As the weeks went by, Kyle found his chemistry class, along with the others, falling into his schedule easier than he had ever imagined. He even found that doing his homework and studying took his mind away from things that he’d rather not think of. And worst of all, Justin and Nicki had proved him right. Kyle wasn’t a complete moron after all. He’d even found a way to tolerate having Evie as a lab partner, as difficult as it had been. He ignored her as much as he could, and only spoke to her when absolutely necessary. He knew she must be frustrated with him, but he forced himself not to care.
It was early October that Monday morning as Kyle glanced sideways past Evie to the fresh supply of test tubes. He gritted his teeth. It was either asking her to pass one to him or reaching in front of her.
“Pass me a test tube,” he said through gritted teeth. “Please.”
Evie shot him a cold glance before plucking a test tube from its wooden holder and shoving it over in Kyle’s direction.
Kyle didn’t bother to say thank you. He simply poured half of the solution into the tube and fastened it securely over the Bunsen burner.
“Safety goggles,” she muttered.
“Huh?” he said, swinging his head to face her.
“Put on your goggles.”
Quickly, he looked away from her, grabbing his safety goggles from the counter and strapping them to his head. He watched closely as the temperature on the thermometer reached boiling point. Carefully, he removed it from the heat and poured the solution into a beaker.
“When you’re finished,” Professor Adams boomed from the front of the lab. “Please store your solutions in your lockers, and we will test them on Wednesday.”
There was a clatter as students began clearing and cleaning their areas.
“And speaking of tests,” Professor Adams went on, “I have yours to hand back. Three of you even got A’s. They’re waiting up front on my desk in alphabetical order. Please pick them up on your way out.”
Kyle tore the goggles from his face as Evie wiped the countertop with a wet paper towel. He froze. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. Taking a test was one thing, getting back your grade was a whole other story. Gulping, he brought their solution to the side of the room and set the beaker and goggles into his locker, closing the door tightly on them. He wanted to get to the front of the room as soon as possible to pick up his test before anyone else would even have a chance to see it. Walking as calmly as he could, he made his way to the front and plucked his test from the pile. He folded it up and held it securely by his waist.
Once outside, he slowly unfolded it as he walked back to his dormitory and took a quick peek. His eyes widened at the black letter A at the top of the page. It didn’t even matter that it was an A minus. An A was an A.
“Wow.”
He spun around on his heels to see Evie peering around his right arm. “Excuse me?”
“Congratulations, Kyle,” Evie went on. “You’re turning into your regular scholar.”
Not sure what it was that she was up to, Kyle glared at her. “I didn’t volunteer to show you my grade,” he sneered. “So if you don’t mind…” He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.
“Please, don’t be mad at me anymore,” she pleaded.
He tore away from her hold and walked in the other direction. When he was halfway to his destination, he realized that his had been holding his test so hard, that it was crumpled into a ball in his hand.
“So, how come you couldn’t tell me any details over the phone,” Nicki said as she sat cross legged on Lalie’s couch.
Lalie looked over at her gravely. “Phil was in the room,” she explained. “I have my suspicions that your brothers are planning on having strippers at Justin’s bachelor party after I specifically told Phil that I wouldn’t have that sort of behavior going on in my apartment.”
“That doesn’t sound like Phil to go behind your back like that,” Nicki pointed out. “Now, Justin… that’s another story.”
“And that’s exactly what I’m worried about. Justin says jump, and Phil asks how high. Now, I say, if they’re going to do this anyway, I might as well catch them at it. I want to make him feel bad for not listening to me.”
Nicki made a face. “Are you sure? I mean… yuck.”
Lalie grinned at her. “I called my friend Georgia last night, and she said I could help myself to any of the extra hidden cameras at Caldwell Enterprises, so…” She stood up and reached for a bag that rested at the end of the couch. Nicki’s eyes widened as she pulled its contents out. It was a tiny little piece of equipment that could barely be recognized as a camera. “I talked to the technical supervisor, and he gave me this. He said I could hide it in basically anything.”
“Wow, Lalie… I don’t think Phil will like this idea,” Nicki told her. “And didn’t the technician wonder what you wanted the camera for?”
“He actually thought it was pretty funny. He said it sounded like something his wife would do.”
The two of them discussed where they would hide the camera and finally decided on squeezing it between two books on the bookshelf. After they had it securely in place, Nicki turned to Lalie.
“I hope you realize that if strippers do show up at this party, I won’t be watching it with you. I’m sorry, Lalie, but that’s just… disgusting.” She thought about it for a second. “And the first thing I’m doing is calling Kyle’s cell phone and making him leave.”
“No!” Lalie told her. “Then they’ll know we’re up to something.”
“He won’t know. I’ll make up some story about why he needs to leave. My little brother is not going to be at a party with a stripper, and that’s all there is to it.”
Lalie pushed the two books together on the camera and then stood back to make sure it wasn’t too visible. “Okay, we’ll figure something out,” she smiled.
Just as Lalie was about to nudge the camera in a little further, the door opened and Phil and Kyle walked into the room. Phil gave his girlfriend a suspicious look as she hopped away from the bookshelf.
“Something wrong, Lalie?”
“No,” she smiled. “You just startled me. I thought you boys were out shopping for the party.”
Kyle pulled in a few bags of groceries from the hallway and looked up at them. “We did,” he replied.
“Unlike you women,” Phil grinned, nudging his brother. “We men know how to get something done in as little time as possible.”
Nicki let out a laugh and then covered her mouth. “Oh, really? Are you trying to tell me that you bought everything for Justin’s party in…”
“Fifteen minutes,” Kyle finished for her. “Not counting driving time.”
Lalie watched as Nicki walked over to their grocery bags and peered inside. She pulled out four bags of chips, two containers of chip dip, and three bags of various candies. Finally, she lifted out a pack of a dozen cans of cola. “This is it?” she wanted to know. “This is what you’re planning on feeding your guests?”
Phil glared down at her. “Is something wrong with it, Nicki?”
“Only the fact that you have about ten guests coming over for dinner and all you’re going to feed them are chips and pop.”
Kyle folded his arms across his chest. “I told him he should get some beer, but-” he stopped mid sentence when Nicki sent him a warning glance. “Never mind. I’m staying the hell out of this one.”
Nicki turned her attention back to Phil. “Where’s your list?”
“List?” he gulped. “For what?”
“Does he ever go shopping?” Nicki wanted to know, turning to Lalie.
Lalie shrugged. “Sometimes…”
“A grocery list!” Nicki told Phil. “Usually, when you’re having a party, you make a list of the things you want to buy, so that when you’re there, you don’t forget anything.”
“You’re forgetting about my brilliant memory, Nicki,” Phil claimed, pointing to his head. “I didn’t forget anything.”
“I think you forgot your brain at the store.” She shoved him to the door and pushed him out. Then, she grabbed Kyle by the arm and shoved him out as well. “Go back, and don’t come home until you have something besides junk to feed your guests.”
“We’ll order pizzas!” Kyle yelled as the door slammed in their faces.
Chapter 24
Keeping the Peace
Family: Timberlake
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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