Ships Ahoy!

The Geek and the Nerd

A/N As you all read on, you may notice that I took a few liberties when writing this section, and in a few cases I completely changed the plots of some episodes (DISCLAIMER: I try to avoid doing that unless it's absolutely necessary for my story to work). This is mostly because I need things to fit with my other fanfic "Olive's Last Partner", but it's also often to smooth over continuity issues with the show itself. (For example, in "Oscar of All Trades" there's never been a Department of Science, yet we see two scientists pictured earlier in the timeline in "Fistful of Fruit Juice"?!) Just please know that I am probably 100% aware of these changes, which I am allowed to make as a non-canonical fan fiction writer. :)

DISCLAIMER: I realize most of you already know the above. That was just for the trolls who don't.

OTHER DISCLAIMER: In addition to changes, there will also be some (not many, but a few) lengthy explanations for things for the same reasons, as well as more stuff about home lives. You have been warned, but I needed them to make things work.

Anyhoo, that's enough of that. Enjoy the beginning of Part 2! And I gotta say, this chapter's title is my favorite of all the titles ^_^

Two kids sitting side by side.

One a boy, one a girl.

One four years old, the other six.

One with glasses and braces, the other without.

One with long hair in a braid, the other's close-cropped.

One holding a medical journal, the other clutching a teddy bear.

Both blonde.

Both brown-eyed.

Both wearing long-sleeved recruitment T-shirts.

And both very, very nervous.

They were each seated in the two chairs in front of Ms. O's desk, waiting for her to return and view their Odd Squad Academy test reports. But in the meantime, they had nothing to do but worry about what she would think of them. See, these two kids were different from normal recruits because they both qualified for Head of Department roles. The only problem was whether Ms. O actually needed two Heads of Departments at this time. Or even whether she needed any new agents at all.

Eventually, the boy tried to make small talk. "I wonder what's t-taking her so long, heh," he said in a squeaky stutter, looking over at the girl expectantly.

The girl didn't return the glance, but kept staring straight ahead. "I don't know," she said, sounding annoyed with him. "I'm a recruit, not her adviser."

The boy pursed his lips and looked away. "Okay then," he mumbled. But it wasn't too long before he tried again. "So h-how long were you in th-the Academy?"

"Four years," came the terse reply.

He whistled. "Wow. Th-that's my whole life. S-see, I was only there for six months—"

"It's because the position I want requires it," she cut him off. "And I need four more years of working on it here before I can get the job."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I-I-I didn't know. So...you kn-know what you want to d-do, then?"

The girl made no reply.

"I'll, uh, t-take that as a yes," he said, looking down at his lap. "I wish I knew what I wanted to do. My teacher, th-this guy named Peter, he just told me I'd be good at that sort of thing. Y'know, b-being Head of Whatever. I'll p-probably end up trying different things, heh."