Chapter 32: Recruitment and Rechristening

The cell phone chirped on the desk. Simon Riley looked up from his laptop and squinted at the small screen. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it anyway.

"Hello? Simon here."

"Simon. It's Joey." His voice was hushed and strained.

"Joey!" He glanced at the number again. "Where you calling from?"

"A pay phone outside the school."

"We still have pay phones?" He rolled his desk chair towards the window and peered out across the street, trying to see his friend. "What happened man? Jeff said you ran out in this panic, and then the school got locked down. There was news all over Twitter about a superfight, but I haven't found any video of it."

Joey's voice shook over the phone. "They got them, Simon. They got my family. I need help."

"What do you mean? Who's got your family?"

Simon could hear Joey take a deep breath. "Supervillains. I don't know how many. At least three or four of them. I've met three of them. Tombspawn and Adamantine and some ... I don't know ... Frankenstein's monster. Simon! They've got them! Annie! Tricia! They got them both, and they're holding them."

"Oh no ... You're sure?"

Joey's voice was trembling. "They trashed our apartment. Annie's chair is still there."

"Fuck."

"They want me too. I need help, man."

"Anything. What can I do?"

"I need to get inside, but here's the thing. Tombspawn killed Multiplex, and has got him under control. And if any of the Multiplex clones see me getting help from anyone, the girls will be killed. So I can't call EarthGuard or the police or anyone. Nobody can see me getting in."

"Why not?"

"Multiplex is everywhere. He controls EarthGuard communication, he's in the police, and he's in the school. Can you tell who's logged into the security system?"

Simon thought about it. "Yeah. Give me a moment." He set the phone down, closed his eyes, and concentrated. He could feel the points of energy of a thousand electrical devices around him; phones, lights, computers, televisions, radios, MP3 players, a single guitar tuner down the hall from him, routers and switches, ethernet cables and phone lines and power lines. He traced into a hard-lined isolated system that connected to cameras and detectors, and then to a central computer system. He scanned the memory, looked for a user list, and found a single entry.

He picked up the phone. "Mr. Madden is online."

"I thought as much," Joey answered. "That's Multiplex. He's watching the school, looking for me."

"Mr. Madden is Multiplex?"

"Yeah. I need your help."

"Dude gave me a 'C' on my last test. Bastard."

"Simon! Please! I need you to get me in. Can you get me in without him seeing me?"

Simon blinked as he thought about it. "What? Get you past all the security cameras, inside and outside, plus the motion detectors and the front gate turnstiles without the system or anyone logged on noticing? You're kidding me, right?"

Joey sighed. "I don't know. Maybe Jeff can lift me to a window."

"No, no. I can do it. Piece of cake. I do this all the time. Hold tight. I'll get the front door for you."

Joey paced nervously in the darkness across the street from the school, and waited. Minutes ticked by, and he clutched his dog. Scrappy shifted and kicked in his jacket, but kept quiet.

He saw the front door open, and Simon appeared in the doorway. Joey bolted across the street to the front gates, slipped inside, and stopped as he saw Simon hold up his hand. Simon paused, concentrating on something, and then quickly waved him in. Joey tore across the driveway to the front door.

"Thanks, Simon."

"We're not there yet." Simon turned his attention to the front foyer. "Let me refresh the camera buffers ... put the turnstiles into test mode and ... go!" They moved through the turnstiles, past the cameras, and into the hallway. Simon paused them again as he reactivated cameras and disabled others, and put his finger to his lips. "He's in the front office," he whispered. Joey nodded, and they silently made their way down the hallway towards the dorms.

They took the stairs, Joey helping his friend with Cerebral Palsy up the stairwell. "Why can't we take the elevator?" Joey whispered.

Simon shook his head. "Too high powered. I could mask the elevator from the security system, but not the power drop. He might notice."

They worked together, getting up to the third floor, and Simon opened the door to the dorm halls. "We're clear. So. Now what?"

Joey took a deep breath as he stared down the hallway full of doors. "Now we recruit."

He marched towards one familiar door and pounded on it. When Jeff opened the door, the big guy did a double-take at the sight of Joey. "Joey!" He made a motion to jump into his arms, but stopped himself as he noticed Simon. Lynne appeared at the door. "I'm sorry..." she started to say.

"I need your help. Both of you." He stormed off to the next door.

