"Hey, Jackie right?" Manny goes up to the girl playing with the play station.
"Yea." She nods. "And you're Manny?"
"Ding ding ding. We have a winner." He smiles at her, making her laugh. "What are you playing? Can I join?"
"Sure. There's another controller right there." She pauses the game, waiting for him to pick up the controller before starting a new one.
"Sweet." He steers his race car forward. "So, what's up with Leo? He's looking pretty down today."
"I'm sure he just misses Hayley. The two were practically inseparable while she was a Raven." She smashes his car into the wall.
"Where exactly is Hayley?" Manny asks, manoeuvring his car out of the wall and back onto the race track.
"She's at a mental retreat." Jackie sighs. "Poor girl was really stressed out so Louis gave her a break for as long as she needed. She'll come back once she feels ready."
"Oh, ok." Manny turns back to the game, accelerating his car so it's just in front of hers. "Give me a run down on everyone here?"
"For the Ravens, there's Max and Emma, the chess nerds. You can usually see them right there playing another round of chess. We're all waiting for Max to finally admit defeat and declare that Emma is a better chess player than he is." Jackie explains with a laugh. "And then there's..."
By this point, Courtney tunes the pair of them out. Getting bored of being on her own, she decides to seek out their captain. He looks like he could use some company.
"Hey Leo." She settles next to him on the couch. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." He shrugs.
Courtney shakes her head at the slightly glum atmosphere of the clubhouse. The Ravens had lost the opening challenge as Anna had tricked Leo into letting go of his rope, leaving him splattered in paint.
"C'mon everyone." She takes out her Louie and begins to play a song. "It's too dull in here, we should have a dance party."
She pulls a reluctant Emma away from the chessboard, getting her up and moving to the beat before moving on to Brooke, then Leo. She spins the boy around before letting him spin her. By the end, they're both a dizzy mess and tumble onto the ground. Laughing, they get up and everyone else joins them.
"See, this is how you have fun." They continue dancing, only stopping for a second to watch as Max trips over the couch while doing his moonwalk.
Courtney sits on a chair, pretending to read a book. Their impromptu dance party a few days ago had been a hit, but now Leo's back to his gloomy self once again, and she doesn't like it.
She doesn't like how depressed he looks each time they do things as a group, be it attend classes or solve challenges. She knows it's because he misses Hayley, but it's not like she's dead or gone forever. Seriously, if she's his ex, her being gone shouldn't mess with him that badly, and he should start picking himself up.
She watches him as he walks aimlessly around the clubhouse, and sighs. If no-one's going to help him out of his funk, then she guesses she'll have to.
Getting up, she goes to him by their lockers. "Hey Leo," she taps him on the shoulder. "I'm bored. What do you guys do for fun here?"
"Well, you could go down to the beach for a swim, or do experiments in one of the science labs. The computer labs are also available if you feel like coding something. And I think the Eagles don't have practice right now, so you could use the gym if you want..." Leo begins to explain.
"Is there a music room? I'd love to play the piano. I feel like it's been forever since I last played." Courtney asks with a smile, but Leo just shakes his head.
"No, sorry, we don't have a music room." Leo's not sure exactly why he had lied, but he has the feeling it's because that's a room he wants to share with only Hayley, and no one else.
"Oh, ok." She cheers. "Let's go for a swim then." She opens up her locker and pulls out her swimsuit, ready to get changed.
"No. You go on ahead." He waves her off, beginning to make his way into the clubhouse.
"C'mon, the sun will do you some good. You're so pale; you need some vitamin D and a good dose of serotonin." She pushes him back towards his locker, and make sure he grabs his own change of clothes before slipping into the bathroom cubicle to change.
"Let's go." She catches his hand in hers, and together they make their way to the beach.
She quickly takes off her over shirt and runs into the water, causing a big splash as she goes deeper. "Come on, Leo. The water's great."
Leo doesn't hear her, however. The splash reminded him of Hayley, her form splashing about helplessly as she was continuously dragged under by the sheer force of the earthquake. He remembers the anxiety he felt at the thought of being too late as he swam against the current, seawater pounding at his ears in retaliation. The memory of fighting the waves to keep them both afloat coming to the forefront of his mind.
He had to know if she was ok.
'Hey Woods. How are you doing? All of us miss you here, and we can't wait for you to get back.' He quickly sends the message, and the one he gets back minutes later makes him smile.
