"Mindy's laugh snapped them all out of it" Jackson said "I got Flinch to throw me at the beam, so the magnet at the tip pulled the nanobytes out of my braces and smashed the machine"

Jackson was telling his father and brother everything. From his days as the king of Nathan Hale to his new start as a nerd. Discovering the secrets of the school and it's people. Stumbling upon the N.E.R.D.S. and becoming one of them. The training, the missions, the discovery that he wasn't popular but a bully, everything. He had just gotten past the part with Heathcliff's betrayal

"Jigsaw's device and lair were destroyed" Jackson said "Heathcl...Simon and Dumb Vinci's bodies were never found"

Jackson's father was in a state of stunned silence, while his brother couldn't stop asking questions

"What about Mindy?" he asked "What happened to her?"

Jackson sighed "She works with the N.E.R.D.S. now" he said sadly "On some top secret project that I don't know about. So she's gone, and I won't see her again for a long time"

Chaz had a wide smile on his face "I just can't believe it" he said "My kid brother got himself a girlfriend before I did. I don't know if I should be jealous or proud"

Jackson blushed a bit "She's not my girlfriend" he muttered

"Stop being modest, she's totally your girlfriend " he said "You like her, don't you?"

Jackson hesitated for a moment but answered "Yeah, but I'm not exactly sure she feels the same way about me"

Miles away at a shopping mall in some other state

Mindy only had a few hours to spare at the mall before she got back to work. Besides buying new clothes and shoes, she wanted a few magazines. She was reading one with a list of traits for your ideal guy. Or at least she was before she sneezed, effectively soaking the magazine she was reading.

"Gross" she thought as she wiped her nose "Someone must be talking about me"

She put the magazine back and pulled a dry copy off the rack. She flipped to the page she was reading before

"Your ideal guy" she read "So many choices"

There was a long list of traits in the magazine. She went down the list, making mental notes

"Handsome" she thought "Blond hair, blue eyes, not too tall, athletic, dazzling smile..."

She stopped and added her own trait "Horrible braces" she thought

She felt her face get warmer as she thought about the boy she left behind. He was a nerd, but she had to admit he was cute. Without those disgustingly huge braces, he'd probably be even cuter. Oh who was she kidding, she liked him even with that giant erector set sticking out of his face. She put the magazine back on the rack, and pulled a somewhat creased photo from her pocket. It was of a boy with a ridiculously large set of braces, smiling widely revealing the metal workings that filled his mouth.

"Jackson" she thought as she gazed longingly into the photo

She always looked at that photo when she thought about him, or when she missed him. But how she had managed to get a hold of that picture was a mystery known only to her.

Back in Arlington

"I thought that I could handle the job along with school and my personal life" Jackson said biting back a yawn "But I couldn't do it. I can't figure out how they make it look so easy"

His father pinched the bridge of his nose, no wonder Jackson had fallen behind in school. He had told him the truth, but it sounded ridiculous at the time. Jackson had never lied to him before, he actually felt a bit ashamed for not believing his son. Mr Jones motioned for Jackson to continue

"After we came back to the Playground, I made a decision" Jackson said "To get out while I still can"

"So you quit?" Chaz asked

"Pretty much" Jackson said with a nod "Until I can fix myself at least. The others are good spies and can still get good grades. If they can do it, then so can I"

"I can't believe you could just walk away from being a spy" Chaz said

"It's not forever" Jackson said "But it will be until I can get my grades back up. After that, I plan on re-joining"

"But your principal said that you've already flunked the fifth grade" Chaz said "So it wouldn't matter if...

