Chapter Five:
You think you look forward to the weekend when you're at school? Try knowing that every day you're in class is a day where you are in serious danger of getting an alien slug shoved up your ear, that will control your every movement, breath, and thought.
Yeah, I was looking forward to the weekend.
It was after school on Friday. The phone rang. "Hey, this is Marco," I said automatically.
"Marco? Hi." It was Jake, of course. "What's happening?"
"Not much. Hanging out."
"Same here," he lied. Since war began, none of us have really done much 'hanging out.' And he definitely wasn't relaxed. "Listen, if you're not busy, we should get together someplace."
"Sounds good. The usual hangout?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "What can I say? The theater is a cool place." We were really talking about Cassie's barn, and we both knew it. The theater stuff was thrown in to mess up anybody who might be listening in.
"You bet. I'll see you there . . . six o'clock, maybe?"
"Cool. Catch you then!"
"Yup."
I hung up the phone, and closed my Algebra book. One nice thing about being an Animorph is that homework always takes a backseat.
An hour later, I was at the barn. I had flown, of course. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, listen to the man who knows: there is *nothing* like flying with your own wings. Sky high, with only the air to hold you up, the sheer rush of it all, the weird, intense peace when you're riding pillars of warm air, with all your worries thousands and thousands of feet below you . . . well, it beats out everything except being a dolphin.
I dove for the barn, and settled on the dusty floor. The fu-u-un has arrived! I sang, after making sure that Tobias and Ax really were the only ones there.
It has? inquired Ax.
It's an expression, Ax. It means, 'hit me, I'm a loser who has nothing better to do than watch Tarzan.'
"Hrguhel, harghle," I guffawed hollowly through my still-forming mouth.
What?
"Ha, ha," I annunciated, now fully human. "This from the boy who reads Shakespeare in his spare time."
Don't knock the bard, said the bird.
I have read Shakespeare. He speaks a very peculiar dialect, Ax noted.
"Let's not talk about Shakespeare," I groaned. "I failed that literature test. I don't want to have to deal with him on top of everything else."
Very well, agreed Ax. Marco, have you seen the latest episode of "Pulse of Passion"? Shirley and Max agreed to divorce, while Eugene still has amnesia in Paris. Hannah and Linda are still fighting over John, but he's really interested in Edna's mysterious roommate.
"Oookay. Actually, the Shakespeare discussion was good."
"Hi, Tobias. Ax." Rachel had appeared from somewhere while we were talking.
"What, no 'hello' for me?" I demanded.
"Oh, sorry, Marco. I don't generally greet insect life."
"What, you don't love your family?"
Ha! Ha! exclaimed Ax.
We all stared.
Um, Ax-man, faltered Tobias, what was that?
Rachel and Marco were engaging in humorous verbal sparring. Is laughter not the correct response?
"Not for you," Rachel said bluntly, cutting off my witty repartee.
Jake walked into the barn. "Hey, all." We offered our chorus of greetings. "Where's Cassie?" he asked.
"I'm here," she said, entering right behind him. "Jake, I was nine steps behind you for half the path. Don't you ever turn around?"
"Makes him dizzy," I supplied. "He always walks straight forward. It hurts a little when he runs into walls, but it's a price he's willing to pay."
"Thanks, Marco."
"No problem."
Jake immediately switched into serious leader mode. "Okay, so. First things first. Does anyone have a clue where the actual infestation is taking place? I mean, is it in the building, or what? Has anyone seen anything suspicious?"
"Question," snapped Rachel. "What are you talking about?"
Jake peered at Tobias. "You didn't tell her?"
I didn't get the chance. She's been gone all afternoon.
"Where have you been?" Jake demanded.
"Miraculously, I convinced Cassie to go to the mall with me."
"No way," I gasped.
"Yep," beamed Rachel.
"I hated every minute of it, until I found the nature section of the bookstore."
"I actually had to drag her away. She was buried under a mound of books on insect life and horse-care manuals."
"You had to drag Cassie away?" asked Jake.
From the mall? asked Tobias.
"Are we sure she hasn't been infested?" asked Marco.
Yeah, me. Just making sure you were really reading.
Jake shook his head. "Tobias, fill them in."
