WICKED is good

Chapter 9: Group B

Thomas sighed, tapping his pencil against the table in the library in frustration. He couldn't figure out the answer to question 7 in his science homework.
   "Need help?" Aris asked. They were doing homework together. Thomas would've done it with Newt and Minho but the three tended to get distracted and ended up playing video games. Aris was like Teresa, smart and had his priorities straight, so Thomas decided to work with him today.
   "Yeah," Thomas answered, sliding his paper over. "Question 7. I don't—" He was cut off by Teresa speaking to him telepathically. He held up a finger for Aris to wait.
Hey, Tom. Teresa said. You busy?
   No. He answered. Unless you count doing homework with Aris as busy.
I do actually, Teresa said, sending an image of her rolling her eyes. Once you two are done, come over to the study at WICKED. I've got a project I need your help with. Rachel is coming too.
   Alright, Thomas answered. We'll get there as soon as we can.
   Okay, thanks.
   Thomas felt Teresa's presence leave before he turned back to Aris. "Sorry. That was Teresa," Thomas explained. "She needs help with a project and wants us over." He started to get up before Aris pulled him back down.
   "Woah, wait a minute," Aris said. "You haven't finished your homework."
   Thomas sighed, picking up his pencil again. Aris was the worst, yet best, person to do homework with.

Eventually, Thomas got all his schoolwork done.
   He and Aris started cleaning up their stuff. Once he swung his backpack onto his shoulders, Thomas noticed Aris digging through the piles of paper left on the table.
   "What're you looking for?" Thomas asked.
   "My history assignment," Aris answered. "I can't find it."
   Thomas checked the floor, finding nothing. He stood up again. "It wasn't that important, was it?"
   Aris looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? I don't want to fail history! Plus it was mine and Rachel's project. She'll kill me if I loose another one of our assignments."
   "Another one?" Thomas asked, grinning. "How many times have you lost them?"
   "Twelve," Aris muttered.
   Thomas laughed.
   "Yeah, haha. Laugh it up," Aris complained, rolling his eyes. "I may be smart but that doesn't mean I won't loose everything." He sighed. "You should go. I'll meet up with you once I find it."
   "Alright," Thomas agreed. "Good luck."

Thomas arrived at WICKED headquarters a few minutes later. He reached for his card to unlock the gate then realized it was gone. He started patting his other pockets, trying to find it.
   "Shuck it," Thomas muttered under his breath. He was about text Aris, asking if he left it at the library, when a voice stopped him.
   "Looking for something?"
Thomas turned around to see Rachel holding up his missing card with a grin on her face.
   "Thanks," Thomas said, grabbing his card and unlocking the gate. He held the door open for Rachel.
   "No problem," she replied, smiling brightly. They walked in silence for a few minutes before she sighed. "Can I tell you something?"
   "Yeah, sure," Thomas answered.
   "Ever since I found out what happened to Ben, I don't exactly trust WICKED," Rachel whispered. "So I've been sneaking around, looking for information."
   Thomas nodded. "I know what you mean. Teresa and I have been sneaking around this compound for years. We've found out some pretty crazy stuff."
   Rachel relaxed a little. "So that means you won't tell anyone?"
   "Your secret is safe with me."
   "Thanks Thomas. But," she glanced around. Nobody was in the hall at the moment. "That's not the thing I wanted to tell you."
   "What is it then?" Thomas asked, looking at the cameras and wondering if they could pick up their voices.
   Rachel whispered into his ear. "I found something recently. There was information about about how the Flare came to be."
   "Wasn't it just an accident?" He asked. "After the sun flares hit, right?"
   Rachel shook her head. "WICKED made up that story. They didn't want to tell anyone the truth because they could be held accountable."
   "What do you mean could be held accountable?"
   A scientist walked out of the door, ceasing the conversation.
   "Oh, never mind," Rachel said causally, as if they were having a normal conversation. "I'll just explain later."
   Thomas bit back all of his questions. "Alright."
"This is Teresa's room right?" She asked, implying that the conversation about WICKED was over.
   Thomas looked at the room she was pointing at. It was labeled A1. "That's her bedroom," he explained. "We're going to the study which is further down the hall." He walked past a few more doors before opening the correct one.
   As soon as they walked in, Teresa stopped pacing and looked up at them. She smiled. "Tom! Rachel!" Teresa pulled each of them into a hug. "I'm so glad you guys are here. I really need help with—" She stopped. "Actually I'll just wait till Aris gets here before I explain."
   "Speaking of, where is Aris?" Rachel asked, glancing around the room. "Shouldn't he be here by now?"
   "He lost his school assignment," Thomas explained.
   "Really? It better not be our history project," Rachel said accusingly. "Because I swear if he makes me fail another class—"
  Aris burst into the room, cutting her off. "Sorry I'm late," he gasped, "I couldn't—"
   "Find your school assignment," Teresa finished. "We know."
   "Did you loose our history project?" Rachel demanded, storming up to him.
   Aris turned toward Thomas. "You told her?"
   "What? No, of course not," Thomas said defensively.
   "So you did loose it!" Rachel accused.
   Aris held up his hands. "No, I—"
   "Guys!" Teresa yelled, shutting them all up. "We have stuff to work on, remember?"
   "That's right," Aris eagerly agreed then turned back to Rachel. "And for your information, I didn't loose our project. It was in my backpack the whole time. So technically it was never lost."
   Rachel gave him a charming smile that would've seemed genuine despite her next words. "Okay, good. Otherwise, I would've had to kill you," she said, patting Aris on the cheek affectionately.
   Aris looked at Thomas then rolled his eyes.
   "Alright, you two," Teresa said with a grin. "Come on."
   The four pulled up chairs, sitting around the metal table in the middle of the room.
   Teresa opened her backpack and pulled out a stack of paper and pencils. She picked up a used piece of paper and held it up for the others to see. "I call this a Beetle Blade." The drawing looked like a robotic beetle with an abnormally large head. "It's a camera that can move around quickly and smoothly. It can even crawl up walls. I asked WICKED to build me a prototype but they said it was already faulty and not worth the effort." She put the paper down sadly before perking up again, putting on her normal confident expression. "I want you guys to help me perfect it."
   Thomas leaned forward. "Well, for starters," he began, pointing at the sketch, "head is too big. It'll tip right over and won't be able to walk anywhere."
   "And," Aris added, grabbing the paper and inspecting it closely. "I'm pretty sure it'll be too small to fit a good quality camera. We'll need to come up with a larger one."
   Rachel looked at the diagram before handing it back to Teresa. "The feet should be flat, not pointed. That'll make it easier to climb up walls and maybe even the roof. If we use the right materials."
   Teresa looked at all of them in turn then broke out into a smile. "This is exactly why I needed you."