Chapter six: No More

Eleni sat at a café near the mall sipping a hot chocolate with whipped cream and reading a thick book. But her mind was elsewhere. Artemis…wasn't he supposed to be a genius? Why did he just quit rugby and dump Collette? That would be the smart thing to do. Couldn't he see that Collette was not someone any boy should like? Her sister deserved someone who…Eleni was interrupted by a angry shout, "What?" She glanced up to see her sister and Artemis nearby.

"You quit?" she heard Collette say.

"Yes," Artemis said.

"But why?"

"Because…I didn't like it. I have more important things to do."

"I knew it! I always knew it! You're always going to be a weak, unpopular nerd!"

For a second, annoyance flashed across Artemis' face but then it was gone. "Yes, I know. And that's the way I like it."

"You jerk!" Collette yelled, storming off. Artemis dragged himself over to Eleni's table and dropped onto the chair opposite her, burying his face in his hand. He looked up at Eleni.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Eleni smiled. "Charming girl my sister is, huh?"

Artemis didn't reply but his annoyed expression gave the answer.

Eleni sipped her hot chocolate. "Yeah."

They sat in silence for a little while. Then Eleni looked up. "So you quit the rugby team."

"Yes. It just wasn't…how would I say it…"

"It wasn't you?"

"Something like that."

Eleni tried sipping her hot chocolate again but it was all gone. She held the cup upside down, shaking it. "Yeah, other stuff to do, right? Banks to rob, stuff to steal."

"Yes, I…" Artemis head jerked up. "What?"

Eleni laughed. "Yeah, I know. Don't like people knowing, huh? I'm guessing you've gone strait since you haven't pulled off a crime in, what, years.

"Wait…how did you…Collette told you?"

"You kidding? If you told her to go look your name up she'd come back to you with five pages of facts about some rare kind of pineapple that grows in the wilds of Madagascar."

"You…you mean…"

"Yeah. What you were about to say."

"Wha…" Artemis looked astonished for a moment, then laughed. "How could I not have known? It's obvious. It was right there under my nose the whole time."

"Yup, for a genius, you're pretty stupid."

Artemis frowned. Not an angry frown, but a thoughtful frown. "You know, my bodyguard said the exact same thing a little while back."

"He did, huh?"

"Yes. Say, Eleni, Saint Bartleby's next rugby game is next week. Care to join me to see how they do without me?"

Eleni smiled, the sun making her braces sparkle. "Sure."

Aww! What a nice ending! As if! Another chapter coming up folks! You're not getting out of this that easy!