Mr Jones drove up to the school. Jackson took a breath and tightly gripped the car door handle. As he opened the door, his father put his hand on his shoulder

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mr Jones asked his son "I wouldn't blame you if you choose to wait a bit..."

"I can't improve if I don't try" Jackson said "So I'm going and that's all there is to it"

A proud smile stretched across his father's face "Alright then" he said "I'll see you at home"

Jackson hopped out of the car, gave his father a goodbye wave, and headed inside the school. He walked through the hall, dodging every kid he saw as he made his way to his locker. After he reached his locker and exchanged his books, he heard a voice

"Mr Jones, what a surprise"

Jackson looked up to see Mr Dehaven standing over him. He gave him a wide, metallic smile

"Good Morning Mr Dehaven" he said

"I must say Jackson, I wasn't expecting to see you here" the principal said "With your grades, I assumed your father would've enrolled you in military school'

"Well..." Jackson began "We had a talk and he decided to let me stick it out here"

Mr Dehaven looked a bit annoyed "What's wrong?" Jackson asked "It's not like you were...happy to see me leave...were you?"

Dehaven coughed "Of...of course not" he said "I'm...glad that...you've decided to remain at school Despite the fact that your failure is imminent"

Jackson looked at Mr Dehaven, he looked like he was trying desperately not to choke on his words and vomit them back up.

"Anything is possible, including me passing the 5th grade" Jackson said "So if I fail, at least I can say I failed trying my hardest to bring my grades back up"

Jackson checked his watch "I still have some spare time before class" he said "I might as well get some studying in"

He turned around and walked away from the principal. Even as he got further down the hall, he could practically feel the anger and disappointment pouring off Mr Dehaven. Jackson fought off the urge to do a victory dance down the hall. The urge died down when he reminded himself of what he had to do. He was still in hot water with the teachers, and wasn't popular with his classmates anymore. There was no denying that making this big a change to his life was going to be hard, but he had to keep pressing on.

"I have to keep focused" he thought "Since I'm a nerd now, I should try to avoid anything that might distract me"

Jackson was letting his legs take him where he needed to go. His mind was elsewhere, but he snapped out of it when he heard a wheezy sounding female voice say

"Leave us alone"

Jackson stopped "Oh great" he thought as he looked up

Right in front of him were seven kids. His three former friends, Steve Sarver, Ron Schultz and Brett Bealer, along with the four members of the nerd herd. Flinch was holding his hands to his ears, he was a victim of a double wet willie. Matilda had been blasted in the face with several spitballs. Ruby was yelling, tears streaming down her face. Ron was pulling her pigtails, pure delight etched on his face. Brett had pushed Duncan down and was pulling his underwear up over his shoulders. Right before his waistband reached the top of his head, Jackson shouted...

"HEY, LEAVE THEM ALONE"

Out of pure surprise, Brett let go of the nerds underwear. He smiled wickedly at Jackson

"Well, if it isn't Braceface" Brett said walking toward him

Ron and Steve began to follow him, but with a swift movement of his hand they stopped and continued tormenting the other nerds.

"Come to get a jump on your swirly?" Brett asked

"No thanks" Jackson said "I don't feel much like a swim today"

Brett grabbed Jackson's arm "Too bad" he said leading him into the bathroom

Jackson jerked himself out of Brett's grip "Back off" he said "And call off your goons"

Brett laughed at him "And what are you gonna do if I don't?" he asked

Jackson gave a glittering smile "This for starters..."

Jackson leaned over and whispered something in Brett's ear. His face drained of all color. He stared at Jackson, trying to form a coherent sentence

"Y-You can't" he said nervously "You...you s-said...you'd n-never t-t-tell anybody"

"We were friends back then" Jackson said firmly "And you've made it clear that we're not friends anymore"

Brett gave an anxious gulp "Now go away" Jackson said "And take those two knuckleheads with you"

Brett walked away "C'mon guys" he said "They aren't worth it"

Ron and Steve followed Brett in an almost robotic manner. As soon as the bullies were out of eyeshot, Jackson ran to the aid on the nerd herd. Duncan was trying to cram his underwear back into his pants.

"Are you guys alright?" Jackson asked

"Not really" Duncan said "But we're used to this by now"

Flinch had pulled up a corner of his shirt, and was swirling it around in his ear.

"Gross" he whined "I think he poked my brain"

"I've never seen Brett back down before" Matilda said peeling the gooey bits of paper off her face "What did you say to him?"

"I threatened to reveal one of his secrets if he didn't leave you alone" Jackson said

Ruby was clutching her aching head with one hand, and drying her eyes on a pink and black striped handkerchief with the other. She blew her nose and stuffed the wet cloth into her pocket

"What kind of secrets?" she asked "What do you have on him?"

