N. S. Emerson

“Carlyle. “Even the best of us have to fail from time to time. In your case, the time just happens to be at this moment.” I took my book bag off and dropped it on the cement in front of my feet. Carlyle snapped his fingers, and Brayden stepped forward. He marched over to my book bag and unzipped it. Then he dug his fat hot dog fingers into it and pulled my ninja robes out. Tossing them on the floor in front of the captain, he spoke. “It’s all here, capt’n.” “Good,” Carlyle sneered. “Then it’s just about finished, isn’t it, Chase?” I couldn’t look him in the eye. Picking up my ninja robes, he turned around and started for the door. “Hope t’see you tonight, matey. It’s gonna be a heckuva””

“It’s like a giant game of hide ‘n seek where one of us is a near-genius and the other has a pea-sized brain.””