He told them what he had told us. Rachel was, to nobody's surprise, ready to swing into action. "So," she said simply, "we go to the Yeerk pool, burn a few slugs, disrupt class, everybody goes home happy!"
"No," said Jake. "Sorry, it's not that easy. First, they can always supply more Yeerks, so simply killing the ones there wouldn't help anything."
"Plus, we have to remember that these are sentient life forms," Cassie said.
"They're the enemy," growled Rachel.
"Second," interjected Jake, before the old argument could start up again, "we have no clue where the actual infestation is taking place. According to Tobias, these people didn't seem to go to any of the standard Yeerk pool entrances until after they were Controllers, so we figure they've got portable pools set up somewhere. Maybe in the city, we really have no way of knowing."
Prince Jake, what is the format of these classes? Is there any time where the student is put in a position of vulnerability or seclusion?
"Not really. We all assemble in the classroom, there's a brief five-minute break in the middle of the lecture, then we take a test at the end and leave. It's not exactly the most flexible schedule for infestation."
"Hang on," said Cassie, sitting up. "That's not all there is to the class. There's also the six hours of driving practice."
I said a word I won't print here. "You're right. Six hours alone with the teacher, driving wherever he tells you."
Park there. Right next to that big staircase marked 'This way to the Yeerk Pool,' imagined Tobias.
"That's got to be it," said Rachel. "So how do we deal with this?"
"Follow one of the driving school cars first, to see where it goes, and work from there, I guess. We have to move fast, but let's not go so fast we get sloppy."
"Jake, we may have a little problem," said Cassie.
"What?"
"I'm signed up to do my first two hours of driving tomorrow, and there's no way I can get out of it."
"Sure there is," I said. "Don't show up. Go miniature golfing or something."
"Not an option. The instructor is coming to my house, and my parents will be there to make sure I get in the car. If I just vanish for a couple hours, they're going to ask five million questions that you don't want answered when I get back. They've been a little suspicious recently. I think they think I've joined a gang. They're watching me like a hawk. I *am* going to have to get in that car tomorrow."
Do humans watch hawks very often? inquired Ax. We ignored him.
You think you look forward to the weekend when you're at school? Try knowing that every day you're in class is a day where you are in serious danger of getting an alien slug shoved up your ear, that will control your every movement, breath, and thought.
Yeah, I was looking forward to the weekend.
It was after school on Friday. The phone rang. "Hey, this is Marco," I said automatically.
"Marco? Hi." It was Jake, of course. "What's happening?"
"Not much. Hanging out."
"Same here," he lied. Since war began, none of us have really done much 'hanging out.' And he definitely wasn't relaxed. "Listen, if you're not busy, we should get together someplace."
"Sounds good. The usual hangout?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "What can I say? The theater is a cool place." We were really talking about Cassie's barn, and we both knew it. The theater stuff was thrown in to mess up anybody who might be listening in.
"You bet. I'll see you there . . . six o'clock, maybe?"
"Cool. Catch you then!"
"Yup."
I hung up the phone, and closed my Algebra book. One nice thing about being an Animorph is that homework always takes a backseat.
An hour later, I was at the barn. I had flown, of course. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, listen to the man who knows: there is *nothing* like flying with your own wings. Sky high, with only the air to hold you up, the sheer rush of it all, the weird, intense peace when you're riding pillars of warm air, with all your worries thousands and thousands of feet below you . . . well, it beats out everything except being a dolphin.
I dove for the barn, and settled on the dusty floor. The fu-u-un has arrived! I sang, after making sure that Tobias and Ax really were the only ones there.
It has? inquired Ax.
It's an expression, Ax. It means, 'hit me, I'm a loser who has nothing better to do than watch Tarzan.'
"Hrguhel, harghle," I guffawed hollowly through my still-forming mouth.
What?
"Ha, ha," I annunciated, now fully human. "This from the boy who reads Shakespeare in his spare time."
Don't knock the bard, said the bird.
I have read Shakespeare. He speaks a very peculiar dialect, Ax noted.
"Let's not talk about Shakespeare," I groaned. "I failed that literature test. I don't want to have to deal with him on top of everything else."
