CHAPTER FIVE

Professor Zachary watched as Stu and the other jocks raced around the front of the school, simply tossing a football around. After a few moments people began to stop and watch as the green boys seemed oblivious to what was going on.

One of the reporters approached Stu, and he backed up. "Hey, man, you don't want to get too close, it's contagious," He said.

The other reporters began to flock closer, anxious to find out what he meant. The footfall players were surprisingly convincing actors, starting off with how they just wanted to hang out, why couldn't they be left alone, to actually being 'tricked' into admitting that gaseous fumes had been released by accident, and were turning the students green.

"It's almost your turn," Z said, looking back at a green Ms. Sletzki. She laughed nervously.

"So, explain to me again when you had to do this before?" She asked.

Z grinned in reply. Before he could say anything, Josie, Lucas, and Vaughn came running up.

"Hey, I think it's almost time she got out there," Josie said, gesturing to the flustered crowd. "This can only work for so long."

"I've got it," Ms. Sletzki said, quickly starting for the door. She looked back nervously. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," The group chorused. Ms. Sletzki stepped out and Josie frowned. "You're going to need it."

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Vaughn blinked in surprise. "I think it's working," He said.

The others came to look out the window, to see that indeed, reporters were backing off the premises.

"Thank you!" Josie exclaimed. "That's one less thing to worry about." She watched as Stu and the football player, and Ms. Sletzki came in, laughing. Ms. Sletzki grinned.

"I can't wait to get this green stuff off," She said, brushing at her face.

"You can use my and Corrine's bathroom," Josie said. "It washes off with water. Come on, I'll show you."

"Thanks," Ms. Sletzki said. She looked past Josie to Professor Zachary. "I'm so sorry, about all of this."

"I know," he said, nodding his head lightly. "Don't worry too much on it now."

She grinned, and quickly followed Josie up the stairs.

"Is it just me," Lucas said, turning to Vaughn. "Or is he … and she …?"

"Some things even science can't explain," Vaughn said with a laugh. Then he went with Stu and the other. Lucas looked at Professor Z.

"We should probably contact Mr. Pearson," Professor Z stated. "He'll want to know of what's been happening."

"You work on that," Lucas said. "I'm going to try to see if I can get the wormhole to work … to bring Marshall and Corrine back."

"Be careful, Lucas," Professor Zachary warned. "We don't need to lose one more person."

"I will. I think I'm just going to study the wormhole," Lucas replied.

"Alright, well I'll be in there as soon as I get off the phone with Victor," Noel replied.

"Professor Z, we can trust Victor, right?" Lucas asked.

"We're going to have to, Lucas. We don't really have a choice, and he seems to be our only ally right now," Z answered.

Lucas nodded. "I thought as much. I'll se you soon, then."

Professor Zachary nodded and started away.

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"It won't keep them away for long," Ms. Sletzki said, rubbing her hair vigorously through the towel. She stepped into the room to see Josie laying on her bed, staring at Corrine's. She slowly stopped. "You shared your room with your friend, right? Corrine?"

"No one's ever been gone this long," Josie replied, looking at Ms. Sletzki. "I guess I'm just worried."

Ms. Sletzki sat down next to her on the bed. "I think I understand how you feel."

Josie looked at her incredulously, and Ms. Sletzki let out a nervous smile. "Alright, so none of my friends were pulled into a wormhole. But when I was your age, my best friend went missing for three days. It turned out she'd just gotten lost in the woods and twisted her ankle. But those whole three days I was worried about her. I mean, she went hiking all the time. Now, you said this has happened before, so you know it's not dangerous."

"It's only dangerous if you get stuck," Josie said, which I'm afraid may have happened.

"They're intelligent kids, aren't they? I'm sure they could find their way out if they needed to."

"I guess so," Josie said. "I mean, there's less likely a chance of getting stuck now that we know more about it than we did before."

"I'm sure it will turn out alright," Ms. Sletzki said. She took in a deep breath. "Look, I know you resent me for all of this happening."

"Sort of," Josie admitted.

"I just want you to know that I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Really," Ms. Sletzki said.

"I guess it doesn't really matter how it started," Josie said, standing up. "Its how we're going to finish it. We should probably try and find Lucas and Z."

"Josie!" Lucas exclaimed running into the room.

