Berry High Chapter 16: Heist School Story, a high school story fanfic

Jess spoke up, "Alright, Wes. I'm curious. So... how exactly do we get into Hearst High to prove their web of corruption? We can't just stroll on in anymore, not without Hearst IDs."

Mia snorted at this, "Oh, you'll need more than that. Max will not shut up about how incredibly tough their new security system is. In addition to student IDs, they've also got reinforced locks on all the doors and a crack team of security guards working around the clock!"

"Wait, what? They can afford that but didn't have the budget for my physics club?" Nishan asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Well, you did ask for a particle accelerator. Just saying" Sakura pointed out.

"How else am I going to accelerate my particles?"

Wes whistled to get them to concentrate.

"Team, focus. I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

Everyone looked up at him expectantly.

"First step... We'll need to get our hands on Hearst IDs," he began. "And before you say Photoshop, you have to know that these are the types of IDs that can't be faked. We need to get the real thing."

He said this as he looked at Autumn, who had her mouth open, most likely about to suggest that they create fake IDs.

"Then how do we get them?" Julian asked expectantly.

"Kara and her squad are going for a cheerleader retreat this weekend. That's where we'll swipe them," Wes told him.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Jess asked.

"Duh! No pockets on cheerleader uniforms. They'll need to leave them in their bags as they do the drills," Mia piped in.

"You read my mind, Princess," Wes smirked.

"But how will we get admission for the retreat?" Mia posed.

"Luckily, you're all set for that. I took the liberty of filling in the forms for the retreat and having the student council give the funding for it," Wes said in a self-satisfied tone as he took out the forms out of a folder in his hands and passing them to Mia, who read it.

"Damn, Wes. How did you manage this?" Mia asked in amazement.

"My amazing charm and wit," Wes replied. Wes cleared his throat and continued, "Phase two of this plan will require, swiping a key to enter a classroom at Hearst."

"Where on earth will we get that?" Nishan wondered.

"I happen to know Max has one on his keychain. His dad let him have it so he could work out in the gym after hours," Wes replied. "The trick will be getting near him. All I know is that he hangs out with his crew at McGraw's Grill everyday after school."

"Well, you could get an actor to pose as a waiter to get close to him," Autumn suggested.

Wes pondered this for a moment and nodded.

"God thinking, Autumn. But first things first; getting those IDs," he told them. "Mia and the cheerleaders will do that for us."

"My pleasure," Mia said with a smirk.

Mia, Bella, Harvey, Zac, Jane and Miley went to the cheer retreat over the weekend as scheduled. They were at the door of the room where Kara and her squad were doing their routines. They peeped in and saw Kara leading them through a particularly difficult routine. Mia huddled the group in and whispered, "Alright. Listen up. We have to move in, fast. If Kara and her squad see us, we're screwed."

Bella murmured, "Right. No pressure or anything."

They took one last peep and saw Kara berating one of her cheerleaders.

"Valerie! You call that a handspring?! That was sloppier than your makeup at Homecoming. No wonder Jerome cheated on you with that girl from Athena Academy. I bet she didn't flop around like a beached whale!"

"Damn!" Harvey winced at the last part.

"This girl has no chills!" Jane added.

"Someone needs to chill. And I'm not talking about Netflix and chill. I mean actual chill," Zac noted.

"Is it me or is Kara getting nastier?" Bella asked, looking at Mia.

For a moment, fright crossed Mia's face.

"Mia?" Bella asks in concern.

Mia looks at her and steels herself with a deep breath.

"Nah. She was always nasty and will remain that way," she replies. "Now look! Their bags are lying against the wall at the other end of the room."

"How are we supposed to get to them without being seen?" Miley asked worriedly.

"By moving with cat-like grace and finesse," Mia replied. "Now pay attention."

They waited for the right moment. That moment came when Kara's team began assembling into a pyramid.

"Now!" Mia barked.

The cheerleaders moved nimbly across the floor, making sure to stay hidden from Kara's angry glare. They got right up to the bags, just as one of Kara's cheerleaders hit the ground with a crash, distracting Kara. That opportune crash granted them the time they needed to unzip the bags and swipe the IDs and run outside. Once outside, the group cheered and high-fived each other at the successful mission.

"Good work, everyone," Mia commended them.

On Monday, the group met at the Prep Hangout and were waiting on Mia in anticipation. The moment she arrived, all eyes were on her.

"Well, Princess. Did you get them?" Wes asked expectantly.

Mia gave them a blank look for a moment. She then unzipped her purse and pulled them out with a smile. The others cheered and clapped.

"Excellent work, Mia!" Wes congratulated her warmly as she handed him the IDs.

