Author's Note: Sorry this one and chapter four were so short….They were sort of just random things I typed up. I think I even typed this one with a fever. Oh, well. I'll put it up anyway. Oh, and I forgot to mention last chapter that I don't own Animorphs, so I'll say it twice here. Animorphs are not mine. Nope, don't own them. There we go. ^_^
Chapter Five – Jake
Aka Yeerks Are Obsessive
I got home just as my mom was pulling the chicken out of the oven. I was about five minutes late, so I expected to be scolded, but no one seemed to even notice. Maybe they were just so glad I didn't tell skip out on them again that they decided five minutes either way wouldn't matter. It was kind of sad. Don't get me wrong, I mean, it's not like I want to get yelled at. Still, it just showed how much things had changed.
This is Jake, by the way. You know the drill by now, so I won't waste time by going through it again. I sat down just as Tom came down from his room. It sort of surprised me that he was here. He was usually at some meeting of the Sharing. The Sharing is an organization that pretends to be a giant coed Boy Scout type thing, but it's really a front for the Yeerks. You go in, planning on having a good time, and you come out with a slug in your head. That's what happened to my brother, Tom. Yeah, that's right. He's a Controller now. Kind of ironic, I guess. The irony that Shakespeare would have liked. We're reading Macbeth in English. Can you tell?
Anyway, I was munching on roast chicken while thinking about the Rachel and Cassie thing. I didn't really think much would come of it, but then again, I wasn't there, so I didn't see the situation. Maybe it really was serious. My dad was talking about some golf story when I thought of something. I could always ask Tom. No, I don't mean ask him if she was a Controller. That'd be an interesting conversation. Hey, Tom, you know that slug thing in your head? The Yeerk? I was wondering if this girl named Sam had one in her head, too. How do I know about the Yeerks? Well, see, me and my friends? We're the Andalite bandits you guys are looking for. Isn't that weird? Somehow, I didn't think that'd go over too well.
But, I was thinking of asking him if she went to the Sharing. If she did, it'd be a pretty safe bet that she was a Controller. If not, well, it wouldn't hurt to try, right? Right. How would I bring it up, though? Hmm. I could always pretend Marco had a crush on her or something. Yeah, that'd work.
After dinner, I caught up with Tom in the hallway. "Hey, Tom?"
"What?" He said, stopping.
"You know that thing you go to, the Sharing?" I asked.
"What about it?" He sounded partly suspicious and partly curious.
"Is there anyway I could find out if someone is a member? Like, oh say, maybe this girl named Sam?" Here goes.
He looked at me for a moment. "Why?"
"Well, see, Marco sort of has a crush on her, and he asked me to find out if she was a member, so then maybe he could join and run into her and be like, 'Oh, what a surprise! You come here, too?' Those are his words, by the way." I replied.
Tom grinned. "Ahh. Sam? We've got one girl by that name."
I froze, waiting.
"Sort of tall, with red hair and blue eyes?" He asked.
I had to keep myself from sighing, although whether in relief or disappointment I wasn't quite sure. "No, that's not her. Oh, well. I'll tell him to find some other place to attack her."
"You could always tell him to ask her to sign up for the Sharing with him." Tom suggested. "That way, he could just pretend like he was recruiting members or something."
I nodded. "Yeah, I'll suggest it to him. Thanks, Tom."
He just nodded and headed into his room. I did the same, but to my room. I stared at my math homework for a bit, trying to convince myself I was working on it, when the phone rang. I paused, waiting to see if it would ring again. It didn't, so I continued on, figuring someone else had gotten it.
"Jake!" My father yelled. "Marco's on the phone!"
I pushed myself away from my homework and picked up the phone. "Got it!" I yelled back, then said into the phone, "Hey, Marco, what's up?"
"Hey Jake. You wanna come over? My dad's working late, so he told me to call you over for some company." Marco said.
"Sure. Oh, by the way, you know that girl you have a crush on? Sam? I asked Tom if she went to the Sharing, like you wanted me to."
There was a pause, then, "And?"
"No luck. Looks like you'll have to find some where else to conveniently run into her." I told him.
"Darn. And I was so hopeful, too. So you're coming over?"
"Yup. Be over there in a few."
"All right. Bye."
"Bye." I hung up, then went to go beg my parents to let me stay over at Marco's.