3/26/19

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Cursed

Chapter Thirty-Two: A Plan is Executed

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December 31, 2012

The auditorium is packed, filled to the brim with students. Tonight is, after all, the big night for so many of us prospective villains. My heart pangs in sadness when I think about what could've been. If it weren't for my failure, my team and I would be proudly standing onstage this very night. Now, all there's left to do is sulk.

At least I can still make one thing right.

Now that I've signed in, it will forever be known in the HIVE's records that I attended tonight's graduation. And attend it I did. They'll just never know how long I attended it for. All I need to do now is slip out without being noticed. Piece of red velvet cake!

I nimbly navigate through a crowded patch of students, carefully avoiding a scene. Unfortunately, it's not just the students I need to watch out for. The place is crawling with HIVE alumni, many of which I've met personally. Sarah (who never felt the need to pick a codename, as she graduated the Junior HIVE before the rule was fully enforced), Brother Blood, and countless other graduates stand between me and the door, every step leading me one step further into the minefield. Fortunately, our training covers situations like this extensively. I highly doubt that I'm the first to use this training to bite the Academy in the butt. That being said, this would be a heck of a lot easier if I had Jade's invisibility.

As I slip outside, the cool December air is there to greet me.

As are Gizmo and Mammoth.

"Jinx? Why are we sneaking out?"

Dang it! This was never supposed to happen!

"I need some space. And what do you mean by we?"

"What this scuzwad means is that you've been hiding something. We think you're going somewhere."

"Don't be ridiculous! I'd never risk getting caught!" I glance around, surveying the area for cameras or onlookers. "Okay, fine! I'm going back to the place where I got my powers. Leo's picking me up in Split City."

A flash of panic slaps both of my teammates across the face.

"You mean forever?" Mammoth asks, crestfallen.

I roll my eyes. "No, idiot. I'll be back sometime tomorrow. I'm just looking for answers. That's all."

Gizmo and Mammoth give each other a look. It's like I can physically see their shared brain cell bouncing between their heads as they try to decide what to think of this.

"Okay. We're coming with you."

This catches me off guard. "What? Why?"

Gizmo scoffs. "Because we're your friends, snot-head! The least we could do is be there to help!"

"Yeah! Wherever you go, we follow!" Mammoth declares.

I smile widely, and with a full heart. Truth be told, moral support is exactly what I need tonight, and I doubt Leo plans to be very helpful in that regard.

"Thanks… I don't know what to say."

Gizmo's eyes widen in shock. "You could start by explaining what your no-good pit-sniffing boyfriend is doing here if you told him to meet you in Split City."

I turn around and sure enough, Leo is pulling into the driveway in his Aunt Lisa's car. His own car broke down while visiting home for the holidays, so the fact that he's not in his own vehicle doesn't surprise me. This he had told me in advance. The change in pick-up location, however, had not been discussed in advance.

"This wasn't the plan," I hiss as he pulls up to the side of the building.

Leo scoffs. "Like you're one to talk! What are those losers doing here?"

"My losers are here because they're coming with us!"

He rolls his eyes. "Well then, you have no right to talk about sticking to the plan, do you Lucky?"

I frown. I hate it, but he does have point. I wordlessly open the passenger door of the shiny orange smart-car and take my seat. Gizmo and Mammoth follow my lead, squishing together in the back.

The silence remains, hanging awkwardly in the air like an unwelcome fly, and it stays that way for at least ten minutes before Mammoth breaks it.

"I need to go to the bathroom!"

This is going to be a long drive.

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Surprise! Guess who updated twice in one week!

Looking back at the chapters, they're pretty short and probably should've been combined into one chapter, but still.

Next chapter is going to be a good one! It's one of my favorite chapters on the outline, and I can't wait for you guys to read it! We'll be diving into Jinx's backstory, and within the next few chapters there should in theory be enough information for anyone to figure it out if they want to spend a couple hours goofing off on ComicVine. I'm going to change a few details about the character I'm (re?)introducing though, so it may be a little tricky ;)

Quote of the day:

"Oh no, the firehydrant is underwater! How will they put out fires now?" -my dad

(I know I've done that one before, but I'm pretty sure it was on a different story. I'm running out of things that work with minimal context, but QotD is a tradition and I refuse to stop!)

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess