Eep! Repost, so I can post my thanks to important people! Thanks to my beta: SamayouTamash, my smarter-than-me cousin (Megan AKA Grizzle), Dave (who talks me through the writing process when I can't focus), and everyone who reviewed (and offered to beta). You guys are terrific!

There's something to be said about torturing students three times a week. This legalized agony that the teachers inflict upon us in the guise of chemistry should be outlawed. That's all there is to it. Luckily, on the slight chance that your dad is rarely in the country, you might have a doctor's appointment that just happens to be scheduled during one of the tri-weekly torture sessions. It wasn't planned that way. Honest.

…Oh, who am I kidding? I called the doctor's office to make the appointment myself.

As I listened to my teacher drag on about transmutation something-or-other, I briefly look at my watch. The minutes seemed to inch away. I blinked my way out of a stupor and put my head up, trying to tune in.

"…how radioactive decay invariably accomplishes this idea. However, transmutation was originally the idea of turning ordinary metals into gold, which was only accomplished a while ago at a California university, but the cost of the project severely outweighed the amount of gold produced."

I watched as he paced around the classroom, hitting his pen against his hand as he lectured to the sleeping group.

"Alchemists were looking for the philosopher's stone: a mythical stone that would supposedly turn ordinary "young" metals like iron into "mature" metals like gold."

He paused as we all became aware of a knock on the door. My head whipped around as the door opened and…my eyes widened. A huge grin split my face as Uncle Cub slipped his head in the door.

"I'm here to pick up Cassandra McMan for a doctor's appointment."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment while Mr. Grizzle stared at Alex in confusion. I guess he just didn't know my full name. I usually go by Cassie. I was about to stand up and help him out when he turned to face me and told me to get my stuff. He came over to assign the night's homework. I wrote it down, gathered my stuff, and turned to face Alex.

With most of the class awake and paying attention now, walking through them felt extremely uncomfortable. The sheer amount of eyes on me was probably more than Grizzle had ever had to deal with. From behind me, I heard "Now, don't disappear for a long time, Cassie. We wouldn't want you to suddenly succumb to Alex Rider syndrome."

Now, let me explain a little bit to the uneducated. Alex Rider was a kid who went to Brookland years ago. Around five years ago, to be precise. He was pretty normal until he lost his only relative in a car crash. Afterwards, it's been said he somewhat lost it. He started disappearing from school for weeks…even months at a time. Each time, he came back with doctors notes stating new illnesses that he had been hospitalized for. This happened for a year until finally he left and never came back. Rumor stated that he was a drug dealer who had been murdered. Or that he was in a gang and had been shot in a gang war. One person even claimed that they had seen him get shot outside of a bank that he had just finished robbing. Generally, the common consensus was that he had died…but of course, no one had proof of that. Anyway, back to the present.

As the masses guffawed, I turned around and retorted, "No, I'll definitely be back tomorrow. No unexplained illness from me. Just a routine checkup." I continued to the door. "Hey Uncle Cub!" He smiled at me, grabbed my shoulder, and we walked out of the class together.

Now, this is an ongoing issue we had, so when he asked me, "Hey kid. How's life been treating you," I was forced to retaliate with my ever present-yet-continuously-different response.

"Alright, first of all let's get this straight. I am only five years younger than you. Don't call me kid!"

"Okay, squirt." Ugh. That's it. I reached out and tried to punch his arm, but as always, he was too quick and stepped away. I crossed my arms and pouted. Turning, I hurried down the hall and into the front office. It was empty, so I made him sign me out and we walked through the doors.

As we approached the parking lot, I noticed that Alex had a new car. I gasped. "You got a new car?"

As he explained the circumstances that lead to the purchasing of this new hunk of sleekness, I circled the car and examined every crevice. Eyes wide, I whispered, "It's beautiful."

I got in and he drove me (safely, as always), to the doctor's office. After the usual check up, Alex offered to take me out for ice cream. I got my normal pecan praline crunch with a side of strange looks from Alex and he got a chocolate cone. We sat and talked for a while, catching up about school and his many vacations around the world. He seemed so care-free when he talked about the many places he had seen or visited. I think I've never seen him happier than when he talked about visiting the south of France with an old friend. It really made my average day pale in comparison.

My house was unsurprisingly empty when we got home. We sat down on the couch and watched a mindless action movie until we both heard a car pull into the driveway. Dad walked in the front door and saw Alex still sitting on the couch. After inviting him to stay for dinner, dad walked into the kitchen to figure out what was edible in the house. Eventually, I looked at the clock and realized that it was my bed time. Stating my goodbye's, I hugged my dad, pounded fists with Alex and went upstairs to get some sleep.

See you next time!

~Moldy