She took a bow and sat down. "All we need now is to mod them a bit and we'll be ready. Luckily for us, the other Slackers and Nerds are experts in this field."

"All that's left is getting that key," Julian said happily.

"Oh, yeah. Jason and I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

After school

At McGraw's Grill, Jason was dressed up as a waiter and was as nervous as could be. He took a deep breath and began to walk over to Max's table, where he was laughing with his crew.

Jason gave them a million dollar smile and he greeted Max, "Hey there, my friend. Can I take your order?"

"Uh, first of all, we're not friends. It's Max Warren," he said as the others laughed stupidly and fist-bumped him.

Jason swallowed a few choice insults that he had and forced a smile.

"Correction noted. Anyway, what can I get you?" he asked.

"See, it's funny. I thought that the nice thing about being a regular at a restaurant is that you don't have to order. They just know what you want. So why don't you go back there and tell Mr. McGraw you're doing a terrible job serving his number one customer? See what he has to say about that."

Jason chewed his lip and said, "Okay. I'll just... do that. But first, may I recommend the soup?" Jason grabbed a bowl of soup off the serving counter, spun around, and 'accidentally' dumped it all over Max. Max gasped in shock and looked down at the mess on his lap.

"What the is wrong with you, man?" Max spat.

Jason had to admit, it felt good spilling soup all over him and wouldn't have apologized for it. But he had to stick to the script.

"Oh God! I'm sorry. That was a total accident!" He apologized.

Max lunged up and Jason tried to grab his key chain but Max was past him before he could get it. Max stormed to the bathroom and a busboy tried to clean him off but Max pushed him out of the way.

"Shit!" Jason swore under his breath. He walked out through the back in disappointment. "So close."

"Actually, I think you did just fine," a voice said from behind him.

Jason turned around and saw Wes holding up a key chain, a smirk on his face.

"First rule of the game; always have a backup plan," he told Jason.

Wes took out his phone and shot off a text to the others, 'Mission accomplished. Let's meet at the Prep Hangout.'

Wes walked in and found Julian and Autumn talking, Sakura and Nishan playing a board game, Payton and Mia using their phones and Jess was seated by the window, gazing outside. The moment they noticed his presence, they stopped doing their respective activities and walked up to him. He cleared his throat and began talking, "Okay, everyone. It all comes up to this. I'm not going to lie to you. What comes next is risky... dangerous... uncertain. If you join me and this heist goes wrong, you might get in trouble. Serious trouble. I can't promise you'll come out of this okay." He looked at their faces, which glowed with determination. That determination gave him strength. He continued, "But what I can promise is that if this heist goes right, if we take Hearst down, then everything changes. Since our school has existed, Hearst has been trying to destroy it. That'll all end. No more pranks. No more sabotage. And for the students still there, the ones who can't leave, no more being victims of corruption. So I ask you, right now, are you in?"

They cheered and whooped in response.

"Count me in!" Jess cried out.

"Me too!" Julian agreed.

"Me three!" Autumn chimed in.

"I'm in!" Nishan said.

"So am I!" Sakura added.

Payton and Mia cheered on.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Wes grinned. "Let's do this."

Nishan cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"So what exactly are we doing? There is still something missing here," Nishan pointed out.

Everyone but Wes groaned at him.

"Way to ruin the moment, Sharma," Julian grumbled.

Wes laughed and replied, "Actually, that's a pretty solid question. Mr. Georgette, the history teacher at Hearst High, has proof of the corruption on his computer. To get it, we'll need to break into three teams. The first is Team Eagle-Eye. That's me and Mia. We'll keep track of everything from my van."

Mia nodded in eagerness. Wes continued, "...the next group is Team Strikeforce. They're going to physically break into Hearst High and get to the computer lab. Team Srikeforce is Nishan, Sakura, and Jess."

"Excellent!" Jess beamed.

"The third team will be Team Pom-Poms. That'll be Payton, Autumn and Julian. They'll be accompanied by Kimberly and Jason."

"Heh. Pom-Poms," Julian snickered. He didn't register that he was part of the team until a few seconds passed. "Wait, what?!"

Wes and Mia were seated in his van, surrounded by dozens of monitors showing live feeds from cameras all over Hearst High. Wes talked into a walkie-talkie, "All right, it's go-time. Team Pom-Poms, you're up first. Your mission is to impersonate the Hearst cheerleading team and distract the security guards. Roll out!"

Just outside the Hearst campus, Payton, Autumn, Kimberly, Jason and Julian drove towards the gate in a car.

Julian complained, "I still don't get why I have to be on this team. I'm a man of action not some flippy, kicky..."

