Chapter 22

Tiger POV: Uriah

       Being nervous was something I hated feeling, especially when it was an emotion I rarely felt. However, right now, I would rather be nervous before the start of a basketball game than be nervous about what the hell S.H.R.E.W.D was planning.

      If Diesel was right, and I really think he was, we were all in trouble. And not just us at Tabia Academy. We had no idea what the intentions of the androids were so if they were bad, then everyone was in trouble.

       And everyone who knew about it was worried as well. Except Piano, but I didn't expect any less from him. He was more excited that he was, in his words, caught up in a scandal.

       "Do you think we're just overreacting about S.H.R.E.W.D?" Levi asked, his head resting on my chest as we laid on the hammock in the back of the school. "That there really isn't anything wrong with what they're doing and we're just thinking of the worst case scenario?"

       "It might not be bad to think of the worst case scenario," I said. "At least that way, we'll already be prepared if it happens. And to be honest, I don't think we're overreacting. We looked at the database. The scan was to copy down our brains into some sort of A.I. If it's not an android, it still isn't good."

       Levi sighed heavily. "And if it is true, how can we avoid taking the scan? I know Diesel said if it comes to it, one person from each house should take it but... That's still dangerous. One person from each house from this school, a gifted school, might be all they need. They might just want to do everyone to get the best results or..."

       "So we don't suspect anything," I said. "Sucks for them since they're making everything really obvious. Did Mr. Hicks really think we wouldn't suspect anything when he totally rigged the relay race?"

       "I'm surprised nobody has thought about it yet," Levi said.

       "They're too busy thinking you cheated," I said. "And by they, I mean Wayne. And Wayne. And Wayne. Oh, and don't forget Wayne."

       "He really hates losing, doesn't he?" Levi asked.

       "Yes, very much," I said. "Every time he loses something, he always tries to find some excuse and puts the blame on someone else. Like the dodge ball tournament. He tried putting the blame on me even though I always lasted longer than him. If he wanted to win, he shouldn't have lost so quickly."

       "What about the election?" Levi asked. "Has he tried blaming everyone who voted against him? Or tried claiming that you cheated the election?"

       "Surprisingly, he hasn't claimed that I cheated," I said. "But he has been arguing with Nevaeh a lot since she was basically the deciding vote. It's very amusing watching him try to argue with her. Keyword being try. She either ignores him, flips him off, or dumps a smoothie on his head."

       "Really?" Levi asked. "Dumping a smoothie on his head wasn't a one time thing?"

       "Definitely not," I said. "She has done it at least four times, not including the one at the election. But the one at the election... That was the best one since it was in front of everyone right after Wayne lost his captaincy."

       "It was hilarious," Levi said, lifting his head off of my chest so he could look at me, giving me the warmest of smiles. Whenever he did smile, his eyes lit up so bright, the gold flecks shimmering in his grey eyes. Underneath the mid-afternoon soon, the freckles splattered across his cheeks and nose were a lot more perceptible. 

       He was a gorgeous human being.

       "I'm really glad you're the Tiger's captain now," Levi said. "You deserve it. And I'm really glad we don't have to hide our relationship anymore."

       I smiled back at him, gently resting my hand on his cheek. "I'm really happy too."

       Levi smiled wider before leaning down and pressing his lips softly on mine. When he pulled away, he rested his head back on my chest. Even though he seemed really happy, I could feel how tense he was. He was still worried about S.H.R.E.W.D.

       "Levi?" I asked.

       "Yeah."

       "I know you're worried about S.H.R.E.W.D but just know that whatever happens, I'll be here for you. I promise I'll keep you safe and I promise that no matter what happens, you can trust me."

       "I know. Otherwise I'll tell everyone you cried at that movie we watched."

       "Do it. I'm not afraid of my emotions."

       "Or are you?"

       "I'm really not, Levi, but thank you for the concern."

       "Or are you?"

       I snorted. "You're ridiculous."

       "Or am I?"

       I rolled my eyes but I wrapped my arms tightly around him. He always knew how to make someone smile with the weird brain and weird attitude of his. At least I had no regrets dating him because of it.

       After a few minutes or so of us just lying on the hammock in silence, I heard Mr. Hicks say, "Uriah, I have to talk to you as Tiger captain."

       I looked over to see the principal standing nearby. "Sure," I said so Levi moved away from me so I could get off of the hammock. 

       Mr. Hicks led me away from the hammock so he could talk to me alone. "Are you familiar with the company called S.H.R.E.W.D?" he asked.

       I swear, he better not try to convince me to have the Tigers go to their headquarters. If he that was he wanted to talk about, I had to find a way to get out of it.

       "That's the place where the Coyotes went for winning the relay, right?" I asked, trying not to raise any suspicion of my clear hatred for the company because of what I knew.

