assistant?" She asked him as he looked back at her with a wicked grin.

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Mina and Jerome suddenly spun around on their heels to face the crowd before them both. Both were dressed in ridiculous clothing, Jerome even had a dark fake mustache on his lip. Mina was wearing a beautiful dress thanks to Amber, so was Alfie, who was in charged of standing by the point board. He was even wearing her high heels to match the dress she had given him. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to Sporting Challenge." Jerome said out in his announcer voice.

"To do."

"To do." Mina piped in.

"To dee." Alfie said out in a girly voice.

"To dah." Jerome said out as he wrapped his arm around the girl beside him and held her close to his side. She shot him a look, causing some chuckles from the crowd before them.

"Sporting challenge." Alfie echoed in a high pitched voice after while Mina waved out to the crowd, her smile slightly forced, like she was a queen to the crowd. Jerome still had his arm around her waist while he held the game cards in his free hand. The crowd erupted into applause and laughter as they watched the three on stage.

The Anubis girls all laughed out when they saw Mina elbow Jerome's side. He grunted in pain, but managed to keep a smile on his face. "I would like to introduce my beautiful assistant, Milly." He said out to the crowd, glancing over at the girl beside him and giving her a wink. She blushed, but fought it back as she rolled her eyes at him. "And our two lovely contestants. Mick, and Mara." He said as he motioned to both Mara and Mick on either side of the stage. He rolled his eyes when he heard a cough at the end of the stage. "Oh, yeah, and my other assistant, Fifi." He said out dully, causing Alfie's smile to fall briefly.

The crowd of students erupted with more applause and laughter as Alfie did a little spin to show off his costume, doing a mock bow when the crowd laughed louder. "The first questions, please, Milly." Jerome said down to the girl beside him. She nodded and turned on her heels to go retrieve the first round of questions. "Thank you." He said out to her, giving her a quick wink when she glanced back over her shoulder at him. She merely giggled and shook her head at him.

It wasn't long before Mina strutted back over to Jerome with the cards, giving the crowd a runway model type pose as she gave to a stop. The crowd chuckled slightly as she gave them all a fierce look as she handed the cards over to the blond besides her, who had also managed to keep a straight face. She could see the hint of a smile underneath his mustache though. He cleared his throat and turned back to the others before them. "Over which three distances, is the sprint run?" He asked both of the two teens on either side of him.

Mick looked ready to answer, but Mara had beat him to the buzzer, a proud smile on her face. "100, 200, and 400 meters." She answered him when he called on her. Mina glanced over Jerome's shoulder and her jaw dropped when she realized that she had gotten it correct, and Jerome said out loud as much. Mina felt bad when Mick was less than happy for Mara for getting an aswer correct. As the game went on, Mara was answering question after question correctly. And as Mara was getting one question after another, and Mick was getting more and more upset after said questions she was getting correct.

It felt like only an hour had gone by before things were slowly coming to an end. Mara was up twenty points while Mick was only at a mere number of five points. The members of the Anubis house could all clearly see that Mick was less than happy with the out come of the game. He had expected to win by a long shot and leave Mara behind in his dust. "And now, the final category, is football. English football, Mara, and Milly, questions please." Jerome said out to the crowd as he handed the cards back to Mina, who in turned to Alfie to retrieve the new round of cards.

Alfie nodded as he took the cards and went to go replace them with the new stack of cards. On his way back to Mina and Jerome, he tripped over the dress. "Alfie, if you stretch my shoes." Amber warned him, causing the others to laugh as he simply gave her an apologetic look before handing the cards to Mina, who in turn gave them to Jerome. "Who beat England in the semi finals of the 1990 world cup?" Jerome asked both of the players.

Not giving Mara the time to ring in her buzzer, Mick simply waved his hand up. "Oh, uh, Portugal on penalties." He said out, a smile on his face. He was going to catch up to Mara in no time know. He was sure that she didn't have a clue as to what this sport was about, let alone the important events concerning it. Mina and Alfie both winced, Alfie only doing it once he saw her do it. Apparently, she already knew the answer to the question.

Jerome and Mara both winced as well. Both knew, Jerome having seen the card and Mara just knowing, that he had been wrong. "Incorrect." He said out in surprise. He didn't expect Mick to get a question wrong. He knew that he was slow at buzzing in, but he thought that he knew his sports. He was the jock of their house after all.

The group watched as Mick's smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared. How could he have been wrong? "No. No, no. I know the right answer. I just . . . got the wrong year. That's all." He tried to explain, but Mara had figured it out and rang in before he could say anymore.

"Mara?"

"Germany." She said out happily, knowing that she was right. By Jerome proclaiming as much, she was proven right.

Mina and Alfie took a step back when they noticed that Mick was going to loose it any minute from now. He was not happy with the outcome, and to put it nicely, Mina was not pleased with him. He had expected to beat Mara, which is why he agreed to do this game with her. He had thought that she would loose, but he had been wrong by a long shot. "She's cheating! She must be cheating." Mick said out angrily. Mara was taken back by the accusation. "Did you give her the answers?" He pointed his direction to Jerome.

"No."

"Yes, you did, to make me look stupid. Well, har har, everyone. Very funny." Mick said out as he stormed off the stage and cut through the crowd watching him. Mina shook her head in disappointment while the others just stared at him in shock. No one had cheated, and they all knew that. Mick knew it too, but he was just too stubborn to admit it. The four teens on the stage shared a look before sighing, shaking their heads at their friend.

Mina looked up at the sight of someone else getting up from their seats. A sudden smile appeared on her lips, catching Jerome's attention as he too looked to see what it was. She seemed to get a wave of excitement flow through her body as she hopped off of the stage and made her way to the back of the room. Jerome watched with a bitter taste in his mouth as she jumped into Max's awaiting arms.

His teeth gritted together with anger as he watched on as she did a little twirl to show off her dress to her friend. He had picked that costume out for her, not that Max guy. Him. He had been the one to make her laugh today, not him. Alfie watched as his friend's hands clenched tightly at his sides angrily. "Who's the bloke with Mina, mate? New Competition, I suppose." He whispered over to his friend.

Jerome scoffed bitterly at that. As if this guy was any competition of his. He wasn't though, was he? Sure, the two had history from back when she was in America with him, but she was now in England and they were making their own history for the books to tell. Wasn't that what he should be thinking? Max was the boyfriend of the past, but he was determined to be her boyfriend as of present and of her future.

Mina was back over at the house with Max, who had come to the house after the game show. They were sitting in her room, away from the cameras, when her door was suddenly barged in by everyone. Jerome's eyes flickered over between the two with disgust. They were on her bed, alone, in her room. "Do you want to help get rid of the camera or not?" Nina said out to her cousin. "You can help too, Max." She said out a second.

The two shared a look before nodding and getting up from the bed. They all left the room then to go grab some chairs. As the group was leaving, Max pulled Jerome to the side. "Hey, Jerome right?" He asked him to make sure that he was talking to the right person. Jerome nodded forcefully, wishing to be anywhere but talking to this guy right now. "I just wanted to thank you for being there for Mina. Fighting with Nina is really doing a number on her, you know?" Again Jerome nodded as he grabbed his chair from the closet. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Jerome walked away before he could, clearly meaning that he didn't want to talk to him. Max stared after him confused before Mina nudged him and motioned for him to follow her up to the camera in front of the attic door. He nodded after a second and followed her up, glancing back at Jerome and Alfie once before they were soon out of sight.