Payton interrupted him in frustration, "Oh my God, Julian! How many times do I have to tell you? Two of the IDs belonged to boys! And no one would buy Nishan as a cheerleader!"

Julian sighed, "Yeah, I guess, but this still seems weird. Are you down with this, Autumn?"

Autumn shook her pom-poms in excitement. "Oh, I think it's kind of fun! We get to pretend that we're all perky and cheerful and spirited!"

Julian snorted, "We must have incredibly different definitions of fun."

Payton sighed, "Look, Wes is basically a wizard. If he thinks you've got to pretend to be a cheerleader, you should probably do it."

Julian conceded but grumbled, "This had better work!"

Wes's voice crackled over the walkie - talkie which had been placed on the dashboard.

"Okay, Team Pom-Poms, you're almost at the Interception Point. Get into character now!"

They drove up to the Hearst campus and a pair of security guards approached them. Payton rolled down the window.

"Hi there, guys! We just got back from this cheer retreat, and we're soooo tired! Could you help us with our bags? We've got, oh, three dozen," she requested.

One of the guards gruffly said, "Identification, please."

Payton flashed him a confident, radiant smile as she gave him her ID. The guard took a look at it and nodded as he gave it back to her. The guard looked at Autumn and gestured for her ID. Autumn perked up and chirped, "My ID? Of course! I'd love to show you my ID! I love showing all IDs! Give me an I, give me a D, what's that spell? ID! Identification!"

Payton groaned and rolled her eyes, "Scale it back sweetie, you're freaking 'em out!"

Autumn turned red in mortification and timidly said, "I mean, um, here's my ID, sir."

The guard turned to Kimberly and Jason who were 'busy' on their phones and handed their IDs to him without a glance in his direction.

"Like, OMG! Kim Kardashian's spring look is so on point," Kimberly remarked.

"Tell me about it. She is so pulling it off with that gorgeous bod. Hashtag, body goals," Jason agreed as they high-fived each other.

The guard handed back their IDs and looked expectantly at Julian.

"Uh, yeah. Here's my ID," he said in a disinterested tone.

The guard gave him a skeptical look. Julian sighed and began cheering excitedly, "Here's my ID, sir! I sure am a cheerleader! I love yelling and flipping and, uh, more yelling! Woo woo, go Hearst High, let's beat the team and make 'em cry! We gotta win cuz we're so great! The other team can't get a date! What a bunch of stupid losers! They suck! Woo!"

The others gawked at Julian while the guard considered this. He finally waved them through. As they drove into the campus, Payton and Autumn whispered intensely.

"Like, OMG! Julian, that was freaking awesome!" Payton squealed.

"Are you trying out for the cheerleading team? Please, try out! You'd be amazing!" Autumn said excitedly.

"If any of you tell a soul about this, you're dead! You hear me? Dead!" He hissed.

Once they were on campus, they parked the car and the guards followed them to help unload their bags. Mia and Wes watched the progress from the van.

"Looks like the pigs have swallowed up the cheesecake," Wes remarked.

"Were you always this weird, Wes?" Mia asked.

Wes ignored her quip and talked into his walkie-talkie, "Team Strike-Force. Get ready to move in!"

Hiding in the shadows of the Hearst Campus were Jess, Sakura and Nishan. They were dressed in black hoodies, black boots, and yoga pants with the exception of Nishan who wore black ripped jeans. They waited for the guards to round the corner and once the coast was clear, they raced across the parking lot towards the classrooms. Ahead of Jess was a puddle of water and she leaped over it effortlessly. They reached the academic building just as the guards helped Team Pom-Poms unload their bags. They opened the door and ran in.

They let out a sigh of relief once they were inside.

"We made it!" Nishan exclaimed.

"Pipe down, Nishan. Don't count your points 'til you've beat the level. We still need to get into Mr. Georgette's classroom," Sakura told him.

"Right, anyone know where that is?" Jess asked.

They looked around and began walking down the hallway, looking at the doors one by one until Sakura said, "Yes! Here we are. 'Mr. Georgette, 10th grade history.'"

"Nice work, Sakura. You have amazing eyes!" Nishan complimented her.

"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura told him warmly.

"Uh, guys? Let's stay on task," Jess told them

"Right! Sorry about that," Sakura said with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Using Max's key, the trio unlocked the door and rushed inside. Back in Wes's van, he and Mia kept watching the feed from the cameras.

"Yes! The weasels are in the hen house!" Wes exclaimed, happy that his plan so far was working.

Wes took a look at another monitor and remarked, "Well, it looks like the security guards are still helping Team Pom-Poms with their bags, so we're doing okay."