"Lucas?" Josie asked, seeming surprised.

"Where's Mr. Bunnypants?" He asked.

"Huh?" Josie asked.

"Mr. Bunnypants, where is he? Professor Z and I are planning to do some experiments with the wormhole, and we need a test subject. Victor agreed to do some test runs at his lab in case it gets the wormhole to open up," Lucas explained.

"Oh," Josie said slowly. She picked Mr. Bunnypants off of Corrine's bed and tossed it to Lucas. "Can I come?"

"Not a good idea," Lucas replied. "Professor Z doesn't want too many people involved."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Josie demanded.

"Try research," Lucas said. "Z thinks we need a better understanding of the wormhole if we're going to fix everything. He already sent Vaughn to go help Victor. See if he can get anything out of him and stuff."

"Spying?" Josie asked, looking excited.

"Not spying. We're partners now, Josie," Lucas pointed out. "I never thought I'd say anything like that, but for now we have to work together."

"I know, I know," Josie said. "But it still doesn't change what I think of him."

"I didn't think it would," Lucas said.

"If Marshall and Corrine come back, you'll let me know, right?" Josie asked.

"Of course," Lucas said. "The moment they came through."

"You should get to work," Ms. Sletzki said. "Noel's probably waiting for you."

"Right. Here goes nothing," Lucas said. He turned and walked out of the room. Josie looked at Ms. Sletzki.

"Do you … know Professor Z?" She asked.

The woman looked surprised. "Well, we only just met yesterday."

"And you call him Noel?" Josie said, looking amused.

"Well, I …" Ms. Sletzki flustered, her cheeks beginning to burn. Josie grinned.

"Let's get to work then, shall we?" She asked, moving quickly out the door. Ms. Sletzki slowly followed after her. "We should probably check with Principal Durst. Explain a bit of the situation to her. Not everything, of course. She most likely doesn't want to know. Just tell her something like … we need to do research on the school to find a way to keep the press away, or something."

"Good idea," Ms. Sletzki said.

The two started down the hall, and it wasn't long before Josie had to stop Ms. Sletzki from tripping over the carpet.

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"This doesn't look like Professor Z's office," Marshall said.

"Over here," Corrine said, quickly pulling Marshall behind a rack of lab coats. "Do you know where we are?"

"I have a slight guess," Marshall said. "So new theory: the wormhole doesn't bring us to places in time; it takes us to … other places in the same time? So this is Pearadyne Labs. It's actually kind of cool."

"With people in it? Of course it is. You should have been here when it was just me and Vaughn," Corrine said.

"Thank you for reminding me of that horrible time," Marshall snapped.

Corrine rolled her eyes. "Let's stay focused. We have to find a way out of here. Then we can focus on when we are," She said. She took in a few deep breaths, and looked around. "Alright, if I remember correctly, there's an elevator right over there that leads into Pearson manor."

"Well how are we going to go over there if there's a bunch of people hanging around?" Marshall demanded.

"I don't know," Corrine replied. "Wait, is that a clock over there?"

"I think so," Marshall said. "It's almost One PM. Why?"

"Well, hopefully there will be a lunch break," Corrine said. "And if I figure correctly, it should be coming up soon."

"Great, I'm starved," Marshall said.

"Not for us, for them," Corrine said.

Marshall let out an annoyed sigh. "When we get out of here, we better get some food."

"Let's worry about that later, alright?" Corrine asked, looking around the corner. "First we have to get out of here without being noticed."

"Maybe if we put on these lab coats, we'll blend in," Marshall suggested. "Just long enough to get around without them noticing."

"Maybe," Corrine said. They crouched down quickly as a couple walked past.

"Really, Sarah. I'm sure we're all set for tomorrow. All the tests have been done, all the equipments ready," A black haired man said as he past by with a blond woman.

"That's Victor," Corrine said with surprise.

"Really?" Marshall asked, sitting up to get a better look just as another group was coming down the hall. "Hey, isn't that -."

"Josie's Mom," Corrine said, sounding surprised. She was walking with a couple of other lab assistants. Marshall frowned.

"Professor Z?" He asked.

"He did say he worked for Pearadyne," Corrine said. (Just a note, Jim Rapsas did say that it was supposed to be revealed that Z knew Sarah and Kelly, but the scene had to be cut from Conclusions.) "Still … it seems as if he was involved in the time travel project."