       However, Mr. Hicks eyed me suspiciously anyway. "How did you know about that?"

       "Because it happened a few days ago?" I said in an obvious tone. "And you do know that I'm dating Levi, a Coyote, right? You were there at the election when Wayne told everyone. And I was just lying with him on the hammock. I just asked him what the reward was when they came back and he said they went to some headquarters for a company."

       "Ah, right," Mr. Hicks said. "So to clarify more, S.H.R.E.W.D is a company that researches and develops computer science and artificial intelligence. They're always wanting to allow students to have a tour of their headquarters to get a feel of what they're working on. S.H.R.E.W.D absolutely loves when students from gifted schools get tours as well."

       Oh, I bet.

       "So how would you feel about the Tigers taking a tour?" Mr. Hicks asked.

       You have got to be kidding me. It hasn't even been a week since the Coyotes' tour and now he was trying to get another house to go, probably to get the scan?

       That wasn't happening.

       Being a captain of one of the houses wasn't just about who was the most authoritative. A captain had to have a lot of skills, one of them being able to think logically to try to find an answer.

       So I was using all the logic I had to make sure my house didn't get that scan taken.

       "I don't know if that will be the best idea for my house," I said. "For starters, we're athletes. Sure, some of us do enjoy other activities but I'm pretty sure most of us would rather go out for a jog or play some sports than tour a headquarter that has to do with computers. And boring stuff."

       "I assure you, it isn't boring," Mr. Hicks said. "The Coyotes enjoyed the tour and they're more into the arts than computers."

       "And that brings me to another point," I said. "I thought the tour was for the winners of the relay race. Sending the Tigers there, especially when we came in third, would just diminish the Coyotes' win. You didn't give the losing houses last year the same prize the winners got. Even the year it was a tie, you thought of separate prizes for each house."

       "I see," Mr. Hicks said. "Well, I can always think of another prize to give the Coyotes since S.H.R.E.W.D is really keen on meeting everyone from this school. They absolutely love the way it's running. So I'll schedule for the Tigers to go on Wednesday after class."

       Thankfully, I already had an excuse for then. "Sir, with all due respect, the Tigers won't be interested in the tour, even if the company wants to meet us. Besides, Wednesday is already a busy day for us after class. We have basketball practice."

       "Can't you postpone the practice?" Mr. Hicks asked.

       "No, we can't," I said. "Because we have a game the next day right after class. Wednesday's practice is our last one and trust me, we do need it because of the captain adjust."

       "Alright," Mr. Hicks said. "I'll go see how the Owls feel about going to S.H.R.E.W.D's headquarters on Wednesday."

       As soon as he walked off, I went back to the hammock. "We have a problem," I said.

       "Clearly," Levi said. "He interrupted our cuddle time."

       "Something more important than that," I said. "He wanted the Tigers to take a tour of S.H.R.E.W.D but since I had an excuse not to, he's going for the Owls now."

       "Warn everyone," Levi said so I took my cell phone out of my pocket to send a text to our investigation's group chat, made by Piano since he had everyone's phone numbers. I sat back down on the hammock, telling Levi to read the messages on my phone so he could know what was happening.

Uriah: Heads up, Pearl. Mr. Hicks is about to ask if the Owls would be willing to go to SHREWD on Wednesday. He tried convincing me for the Tigers already.

Piano: Well that's rude. The tour was our prize for the relay. Are we not special anymore?

Astrid: I don't think that matters right now. How were you able to turn him down, Uriah?

Uriah: Basketball practice. Owls need an excuse that checks out.

Pearl: I'll try to think of something but if we end up going to SHREWD, we're going to have to risk having suspicions raise and do the same thing we did for the Coyotes.

Astrid: Start a flood? I'm up for that.

Pearl: Okay, not the exact same thing. Just any excuse or emergency to get him to leave.

Diesel: Someone can always give us an excuse while to tour is still going on. You know, so there will be a lesser chance of suspicion being raised.

Uriah: What do you mean?

Diesel: If the excuse comes right before the scan is happening, that will raise more suspicion. That an excuse came for both tours right at the scan. If it's in the middle of the tour, way before the scan, they might just think it's a coincidence.

Astrid: I like the way you think. And since the tour won't be until Wed, if the Owls do go, that gives us time to think of something. 

       "If we don't think of something, we're screwed," Levi said. "All the Owls will be scanned. They'll be one step closer to getting all of us."

       "That won't happen," I said but I had my doubts. I didn't think we could avoid going to S.H.R.E.W.D forever without Mr. Hicks catching onto us.

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OOF THE OWLS MIGHT GET SCANNED OOF

i'm probably going to keep spamming because i have a lot planned and one scene that just makes me OOF

i love saying oof lol