'Hey Cruz. I'm good. Mostly good. Can anyone ever be all good?' He knows if she says that, she's at least ok enough to joke around. 'I miss you guys too, and want to leave this place so bad. I guess it's not too bad, but I'm disappointed that I missed the opening challenge. Jackie said it sucked though, and that you lost. I hope you're not still moping around about it. I also really hope that I can come back soon; this place is nowhere near as fun as the Greenhouse.'
There's a pause before a new message alert sounds. 'Bye. Gotta go for group therapy now. Ugh.'
'Bye.' He quickly sends, and puts the Louie safely in his shirt pocket before taking it off. If she's ok, then maybe he can have a little fun.
He jumps in the water, swimming up and down the shore for a little while before allowing himself to just float. "You're right, Courtney." He turns to her and sees her floating right beside him. "I needed this. Thank you."
"You're welcome." She smiles back at him before an idea comes to mind. Getting closer to him, she lets her hand gently brush the water a few times before splashing it in his face.
"Courtney!" He plants his feet in the sand, hands ready to splash the water back at her. But she's gone. "Courtney?"
He feels something pulling at his back and he falls into the water with yet another splash. He scrambles to his feet, quickly resurfacing once the thing has let go.
"Courtney! I'm going to get you."
Daniel's watching the pair from the clubhouse when his Louie rings with a message. 'Hey Daniel, there's a package for you in Louis' office.'
Intrigued, he leaves the window and goes down to the entrance.
He returns with a big box. Placing it on his bed, he immediately ruffles through it, finding a lot of the things from his childhood. Pictures of him and his mom at Martha's Vineyard throughout the years, some of his old toys and books, his hospital bracelet from when he was a baby... and a letter.
He takes the letter out and reads it, almost dropping it in the process.
It's from his father.
"Eureka." Hearing the knock, Daniel opens the door of the Old Biology Lab to Max.
"Hey, Max." Daniel pulls him in. "Can you help me remove some ink blotches on a letter?"
Max just looks at him confused. "I think I can." He thinks for a while. "Wait, what's it for? It's not anything illegal or like part of someone's elaborate scheme, is it?"
"No, at least I don't think so." He unfolds the letter, placing it on the table in front of them. "It's a letter from my dad, but there are a few things blacked out. I'm pretty sure my mom did it, but I wanted to find out what it is."
He sighs. "Maybe he's still out there, looking for me. Maybe my mom's been lying to me all this time that he left us." He turns to Max. "I just want to talk to him, to know the truth."
Max only nods, pulling out a set of multi-coloured vials and variously-shaped tubes from the shelf behind them. "Get comfy, this might take a while."
"Hey Louis." Courtney knocks before opening the door. "You said you wanted to see me?"
She manoeuvres around the door before noticing the woman sitting by the desk. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." She smiles apologetically. "I'll just wait outside-"
"It's fine, Courtney." He calls her back in. "Have a seat. Ms Johnson was just about to leave." He turns back to his guest. "I'm sorry, but I don't think any of the students would be interested in a space internship at the moment. We've had quite a busy year last year, and I think everyone would enjoy a more quiet one this year."
"I understand, Louis." She nods at him. "Just let me know of anyone is interested in joining. It would be a great opportunity for them-"
"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I know who would be a perfect candidate for a space internship." Courtney cuts in, intriguing both the adults. "Leo Cruz."
Both Ms Johnson and Louis take a moment, each contemplating the possibility of Leo taking the offer.
"I think I've almost got it." Max tells Daniel as he drops a blue solution over the ink splotches. "All I need to do is rub it in, then the ink will dissolve. It may take a while though depending on the ink's concentration and components."
Daniel nods, watching as the ink began to disperse and figures start to form beneath the blue liquid.
"Leo." Ms Johnson approaches the boy as he comes down the stairs. "Congratulations, you've been selected to join a space internship program at NASA. You should be very proud of yourself."
Leo looks on in shock, heart palpitating with excitement. "Really?"
"Daniel..." Max nudges him with his elbow, trying to rouse the Eagle from his nap. "Daniel, the letter's clear."
The boy gets up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before he catches sight of the letter, new numbers now on display. "My guess is, they're your father's phone number and address." Max tells him, carefully brushing the liquid off the paper. "The line may be disengaged though. It has been at least 12 years."
Daniel just nods, hurriedly dialling the number on his Louie. "Dad?"
"Ravens." Courtney stands in the middle of the room, clapping her hands to get their attention. "May I present to you, the newest candidate of a NASA Space Internship Program, Leo Cruz."
Everyone erupts into applause, cheering on their captain. "Congratulations, Leo." Courtney gives him a big hug, just as the door opens.
"Hi."