"I don't believe that" Jackson said interrupting his brother "I don't care what Dehaven says, I don't think could've failed the whole grade in just three months. I don't care if I have to make straight A's or go to summer school to pass, I'm not giving up now"

Jackson looked at his father. Mr Jones looked over at Chaz and said

"I need to speak with your brother...alone"

That tone of voice meant he was only going to tell you once, so Chaz zipped out of the livingroom. But not before giving Jackson a thumbs up and an approving smile. They sat there in silence until his father said loudly

"I don't need any more spies in the house"

The next sound they heard was a pair of feet going up the stairs and a door closing. Jackson held back a small laugh. Chaz wanted to listen in on the conversation, but their father wasn't going to have it. He looked over at his son with a sad, tired, expression. So Jackson decided to start off

"I want to say I'm sorry" he said "I shouldn't have been hiding all of this from you"

His father didn't say anything, so he continued

"I know how you like to be connected to us" Jackson said "And we always had sports. But since my braces kept me from joining the football team I...I didn't think you'd be interested in me"

His father's expression became even sadder. A lump formed in Jackson's throat, making it harder for him to speak "Even now, it's kind of hard to talk to you" he said "Unless it has something to do with football, I'm really not sure what to say"

Before he knew it, tears were falling "I...I guess I was scared" Jackson managed to work out "I've been too scared to talk to you...about anything else"

His father got out of his chair and slowly made his way toward Jackson. More tears fell and his nose ran "Football was all I had in common with you" he said through the sobs and wet sniffles "Ever since Mom..."

Jackson didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because his father had wrapped him in a

warm, strong armed hug.

"I'm sorry" he told his son "I'm so sorry for not believing you"

Jackson couldn't believe what he was hearing. If he couldn't feel his father's arms around him, he'd have thought that he was dreaming.

"It's not your fault that we don't connect" he said "It's all mine, and I'm sorry for that. Losing your mother has been hard for all of us. But I want you to know that I'm proud of you. And after hearing all of this...I've never been prouder"

More tears slipped from Jackson's eyes. His lips quivered as they formed into a smile "Thanks dad" he choked out

The warmth and strength of his father's arms around him calmed him down. All the stress and frustration that Jackson held inside seemed to dissolve. For the first time in weeks, Jackson felt relaxed. So relaxed, that he drifted to sleep in his fathers arms right then and there. His father picked him up and headed toward his room, where he found Chaz waiting by Jackson's door

"Don't tell me he's asleep" Chaz said "I still had more questions I wanted to ask him"

His father walked past him, placed Jackson into his bed, and quietly left the room.

"And I thought high school was tough" Chaz said to his father "I never saved the world when I was in elementary school"

His father sighed "I feel tired just listening to him" he said

"So what now?" Chaz asked

"He could use a break from all this" Mr Jones said "So I'll keep him from school tomorrow. He can pick up where he left off the next day"

"So you aren't sending him to military school?" Chaz asked

"No" his father said "I can tell that he means what he says. He intends to give it his all back at Nathan Hale, and I won't stop him""And besides...

He cracked the door to Jackson's room, watching his son sleep for a few seconds before quietly closing the door.

"He's got a pretty important job waiting for him" he finished

The Next Day

It was free period, and the nerd herd was in their usual spot. Quietly reading in the library, the only sound was the clicking of computer keys from Ms Holiday's desk, and the occasional wheeze and inhaler sound from Matilda. They were all thinking the same thing, but Duncan was the first one to speak.

"I wonder where Jackson is?" Duncan said getting everyone's attention

"Maybe he's sick" Flinch suggested as he pulled out a pack of chocolate cupcakes "We were at the North Pole, maybe he caught a cold"

Ruby snorted "You know, in Japan they say idiots can't catch colds" she said

"Just lay off of him" Duncan said annoyance lacing his words

"Relax, I'm only teasing" she said with a sigh "And he's not even here for me to tease him"

"It's so unfair" Matilda said "I finally convinced the Lunch Lady to give me a watermelon and he's not even here for Combat Practice"

"I hope he's alright" Flinch asked

"It's not that big a deal" Ruby said turning a page in her book

"What do you mean?" Flinch asked

"So what if Jackson's absent today?" Ruby asked "It's not the end of the world, I don't really think it's any big deal"

As she got disapproving looks from the three other nerds, Ruby moved her hand away from her book and rubbed at her nose "Darn it" she complained

"What's wrong" Duncan asked

"I..." she began before she gasped a few times "I have to...sneeze...but..." She rubbed at her nose again "It's stuck...in my nose"

Duncan looked over at Ruby curiously "Hang on" he said "You don't want to know where Jackson is?"