Jackson pulled his backpack off and reached into the bottom of it. His hand came back holding a notebook. It was a small but thick, black, pocket-sized notebook. Liquid paper had been used to draw a crude but unmistakable skull and crossbones on the cover.

"What's that?" Matilda asked

"Remember how I used to spy on everyone in school" Jackson said

Everyone nodded "It's how you ended up joining the team" Flinch said

Jackson felt that familiar pang of discomfort, but continued "I wrote down everything I learned in this notebook" he said flipping through the pages "Here it is" he said when he reached's Brett's page "This is the secret I threatened him with"

He handed the notebook to the kids, pointing at one line. Duncan read it aloud "Wears pull-up pants due to nightly...bed-wetting?"

The four kids exploded into laughter. Jackson took his notebook back and placed it back inside his backpack. Flinch had a wide grin on his face

"Oh man" he said ""I can't believe it, Brett's a bed-wetter? I don't even wet the bed anymore"

Matilda started hyperventilating, she had actually laughed herself into an asthma attack. After a few inhaler sessions she was back to normal

"Seriously" she wheezed "I feel a lot better now"

"So do I" Ruby said giggling

"How did you find that out anyway" Duncan asked through his laughter

Jackson gave a quick story about the sleep over he had at Brett's house years ago.

"I actually feel kind off bad for telling you" Jackson said "I was sworn to secrecy"

"You said it yourself" Duncan said "You were friends back then, and he's made it clear that you're not friends anymore"

Jackson shrugged "Yeah, I guess" he said

He slipped his way past the nerd herd "Where are you going?" Flinch asked

"I was thinking that I'd get to class early today" Jackson said

"Class doesn't start for about 20-30 minutes" Matilda said "I was thinking we could get a quick Combat Training session in before the bell"

"Combat Training?" Jackson repeated

"Yeah" Matilda said "I can't get a watermelon from the Lunch Lady until after school though. So I guess I just have to use whatever else I can find"

Jackson was confused. He had quit the N.E.R.D.S., so why was she talking about training. Unless...

"Hang on" he said "Did you guys have a mission while I was absent?"

"No" Ruby said "Why? Did your nose bug go off or something?"

Jackson's lips parted a bit. Now it made sense, they didn't know that he quit. No one had told them yesterday. Jackson ran past the nerd herd and down the hall.

"Where are you going now?" Matilda called after him

"The library" he called back

Jackson sped down the hall, dodging kids as he ran. He darted in through the door and up to

Ms Holiday's desk. The librarian was typing at her computer as Jackson came up. She looked pleased to see him.

"Hello" she said in a cheery voice "What can I help you with today? Do you need a book, or a quiet place to..."

Jackson cut her off "Why didn't you tell them?" he asked angrily

"Shhh" Ms Holiday said "Please quiet down, this is a library"

"An empty library" Jackson said looking around "Now why didn't you tell them?"

Ms Holiday gave a defeated sigh "I...I just...didn't know how" she said "You were absent yesterday so I guess...I thought I could put it off until you were at school to talk to them"

"I wanted either you or Agent Brand to tell them" Jackson said "They'd take it better from one of you. They'd probably just yell at me if I told them that I quit"

"You what?" shouted a voice

Jackson turned around to see the nerd herd, they had followed him. He smacked himself in the face with his palm "Well that takes care of that" he thought

Ms Holiday looked nervous, and Ruby noticed it quickly "Is this what you were hiding from us yesterday?" she asked

The librarian turned away, a look of sadness and shame on her face

"Well" Jackson said "Now you know"

He walked past the nerd herd and into the hall, but they weren't through yet. They ran up in front of him, blocking his way.

"You quit?" Flinch asked "Again?"

Jackson nodded "I had to" he said

"Is this because I keep ripping into you at Combat Practice?" Matilda asked "Because I can lighten up a bit"

Jackson shook his head "No" he said "But I will be glad to get away from that"

"I don't believe this" Duncan said "Why would you want to quit?"

"So I can get myself together" Jackson said "I really need to focus on school and I can't afford any distractions from the N.E.R.D.S. Maybe you guys can handle it, but I can't"

"But we have great scientists and mathematicians to help us out" Duncan said "Why don't you just ask for help?"

