Return of the Ninjas

Chapter 12- Running around the City

A/N: Sorry for the delay! 10th grade is so hard! I'm taking 2 APs and one I don't even have the prerequisites for... So yeah. The other is okay, but it's my worst subject. Nonetheless, here is your chapter!

Silence cut through the air as the two red-faced teens broke apart and stared at the intruder like deer in the headlights.

            Jake broke the silence, his face as red as his fire-engine shirt.

            "Hey man... Um, what's up?"

            Ivan shook his head, trying to suppress his laughter. "Were you two just making out?"

            Emma opened her mouth and then closed it, unable to figure out what to say. She felt like a fish gasping for air. After a moment, she was able to form a clear thought and reply with a single word: "Maybe..."

            Ivan couldn't hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor, tears streaming from his eyes.

            Jake rolled his eyes, "Dude it wasn't         that funny."

            Finally, Ivan managed to get his laughter under control, at least enough to be able to speak. "Weren't you supposed to be working?" he asked.

            Emma shrugged, "We got, um, distracted."

            Ivan smirked, "Yeah that's one way to put it. Hey, what's that paper?"

            Jake picked up the crumpled slip of white paper with messy handwriting and a signature on it. "Oh, it's just a pass saying that Emma can be up in my room," he explained, his face still tinted a deep shade of red.

            Ivan's smirk transformed into scrunched eyebrows and slightly parted lips. A confused expression was splattered across his face as he clarified, "You know the teachers don't really care if you do that. Just make sure to lock the door next time." He laughed.

            Emma crossed her arms and glared at him. "Then why weren't you surprised when I said I couldn't go to the boys' dorms the other day?" she challenged.

            "Oh!" exclaimed Ivan. "Mrs. Shenanigans was behind you," he explained.

            Mrs. Shenanigans was the strictest teacher in the school, and she enforced the rules to the very last minute. She had the perseverance of a hawk stalking its prey, except she didn't want prey; she wanted all the students in detention. It was rather ironic that her last name was "shenanigans," due to her hatred of the concept.

            Jake shook his head slightly. "So what you're saying is," he repeated, "that Emma can come up here anytime and I can go to her room anytime?"

            Ivan nodded. "You should probably tell each other first," he suggested, "And lock the door."

            With that, the boy stopped his tormenting and left the room with a slight wave and a conspicuous wink.

            After a moment, Emma turned to Jake and shook her head, smiling.

            "He is so much like you. No wonder you two get along well," she noticed, "Except, you're hotter."

            Jake looked flattered, "Well, obviously. I mean look at all of this!" He gestured to himself.

            "You just gestured to all of yourself!" Jake furrowed his eyebrows. Emma laughed, "Okay, we should probably finish up the list."

            Jake nodded, "We should probably go get the raven feather, sodium-hydroxide, iron bar, and gold cap. We can figure out the pure laughter and drop of blood later."

            Carefully, Emma pulled out a map of the city from her pocket along with the list of items. "We should probably take down these items," she suggested, ripping a small bit of fabric off the inside of the invisibility suit she was carrying. "We want to get them to the principal as fast as we can." She walked out the door and began walking down the marble steps.

            Picking up the avocado seeds and piece of parchment, Jake began heading downstairs behind Emma.