Regionals sort of snuck up on the team just as they were beginning to settle into a new era of living:

Brin had to stay home and watch several cousins that had shown up to visit her father. So, she was far too tired to think up snarky comments during practice.

Tinga was actually less irritable, now that she'd found a more permanent babysitting situation for Case, her kid.

Max could now relieve stress by going for a ride on her (awesome) new Ninja. So, she was much more optimistic about the future. Not to mention she'd recieved yet another phone call from Logan! He told her that he was doing well in school, but he had a lot of homework and that was why he couldn't get around to calling her a lot.

Jondy had started karate lessons, and had taken to the martial arts very well considering that she was a pacifist. Cale had gotten the hint when, after one bad comment, Jondy kicked him across the room. So, she was a little bit feared.

Joshua had actually taken off his suit (he requested that he be in an empty room with no windows at the time) and gave it to Jondy to wash. So, he was much nicer smelling.

Krit and Syl split up and were sullen and down-trodden for two days and refused to work with each other. Then, after trying out the whole "seeing other people" dealio, they decided to get back together. The entire team was better off with this arrangement.

Zack had finally gotten a girlfriend - which meant that he was more relaxed all around and stopped quoting rules all the time.

Original Cindy had gotten a girlfriend as well - a college girl that she referred to only as "my Lickety-Boo". She didn't spend too much time around the house these days.

And Zane..., well, Zane had recieved something that he called the "Komodo 3000" for his birthday, and was very happy and a little bit twitchy. He muttered a lot about "big boom"s and the gymnasium, too. Max made a mental note to keep an eye on him and his explosives; it wouldn't do any good to cheer for the basketball team if they didn't have a gym to cheer in.

All of this changed when Regionals came around. Suddenly, no one had time to do anything other than practice. And occasionally, they would sleep, too; at least everyone other than Jondy and Max did. Sleep wasn't a priority when you drank Red Bull like water. Jondy had even poured some of the energy drink into a spray bottle so that she could spray it into her mouth during practice.

This only became a problem when, one day after practice, Max jogged up the bleachers to meet Alec. He had taken to watching the practices with Joshua - up in the bleachers with a giant bag of pork rinds and a liter of Bolt soda.

"So?" she asked, still somewhat running in place. She'd drinken two energy drinks with her breakfast, one with lunch, and one right before practice. She was feeling a little bit... hyper?

Brin was climbing up the stairs behind her.

Alec looked up at Max; he'd been staring at Jondy doing one of her yoga positions down on the floor.

"Huh?"

Brin tapped Max on the shoulder and Max turned around. "Yeah?" she asked, still hopping from foot to foot.

"Max, I'm going to tell you something, and I don't think you'll like it," Brin said.

"Yeah? What?" she inquired. Brin sighed.

"You have a problem, Max," she said sadly. Max looked at her quizzically. "One might call it... an addiction."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, halting her bouncing for a moment. She still felt like she was jumping out of her skin. With a resentful expression, Brin held up a 12-can box of Red Bull. Max grabbed it and shook it. "There's nothing in here!" she exclaimed, tossing the empty box aside. "Where'd you get that?"

"Your locker," Brin told her. "I remember you buying it at seven-eleven on Wednesday morning. You emptied it out in three days - that's not normal." She held up something from her backpack. "I also found this... untouched can of Kabbalah energy revitalizer."

Max shook her head fervently. "Krit gave me that. I don't like the way it tastes," she complained. "So, what'd you think of practice?" she asked again, turning to Alec.

"Max..."

"It's not an addiction!" Max said loudly. "I can stop any time I want to!" She frowned. "How'd you get into my locker, anyways?"

Brin shrugged. "Joshua," she said simply, by way of explanation.

"Oh," Max nodded. She understood perfectly. Joshua was known perform miracles on occasion. Like the time Zane got shot in the eye with a paintball gun and Valerie was almost about to pick a replacement from the B-squad...

Needless to say, Joshua visited Zane's house on Wednesday afternoon, and Zane was back at practice on Friday with both eyes working perfectly.

"Somehow I doubt that you can really stop," Brin said. "A smoker never really quits."

"And a Brin never stops being annoying!" Max snapped. "I can totally stop drinking Red Bull - you watch!"

"I'm watching."

"Yeah, damn right you better watch!" Max yelled. "I'm going cold turkey off Red Bull for... for..." she thought for a moment. "Two days -" Brin rolled his eyes. "Three!" she snorted. "Fine," Max paused. "I'll kick Red Bull until after Regionals and that'll show you!"

"If you say so," Brin shrugged.

"I do say so!" Max shouted. Brin raised both eyebrows briefly, then jogged back down the steps. Max turned back to Alec. "My brain sort of blanked out the past few minutes. Can you tell me what just happened?" Alec sighed, but began to explain.

Max listened quietly for a few seconds, before...

"Holy shit!"

A/N: Yes, yes, reviews are very nice. Since you people are not in Christmas-card distance, send reviews for presents!

(Also, yes, I will have to be taking finals in about a week or two, so there might be a halt in chapters over the holidays. Blame that darn American school system.Sorry!)