~ I worked all weekend on this, so I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for any mistakes, I kinda rushed. Read, review and enjoy! ~
Sinead stared at her ceiling, loath to get up. Her alarm had buzzed at six fifteen, so she could afford to relax.
She knew that Cahill School would be a cinch compared to Harvard, but she worried about all the Cahills together in one place. Eventually, there would be fighting or something would explode.
As she rolled over, the light from the alarm clock caught her eye. It was six twenty. She groaned and sat up. She grabbed the clothes she had picked out the night before and retreated into the bathroom. Once again she had to marvel at the bathroom. The white tiled floor and marble countertop went perfectly with the gold trim around the room. Sinead was surprised to see that all her usual shampoos and conditioner had been brought over from the guest house, where she had taken her shower yesterday.
She left the bathroom feeling refreshed. She checked the clock again and was pleased to see getting ready had only taken her twenty minutes. She went to her school bag and rifled through her folders and binders to make sure she wasn't missing anything. She had added gadgets all over it, such as lock picks in the zipper or the climbing rope in the straps.
After she was sure she was ready, she stretched and opened the door. She wasn't surprised that no one else was up yet. Breakfast wasn't until seven thirty, so she had a half an hour. She padded down the stairs and turned into her work room. After Sinead had destroyed the living room, Amy had converted a spare room into a lab that wouldn't explode if a level five hurricane blew through.
She went straight to the cub board and brought out her new idea to replace folders and binders. It was a touch tablet for taking notes. It had a full size keyboard on the screen and folders for each subject. Each folder had a place for homework and notes. The homework folder could be directly linked to the teacher's computer, so once your homework was finished in could be sent immediately. There was even an icon to view your current grades. This way, the only time they needed to use paper was for tests. The tablets also had extended battery life and took up less energy to run it. She had completed the first one; she just had to make sure the internet was working. She was giving the first one to Amy, as Amy gave her the idea.
She knew it would take only a few hours for each, now that the prototype was done and Ned and Ted could help her. Why, they could have the rest done in four days if they worked really hard! She already had all the parts, so she just had to put them together.
She grinned as the internet hooked up immediately. The tablet was ready for action. Which, she figured looking at her watch, should be about now. There was one more thing to take care of how ever. She walked over to cardboard box that she ordered yesterday. She opened it and pulled out a black cover with the Madrigal symbol on the back. She slipped it on and tucked in her bag.
This time when she noticed the doors were still all shut, she was surprised. She ran to Ted's room. She knocked and when no one answered, she walked in to find Ted still asleep. She crossed to his bed and shook him awake.
"Wah?" he mumbled, swatting away her hand.
"Ted, wake up. Breakfast is ready." His shot open.
"Really?" he sat up.
"I'm not sure," she admitted, "but I need you to wake up Dan and Ian." He groaned.
"What if Ian stabs me with a poison dart or something?" Sinead rolled her eyes.
"You'll live."
"That's the point! I won't!" Even as he said this though, he was rolling out of bed. She left and repeated the same process with Ned. After getting him to promise to wake up Jonah and Hamilton, she walked back into the hall. All the girls except Reagan and Madison were already waiting.
"Hello everyone," Ian greeted the group as he walked out. Sinead was surprised to see a blush creeping onto Amy's face as she returned the greeting.
Eventually everyone emerged from their rooms. They straggled down the stairs to find Nellie and Fiske already feasting on pancakes. The boys immediately sat down and started wolfing the breakfast down, with the exception of Ian, who stared in disgust at his plate. Sinead sighed as she watched Dan notice his discomfort and pour half the bottle of the syrup bottle on Ian's plate. Nora quickly grabbed the bottle before it was empty. Amy sat down next to Sinead.
"Dan will be the death of me, I swear," Amy muttered. Sinead laughed at Amy's expression.
"Oh, Amy, remember a few weeks ago when you wished you had a computer for school? Here." Sinead pulled out the tablet and handed it to her. Amy took it and looked it over. She looked at Sinead in awe.
"You made this for me?" Sinead nodded. "It's amazing!"
"The power button is here." Amy pressed a button on the side and the screen flickered to life.
"Amy Cahill?" an automated voice droned. Amy turned to Sinead, startled.
"Just say yes to confirm." Sinead prodded.
"Yes," Amy told the computer.
"Please place your hand on the screen," the voice continued. Amy did so and the computer scanned her hand. By now everyone was watching. "Confirmed. Welcome Amy."
"Well, Miss Inventor, care to show me what it does?" Amy asked Sinead, still shocked.
Sinead proceeded to show her the school folders and icons. "That's it for school stuff, but I installed a few other things. There is a camera a microphone for taking pictures and videos, recording messages, or video chat. To turn the camera infrared, you push this button. The internet is connected to the Gideon. A document on the tablet contains passwords to all the branch databases." Ian started to protest, but Dan stopped him.
"You can get games and music too. There is a code breaker and electric pulses that will shock an enemy. It also has some normal applications like a calculator and GPS."
"Since when do normal computers have GPS?" Dan interjected.
"They should." Sinead stated. "And last but not least the chat room. That chat room is set up so only Cahills can use it. You can also change the setting. Most of the time, it will be on normal. That is for homework or just chatting. But I installed urgent setting. If you press that our tablet will flash red no matter what the battery charge and an alarm will go off. It also uses our GPS to track where you are so we can find you."
"What do you mean 'our tablets'?" Hamilton interrupted.
"You think I would only make two for Amy and me?" she demanded." Ned and Ted are going to help me make more. Any questions on the tablet?" The questions didn't come from Amy, but from everyone else. One question rang above the others.
"What can we do to help?" Everyone turned to Hamilton. "If you guys are making twelve, we should help a little." Sinead thought for a moment.
"Yeah, that would be nice. Anyone who wants to help come to my workshop after school."
"Speaking of school," Nellie interrupted, "you guys will be late if you don't hurry. Tomas class is by the pool." Everyone grabbed their bags and ran.
"Welcome!" boomed the teacher. "I'm Mr. Sanchez. I'll be your Tomas teacher." Hamilton, Reagan and Madison gasped.
"Mateo Sanchez? The soccer star who led his team to three championships straight?" Hamilton almost shouted. Mr. Sanchez nodded, pleased.
"OK, team. I have you forty minutes. So let's start with four laps around the yard. Go on." Everyone reluctantly started running. That is, besides the Holts, who started racing each other. Sinead fell in step with Amy. Because of their training, they were only a few yards behind the Holts. They kept pace with each other. When they finished, the Holts were still bursting with energy and everyone else was still running.
"Hamilton, can you go hurry them along?" Mr. Sanchez asked.
"Sure!" He eagerly dashed to the end of the line and started hounding Nora and Natalie. Amy turned to Mr. Sanchez.
"Will we ever have notes, homework or tests in this class?" Sinead doubted it.
"Not often," he replied, confirming her suspicions. "Any notes will be on form or Tomas files I decide to show you. Homework will be physical, along with tests. You might get one or two written tests throughout the year." Sinead's muscles groaned at the thought. Maybe this won't be as easy as it appears.
After more laps, pushups, sit-ups, crunches, leg and arm lifts than she had ever done in her life, the class was drawing to a close.
"Gang, tomorrow we'll be swimming after a lap round the yard. When you get here, run a quick lap and be ready to get wet. Wait for me before you get in the water." Everyone quickly noticed this on their agendas or, in Amy's case, tablet.
Everyone jumped when a single bell sounded throughout the grounds. While following Mr. Sanchez's directions to the English room, Sinead found herself walking next to Hamilton. There was an awkward silence for a minute.
"What will you need me to do later?" he eventually asked.
"You're good with computers right?" he nodded. "So help putting parts together, checking for kinks, stuff like that." She soon got caught up in the conversation. They were talking about new innovations in computers as they reached to door. As Sinead crossed the threshold her foot caught on the step and she felt herself falling. She remembered her classes with Amy and twisted to land on her back. Hamilton quickly dropped to his knees as she hit the ground.
"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"Fine," she gasped through clenched teeth. "Just tripped." He offered his hand and she grabbed it. He pulled and she used the force to pull herself up. She only noticed how close she was after she caught her breath. When she looked up, his concerned face made her smile. It amazed her how much taller he was then her. She suddenly noticed that he was still holding her hand. He looked down and let go of her hand, but didn't move back.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep," she replied, trying to sound confident. "See?" She took a step and crumpled down. He grabbed her before she hit the floor.
"Here, lean on me." She laid arm around his neck and he an arm around her back. He helped her walk off the sprain. She was fine by the time they reached English.
"Thanks," she said as they walked inside. They sat down at the two remaining desks.
"What took you so long?" Amy hissed as the teacher walked in. Sinead waved her off.
"Later," she mouthed.
"Hello class!" the teacher called. She was a perky blonde woman. "I'm Mrs. Evans." Sinead watched Amy stiffen. "This year is just to insure that you can get through to collage. Though, you are Cahills. You should have no problem." Sinead's eyebrows rose as she realized this woman was a Cahill. "I'm a Janus, for you young ones who were wondering. This year's first assignment will be a report on the nonfiction book that I'm going to place on your desk. You will have tomorrow and Wednesday to work in class. The report is due before class Thursday. For today's class we will go over the guidelines for the year." The teacher continued to talk as she handed out the books. Sinead was thrilled to see that she had gotten a book on future inventions. This would be easy. As she looked around the room, Natalie had gotten a book on Gucci, Dan on ninjas and even rapping for Jonah. She smiled at Amy's face as she got a book on libraries. Amy was defiantly warming up to Mrs. Evans.
Reagan was glad she had gotten a book on ballet, but it was so long. At least Mrs. Evans said the report didn't have to be too long.
Janus class was next. They wandered the halls until Ian noticed the Janus crest on the wall next to the class.
She had hardly sat down next to Madison when a young woman bustled in. She looked too young to be a teacher. "Hey guys. I'm Lan Nguyen, but you can call me Lan."
"Even though you're a teacher?" Ned called out. She smiled.
"Nah, I'm just the person Cora decided to send. I was thinking we could start with posters for your rooms. There are materials in the cabinet by the corner. Have fun." Everyone grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing. Twenty minutes later Lan was helping Dan with his ninja star and Madison was adding the finishing touch to her drawing.
"What do you think of my soccer ball?"
"That's what that is? I thought it was a polka dotted pillow," Reagan laughed. Madison elbowed her. So, of course, Reagan elbowed her back.
After spilled glitter, broken paintbrushes, and splattered ink, Hamilton was ready to rest. Why didn't they just fill paint and glitter and shoot that at the Vespers? It would work just as well!
Lunch was macaroni and cheese, homemade by Nellie. Thankfully, she far sight to make two pans. By the time lunch was over, the pans and plates were all scraped clean. Even Natalie and Ian had seconds. Hamilton started talking to Jonah about the classes.
"How was the Janus better than the Tomas?" Hamilton asked horrified. "No one was injured in Mr. Sanchez's class!"
"I don't know. My legs are disagreeing with that statement." Jonah said standing up. "Come on yo, we'll be late."
"How are you not preforming any concerts? If you're living here…" he trailed off.
"I probably will have to leave for the weekends and stuff. We'll deal somehow. My dad's got everything under control." They returned to the same room for as English for math.
A gruff man shuffled in. "I'm Professor Higgins. Please place these notes into your binders." Hamilton watched Sinead show Amy how to scan the paper onto her tablet as Professor Higgins passed out the papers. He turned to the notes and was relieved to see fractions. He peered closer and frowned. There were numbers and letters added in! He was confused already.
After the math course, Ian sighed. He stood up and walked to the door across from the Janus room, with the Lucian crest next to it. He had been distracted all day. He had almost kissed her. She was so sweet, so shy, so lovely. Why hadn't he? Deep down, he knew the answer. If she hadn't forgiven him after Evan, she probably wasn't going to forgive him. He decided the best thing to do was to let her decide. If she wanted him, he would be there. It wasn't the most Kabra thing to do, but he could live with that.
He was so deep in thought he almost ran into someone.
"Watch where you're go- Alana? Is that you?" The Lucian nodded at him.
"Ian. It's nice to see you," she replied stiffly.
"The same to you," he said in a curt tone. He looked around. "Are you our Lucian teacher?"
"Yes, I am. I'm sure you will excel in this course."
"Of course." He sat down in the middle of the desks. He didn't want to admit it, but Alana scared him a little bit. The rest of the class filed in. Natalie was much more excited to see Alana than he was.
"Well class, I am Ms. Flores. First in Lucian class we will work on code breaking." She explained a few simple codes before handing out papers. "Complete these and compare with a neighbor." A few minutes later, Ian finished and switched with Natalie. He skimmed it and, of course, it was all correct. By the time everyone else finished however, he was on the third chapter of his book for English. Alana took the papers back and handed them a different packet, with fifteen different problems.
"This is due tomorrow. No excuses," she told them. Ian knew that all the homework would be done.
Victor Wood was already mixing things when Sinead walked into the Ekat room. It was almost an exact replica of her workroom. She walked up to him. "What are you working on?" she asked, curious. He removed his lab goggles before replying.
