Compulsion - The Greenhouse Academy

24: "I n m y O f f i c e ... N o w!"

"Cause we break down a little
And when you get me alone, it's so simple
'Cause baby, I know what you know
We can feel it."

~ So it Goes by Taylor Swift

"So THIS is where you've been spending your free time, is it?" a teasing, male voice reached Adalynn's ears.

Adalynn smiled and rolled her ears as she pulled out her earphones and stuffed them into her back jeans pocket. Skillfully flicking up her skateboard and catching the end of it with one hand, she retorted, "This is one of the only ways to shut out the world, Leo, and you know it."

"Yeah, but you had to do it without me?" Leo faked an exaggerated whiny voice as he jogged over to her, tossing his backpack on the grass nearby.

"Yep," Adalynn grinned. Leo always made her smile, no matter what the situation was.

Leo, board in hand, hurried over to where she was standing and gazed down over the skatepark's cement-layered drop. "I'll race you down it, Stanton."

Adalynn shrugged as she readied herself. "Whatever you say, Cruz. But I'm still going to beat you!"

"I don't think so," Leo sang out as he dropped his board and hopped on it. With a whoosh of air and a bright flash of colour, he zoomed down the ramp and did a few ollies on his way to the far part of the jumps.

"That was nothing, you cheater!" Adalynn booed as she pushed herself off. Her hair whipped around her face as she flew down the ramp. Locating a nearby cemented ledge, she did a few board-slides and then followed through with some complicated 360 degree-turning maneuvers before coming to a stop near Leo.

"Not bad, Stanton, not bad," Leo commented, arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face.

"What do you mean, not bad? It was brilliant!" Adalynn laughed giving him a playful punch to the shoulder. "Hey, so, I know this sounds super weird and super odd, but ... if someone was plotting to take down, let's say, a satellite and you knew about it, what would you do? Would you keep the information to yourself in case the culprits found out? Or would you risk it all and tell Louis or someone else you trusted?"

Leo shot her a funny look. "You and your obsession with space. Since when did you want to become an astronaut?"

"Oi, not funny!" Adalynn yelled after him as he dropped his board onto the ground and took off again. "I - I'm trying to be serious here!"

"Adalynn! Leo!"

The two stopped what they were doing and glanced up. Max was standing on the grassy bank above them, hands on his knees, chest heaving for a breath.

"Geez, Max. What's up?" Adalynn laughed. "It looks like you've ran a marathon."

"L - Louis ... he - he wants you two in his office ... now!"

"You wanted to see us, sir?"

Louis glanced up from filing some paperwork on his desk and smiled. "Leo, Adalynn. Please, come in."

Adalynn entered the room, her heart pounding and her knees knocking. What did Louis want with her? Was it something urgent? Something important? Surely, he - he wasn't going to expel her ... was he?

"Take a seat," Louis motioned to a couple of chairs nearby. "So, you both know Judy Hayward, don't you?"

Adalynn froze, her mind turning like clockwise. Leo spoke up for the two of them, "Yes sir, I believe we do."

"Good," Louis indicated behind them.

Leo turned around and Adalynn slowly, hesitantly followed his example. Judy was seated on one of the principal's soft, plush lounge chairs, hands folded and a huge, charming smile on her face.

"How lovely to actually meet you two in person!" she chuckled, eyeing both Adalynn and Leo discreetly. "Louis just can't stop talking about you both."

Louis chuckled. "It's not quite like that, Judy."

"Of course it is!" Judy exclaimed brightly. "These two could very well be the future leaders of the next generation! Whether it be politicians, government officials, law enforcers, you name it and why? It's all thanks to your efforts, Louis."

Louis smiled. "Thank you, Judy. You're always my biggest supporter. Shall we sit?"

Leo and Adalynn took their seats, confused, silent and mentally wondering what on earth was going on.

"Now, as you probably know," Louis began, leaning forward and resting his arms on top of his desk, "NASA is launching a special satellite tomorrow in honour of Hayley's Mum, Ryan. It's to show the Woods how much they appreciated Ryan and the work that she did for them. It's quite the occasion with loads of media coverage and special attention from the higher line of government. Anyway, I've been sent a couple Free Student Passes as a gift to give to two of my most outstanding, hard-working students. Here." With a smile and a flourish, Louis produced two delicately designed cards and held them out to Leo and Adalynn. "Congratulations. You've been chosen to attend the launch tomorrow with Jason."

"J-Jason?" Adalynn sputtered disbelievingly. "I - I thought YOU were going?"

Louis frowned and shook his head. "I was but, with some helpful feedback from Mrs Hayward over there, I decided to let Jason go instead. He needs - er - more responsibility around this place. He needs to take his job seriously and this is the best way for him to prove it to me."

"A-Adalynn!" Leo exclaimed, his voice ecstatic. "This - this incredible! We get to go into NASA and watch the launch as VIP guests! Aren't you excited?"

"Uh -I -I'm thrilled," Adalynn muttered sarcastically, casting a sideways glance at a smirking Judy.

This was bad, this was really bad.

Somehow, in some way, Judy had convinced Louis to let Jason attend the launch with the students instead of him...What on earth was happening? Adalynn didn't know, but the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was enough for her to determine that she would not let Jason out of her sight, no matter WHAT could happen on the morrow ...

~~~~

Gif: Louis shuts his desk drawer. (Just ignore the fact that there's actually containers instead of papers in there, lmao).

A/N: So, what IS happening? Any ideas? Any theories? How on earth did Judy convince Louis to let Jason attend the launch? Why do you think, out of the entire Academy, that Adalynn and Leo were chosen to go with him? Is Judy trying to give Adalynn special treatment in order for her actions to be closely monitored? What WILL the morrow bring? Please voice your opinions in the comments below, I'd absolutely LOVE to hear from you!! I appreciate feedback, critical or not, from all my readers! Thank you so much for reading this and supporting my work! Have a great day, guys. xx :)