7
"Homo erectus was the first hominid to control fire and make tools," Professor Teel droned. He sounded more robotic than the Autobots.
Kiara sighed through her nose and looked around. She was usually attentive and always taking notes, but today felt dull and everything was shades of gray. She wondered if she could get out early today.
She looked around, her gaze finally falling onto the paper in front of her she was supposed to be taking notes on. She picked up the pencil next to the college ruled (how appropriate) paper. She laid the pencil on the white breaking up the wood pattern of the desk and began sketching what was on her mind. Obviously, it was the Autobots.
Kiara was pretty talented at drawing. She started by sketching the Autobot symbol that the bots carried proudly on them. Then, she began to add the body, arms, and head. She became completely absorbed in the drawing.
"Alright," Professor Teel said dully, "you may compare notes for the remainder of the class." A black haired girl in front of Kiara turned around in her seat and smiled.
"Hey, Emma," Kiara said absently, finishing her doodle.
Emma glared at Kiara's paper, "What are you doing? Why weren't you taking notes?"
Kiara sighed, "My heart's not in it today, Emma."
Emma looked sympathetically at her friend, "That's okay; I'll write you a copy of mine."
Kiara smiled, "Thanks."
Emma looked down at the sketch on Kiara's paper. It showed Optimus in front with Jazz, Bulkhead, Arcee and Prowl standing behind him. "What did you draw?"
"Something that was in my head."
"They're cool."
"They are amazing."
Emma shrugged, "They're just machines, though, aren't they?"
"Yay," Kiara's voice grew dull and she wanted to end this conversation. "They're just machines," she agreed dully, though she had not thought of them as such recently.
"What are we going to do, Prime?" Ironhide asked. "We aren't dragging Hannah, Bruce, and Kiara into this war, are we?"
The Autobots were in vehicle form, heading towards their rendezvous with a government agent. Optimus took a moment before he replied. "As long as we can help it we will not let them into this war. It may not be for long, though, Ironhide."
Ironhide lapsed into silence. No other Autobots dared to think of what would happen to their human friends if they were pulled into this Cybertronian war. And no one dared asked the dreaded question: Where is Megatron?
They pulled into the abandoned parking garage and waited, engines rumbling. The door to their right opened and a man in a black suit stepped in. His hair was black and parted business-like, but his blue eyes were warm and smiling; not something usually seen during work hours.
"Hello?" he said, looking at the lineup of vehicles in the garage. "Are you who I am supposed to meet?" He looked expectantly at the car doors.
Optimus projected his voice towards the human, "We are here to ask your help, Nicholas Brunt. We need a place to stay."
His smile faltered when someone failed to appear from any of the vehicles. Even the drivers on the motorcycles hadn't moved. "Please, call me Nick. What, do you need like a house or something? I can help you with that."
Optimus paused as if he was pondering the idea. "I was thinking something, bigger." Then, he transformed right in front of Nick. The towering shape of Optimus Prime crouched down to avoid bumping into the ceiling. Nick's jaw drop open, and he felt around, trying to close it.
Nick swallowed, trying to keep his composer, "I think I can help you."
Kiara burst out of the school doors and into the warm sunlight. On the curb, engines purring softly, sat Arcee, Bumblebee, and Prowl. Kiara was the first out, so she got the first pick. She swung her leg over Prowl's seat, and pushed the helmet over her head. Hannah and Bruce came out a few minutes later, getting into Arcee and Bumblebee respectively.
They started driving away, and Kiara looked at the symbol in between the handles. "Where are we headed, Prowl?"
"A place a friend got for us," he replied, speeding into the traffic of the after school rush.