Brood Mother

Chapters 6 to 10

When they returned to skool Monday they had to start their week of detentions. At the end of skool they all had to go to the detention room and sit there for two hours. They weren't allowed to talk to each other or be on their phones. The only thing they could do was their homework. They weren't even allowed to sit next to each other.

For Zim and Dib this was nothing new. Back when they were younger they would spend days in this room, staring at the walls. They had received detention for their fights more times than they cared to count. Later on it was because of the fights they would get into with the other students. It would usually start with Dib getting made fun of, then Zim would get involved. One thing would lead to another, they get into a fight, then they get sent to detention. So sitting in this room for a couple of hours for a week straight was nothing new to them.

For Gaz and Tak it was horrible. Gaz couldn't get on her Game Slave 8 and play her new horror game she just got. She couldn't even play it under the table like she did in class because Ms. Bitters was the one watching them. For an old woman she had eyes like a hawk for that kind of thing. Tak, on the other hand, hated it because she hated taking orders from what she perceived as a lesser life for she was 95% certain she was older than. The constant sitting and doing nothing also frustrated her to no end.

And they had to do that all week. When Friday came around they almost cheered, but for a different reason then the usual reason why. It was their last day of detention, then they were home free. Then all they had to do was behave well enough for three more weeks, then they graduate on June fourth. Then they were really home free.

Everything started out fine that Friday. Gaz and Dib got ready for skool before picking up Tak and Zim. The road was clear all the way to hiskool, so they got there with plenty of time. They chatted before classes. Even the weather was nice and sunny that day.

But threw it all Dib noticed that Zim was unusually quiet. He wouldn't speak unless spoken too. He was also very fidgety today, never holding still for more than a minute. He kept moving his legs in particular. Crossing them and uncrossing them, just to cross them again. Or shifting in his seat. It had Dib concerned.

Zim wasn't quite sure what was going on with him right now either. He's felt restless ever since he woke up this morning in his nest. He spent an hour or so switching between pacing and laying down as he waited for Dib to pick him and Tak up for skool. He had noticed that she had been keeping her distance from him all morning. She even kept Gir from bothering him too, which he was grateful for. He didn't want anyone near him right now.

Tak had a suspicion as to why he was acting this way. Really there was only one other option other than a sickness. She wasn't entirely certain, however. So she settled for keeping an eye on her Brood Mother for the time being. She was just glad that Dib had noticed something was up with Zim too. She was going to need his help if her suspicions were correct.

The two of them kept an eye on Zim all morning long. When lunch time came around they all headed to their usual spots in the cafeteria. They met up with Gaz there, who raised a brow at Zim. She had noticed a change in his behaviour as well. They sat at the table, eating quietly today. Normally there would be loud chatter, mostly from Dib and Zim. However, right now they were mostly focused on Zim.

Zim, on the other hand, hated all the attention. Normally he loved attention and would seek it out whenever possible. Yet, with how his body was acting he hated all their focus on him. He felt like a specimen under a microscope, and he hated it! He just wanted to get away and, and, and he didn't know what! He just wanted gone.

So he took off out of the room. With them being near the doors he avoided gaining the attention of the other students, but his friends took notice right away. He took off down hallways, looking for a good spot to hide. From behind him he heard the tell-tale footsteps of Dib hot on his trail. He found he didn't mind that it was him who followed, he was actually a little bit relieved to have his company.