Set Post-Movie

"Jack, this is all your fault!" Said Jamie as soon as Jack touched down on the driveway.

"Hello to you too." He returned, scrutinizing the fuming ten year old. He leaned on his staff. "You're probably right though. It usually is." He continued. "What have I done now?"

"You made me fail my test!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it. I actually fail to see how I'm responsible for that."

"Well," said Jamie, gesturing for Jack to follow him into the house. He complied, the feeling of using the door a little new to him. "Remember back to the beginning of the week." Jamie commanded. They made their way up the stairs. "What did we do Monday?"

"Made a snowman army consisting of three generals, seven soldiers, two assassins, and a nurse."

"There were eight soldiers, but close enough. And Tuesday?"

"Started a town wide snowball fight that turned into tag that turned into capture the flag." They both stopped as they remembered the chaos from that day. Jamie looked back at him. "...that turned into mayhem." Jack added. Jamie nodded in approval.

"Wednesday,"Jack began unbidden, "We built an igloo." They entered Jamie's room and shut the door behind them. "We had to sacrifice nine army personnel in the name of having enough snow." Jamie had crossed to his desk and grabbed a piece of paper off of it.

"And today is Thursday." Finished the younger boy. "The day we had a really important test in language arts that I forgot to study for. Thanks to you."

"Hey, maybe I did make it snow almost every day this week so we'd have fresh stuff to play in, and maybe I did propose all of those games, and maybe I did... drag you away from your desk... a couple times..." Jack trailed off. It was mostly Jamie's fault for not studying, but he figured he wasn't totally innocent either. He changed tactics. "Who cares. Its just one test, right?"

"This test was our final. It's worth forty percent of our grade." Jack winced.

"Well," he tried, "one bad grade on a report card isn't going to kill you, right? We'll just be more careful next time." Jamie was already shaking his head in disagreement.

"It's the rule. If I get lower than a C on my report card, I get grounded." He shivered in horror at the thought. Jack also blanched, turning paler than usual for a moment.

"You mean... I helped doom you to an indoor prison for who knows how long during the most amazing season of the year?" Jack looked like he might fall over. "What am I gonna do all day if you get grounded?!"

Jamie threw his hands up. "What are you gonna do all day? What am I gonna do all day!? We don't even have cable!" He closed his eyes and took a breath. "We don't need to panic just yet." He soothed. "Tomorrow is Friday. Make up test day. If I do better the second time, my teacher will keep that score and chuck the old one."

"Then what are you talking to me for?! Get studying!"

Jamie shook his head, handing the paper he had been holding to Jack. "It's way to late for simply studying to help us. We need to come up with a plan." It did appear to be pretty bad. It was a fifty question test with twenty five multiple choice, fifteen fill in the blank, and ten paragraph responses. All were centered around grammar or spelling.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Asked Jack, handing the test back to Jamie. He held it by the corner, as if it were some kind of dangerous parasite.

Jamie set it back on the desk. "I have a plan." He began, a mischievous smile that rivaled Jacks own spreading his lips upward. "I call it operation ICE. Or, I Cheat Effectively. As long as I have your help, of course. Jack considered this proposition, then took a moment to weigh his moral code against the possibility of being bored for who knows how long if Jamie got grounded. He flopped onto the bed, ready for his tactical briefing.

"I'm in."

oOo

"Okay, Caleb, Claude and Monty are all in different classes from mine. Cupcake is out of town. Here's how you're gonna get the answers to me. These are my notes." He handed the papers to Jack, who yawned and gazed at them blearily. He wasn't used to being up this early. They were standing outside Burgess Elementary a few minutes before the bell would ring. "This is actually going to be really simple. Just stick them inside your hoodie so that they'll be invisible too. Read the test questions over my shoulder, find the answer in my notes, then read it to me."

"Kay." Replied Jack, shoving the papers in his pocket. The bell rang and Jamie headed towards the main doors. Jack followed him in and found a spot to hang out in near the back of the classroom.

Two hours later, Jack was absolutely certain that school was the most horrific thing he'd ever had to watch children endure. They sighed, and stared longingly out the windows. When they tried to talk and have fun, they were scolded and told to raise their hands before speaking. Back when he was human, he remembered some of the villages richer families sending their children to school. He only now understood what he had barely escaped.

By the time first recess rolled around, he was ready to bolt for the doors with all of the other children. He reluctantly restrained himself when he remembered that he was Jamie's only chance at gaining freedom. He stood, stretched, then sauntered over to where the younger boy was distastefully receiving his make-up test from his teacher.

"Do your best." Mrs. Woodsworth reminded him, a little unnecessarily, Jack thought.

"We will." Jamie said under his breath. He looked up at Jack trustingly. Jack read the first question. Identify the predicate in the following sentence, then circle the corresponding letter.

Jack looked over the notes. He chuckled. Easy as pie. "The answer is C." He whispered. He knew that Jamie was the only one that could hear him, but it seemed appropriate. This continued for another fifteen minutes. Jack glancing in his hoodie, picking out the right answers, then relaying them to Jamie.

They were three quarters of the way through the test when disaster struck. "Underlying clause..." Muttered Jack, leafing through the notes. "Oh. It's-" He broke off as something shifted inside his hoodie. He slapped at his chest, trying to catch the two pages of notes that were sliding towards the ground. He missed, and both pages slid down his body, out the bottom of his hoodie. Jamie saw what was happening and made a mad grab for them, only to slam his knee against the top of the desk. He gasped in pain. Mrs. Woodsworth looked up from the papers she was grading at the noise. Jack winced when she caught sight of the papers settling on the floor. Her eyebrows rose behind her glasses. She walked over to Jamie's desk.

"Jamie Bennett, those papers look a lot like the notes we took last Wednesday." Jamie grimaced. "The ones I told you to study with." She continued dangerously. "But not to use during the test."

"I can explain-" he started.

"To your mother? " she cut him off. "That's a relief. Because I really didn't want to. I don't know what your family rule is, but I got grounded when I got caught cheating." Jamie glared over his shoulder. Jack avoided eye contact.

"I'm going to need that test back. Also, I would love it if I could talk to you after school. The recess bell is about to ring."

"Sure." Replied the boy glumly. She took the test depositing it into the trash bin on the way to her desk. Jamie looked up at Jack until the winter sprite met his gaze.

"You're fired." He whispered.

oOo

"Got any fours?" Asked Jack after analyzing his cards carefully.

"Go fish."

"How about sevens?" He asked, frowning.

"You can't ask again. Go fish."

"I don't want a fish! I want a set of four!" He whined. "Cut me break, this would be my sixteenth loss in a row!"

"And who suggested we play Go Fish?"

"Me..."

"And who got us grounded with their butter fingers? For twice as long as normal, I might add."

"In my defense, cheating is wrong anyway. You should have just studied."

Jamie snorted. "So glad you came to terms with the angel inside you."

"Yup. So about those sevens..."

"Here. Take your sevens." Jamie said, flipping them to Jack in exasperation. The guardian of fun frowned,. With an attitude like that, it was going to be a long two weeks. He shook his head as he watched Jamie sulk. A long two weeks indeed.

A/N: here is my reaction to yesterday's reviews.

Review: Did Jack ever help Jamie cheat on a test?

Me: ...I MUST WRITE.

So, in short, a BIG thank you to the guest reviewer that sent in all of those suggestions! I am considering all of them carefully, but this one really jumped out at me. Thank you so much to everyone that reads and reviews! I am so glad none of you can see me as I read them. I look like an absolute whack job, squealing... Smiling like a goof. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I hope to include more of the guardians in the next one.

-Mariah