Jeff and Lynne stood there stunned and gave Simon a questioning look. "Tricia and Annie have been captured," Simon explained. They gasped, and followed Simon as Joey pounded on the next door.

"Sarah! Open up. Please."

He could hear her voice inside her room. "Um ... Um ... Just a minute ... Seven hundred ninety four, Seven hundred ninety five..."

"Can I open the door?"

"Um, yes."

Joey opened the door to her dark room. He saw Sarah sitting on her bed focused on a long chain stitch of crocheted yarn. "Sarah. I need your help."

"Can't stop. Seven hundred ninety six..."

"My family's been kidnapped."

She startled at that, and looked up at Joey. Her eyes widened as she saw him and Lynne's face through the door. Her gaze darted around as she tried to process everything. The crochet stitches beckoned to her. "Um ... One moment ... Seven hundred ninety seven..."

"Please, Sarah."

She picked up the pace. "Eight ... nine ... Eight hundred!" She gave him a pleading look. "Eight hundred is good, right?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah. Eight hundred is good. Can you help me?"

She laid the chain stitch aside. "I can always finish later," she said to herself as if convincing herself. As she stood up and took in the sight of Joey and Lynne behind him, she hesitated. "I'm sorry I ... I don't know why I ... I was such a bitch."

"It's okay," Joey said.

"Your family?" she asked, the news finally hitting her.

"They're in danger. I need your help." Joey turned to Simon. "Do you know where Kaelyn's room is?"

He shook his head. "She's got a foster family."

"Melissa? Yami? Willow?" Simon shook his head to those names. "Raquel?" Simon nodded, and pointed.

Joey stormed off down the hall, found her door, and pounded on it. "Raquel! Open up. It's Joey."

When Raquel opened the door, he glanced at the black girl's port-wine stained face before looking into her eyes, and immediately felt guilty about staring at her birthmark. She gave him an attitude pose and glared at him icily. "Well, well, well. I figured it was just a matter of time before you showed up at my door," she growled.

Joey hesitated on this. "Please, Raquel, I need..."

"What's the matter? Tired of the new girlfriend already? Working your way through the school? Is it my turn now?"

"What? No! I..."

"Listen! I am NOT gonna be just one more of your conquests," she said, jabbing a finger into his chest. "So you can just forget about it!"

Joey tried to process that. "What do you ... No, that's not what I wanted!"

She shifted on her hips, insulted. "Oh really? So what am I? Not good enough for you?" She poked him again.

He grabbed her hand. "Raquel, listen!" ("NEED ME!") He jolted as the sense of desire immediately flashed through his brain, and he hesitated on the concept. It felt true, and deep and familiar. "I ... I need you."

She pulled her hand out of his grasp and shoved him in the chest, pushing him back. "Well I don't need you!" she barked back. "And I don't want you to need me! Touch me again, and I'll kick your ass!"

Joey stumbled back, baffled. His reading of Raquel was apparently completely dead wrong, which was something that had never happened before, and he shook his head to clear it of the confusion. "Good! That's what I need! Someone to kick ass." He took a breath and explained. "My family has been captured, and I need people who are good in a fight."

Raquel paused on this, and she saw the others in the hallway listening in. "Your family's what?"

"Kidnapped. Held hostage. By supervillains. They want me too."

Raquel thought about this, her anger never leaving her face. She glanced at the others, and Simon gave her a confirming nod. She turned back to Joey, completely unapologetic. "And you're collecting the whole class?"

Joey hesitated, and nodded. "Yeah. You know where he is?"

She strode out of her room. "This way." The others followed Raquel as she made her way down the hall. She stopped at a door and pounded on it.

"Who the hell is that?" Clyde's muffled voice said through the door. Raquel just stared at Joey, waiting for him to answer.

"It's Joey. I need to talk to you."

"Fuck off!"

"No. I'm not leaving. I need to talk to you now."

He heard some fumbling, and finally the door opened. Clyde Gangeon towered over Joey in his doorway, took a moment to notice the others, and sneered at him. "I said fuck off."

Joey stood his ground. The big bully, once intimidating to him was now nothing. "Clyde, I'm sorry."

Clyde startled at that.

Joey continued. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry that I attacked you, I'm sorry that I hurt you, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to say it to you. It was wrong. It was wrong what you and Brandon and Neal were doing to Simon and me, and it was wrong what I did to you all. And I'm sorry."

The big Korean boy thought about this for a moment, and squinted his eyes at him. "So? You think I care?"

"I was hoping you would. But right now the only thing I'm concerned about is getting my family back safely. Annie and Tricia, they've been kidnapped by some supervillains. They nearly caught me too, but I got away. They say they're going to kill them if I don't surrender to them, and I think if I do just give myself up, they're going to kill them anyways. I need help. I need your help."

Clyde hesitated on this, and took in the presence of the others. "Why me? Don't you have enough here?"

"I need a brick. And I know you want to prove yourself. I could sense it when we were fighting. So I'm giving you the chance. You want to prove yourself to be a big, tough guy who doesn't have to show off by picking on little kids? Well, here's your opportunity. I'm giving you a real live supervillain to fight. One of these guys is a seven or eight foot tall monster and he throws cars aside like they were empty shopping carts. You're the only person I can think of who's tough enough to handle him."

Clyde faltered for a moment. Fear flashed on his face for a brief instant, but he toughened himself up. "No."

"Clyde! I need you."

"What are you going to do if I don't help you?"

Joey hesitated, but Raquel stepped up and got in Clyde's face. "Clyde! This ain't a situation where you have to wonder what he's gonna do to you if you DON'T help us. You just think about what I'M gonna do to you if you DO help us!"

It took everyone a few seconds to figure out the full implications of what Raquel just said to Clyde, and they all startled as they figured it out. There were a couple amazed looks and a sheepish grin between Sarah and Simon, but Clyde's look was priceless as it slowly dawned on him that what Raquel was offering him was not going to be painful. His eyes dropped down her curvy and firm body, over her breasts and hips, and back up to her stained face.

"Um ... okay?" he managed.

Raquel gave him a grin. "Thank you. Now, can we all use your room? I think Joey needs to tell us all what's going on."

Adamantine studied herself intently in the bathroom mirror. She stared in fascination, wonder, and horror, probing her face. For the first time in her life, her flawless face was bruised and scraped.

She touched the cuts and discolored skin. The bruises were thick and purple, the cuts jagged and scabbed over. There was no searing pain anymore now that her abilities were restored, but she knew it would return the moment he got close to her. And he would be there soon. And the worst part was, she didn't know which would hurt the worst, her face and body, or her heart.

"You'll be the worst fucking mother on the planet." "You stay a virgin." "All you had to do was knock on the front door." "A good mother knows about pain."

"You think I don't know about pain?" she whispered to her reflection. "You think I don't understand? You think I don't know what it's like?"

She roared and smashed her fist into the mirror, shattering it. The broken pieces fell off her indestructible fingers and landed in the sink.

"Who the hell are you? What the hell do you think you are?"

She stormed out of the bathroom and returned to the back storage rooms. Several of Tombspawn's more successful experiments hissed and clawed at the makeshift cage. In the center of the cage, an eerie silence enveloped their two captives. Tricia knelt next to Annie in an almost prayerful stance, an unnatural stillness taken over her body. Annie whimpered softly in pain, and sniffed.

Adamantine turned from the girls and headed towards Tombspawn. "Where is he? He should be here by now."

Tombspawn checked Tricia's cell phone. "He is off the grid." He closed the phone. "He knows I can trace his position, and he does not want me to know where he is. This means he is planning something."

"Like what?"

"He is collecting resources. Either weapons or soldiers. Perhaps we should as well."

Adamantine caught his knowing gaze, and nodded. She turned and walked off, pulling her cell phone out. She selected a number and held the phone to her ear.

"Brandon? Ada. Hi." She popped her hip and turned her voice as sultry as possible. "Horny. You want to get lucky tonight?"

"So that's the story," Joey said.

The seven of them were huddled together in Clyde's room. Some sat on the bed and the single chair, and the rest stood. The room was heavy with apprehension. "Tombspawn, Adamantine, a couple big muscle henchmen, and knowing Tombspawn, most likely a horde of zombies. If you get killed, you become part of the horde."

"Are we talking fast or slow zombies?" Simon asked.

Joey shrugged. "I never saw them up close. Assume fast."

"But they're not contagious?" Jeff added, questioning.

Joey shook his head. "No. Tombspawn needs to do the conversion. But they're still deadly. He took out the entire District Rangers team six years ago."

"And we can't get any help from the police, or the government, or anyone from Earthguard?" Raquel asked.

"No. He's got Multiplex under his control. If Mr. Madden finds out I'm here looking for help, Tombspawn finds out and they get killed. We can't even talk to the teachers here."

"So what do we do?" Clyde asked.

"We rescue them ourselves." Joey glanced at the clock. "It's nine-thirty. We have two and a half hours to get to the Rockville industrial complex. We have to find a way to get there. Any ideas?"

"Does Metro go there?" Lynne asked.

Joey shook his head. "Multiplex is in the Metro system. If he sees you guys, it's over."

"We could take cabs," Sarah offered.

"A group of kids going on a long trip on a school night? Word will get out. Plus, I really don't want to involve anyone else."

"There's the school van," Simon suggested. "We could take that."

Joey perked up. "That'll work. Can you get us into the garage?"

"Piece of cake!" Simon said, smiling.

Joey nodded and stood up. "Good. Okay! So, before we go, let me tell you all something Quantum Knight said to me just before she took me out on patrol one night."

Jeff gave him a double-take. "Quantum Knight took you out on patrol?"

"Yeah. She said 'Wear loose durable clothes, and go to the bathroom first.' Believe me, it's good advice. Get yourselves ready, and meet back here in a few minutes."

They broke up, and went to their respective rooms to change clothes and get ready. Joey followed Simon to his room. "Simon, listen up..." The boy stopped and leaned on his crutches. "I want to thank you for this. We're not going to be able to get there without you, but once we get the car started..." Joey glanced down at his friend's crutches.

"Just stop it, Joey. I'm coming with you."

"Simon, it's going to be dangerous."

"Yeah. So you need all the help you can get."

"You can't fight. You can't even run."

"So we don't run. Joey, you're not turning your back on your family, and neither am I. I'm not a cripple; I'm your wingman. If you need help, I help you. But I'm not staying here."

Joey sighed. "Simon, I'm giving you a chance to get out of this and survive."

Simon nodded. "Yeah. And I'm sticking with you to give Tricia and Annie a chance to get out and survive. Anything else?" Joey didn't respond, and Simon went into his room to prepare.

Several minutes later they all rejoined at Clyde's room. Most had changed into sweatshirts and jeans and sneakers, with Raquel being a noticeable exception in what appeared to be something like ballet slippers. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and offered hair bands to Lynne and Sarah, who both refused them on the point that their own powers rendered them useless. Sarah's hair would eventually just slip through a hair band, and Lynne always just held her hair back mentally. Simon wore a belt-pack which he loaded with some tools and medicines, and Clyde had changed into the loosest, baggiest pants and shirt he owned.

"Everyone ready?" Joey asked, zipping Scrappy back up into his jacket.

"Yeah." "Ready!" "Let's do this." "Hope so." "Yeah. I got to a thousand. I'm ready."

The group headed out, down the stairwell, and to the main floor. They waited as Simon locked the internal cameras into buffering mode, and slipped quietly through the hallway and into the garage. The school van took up most of the space in the small garage.

"Where are the keys?" Joey asked.

A quick search turned up nothing, and Raquel huffed in impatience. "Great idea, Omega Boy. You sure got his planned out well."

"Hey! I'm doing the best I can here. It's not like I've got a plan."

"Maybe we can break in?" Clyde said, peering into the van. "I can break the window."

"Don't!" Joey looked around at the others. "Lynne. Can you open it from the inside?"

Lynne studied the doors and shook her head. "No. Can't."

"I've got this," said Sarah, and she pushed her hand through the door.

"No! Don't!" Jeff cried out. "You'll trip the alarm!"

"No, I won't," she answered. "I'll just unlock it."

Lynne ran up to her and pulled her arm. "That's the way the alarm is designed. If it's locked from the outside, and then unlocked from the inside, the alarm goes off because it assumes the window was broken." Sarah stared at her in confusion, and Lynne sighed. "I found out the hard way once."

"Guys..." Simon moaned, and he concentrated. The van doors all simultaneously unlocked with a KER-THUMP.

"Thanks Simon!" Joey said. "Now, who knows how to drive?"

There was a general silence as all of the young teens looked at each other. Raquel groaned. "What? Am I the only one with a Learner's?" The others nodded, and she sighed. "Get in," she said, heading for the driver's seat.

"Shotgun!" Clyde shouted, and he ran to the front passenger seat.

The others climbed into the back, and as they all got settled, Raquel turned back to her passengers. "Simon! Can you start this?"

Simon concentrated and shook his head. "No. It's a hard switch."

"Dammit!" Raquel ducked under the steering column and pounded it with her fist, knocking the plastic cover off, and she started fumbling with the wires. Clyde watched her curiously.

"Hey! How did you learn how to hotwire a car?" he asked her.

She sparked two wires together, and the ignition turned over. "Clyde? What do you want? You saying I got some U-U's? I've got a great idea," she said, twisting two wires together. The van's engine purred to life. "Why don't you NOT ask me that question!"

She climbed back into her seat, shut the door, put on her seatbelt, and adjusted the mirrors. "Simon! Garage door?" He concentrated, and the mechanical door opened in front of them. Raquel threw the van into drive, and they pulled out onto the dark streets.

"Where we going?" Raquel asked.

"Beltway. Head north to 270," Joey answered.

"So, any ideas for what we do when we get there?" Simon asked.

Joey shook his head. "Not yet. Still working on it."

"At least let's figure out what all you want to get done," Raquel added. "It's not just bashing bad-guys, right?"

"Yeah," Joey answered. "This is a rescue. Annie, Tricia, and anyone else they've got that we can get out."

"And if they come after us when we try to leave, then what?" Clyde asked.

"Once we get my family out, we can call the police."

"Speaking of..." Raquel said as she slowed down for a red light. Everyone looked out the windows and saw the police car pull up in the lane next to them. There were a few gasps and hushed curses.

"Shit! What are we gonna do?" Jeff said.

"Like it says on the mayonnaise jar," Raquel answered. "Keep cool, but don't freeze."

The waited at the light with the police car sitting next to them. Everyone in the van kept quiet and held their breaths. Seconds stretched on, and Raquel drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, trying to not look at the policeman in the car next to her.

The policeman in the passenger seat examined the girl, frowned, and rolled his window down. "Hey!" he called out to Raquel. She cringed, bit her lip, and rolled down the window.

"Good evening officer!" she said in a voice that was sweeter than anyone had ever heard from her before, and she turned her full port-wine stained face towards him and gave him a polite smile.

The policeman grimaced at the sight of her patchwork face. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," she lied.

He scowled. "Pull over." He hit the flashing lights.

"Oh shit!" Lynne cursed.

"No no no no no!" Joey said, shaking.

Raquel turned back to her passengers. "Joey, what happens when they catch us?"

He shuddered. "Multiplex finds out, and then..."

"Thought so!" Raquel said, and she floored the gas. "HOLD ON EVERYONE!"

The engine roared with power and the van surged forward into the intersection, dodging incoming traffic and throwing everyone back in their seats. The police car's siren turned on, and the car sped after them.

The kids were screaming in the back of the car. "WHAT THE HELL DID WE DO WRONG?" Jeff yelled.

"DRIVING WHILE BLACK!" Raquel swerved to dodge cars. Everyone in the van shrieked as they were thrown to one side and then the other.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh No! Oh No! We're gonna get in trouble!" Sarah chanted, clasping her hands together. Clyde clutched his seatbelt and started breathing heavily, inflating his muscles.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?" Lynne shouted.

"JOEY!" Raquel pleaded. "THINK OF SOMETHING!"

Joey was panicking, and he held onto the car seat. He looked back at the pursuing police car, and forward at the streets. "TURN RIGHT!" he yelled.

Raquel pulled on the wheel, and everyone flew towards the right as the van skidded left through the intersection. The police car, its sirens wailing and lights flashing, followed them through the turn.

"I SAID RIGHT!"

"YEAH! YEAH! I KNOW!"

"WHO THE HELL LET THE DYSLECTIC DRIVE?" Simon shouted.

"DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE AND SLAP YOU!"

The speeding van bounced violently over potholes and rushed through the streets, followed closely by the screaming police car. Joey watched the pursuing car, and wondered about it. "Simon! Can you..."

"They're calling for back-up!" Simon answered. "I'm blocking their signals!"

"Can you burn their car out? Everything electronic?"

Simon shook his head. "Not while everything is moving!"

Joey looked around at his friends. "We're going to need to stop."

"I AIN'T STOPPING TO FIGHT NO PO-LEECE!" Raquel yelled.

Joey thought about it. He knew if they stopped the car, they could burn out their electronics and prevent the police from reporting them, but the police would get out and approach them with guns, and that could quickly escalate into something dangerous. He knew they needed to incapacitate them in some way, without really hurting them. Joey looked at his friends again, thinking about their abilities. Simon, Jeff, Sarah... "I'VE GOT AN IDEA!"

"SHARE IT WITH THE CLASS!" Raquel shouted.

Joey turned to Sarah. "Get your robes on. You're going out. Jeff! On my mark, you're going to throw Sarah out the back door."

"WHAT?" Sarah shrieked.

"ROBES! NOW!" Sarah nodded and started gesturing. Blue light spilled from her fingers as she quickly wrote glyphs into the air. Her silvery Moonlight weave fabric blossomed out around her. Joey turned to the others. "When I give the signal, Raquel, you hit the brakes, Jeff, you throw Sarah out the back, right at the police car. Don't even open the door. And Simon, as soon as you can, burn everything!"

"Got it!" Simon said.

"I can't do this!" Sarah said, quivering in fear. "I can't..."

Joey turned to her. "Sarah? Your job is to scare them. You're not a mage; You're a ghost. Make them look at you!"

At the suggestion of her mantra, Sarah nodded, all fear wiped clean from her face. "Got it! Make them look at me!" she said eagerly. She turned towards the back of the van and grabbed the seat, aiming herself for the police car. "Look at me. Look at me. Look at me," she chanted to herself. Blue energy surged from her fingers, and across her body, billowing her ethereal robes. Jeff positioned himself behind her, and pointed his hands at her.

"Ready everyone?" Joey called out.

Sarah, Jeff, and Simon all responded. "Ready!" "Yes!" "Let's do it!"

"NOW RAQUEL!"

Raquel slammed on the brakes, and everyone surged forward as the tires screeched on the pavement. The air thrummed with power as Jeff pushed on Sarah, and he ejected her out the back of the van, straight through the back door with her signature FRIMM. Her black clothing splat against the door, while the girl in the Moonlight weave robes sailed right through.

"LOOK AT ME!" Sarah screamed as she flew from one car to the other, and she unleashed torrents of silvery blue tendrils from her hands.

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" The policemen in the car behind them saw two things at the same time. First, the van they were chasing suddenly stopped on them, and then there was an explosion of white light and a ghostly robed banshee erupted out of the back of the van. The girl was enveloped in silver-blue light, surrounded by tendrils and ancient writing, and she screamed as she hurled towards them. The driver hit the brakes and spun the wheel, sending the car into a skid. The car drove right through the ghostly apparition, and slammed into a street light. Air bags exploded into their faces.

The ghostly girl stood in the middle of the wrecked car, screaming and wailing at them, and the two policemen panicked and swatted at the silvery figure.

"Now Simon!" Joey called out.

The boy concentrated, and the dashboard of the police car exploded in sparks. Cell phones and radios and ignition and computers all blew up, filling the car with choking smoke.

"Got it!" Simon reported.

"Reel her back in, Jeff!"

Jeff twisted his hands and pulled, and with a yelp, Sarah launched out of the police car, tumbled through the air, and passed straight through the back door of the van. She crashed straight into Jeff, knocking him off the back seat, and the two fell to the floor of the van.

"Raquel! Go!" Joey yelled.

Raquel threw the van into drive, pulled a U-turn, and sped past the police car.

Sarah was giddy as she lay on top of Jeff. "Did you see me? Did you see me?" she asked. She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the lips. "That was amazing!" She jumped off him and back into her seat, while Jeff wiped his mouth. "I just went like, whoosh, right through their car, and I made them look at me!"

"Good job, Sarah!" Joey said. "Good job, everyone!"

Sarah, still in the thrill of her enthusiasm, grabbed Joey and kissed him. "You saw me, right?" She bounced in her seat, clapping her hands together.

Simon turned to her. "You were incredible Sarah!"

She gave him a smile, and continued to giddily bounce in her seat. Simon just sighed to himself when he realized no kiss was coming his way.