Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia

36: The Reckless Club

A car sped down the road as another car chased after it. The second car caught up to the first and Blinky stuck his head out the window. "I know the allure of operating one of these noble machines," he said to the gnomes driving the other car. "But stop this instant!"

The gnomes drove the car faster and Jim chased after them on his Vespa with Claire on the back. "Got them?" he asked.

"Got them."

She opened a portal in front of the car and the gnomes drove around it. "Don't got them!" Claire said.

Aaarrrgghh stepped in front of the car with Toby on his back. "Then, leave it to the professionals!" Toby said. Aaarrrgghh put his hands out, stopping the car. Jim and Claire got off the Vespa and opened the car door. "Freeze, you pint-sized punks!"

He picked them up and put them in a bag that Blinky was holding. "You take the gnomes back to Trollmarket," Jim said. "We'll get Senor Uhl's truck back before anyone notices—"

They heard police sirens and Blinky and Aaarrrgghh ran behind a few bushes as a police car pulled up. "Hands where I can see them!" A police officer said.

Jim, Toby, and Claire put their hands in the air and the police officer got out of the car. "Looks like your little prank is going to get you serving a little time. You want to press charges?"

Uhl got out of the passenger seat of the car. "No," he said. "I have something far worse planned for them. Saturday detention."

***

Claire's car pulled up at the empty school. "You never got detention before you met this boy," Mrs. Nunez said.

"Jim had nothing to do with this," Claire said. "I can screw up on my own, you know."

Mrs. Nunez sighed. "We'll talk about this later."

Barbara's car pulled up behind them. "I don't get it," she said. "Were you pulling a prank to impress that girl, Claire?"

"I don't think Senor Uhl's truck would impress anyone, Dr. L," Toby said from the back seat.

"You know, girls don't always fall for the bad boys, Jim," she said. "Sometimes, they appreciate chivalry."

"Thanks for the dating advice, mom," Jim said.

"And try not to burgle any cars on your way there."

Jim and Toby climbed out of the car. "Catch you on the flip side, Dr. L," Toby said as she drove away.

"Are you ready to get this over with?" Claire asked them.

"Are you joking?" Jim asked. "We're spending an entire Saturday without the slightest possibility or almost getting killed. This is a vacation."

"I told you, I don't need a ride!" Steve said, slamming the door of Coach Lawrence's pick-up truck

"Yeah, love you too, pal," he said.

"Is that Coach dropping off Steve?" Toby asked.

"Great," Jim said. "Vacation canceled."

***

Senor Uhl walked around the room, holding a box. Everyone put their phones in the box. "There are no cell phones allowed," he said. "You can survive without your texts and your apps and your beepy-boops, your facey-spaces and your tweety flaps. For your transgressions, you are to do homework the entire duration."

"What if I already did my homework?" Eli asked.

"You will sit and stare at the wall. You will not leave this room. If I find one of you has left without permission, then you will all face punishment. Do you understand?"