Very well, agreed Ax. Marco, have you seen the latest episode of "Pulse of Passion"? Shirley and Max agreed to divorce, while Eugene still has amnesia in Paris. Hannah and Linda are still fighting over John, but he's really interested in Edna's mysterious roommate.
"Oookay. Actually, the Shakespeare discussion was good."
"Hi, Tobias. Ax." Rachel had appeared from somewhere while we were talking.
"What, no 'hello' for me?" I demanded.
"Oh, sorry, Marco. I don't generally greet insect life."
"What, you don't love your family?"
Ha! Ha! exclaimed Ax.
We all stared.
Um, Ax-man, faltered Tobias, what was that?
Rachel and Marco were engaging in humorous verbal sparring. Is laughter not the correct response?
"Not for you," Rachel said bluntly, cutting off my witty repartee.
Jake walked into the barn. "Hey, all." We offered our chorus of greetings. "Where's Cassie?" he asked.
"I'm here," she said, entering right behind him. "Jake, I was nine steps behind you for half the path. Don't you ever turn around?"
"Makes him dizzy," I supplied. "He always walks straight forward. It hurts a little when he runs into walls, but it's a price he's willing to pay."
"Thanks, Marco."
"No problem."
Jake immediately switched into serious leader mode. "Okay, so. First things first. Does anyone have a clue where the actual infestation is taking place? I mean, is it in the building, or what? Has anyone seen anything suspicious?"
"Question," snapped Rachel. "What are you talking about?"
Jake peered at Tobias. "You didn't tell her?"
I didn't get the chance. She's been gone all afternoon.
"Where have you been?" Jake demanded.
"Miraculously, I convinced Cassie to go to the mall with me."
"No way," I gasped.
"Yep," beamed Rachel.
"I hated every minute of it, until I found the nature section of the bookstore."
"I actually had to drag her away. She was buried under a mound of books on insect life and horse-care manuals."
"You had to drag Cassie away?" asked Jake.
From the mall? asked Tobias.
"Are we sure she hasn't been infested?" asked Marco.
Yeah, me. Just making sure you were really reading.
Jake shook his head. "Tobias, fill them in."
He told them what he had told us. Rachel was, to nobody's surprise, ready to swing into action. "So," she said simply, "we go to the Yeerk pool, burn a few slugs, disrupt class, everybody goes home happy!"
"No," said Jake. "Sorry, it's not that easy. First, they can always supply more Yeerks, so simply killing the ones there wouldn't help anything."
"Plus, we have to remember that these are sentient life forms," Cassie said.
"They're the enemy," growled Rachel.
"Second," interjected Jake, before the old argument could start up again, "we have no clue where the actual infestation is taking place. According to Tobias, these people didn't seem to go to any of the standard Yeerk pool entrances until after they were Controllers, so we figure they've got portable pools set up somewhere. Maybe in the city, we really have no way of knowing."
Prince Jake, what is the format of these classes? Is there any time where the student is put in a position of vulnerability or seclusion?
"Not really. We all assemble in the classroom, there's a brief five-minute break in the middle of the lecture, then we take a test at the end and leave. It's not exactly the most flexible schedule for infestation."
"Hang on," said Cassie, sitting up. "That's not all there is to the class. There's also the six hours of driving practice."
I said a word I won't print here. "You're right. Six hours alone with the teacher, driving wherever he tells you."
Park there. Right next to that big staircase marked 'This way to the Yeerk Pool,' imagined Tobias.
"That's got to be it," said Rachel. "So how do we deal with this?"
"Follow one of the driving school cars first, to see where it goes, and work from there, I guess. We have to move fast, but let's not go so fast we get sloppy."
"Jake, we may have a little problem," said Cassie.
"What?"
"I'm signed up to do my first two hours of driving tomorrow, and there's no way I can get out of it."
"Sure there is," I said. "Don't show up. Go miniature golfing or something."
"Not an option. The instructor is coming to my house, and my parents will be there to make sure I get in the car. If I just vanish for a couple hours, they're going to ask five million questions that you don't want answered when I get back. They've been a little suspicious recently. I think they think I've joined a gang. They're watching me like a hawk. I *am* going to have to get in that car tomorrow."
Do humans watch hawks very often? inquired Ax. We ignored him.