"No" Ruby said

The itching in her nose intensified. The urge to sneeze was growing, but the sensation was still lodged in the back of her sinuses. She continued rubbing her nose, trying to force the itch to trigger the stuck sneeze, but to no avail. Duncan folded his arms aver his chest as he continued

"So you aren't the least bit concerned about Jackson?" Duncan asked

"I..." she began "I couldn't care less"

Ruby's throat and nostrils itched and burned. Her eyes watered and her nose ran, spilling thick goo down over her upper lip. She started sniffling and wiping her nose on her sleeves to soak the mucus up, but she ran out of clean space fairly quickly.

"Just tell the truth sweetie" said a soothing voice

Ruby looked up to see Ms Holiday, holding a box of tissues out to her. She grabbed a few and started wiping her nose.

"There's nothing wrong with worrying about your teammates" Ms Holiday said "It shows that you're a good leader. It shows that you care"

The itch in her nose was becoming unbearable, so she came out with it.

"I wish I knew where he is" Ruby "And I hope he's OK"

It was like pulling the trigger of a gun. She held the tissues to her nose as a series of wet, throaty sneezes burst out. No longer held back by her stubborn refusal to share how she truly felt.

"Now was that so hard?" Ms Holiday asked

Ruby blew her nose and grumbled quietly as she got semi-smug looks from the other nerds.

"You need not worry about Jackson" Ms Holiday said "I was in the office this morning and I overheard a call to the secretary. Jackson's father is just keeping him home today"

"I hope he's alright" Duncan asked

"So do I" Matilda said coughing a few times before using her inhaler "I don't like taking it easy during Combat Training, but I don't want to wail on a sick kid"

There was a look of sadness on Ms Holiday's face, but she quickly removed it as the nerd herd looked up at her. As she turned around, Ruby watched her walk back to her desk

"Anything seem strange to you guys?" she asked her friends

"About what?" Flinch asked as he sucked the remaining chocolate residue off the cupcake wrapping

"About Ms Holiday" Ruby said "She seems...I dunno... kinda sad"

The other nerds looked at the librarian, she wasn't her usual cheerful self. She stared at her computer screen with a blank expression, typing a lot more slowly than normal. Ruby motioned to the group and they walked to her desk. Upon closer inspection, they could see a small pile of used, crumpled tissues around her computer

"Are you OK Ms Holiday" Matilda asked

She looked a bit surprised "Why do you ask?" she asked

"You seem kind of down" Flinch said

"And it's obvious you've been crying about something" Duncan said

"And it's just as obvious that it's got something to do with our missing teammate" Ruby said "So what's wrong? Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Well..." she began "It's...you see...um..."

Ms Holiday didn't want to lie. Oh sure, she was a good enough to fool Ruby's allergies. But she didn't like lying to kids, especially not the nerd herd. She didn't have the heart to tell them about Jackson's decision to quit N.E.R.D.S. But she didn't have the heart to lie to them either. But she didn't have to, because the bell rang at that moment.

"There's the bell" Ms Holiday said "You better get to class now"

The nerds turned and walked out of the library. But when Ms Holiday was out of earshot, they began to talk amongst each other.

"She knows something that we don't" Matilda said

"And whatever it is, it involves Jackson" Flinch added

"Why would she want to hide anything from us?" Duncan asked

"I don't know about you" Ruby said "But I'm more interested in"what" she's hiding"

Well what do you know, the nerd herd cares about Jackson, that's a shock. So they're going to learn the truth tomorrow when Jackson comes back to school. How will they react? Only one way to find out, come back for the next chapter.

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