"Don't know. I'm just mixing stuff," he responded. The test tube's liquid began to bubble. "Hit the ground!" Victor and Sinead both ducked as the potion exploded. Amy rushed in with the rest of the class behind her.
"Everything's fine guys," Sinead assured them. After they sat down the class took the same pattern as the others. They started working on inventing once the talking was done. She gained permission from Mr. Wood to use the tablets as her project.
Study hall was in the living room. Ian and Amy sat next to each other on the couch, with him explaining the codes. Jonah, Nora, Reagan, Madison, Ned and Ted were all reading in beanbags. Natalie was seated in a red chair by the TV, also working on codes. Dan was making paper airplanes and throwing them at Natalie. Sinead noticed Hamilton staring blankly at a piece of paper. She walked over to him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, easing herself down next to him.
"I'm trying to think of something for Ekat class," he explained. She nodded, then thought of something and jumped up.
Mr. Wood was still in the class when she ran in.
"Mr. Wood, could Hamilton Holt help me with the tablets as his project too?" He thought as he added another chemical.
"That Tomas? Why?" She shrugged.
"He's good with computers, and he already offered to help me before class." Mr. Wood nodded.
"Why not? If you finish early though, you might think of making them for the teachers as well, if you are both working on it."
"Thanks!" she called as she jogged back to the living room. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard an explosion behind her.
"This is great!" Hamilton enthused. "Thanks Sinead."
"No problem. I'm going to work you like a dog though," she warned him.
"I can live with that." He pulled out the completed codes and walked into the Lucian room. Mrs. Flores looked up.
"Yes?" He swallowed before responding.
"I finished this and wanted to turn it in." She took it from him.
"Thank you Hamilton. You may go." He couldn't get out fast enough.
Amy sat down, wondering who the Madrigal trainer would turn out to be. She was technically the leader, but she hadn't met many of the agents. Five minutes after the class had supposed to start, Nellie walked in.
"Hey kiddos."
"Nellie? You're our teacher?" Dan's voice was edged with excitement and disbelief.
"Yep. So today, we are working on teamwork. Form two groups. Dan, Amy separate groups." Neither asked why and went to opposite sides of the room. Dan's group consisted of Natalie, Ned, Ted, Reagan and Madison. Ian, Sinead, Hamilton, Nora and Jonah had all went to Amy's group. Nellie explained the rules.
"You must try to get the other team the wettest," she explained. They sent her confused looks and she elaborated. "You are having a water balloon fight. Each team gets twenty balloons. The team that gets the wettest loses. You cannot hit your teammates," she said, sending a meaningful glance at Natalie and Dan. She led the kids outside.
"Alright, you have five minutes to set up. Grab your bucket and start when you hear the whistle.
Ian immediately took charge. "We'll put Jonah as a decoy, with the rest of us hiding in the trees."
"Hey!" Jonah exclaimed. "Why can't you be the decoy?" They both started arguing. Amy cleared her throat.
"Guys…" no one heard her over the arguing.
"Guys!" she said more forcefully. They turned. "What if we tried..."
"Target spotted," Dan whispered to his wrist. Natalie rolled her eyes, at both Dan and Jonah. Jonah was just standing there in the open. This was an awful strategy. Natalie gave Reagan the signal to go.
"Attack!" Reagan screamed. They pelted Jonah with water, but soon saw balloons flying at them from all directions.
"It's a trap!" Natalie gasped through the water. "Jonah was a decoy!"
"Team, how many balloons left?" Dan called. Everyone was out. "Just run around and try to dodge them. No sense in prolonging this any further." Dan's team valiantly tried not get wet but failed.
As the other team slid down the trees, Dan picked up a water balloon that had not popped when it had hit the ground… and threw it at Natalie. When she glared at him, he shrugged.
"Might as well. We already lost." The opposing team surrounded them, but when Natalie looked Jonah was in still in the clearing. It wasn't until Jonah sauntered over and grabbed his jacket off the stick person did she realize they'd been tricked.
"You guys got pounded," Jonah said victoriously. The wet team walked sullenly back with the older kids celebrating behind them.
Thanks to everyone for reading. Please review. It helps me a lot to read your comments. Please tell me if I am OOC so I can fix it. I tried to do better with Sinead. I'll update the 18th, but I'm not sure how soon after that. I'm going through to reread and fix some mistakes. Thanks again! ~