Near Miss

Chapter Twenty-Two: Irregulars

"Who did you bring?" Sylvie said flatly.

Fabian glanced toward the door again. "You said to bring friends," he tried. "So I brought a friend."

Sylvie, in fact, was completely sure that she had not said to bring friends. This gathering, she thought to herself, was limited to people she trusted. She didn't know who Fabian's friends were, but she didn't want them getting into her current circle- not only because the tasks she was assigning were more than a little dangerous, but because she didn't trust them. She couldn't trust anyone, except for people she knew.

"I didn't say you needed to bring friends."

"You said you needed all the help you could get," Fabian continued eagerly. "So I got you help!"

"Uh... well..." Sylvie sighed. "Thanks, Fabian, but-"

"Yeah, no problem!" Fabian grinned. "What do you need me to do?"

Sylvie was used to Fabian's difficulties with taking hints, but this seemed to be on a whole new level. She was making it as clear as possible that she didn't want anyone else there, but Fabian didn't seem to understand a word of what she was trying to convey.

"She should be here soon," Fabian promised. "Then you'll have two people helping! That'll be a lot better than just one."

"Fabian, I invited other people," Sylvie said scornfully. "You were just the first person to show up."

"Oh, okay," Fabian said cheerfully. Then, he added suddenly, "Here she is."

Sylvie spun around, ready to scold whoever passed through the door. When she saw who it was, however, her hands fell to her sides, her face slack with surprise.

She'd been silly to underestimate Fabian. He wasn't foolish enough to bring one of his regular friends. Instead, he'd brought someone who Sylvie knew she could trust. He'd brought someone who, of all things, owed her a favor. Someone who she'd helped in the past, and someone who'd helped her. Someone who fit Sylvie's criteria perfectly, someone who knew what she was doing, someone Sylvie hadn't thought to talk to after their most recent collaboration.

"Oh, hey, Sylvie." Cleo said dismissively. "Is this some sort of club thing?"

"What club?" Fabian said eagerly. "Is there a club?"

"Yeah, you're in it," Cleo joked. "It's the Firing Teachers Club." She turned to Sylvie expectantly. "So, what do I need to do today?"

"I-" Sylvie stammered. "I'm just going to wait until my neighbor gets here."

"You brought your neighbor?" Cleo frowned. "Don't you have any friends?"

"I do, actually," Sylvie said coldly. "It's her birthday today. I'm giving you a job that will either be very boring, very dangerous, or maybe both. I didn't think that would be the best birthday present."

"It sounds like a good one to me," Cleo shot back. "Why else would I be here?"

"Yeah, I wanted to come too," Fabian protested. "Are we going to get started?"

Sylvie decided, on the spur of the moment, that the only possible way to divert their enthusiasm was to change the subject. "So, you guys are clearly in touch," she offered. "Is that just since the teacher thing, or is it more recent?"

"We're classmates," Cleo and Fabian said, at the same time, glancing at each other with friendly smiles.

"But- I thought-" Sylvie put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I thought you were in fifth grade, Fabian."

"I'm in sixth," Fabian corrected. "I'm accelerated, remember?"

"But Cleo never had Miss Skink-"

"There are two sixth grades now," Cleo offered. "They changed it to fit more students, just a couple years ago. You must have missed it. I mean, now there's only one, since Fabian's class got put into mine too."