The bleachers of the football field were scattered with groups of students and parents. The kids were chatting lively and laughing at jokes about teachers and their flavor-of-the-week crushes. Almost all the adults were paying close attention to their own kids, who were on the field, dressed in their track and field clothes. The meet had gone well so far, the Northwood Lobos ahead of the West Mountain Yellow Jackets 4-2. Danny stood at the bottom of the bleachers, Danny leaned forward against the railing, watching the student-athletes closely. Rusty leaned against the rail as well, his back to the field, soda in his left hand.

"Which one's Yen?" Danny asked, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"He's the little Chinese guy," Rusty said, trying not to laugh. He kept his gaze trained on a group of girls halfway up the stands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Danny give him a look that said 'You've got to be kidding me'. Yen was this year's foreign exchange student, from the country of China. He had fit in well, mostly because of his willingness to try new things, such as backflipping off the gym roof and landing on his feet, and eating two dozen mystery meat steaks during lunch. The only barrier that really existed was his badly broken English, which made him almost impossible to understand. Luckily, Rusty's parents made him take Italian, Russian, Spanish and Mandarin language lessons when he was growing up, so he was really the only one in the school that understood Yen. A good example was when Yen called his physics teacher a "motherless pig" in Chinese, and Rusty was the only one that busted up laughing.

"He's lining up right now," Rusty said (in Chinese). Danny gave him another look.

Yen stretched his limbs, his black hair cut short against his scalp. Some of the other competitors wished each other good luck and the like, but Yen said nothing to anyone, not even stopping to give a friendly nod. He kept his eyes on the 100 meter dash that lay ahead of him. He had spoken with Rusty earlier about something he wanted Yen to be a part of. He said it would make Yen a legend; that sold it. And today, the Amazing Yen was focused, he wanted to impress.

Rusty turned around and faced the field now, leaning sideways against the railing. Danny was skeptical of having a foreign exchange student be a part of the pranks, but Rusty had vouched for Yen, saying he was just what they were looking for. "Russ, I'm pretty fast on my feet, why don't I just be the runner? That was the original plan anyway,"

"Can't risk that. What if you get caught?"

"I won't,"

"Trust me, this guy is just what we need. He won't get caught," Rusty said, his drink hanging loosely in his hand.

"I told you, I won't either,"

"I don't believe you. Besides we need you elsewhere Friday night,"

The starters gun sounded and the runners sprinted down the 100 meters to the finish line.

"It doesn't look all that--" Danny said, before he cut himself off. His eyes followed Yen, his head had trouble keeping up. Yen flew down the track, finishing first. The second place student from West Mountain crossed the finish line six seconds later. The members of the crowd that were paying attention stood and cheered wildly. Rusty smiled smuggly as he took a long, satisfying sip from his soda. Danny collected himself.

"We got a runner," he said quietly.

"We got a runner!" Rusty said, as he set his drink on the rail and clapped.

-- -- --

It had been a long drive to Northwood University, but the scenery was beautiful and the campus was equally well kept. The hedges were neatly trimmed into perfect cubes and rectangles, the landscaping lush and green. The sidewalks were made of dark red bricks, to offset the light brown bricks the classes and dorms were made of. Students enjoyed themselves, playing with Frisbees and hacky sacks. Some read under the huge oak trees spead out through the large lawns. Danny loved coming here, it made him feel welcome and at home. And he knew if he wasn't such a screw up, he could be easily accepted in two years. Someday, maybe...he told himself. Danny finally made it to the student commons, situated mainly around a large, elaborate fountain. A sculpture of their mascot, the Bull, stood triumphantly surrounded by towers of water. Impressive, he thought. A cute girl reading Rand's Atlas Shrugged sat on the edge of the water.

"Excuse me," Danny said, oozing with charm, "Could you tell me where I can find the drama department,"

The girl looked up. And smiled. "It's...um, right over there," She pointed in a direction, which one, Danny wasn't quite sure. He smiled back and thanked her for her assistance. As an afterthought, he said, "Great book," She laughed, still smitten.

The auditorium was huge, dark and cold, but it got warmer the further Danny walked down the aisle. The stage lights had been on for a while, bathing the drama majors in bright white light. They were right in the middle of a duo piece, something by Shakespeare he assumed. The players were in puffy, colorful costumes. The male was confessing his love for the female, and apparently she was rejecting him. Poor guy, Danny thought. He was in the process of thinking of a way to convince the girl to give the guy a chance when applause burst from the other drama majors sitting in the front row. The two players bowed and took their leave from the stage. Danny spotted a side door and walked in.