Mia took a look at the same monitor and she narrowed her eyes at something she saw.

"Huh... then what's that movement? There, in the shadows?" Mia asked.

Wes looked at where she pointed and he narrowed his own eyes.

"Is that..." he zoomed in on the feed and his eyes widened in shock. "We need to get in touch with Team Strikeforce...now!"

Meanwhile...

Jess, Nishan, and Sakura huddled up in Mr. Georgette's classroom. The walkie-talkie crackled with static. Jess took it out of the waistband of her yoga pants and she tried fiddling with it to make the transmission clear.

"Hmmm... Seems like Wes is trying to tell us something but I can't make it out," Jess said with a frown on her face.

"Let's focus on getting the proof, Jess." Sakura told her.

Nishan rushed to the computer and booted it up. A password screen popped up and he swore, "Damn!"

"I don't like the sound of that," Jess muttered.

"It looks like Hearst upgraded their security since I was here. It's got three more layers of encryption," Nishan explained.

"You can still hack it though, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah...give or take eight hours," Nishan replied.

"Are you serious? We don't have that kind of time!" Jess exclaimed.

"The security guards will find us if we don't hurry it up," Sakura added.

"Well, it would help if I had assistance of some kind... a hint as to what Mr. Georgette's password might be," Nishan suggested.

Jess nodded.

"Spread out. Look for anything that may help out," she instructed them.

"A Hidden Object game? I like it," Sakura smirked.

They searched the classroom and five minutes later, they had a a teacher's log, a framed photo of a supermodel and a scrunched up piece of paper Sakura found in the trashcan.

"Alright then. Let's begin with the log," Jess murmured. "Hmm, let's see here... 'Kara Sinclair... one of the worst students I've ever had. Constantly late, disrespectful, and distracted. Also, she called me 'baldie', which was downright hurtful.'"

"Ooh! Ooh! Find me!" Sakura said excitedly.

Jess complied and read out, "'Sakura Watanabe... bright but odd. Seems mostly focused on getting the best grades for the least work. Also, oddly fixated on the 'killcount' of every historical warrior.'"

"That's important to know," Sakura defended herself.

"Guys, focus," Nishan told them pointedly.

"Nothing in here that could be the password," Cassandra said.

They went to the photo which showed a gorgeous woman in a slinky red dress. Cassandra took it out of the frame and turned it over. There was a message written in cursive calligraphy.

"'To my loving, wonderful husband, thanks for such an amazing anniversary! Going back to the research lab where we first met was so romantic! Love, Krystal!'" she read out loud.

Cassandra turned the photo over and looked again at the lady.

"Hot damn! She looks good!" Cassandra commented.

"Wow, I gotta give credit where it's due. Mr. Georgette did really well for himself," Sakura complimented.

"Mental note: consider becoming a history teacher," Nishan said to himself.

Cassandra put the photo back in its frame. She took the crumpled up paper and read out the message on it, "Buy at store: Break, milk, underwear (six pairs), foot ointment, romantic candles...'"

"Yeah, I feel like I know more about Mr. Georgette than I wanted to," Sakura whispered.

Cassandra snapped her fingers and instructed Nishan, "Try 'Krystal' as the password."

Nishan typed it in and the start screen popped up.

"Bingo! Good job, Cassie!" he told her.

Nishan opened up his emails and he perused through them.

"Hmm. I've got an email log between Mr. Georgette and Principal Warren... It looks like Kara blew off all her homework and got an F on every test, but Principal Warren demanded she be given a B! When Mr. Georgette refused, Principal Warren threatened to fire him!" he informed them.

"Sounds like all the evidence we need," Cassandra stated.

"Mission accomplished!" Sakura beamed.

Nishan copied the emails into a flash drive and said, "Now let's..."

He was interrupted by a blast of noise from the walkie-talkie.

"Team Strikeforce! Get out of there now!" Wes ordered them.

Cassandra was confused and asked, "What? Why?"

"The cops are surrounding the school! You guys must have tripped an alarm or something! I'm not talking school security, either. I'm talking city police!"

Just then, sirens blared from outside, and red-and-blue lights shone through the windows. They heard footsteps outside in the hallway and Nishan gasped, "Oh no!"

"Quick! Under the desk!" Sakura whispered.

They dove under Mr. Georgette's mahogany desk which was spacious enough to accommodate all three of them. They sat there quietly, listening to the footsteps coming closer and closer towards their classroom.

To be continued...The group was gathered making their preparations for the break in to Hearst High. Cassandra was still curious about what Wes's play was; she knew he had needed to make nice with everyone and why he had needed Sakura to join Avalon. But there were still a few gaps here and there. For instance, how were they to enter Hearst?