The couple shared a confused glance. "Why wouldn't he tell us about it? If he knew what was really going on, then -."

"Maybe he didn't know," Marshall interrupted. "Maybe he did work here, but he wasn't involved directly on the time travel project?"

"I hope so," Corrine said. Just then a loud bell went off. "What's that?"

"I think it's that lunch bell you mentioned," Marshall said.

A bunch of other people began along the hallway, probably moving towards the cafeteria or wherever it was that they had lunch. Corrine watched the flood of people, and then quickly took a coat off the hanger, handing it to Marshall.

"Put this on," She instructed.

"Bossy much? Alright, I'm putting it on." The two quickly pulled on lab coats and joined with the masses, moving down the hall. "Just act like you're one of them. Sure, I'm not a teenager. I look old enough. You know, if you had told me we had to pretend to be adults, I would have gotten a fake beard or something."

"The elevator is right around here," Corrine said.

"And she doesn't even listen to me," Marshall said. Corrine smirked.

"I'm listening. But I'm also trying to remember. Alright, over here." She took his hand and moved him to a corridor where no one was. They received a few curious glances but soon no one noticed them.

"I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have woken up this morning," Marshall muttered.

"Hopefully we'll be out of her real soon," Corrine assured him.

"That janitor was right. We should have just stayed where we were. Do you have any idea how much trouble we're probably in? Look, is that a security camera?" Marshall began to wave at it. "Hi! We came through the wormhole at the school! Can you see us?"

"Marshall!" Corrine exclaimed. "Are you losing it?" She glanced at the camera, gave a nervous smile, and quickly hit the 'up' button on the elevator.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just trying to make light of this situation. If we have any luck, we'll be out of here before anyone realizes differently," Marshall replied.

"I hope so," Corrine said. The elevator opened up and the two climbed inside, Corrine quickly hitting the second floor button.

"Where does this lead to, again?" Marshall asked.

"The Pearson's house," Corrine explained. "But I don't think anyone is going to be up there."

"Right." Marshall quickly took off the lab coat and hung it on a hook.

"What are you doing?" Corrine asked.

"Well isn't it likely that Victor has monitors? It would be suspicious if people in lab coats walked through," Marshall explained.

"It would be even more suspicious if we weren't wearing lab coats," Corrine said. Marshall shrugged, and Corrine reluctantly peeled off the coat, hanging it on a hook just as the elevator door opened into Victor's private office.

The two quickly stepped out.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Marshall said, taking Corrine's hand just as the phone on Victor's desk began to ring. The two looked at it nervously.

"If we hurry, no one will know we're here," Marshall said.

"The phone ringing will draw attention," Corrine exclaimed. "What do we do?"

"Make it stop!" Marshall said as footsteps began to sound outside the room.

Corrine, panicked, and picked up the phone, putting it to her ear. "Hello?" She asked uncertainly.

"Mr. Pearson?" Asked the familiar voice of Principal Durst.

"It's Durst," Corrine said, eyes wide in surprise.

"Say you're Victor's secretary!" Marshall suggested.

"Uhh … Corrine Wheeler, speaking," Corrine said. Marshall grinned.

"That sounds good," He said. Corrine gave him a slightly annoyed look.

"Um, Victor Pearson's secretary?"

"Oh, I wasn't aware he'd hired a new one yet," Durst said, sounding surprised.

"Can I help you?" Corrine asked.

"Yes, could you inform Mr. Pearson that his regular will not be able to make it today? She's fallen ill, and is unable to leave her dorm room. And quite unfortunately, I couldn't find any other students willing," Principal Durst said into the phone.

"Yes, I'll tell him that. Okay, good bye." Corrine hung up and looked at Marshall.

"What was that about?" Marshall asked.

"Principal Durst said something about the regular not being able to make it, because she was sick," Corrine explained.

"What does that mean?" Marshall asked.

"I don't know," Corrine replied.

"I hope you're ready to begin -." Sarah Pearson stopped where she was and looked from Marshall to Corrine. "Where's Stacy?"

"Stacy?" Marshall asked.

"Did Amanda Durst send you over?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Marshall said, exchanging a look with Corrine. "Your regular has a cold. We're her … replacement?"

"Two of you?" Sarah asked, looking the two over.