Jackson's eyes were a cold, icy blue, they were easy to get lost in. But now they were ablaze with a fire of determination and resolve that none of the nerds had ever seen. They normally looked like a pair of shimmering crystals, but now they were two burning blue spheres of flame. He approached Duncan who stepped back, a bit intimidated

"You're the one who said that kids like me and Brett never amount to much" Jackson said "Maybe I want to prove you wrong. So I'm going to get my grades up on my own"

Jackson seemed very adamant about his choice. Yes it was true that nerds had more to offer the world than jocks or popular kids, but Jackson had been stripped of that title. He had a second chance to make something of himself, and he intended to grab it while he could. But he felt like he had to leave his new friends behind to do it. Duncan couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about what he said now. He felt like he had a hand in Jackson's choice to quit.

"Do you really think quitting N.E.R.D.S. will help boost your grades?" Ruby said "There's nothing wrong with getting help. If not from them, we could help you study"

Jackson looked at Ruby as if she had grown a second head "What?" she asked

"Oh please" he said

He cleared his throat and spoke in a condescending tone, mimicking his itchy former teammate "Your inability to manage your life isn't going to affect ours" he said

Ruby blinked a few times. He had been treated rather harshly before, so not wanting to accept their help wasn't so strange. But still, her stubbornness wouldn't let her give up

"You still can't do this" Ruby complained "We can't have a team with only four members"

"Excuse me?" he said "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you threaten to resign if I stayed on the team? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Ruby bit her lip anxiously. She had said that hoping that she'd make Jackson feel like he would have to leave. And it worked, but it didn't make her feel any better. He was only a trainee, he was bound to make mistakes. When she thought about it afterwards, she actually felt pretty bad. And hearing it again made her feel worse

"What do you care anyway?" Jackson asked Ruby "I'm sure you still hate me just as much as Heathcliff did"

Ruby looked offended "We don't hate you anymore" she protested "Not since..."

"I saved you?" Jackson cut her off " So what, I'm still the same cocky kid who loves football. Nothing's changed, I'm no different than I used to be"

Ruby's eyes suddenly began to water, and her nostrils flared as they began to run. Jackson stared at her for a moment before putting two and two together. He quickly stepped backwards to avoid being caught in the blast. Ruby belted out a wicked sneeze, nearly knocking herself down. Saliva and boogers were sprayed on the spot where he previously stood. Jackson cringed as he remembered Ruby's allergy to lying.

"See" Flinch said "That's not true and you know it. You have changed"

Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose "Maybe I have" he said unsurely "But this is just something I need to do by myself. "

Ruby wanted to say he was acting ridiculous. But she was too busy snuffling and snorking from her previous nasal burst to try and speak

"And besides" Jackson said "Agent Brand said that I can come back whenever I feel like I'm ready, so...it's not like I'll be gone forever"

Jackson looked around at the nerd herd. The looks on their faces could only be described as a mix of three feelings, shock, sadness and disappointment. Jackson could feel a lump forming in his throat. He quickly turned around and headed to class. Flinch grabbed Jackson's shoulder, with a grip that was surprisingly strong considering he wasn't wearing his harness.

"C'mon bro" he said "Don't do this"

Jackson jerked his shoulder away, surprising the nerd "Don't touch me" he said hotly

"You don't have to be mean" Matilda shot back defending Flinch

"Just...leave me alone" Jackson said running off to class leaving the nerd herd in his dust

Duncan and Flinch shared the same look of disappointment. Matilda took a few hits of her inhaler, before joining in with her teammates. Ruby scratched at a rash beginning to form on her shoulder.

"What's wrong" Matilda asked

"I'm allergic to sadness" she said quietly

Jackson stopped running when he reached Mr Pfeiffer's room. He had written the word "PROM" on the blackboard. Jackson pulled a blue notebook out of his backpack. He wrote PROM on the top of first the page.

"It starts here" he thought

Jackson sat in the empty classroom for around twenty minutes, alone with his thoughts. After a while, Mr Pfeiffer came in, along with the other students, including the nerd herd. Today Mr Pfeiffer was talking about his high school prom. It was mainly about how he had won prom king. Jackson focused all his attention on taking notes, but he could feel four sets of eyes shifting over to him every so often. Jackson had an incredible urge to yell "Quit looking at me", but he was trying to avoid getting into trouble. The last thing he needed was to see Principal Dehaven again.

Needless to say, the nerd herd was upset at this recent development. But a familiar tingling in their sinuses took their minds off it for a moment. The group gave their trademark simultaneous sneeze. They looked over at Jackson as they wiped their noses, he didn't react at all. They glanced back at him as the walked to the door, all of them hoping he'd follow them to the Playground. But Jackson didn't move an inch. Wearing sad looks, the nerd herd left the room. Jackson gripped his pencil tightly as he thought

"It's for the best"

This chapter came a lot faster than thought it would. It's also a bit longer than I had planned, but...oh well then.