Hey readers! Back with another chapter!

I don't really have much else to say…

Enjoy!

Chris' POV

"And then he shot it at a bird that was flying through the backyard, and BAM! It just fell to the ground, stiff as a board. It was so cool! And we should be able to use it on our next mission," Cathy finished explaining to me how her grandpa had finished the paralysis ray. "And by the way, he's also working on a teleportation machine that he could use some help on if you're interested."

"Yeah, sure! I'd love to help," I replied, twisting in my combination and opening my locker. "I can probably come after school, homework permitting."

"Understood," Cathy nodded, pulling out her pink history binder and shutting her locker with an unhappy slam. "Speaking of, do you think it'll be better or worse than last night?"

"Worse," I answered with a sigh, leaning back against my locker. "But the good news is that tomorrow night shouldn't be all that bad." Cathy nodded, her spirits crushed for the moment at the thought of tonight's work. I had to admit that I felt the same way. Luckily, Sam came strolling up to her locker with an unwelcome guest to change the subject.

"Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you?" Mark was saying as the pair moved over towards us. Sam moved straight on to her locker, twisting in her combination with an annoyed expression as though she were completely ignoring the blonde. But the way that her lips were pressed together, just barely concealing whatever words were churning up in her head gave away just how irritated she really was. "Just because you got higher grades than me last year on the annual achievement tests doesn't mean that you'll always be better."

"What are you getting at, Mark?" Sam asked, her voice clipped and controlled as she pulled a notebook out of her locker.

"I have a proposition for you, for all of you really," Mark replied, looking at me especially. "I'm actually going to leave it open for the whole class. I say we make a little game out of these tests. Whoever gets the best score wins."

"So basically Sam, Chris, and Jeremy win all?" Cathy asked innocently. Mark gave her a look. Sam cracked a smile.

"No. Because I'm going to score higher than all of them this year," Mark declared proudly.

"Says who?" Sam questioned, looking over at Mark for the first time. Sam wasn't one to step away from a challenge, even if it was with people she wasn't particularly fond of. "You didn't steal the test answers, did you?"

"No," Mark replied, sounding offended that Sam would even suggest such a thing. "I've just been studying up extra hard this year so that I can finally be recognized as one of the smartest kids in our class."

"Oh I see. You're aiming to get on the official board of achievement," I said, nodding towards the bulletin board at the end of the hall. The board was where everything of interest to students was posted. Football game schedules, drama club cast lists, school club info, and so much more got posted up on that board for the whole student body to see. Including grades from the annual achievement exams. The top scoring fifteen students from each exam were posted two weeks after the tests were finished.

"Maybe," Mark replied, averting his eyes from my gaze momentarily; a sure sign that I was right but he was denying it. "So are you in, or out?"

"Count me in. I'll take any opportunity to take you down," Sam responded confidently, her golden eyes gleaming like they always did when she was ready for a challenge.

"You're on," Mark said before sauntering off down the hall to his own locker. That kid would do anything for popularity. And to be honest, the top fifteen were only popular for a day, when everyone marveled at how smart you were. It wasn't that big of a deal. But leave it to Mark to make something more out of academic achievement.

"Gosh, I hate him," Sam mumbled, turning back to her open locker.

"Don't let him bug you. You're going to beat him on all the tests again just like you have every year in the past," I replied reassuringly.

"Oh I know. It's not that I'm scared to lose to him. I just can't stand him," Sam answered with a smile. I smiled back. Or at least I tried to before I caught sight of my best friend.

"Danny?" I asked, the shock evident in my voice as I stepped away from my locker and towards the brunette. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," Danny muttered, shuffling to his locker. He took a hold of the lock, but only stared at it like he didn't have the energy to open it and wanted it to pop open by means of telepathic communication. His skin was paler than usual, there were dark circles looming under his eyes, and his hair was lacking its usual spiky quality.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Sam asked, sounding just as worried as I did.

"Not really. I still had to finish that math worksheet which took like five hours, and by the time I got home after that bubble mission, I felt like my head was being clawed apart by bears," Danny replied, giving up on the lock and resting his head against the locker. "And now the bears want to attack my throat too, and I can't get them to go away." Sam sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh! You poor thing," Cathy sympathized, her voice quieter than usual but nonetheless perky as she reached a hand out to stroke Danny's hair comfortingly. "How did that worksheet take you so long?"

"He was exaggerating, Cath," Sam said good naturedly as I took the liberty of keying in Danny's combination and opening the locker for him. "Just like he does before every big test." Sam had a certain look about her, like a mother waiting for her guilty child to spill the truth.

Danny turned to her with pleading green eyes. "I mean it this time, Sam," he replied, swallowing hard. "I really don't feel good."

"Uh-hu," Sam nodded. "Just like you meant it when you swore you had strep throat last year to get out of our big history exam. FYI, you still had to take it when you got back."

"Yeah, but I got a few extra study days," Danny countered before shaking his head and continuing, "But that's not the point! I wouldn't fake my way out of these tests!"

"Seriously Sam, there isn't a kid out there who would miss the annual achievement tests unless they absolutely had to," I added in my friend's defense. Sam looked at me, searching my eyes. "And also, the tests aren't till next week. If he was going to fake sick, he wouldn't start now." I had her there; she knew Danny's school avoiding strategies just about as well as I did. She sighed again.

"You're right. Danny, I'm sorry for not believing you in the first place," Sam said apologetically. "It's just happened enough in the past for me to be skeptical. And I thought that you were the kind of kid who would grab any chance to miss a day of school, and not come in when you weren't feeling up to par."

"I tried, but my mom wouldn't let me so close to achievement tests!" Danny insisted. And maybe it was how pitiful his voice sounded in that small plea, but we all dropped the matter at that and started off for class. I stole another glance at my friend's sorry state, and I knew there was no way he was lying this time.

"So, teleportation machine after school?" Cathy questioned, breaking the silence, with her hopeful blue eyes glancing over at me.

"Of course," I answered with a smile. There's nothing better than technology to get your mind off the stresses of life. And with those tests coming up soon, I knew life was about to get rather stressful.

Shorter chapter!

So, foreshadowing and symbolism. Let's talk about it. Remember things. Little things, big things, random things, anything. You never know what might become something later. Or maybe some are obvious, but trust me, there are some things hidden in here that I'd like to say are gonna be very important later. Just keep your eyes peeled… And that sounds like a good talk for now!

Meh. I feel okay about this chapter. What do y'all think? Review pretty please? I do so appreciate your thoughts!

Read on, dear readers!