"The more the merrier," Corrine said.

"I suppose so," Sarah said.

"I'm Marshall. This is Corrine."

"Nice to meet you. I'm sure you already know who I am. I'm glad to see Principal Durst was able to find substitutes." She stopped and glanced at the clock. "Well, he's up in his room. If you'll follow me."

"He?" Marshall asked as the two followed Sarah up the stairs.

"Now I'm not sure how much Principal Durst told you, so I'll try to cover the basics. He's usually rather well behaved, but sometimes he can be rather fussy."

"Does he have a name?" Marshall asked.

"Vaughn. I'm surprised Principal Durst didn't tell you that, at least," Sarah said, stopping to look back at the two. "You two have babysat before, haven't you?"

"Babysat?" Marshall squealed.

"Every child's different, Mrs. Pearson," Corrine said quickly. "It's best to know everything about each one in advance."

Sarah smiled warmly. "Yes, that's true." She turned back and continued down the hall.

"Vaughn?" Marshall whispered. "She thinks we're here to baby-sit Vaughn?"

"It could be much worst," Corrine replied.

"When he wakes up be sure to feed him from his bottle. You'll find several of them downstairs in the fridge. Just heat them up a little, alright?" Sarah asked.

"Sure, no problem," Corrine said.

"Is there anything else?" Sarah asked herself. Then she nodded. "I suppose it's time you meet him. Right through here, then."

She pushed open the door to reveal a beautifully decorated baby's room, the crib in the center.

"Be sure to be quiet," Sarah warned as the three stepped into the room. "We don't want to wake him."

"Of course," Corrine said. The three gathered around the little crib where young Vaughn was sleeping peacefully. Sarah smiled warmly at his son.

"He's so cute," Corrine said.

"Corrine!" Marshall gaped. "I thought you liked me?"

Sarah looked at him with curiosity, and Corrine blinked. "Let's not talk about this right now, Marshall," She finally said.

"I knew there was something up when you two were stuck together," Marshall muttered.

"He's a baby!" Corrine exclaimed.

"Is there something I'm … missing?" Sarah asked, seeming confused.

"We left a Vaughn back at school," Marshall said.

"I see," Sarah replied.

"Sarah?" Victor asked as he entered the room. "Where's Stacy?"

"She's sick, apparently. Amanda sent Corrine and Marshall over, instead," Sarah explained.

"We're grateful for your help," Victor said.

"Now if you need either of us, you can simply contact us by the phone number on the fridge. We'll be back around eight tonight," Sarah said.

"You're going to be at work, right?" Corrine asked.

Sarah and Victor exchanged surprised glances. "Principal Durst didn't tell you anything, did she?" Sarah asked.

"Well, not much, really. Just that she needed someone to go over to the Pearson's house," Corrine said.

"Yeah, she said it would be a great chance for our community service projects," Marshall added.

"Oh," Sarah said.

"Yes, we're going to be at work. Stacy, our usual sitter, works after her classes. We have another sitter who comes in while we work in the morning," Victor explained.

"Well we're looking forward to getting to know your son," Corrine said.

"We should be heading back down, then," Victor stated, wrapping his arm around Sarah's waist. "Is there anything else they need to know?"

"No, I'm sure that covers it," Sarah said.

"Have fun at work," Corrine called after them.

The door closed, and after a beat Marshall turned to Corrine.

"Can this day get any worst?" He asked.

"Once Sarah and Victor return, we'll have a good excuse to go back to Blake Holsey. Until then we have to watch Vaughn."

"Come on, Corrine. You really want to spend the day watching Vaughn? As a baby?" Marshall demanded.

"Look at him, though," Corrine said.

"Well, he is kinda cute," Marshall said. Then he made a face. "That's gross! He's one of my friends! Ugh."

"Well if you'd never suggested we go through that wormhole -."

"That you activated," Marshall countered.

Corrine sighed. "Look, let's not think of him as Vaughn. Just a baby that needs to be taken care of."

Marshall was silent for a few moments, staring at the baby, and then he looked at Corrine, frowning. "He even looks like Vaughn."

AN: Ah, the calm before the storm, mwahahahaha. Anyhoo, hope you guys liked the update! I hope to have another chap up by next week (keep your fingers crossed!) Please continue to REVIEW! It's what keeps me going!