Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Real Adventures
of Jonny Quest.
I do own my
original characters and they cannot be used without my permission, nor can my
story be reproduced or used without my say so.
Chapter Three
"Did you
hear about Randy's locker being trashed?" Jonny asked Jessie during their
fourth period study hall.
"Yes,"
her green eyes coolly looked over the rim of her history book. "That sort of
thing travels fast."
"Something else happened that didn't sit right with me." Jonny looked
around and spotted their teacher talking to another student across the
room. He leaned in closer to Jessie. "I notice him look over to Michael
Phillips, you know the football player. But it wasn't a look like he was
accusing him. It was something else."
"Like
they share a secret?" Jessie looked down and tried to read the same paragraph
for the fourth time.
"Yes!"
Jonny lit up and smiled. "What are you keeping from me?"
Jessie
bit her lip and smiled. She liked watching him as he sat there trying to
figure her out. After a moment, she gave in and told him what she and
Claire had witnessed that morning.
"Three
other guys?" Jonny echoed.
"I never
saw them before. They came from another high school." Jessie sank down in
her seat pretended to write some notes down from her book. "The logo on the
jacket looked like this."
"Well," Jonny looked down at the outline of an eagle. "I'm
not sure but I know Iris can tell us when we get home."
"I don't think it's
really important," Jessie whispered.
"Did it ever
occur to you two that if you studied more and talked less you would have more
time to talk 'after' class?" An angry female voice shot down on top of the two
teens. "I expected more from you Miss Bannon."
Jonny and
Jessie hunched over their books and pretended to get to work as the tall thin
figure of their teacher walked away.
"Sheesh,"
Jonny sighed dramatically. "I expected more from you as well Miss
Bannon."
Jessie
tried not to smile and succeeded in throwing a dirty look at Jonny, as he sat
snickered at his own joke.
Men!
Jessie sighed to herself.
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By the
end of the day, Randy had three more of the 'Rules' appear in varies
places. He tried to just be grateful that a gun had not been at the end
of it. Tried, but there were still four rules left.
One thing
he had that he didn't have earlier was the absolute gut feeling that it was one
of them. One of the brothers. They all met earlier. They all had access to the
school.
Then
there was the 'Ellison' name. Randy shivered slightly. That name brought up bad
feelings that needed to stay buried. The name had to be a coincidence.
Randy
stopped looking down at his homework as a new realization came to him.
Maybe there were two people involved. Maybe two members were doing
this. Was it possible?
Anything was
possible. He eyed Maria Ellison as she sat quietly working out a problem
he'd given her. Maria Ellison who just happened to be the bombshell blond
he and Michael noticed earlier that day before school started. Now, he
was being the 'polite boy' and helping her catch up in math.
At least
the day wasn't a complete disaster.
"Am I
doing something wrong?" Maria's light voice shattered his thoughts as he looked
over to her large blue green eyes.
He'd been
caught staring, though he wasn't really looking at her.
"I'm
sorry," he replied and quickly looked down at his homework nervously. "I've had
a rare and complicated day. I'm just zoning."
"I
heard," she shyly looked down at her paper. "That must have been a shock for
you. Strange too."
"Shock,"
his soft brown eyes lifted and he peered at her through his wire-framed lens.
"It has been an eventful day. I can say that at the least."
"Does it
mean anything to you? Rule #1?" She placed her chin in the palm of her
hand and stared up at him. "Is that even accurate or was that a rumor?"
"That was
accurate," Randy shifted uneasily in his seat. "I've been meaning to ask
if you've ever lived here before or have any family that lives around here?"
"My family came from here
originally," Maria sat up straight and smiled brightly. "I grew up not
five minutes from here. Strange to back and see how things have changed."
"Yes,"
Randy smiled smoothly. "I imagine it is. What brings you back?"
"My
father," she looked down at her thin fingers that rested nervously on the
table. "He grew up here and never got used to living anywhere
else."
"I see,"
Randy shook is head took a deep breath. This could be bad. Very bad "Your name seems familiar. That's
why I asked."
"I think
I got it." Maria smoothly turned her sheet around on the table and slid it over
to him.
"Is it
just you and your father?" Randy asked as he took the sheet.
"What do
you think? Did I finally figure it out?" Maria's eyes were glued to her
paper.
"I think
you got it." He smiled down at the sheet.
"Good!"
Maria sighed heavily with relief. "I never thought I would get through
that."
"Is it
just you and your father?" Randy pressed. He knew the name had to be a
bad coincidence. It had to be.
"Did
the sign in your locker mean anything to you?" Maria asked just as coolly.
"I heard
you," Randy smiled and looked down.
"I heard
you as well." Maria held her ground and returned his cool manner but then
softened slightly. "Thanks for the help."
"No
problem," Randy replied as Maria gathered her things and smiled one last time
before she left.
Randy sat
and weighed his options. He needed to speak to Michael before the group
gathered. He was pretty sure he could trust Michael. Quietly, Randy
gathered his own backpack and made his way out of the library, completely
unaware of the green eyes watching his every move from a distance.
Jonny
rushed through the hall. He promised to meet Jessie in the library but he
got held after class. He was rounding the corner when he ran into
something soft.
"Ouch!"
"Oh!" Jonny bent down to the head of blond hair. "I'm so sorry! I
was in a hurry. Are you all right?"
"I'm not
broken," she replied softly. Jonny wasn't sure if this was sarcasm,
but when she lifted her face up to his and smiled, he relaxed.
"I
promised my friend Jess that I'd meet her in the library and I ended up getting
held after class." Jonny explained himself. It was the least he could do
after knocking the girl to the ground.
"Does
your girlfriend have a bad temper?" She looked at him with her soft blue
green eyes.
"No,"
Jonny looked down embarrassed. "Jess isn't like that."
"I'm
okay," she stretched slightly and rearranged her bag. "Thanks for being so
nice."
"It's the
least that I can do." Jonny grinned broadly and the girl quickly looked away. "I'm
Jonny, Jonny Quest."
"Maria,"
her smile grew wider and she shyly looked at him again. "Maria or Marie
Ellison. I just moved here."
"Let me
guess," Jonny titled his head to the side and sighed. "It's your first
day and I knocked you to the floor?"
"Well,"
Maria nervously pulled her blond hair behind her ear and blushed. "I'm okay,
really."
"Well,"
Jonny looked through the glass doors that lead into the library.
"Jess," Maria replied. "Go on and meet your
girlfriend. I'm okay."
"I'll see
you around." Jonny smiled and waved as Maria quickly exited.
Nice. He smiled to himself as
he watched her back. "Very nice."
"If you're finished, I'd like to go home," the
female voice cut into him sharply.
"Jess?"
Jonny turned and faced his best friend who stood with a dark expression.
"When you are finished ogling, I would
like to leave." Jessie fingered the straps of her book bag as it weighed
heavily on her back.
Just
keep your mouth shut. Jonny heard Race's warning in his head. When
a red head is angry just duck and cover.
Jonny
walked beside Jessie and knew it was going to be a long quiet walk home.