Cassandra spoke up, "Alright, Wes. I'm curious. So... how exactly do we get into Hearst High to prove their web of corruption? We can't just stroll on in anymore, not without Hearst IDs."

Cassandra remarked, "Someone's paranoid."

"Amen to that. Preach," Mia agreed.

"Wait, what? They can afford that but didn't have the budget for my physics club?" Nishan asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Well, you did ask for a particle accelerator. Just saying" Sakura pointed out.

"How else am I going to accelerate my particles?"

Wes whistled to get them to concentrate.

"Team, focus. I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

Everyone looked up at him expectantly.

He said this as he looked at Autumn, who had her mouth open, most likely about to suggest that they create fake IDs.

"Then how do we get them?" Julian asked expectantly.

"Kara and her squad are going for a cheerleader retreat this weekend. That's where we'll swipe them," Wes told him.

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Cassandra asked, eyebrow quirked.

"Duh! No pockets on cheerleader uniforms. They'll need to leave them in their bags as they do the drills," Mia piped in.

"You read my mind, Princess," Wes smirked.

"But how will we get admission for the retreat?" Mia posed.

"Damn, Deveaux. How did you manage this?" Mia asked in amazement.

"My amazing charm and wit," Wes replied.

"Ain't that the truth," Cassandra murmured.

Wes caught what she said and gave her a roguish wink. Cassandra's face turned red and she licked her lips as she looked down at her feet. Wes cleared his throat and continued, "Phase two of this plan will require, swiping a key to enter a classroom at Hearst."

"Where on earth will we get that?" Nishan wondered.

"Well, you could get an actor to pose as a waiter to get close to him," Autumn suggested.

Wes pondered this for a moment and nodded.

"God thinking, Autumn. But first things first; getting those IDs," he told them. "Mia and the cheerleaders will do that for us."

"My pleasure," Mia said with a smirk.

(Time skip)

Mia, Bella, Harvey, Zander, Janelle and Miley went to the cheer retreat over the weekend as scheduled. They were at the door of the room where Kara and her squad were doing their routines. They peeped in and saw Kara leading them through a particularly difficult routine. Mia huddled the group in and whispered, "Alright. Listen up. We have to move in, fast. If Kara and her squad see us, we're screwed."

Bella murmured, "Right. No pressure or anything."

They took one last peep and saw Kara berating one of her cheerleaders.

"Damn!" Harvey winced at the last part.

"This girl has no chills!" Janelle added.

"Someone needs to chill. And I'm not talking about Netflix and chill. I mean actual chill," Zander noted.

"Is it me or is Kara getting bitchier?" Bella asked, looking at Mia.

For a moment, fright crossed Mia's face.

"Mia?" Bella asks in concern.

Mia looks at her and steels herself with a deep breath.

"Nah. She was always a bitch and will remain that way," she replies. "Now look! Their bags are lying against the wall at the other end of the room."

"How are we supposed to get to them without being seen?" Miley asked worriedly.

"By moving with cat-like grace and finesse," Mia replied. "Now pay attention."

They waited for the right moment. That moment came when Kara's team began assembling into a pyramid.

"Now!" Mia barked.

"Good work, everyone," Mia commended them.

(Time skip)

On Monday, the group met at the Prep Hangout and were waiting on Mia in anticipation. The moment she arrived, all eyes were on her.

"Well, Princess. Did you get them?" Wes asked expectantly.

Mia gave them a blank look for a moment. She then unzipped her purse and pulled them out with a smile. The others cheered and clapped.

"Excellent work, Mia!" Wes congratulated her warmly as she handed him the IDs.

She took a bow and sat down. "All we need now is to mod them a bit and we'll be ready. Luckily for us, the other Slackers and Nerds are experts in this field."

"All that's left is getting that key," Julian said happily.

"Oh, yeah. Jason and I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

After school...

At McGraw's Grill, Jason was dressed up as a waiter and was as nervous as could be. He took a deep breath and began to walk over to Max's table, where he was laughing with his crew.

Jason gave them a million dollar smile and he greeted Max, "Hey there, my friend. Can I take your order?"

"Uh, first of all, we're not friends. It's Max Warren," he said as the others laughed stupidly and fist-bumped him.

Jason swallowed a few choice insults that he had and forced a smile.

"Correction noted. Anyway, what can I get you?" he asked.

Jason chewed his lip and said, "Okay. I'll just... do that. But first, may I recommend the soup?"

Jason grabbed a bowl of soup off the serving counter, spun around, and 'accidentally' dumped it all over Max. Max gasped in shock and looked down at the mess on his lap.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man?" Max spat.