The backstage area was filled with props and large backdrops for plays. This looked fun, Danny thought, if only he could act. Maybe he could act like he could act...The dressing room door was open, and the girl from the duo piece he just watched walked out, beaming. She was obviously happy with her performance, as she should be. Danny walked to the dressing room and leaned against the frame, crossing his arms, watching the male actor that was wiping pancake make-up from his face with a damp paper towel. It took a few seconds, but he finally saw Danny's reflection in the mirror.

"Danny Ocean?"

"Saul Bloom..." Danny said, smiling. Saul turned and returned the smile, walking across the room in his puffy, colorful costume and hugged his old friend.

-- -- --

The Stillwell Cafe was situated on the corner of the student commons, giving the customers a beautiful view of the fountain. The sun had just slipped behind the horizon, bathing the campus in a vivid orange light. Beautiful, Danny thought. But it reminded him of Tess...

"Danny, I'd love to help you, you know that..." Saul held his cup of coffee in both hands. Danny had explained his plan, and for the most part, Saul looked intreged. But the further Danny got into it, the more doubt was on the face of the drama major. "I'm too busy. I just can't right now,"

"Come on, Saul," Danny's voice was calm even though his head was filled with panic, "That's never stopped you before,"

Saul shook his head. He was only 20 and already the hair around the back of his head was disappearing. "Danny, you and me have known each other for a long time. We lived on the same street, you and Rusty were some of my best friends, we grew up together, played Little League. Even our fair share of pranks...but it's different now. I'm a sophomore in college on a full ride drama scholorship. I'm already being scouted by agents representing Broadway plays and movie studios. I've got a life now, Danny, and it's the life I've been dreaming about. I can't just give it up to help some old friends with a high school prank,"

"...Saul."

"I'm sorry Danny, I really am," Saul took a few dollars from his wallet and placed them on the table.

"No, you know what, I got it," Danny put his own money on the table and shoved Saul's money back towards him, "Now you owe me,"

"Danny, buying me a cup of coffee in exchange for another prank doesn't exactly make us even,"

Danny took one of his dollars and wrote something on the back, "We're all meeting at Rueben's house tomorrow night, I'd like you to be there,"

Saul took in a breath, "I'll see what I can do,"

Good enough for me, Danny thought. He stood up and held his hand out, which Saul took and heartily shook. Saul let out a long sigh as Danny disappeared into the commons. The waitress came back and asked if he'd like another cup, but he declined. As she took the money, Saul read what Danny had written down, expecting an address or phone number. He closed his eyes and bowed his head as he read, scrawled across the dollar in Danny's sloppy handwritting: FOR TESS.

-- -- --

It was nearing 9 o'clock when Danny returned Rusty's car. They decided to retire to the balcony of Rusty's house, which was on the southern side of Mount Agrafes and overlooked most of Northwood. The lights of South Shore could be seen off in the distance. Rusty took a sip of the fruit smoothie he had made for himself, and made a face. Maybe he should have made a milk shake for himself like he had made for Danny. They stood on the balcony, against the railing, very much like that afternoon at the football field. No one said much, just mutual contemplation.

"So, if Saul comes, that makes ten. Ten ought to do it, don't you think?" Danny asked. Rusty said nothing, continued to stare at the lights of the city below them. "You think we need we need one more?" Danny asked. More silence. "You think we need one more..." He realized what Rusty was saying without speaking.

"...Alright, we'll get one more,"

-- -- --

TUESDAY

Linus Caldwell sat in his home room class, waiting ever so patiently for the day to finally start. He wanted to go home already, and he had just gotten to school, which could be said of most kids that go to school, but for Linus it was like a torture camp. No one talked to him, he didn't know anyone, he hadn't made a single friend or held a steady conversation with anyone. He even had a difficult time asking someone for a pencil when he forgot his. Instead, he chose to turn in a blank test. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his eyes and rested his head on the desk. Just 7 hours to go...

The bang of a backpack landing on the desk in front of him jolted Linus up. It was the blond kid that sits across the room every morning. A goofy grin was plastered on his face.

"Can I help you?" Linus said, annoyed.

"I don't believe we've met, Rusty Ryan," He shook Linus' hand. "Have you made any friends yet?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Well you have now. I'm about to make your social life much, much easier," Rusty was talking fast, already writting something on the back of Linus' hand. Linus was speechless. "A few of my friends and I are getting together tonight at this address, I'd like you to come and hang out, get to know a few people,"

"Um, alright..."

"That work for you?"

"Sure!"

"Great! Don't be late and bring some chips or something. I like sour cream and onion," Rusty stood and headed back outside the room. He winked and a girl giggled and waved good bye.

"Thanks!" was all Linus could manage, as he looked at the address written on the back of his hand.

END OF CHAPTER

Coming Soon: The plan falls into motion AND Danny finally talks face-to-face with Tess