by Jess Keating
Only instead of aiming it at Dad, I aimed it at the man who had been behind all of it.
And I knew exactly what I wanted Nolan to become.
Though he tried to fight it, I was right: Nolan’s prototype was no match for Dad’s ring or my anger. They say there’s no fury like a woman scorned, right? Well, try a ticked-off tween with seven years of anger stored up and nothing left to lose.
I focused all my energy onto the ring, urging it to listen to me. A crushing pressure in my head grew until I could barely stand it. Then, suddenly, the mental strain eased the tiniest bit. It felt like someone was lending me a hand. But how? I didn’t need to tear my eyes away from Nolan to know what was happening: Dad was helping me, willing the ring he’d invented to listen to us and not Nolan.
A wave of power surged through me. We could do this together.
First, Nolan’s ears began to flicker again. Then his nose glitched between flesh and fur. Nolan eyes flashed with curious recognition—he was starting to put together what was happening. All those years ago, his biggest mistake was underestimating our family, and now he was going to lose by doing the same thing.
He tried to pull Dad’s ring from his finger, but as he realized he was too late, his face twisted in confusion. Then, in one quick blip that sent a crack of smoke through the air, he shrank down in front of us and landed on four paws. Two silver rings clanged down beside him, tumbling across the dirty concrete toward my feet. A memory stick, mangled and bloody, settled beside them.
Dr. Nolan was no more.
Leo was at my side within seconds. “A ferret?!” He darted forward and grabbed Nolan by the scruff of the neck, before he could scurry away. Nolan, absolutely livid at this turn of events, attempted to scratch Leo’s arms, but Leo’s grip was too tight. “How did you get the rings off him?!”
I pressed my hand to my forehead. Turns out that projecting seven years’ worth of anger onto your nemesis can give you a bit of a migraine. “I wanted him to be a harmless ferret, and to get the rings far away from him so he couldn’t hurt us anymore. It looks like Dad’s ring—the one that can respond to my thoughts—took that into account. But I think we have Dad to thank for the memory stick.” I had to lean forward and rest my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
Leo held the ferret up for inspection. Nolan’s beady black eyes glared daggers back at us. “He’s not talking,” he mused. “Shouldn’t he be able to talk?”
I made a face. “Yeah, I wanted him to shut up, too. He’s done enough talking. Now he’s a mute ferret.”
I grabbed both rings and Nolan’s memory stick and stuffed them into my pocket, then hobbled over to Dad. He was freeing the last of the ropes from his legs and tossing them aside.
“You two should never have come back,” he scolded me while pulling me in for a hug so tight I could barely breathe. “It was dangerous. Reckless. Completely irresponsible.” He shook his head, talking into my hair.
I let out an exhausted breath. “And … ?”
“And exactly what I would have done,” he admitted, releasing me. He patted Leo on the shoulder. “That was quick thinking with the fireworks. Thank you.”
“No problem, sir.” Leo grinned his perfect lopsided smile. “Hey, would you mind taking him?” He held out the squirming ferret in one hand. “I think we should probably get Nolan down to Martha before he bites someone. He could have rabies for all we know.”
I giggled at the ferret’s indignant face. “I don’t think he’s too happy to be a rodent,” I said, poking him in the belly.
“Mustelid,” Leo and Dad said in unison.
“I’ll take him,” Dad said. “I want to get him in custody before he has a chance to scurry off. He’s useless as a ferret, but there’s no way I’m taking my eyes off him until he’s locked up. And I want both of you checked out by the paramedics. Understood?”
“Yes, Daaad,” I intoned, rolling my eyes.
“Ready, Nikki?” Leo grabbed my hand, and together we followed my father as he limped toward the roof’s exit.
I laced my fingers through his. “Our friends aren’t going to be happy with either of us, you know,” I said. “How did you even get up here? Last I looked, you were in that police cruiser causing a scene …”
He winced. “I might have driven it around the back of the building and into a tree. Bert and Mo set off a few more fireworks, and I used the diversion to sneak in the back into the stairwell.”
“You knew that Nolan had the ring—what were you even thinking?”
“You’d have done the same for me. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone threatening you forever.” He shrugged. “Besides, everyone’s going to be more ticked off at you for coming up here alone in the first place.”
“Maybe we should take the helicopter and get out of here. Let Grace cool down for a while,” I suggested.
Leo beamed. “Where’s the fun in that? And one more thing, Nikki … ?” He stopped in his tracks in front of the door. Dad’s muted footsteps continued to echo lightly down the staircase.
“What?”
“Remind me never to tick you off,” he whispered.
And that, dear reader, was the only moment of the day that I truly hadn’t anticipated. I’d expected that I might die, or be defeated by Nolan, or lose my cookies skydiving with Dad.
But I hadn’t expected Leo to kiss me.
Yes—you read that right!
Right there, on the rooftop, with the police waiting below us and my dad just a few steps away with a furious enemy-turned-ferret in his hand, Leo tucked a curl of messy hair behind my ear and gave me my first kiss.
Now, I know that the whole space-time continuum is still under debate, but I will say this: If there is any way to time travel, I bet scientists will find the answer is kissing. I’m not sure if ours lasted two seconds or two minutes. Maybe it was two years? All I know is that in that moment, I forgot about everything. There were no equations. No disasters. The entire world seemed to melt away, leaving just Leo and me, on a rooftop under the moon.
I even forgot about the stupid ferret that had just tried to kill us all.
“Uh, excuse me?”
We both leaped apart at the sound. I knew I looked guilty, red-faced, and dopey. But Leo, to my surprise, had a mellow look of perky contentment on his face. Somehow it made him even more adorable.
“’Sup, guys?” Leo said brightly.
“Well now, I hope our attempts to save your life aren’t interrupting anything!” Bert stood before us, his eyes bulging. He wore the gloves I’d used to scale the ship in the Galápagos. Behind him, Grace, Mary, Charlie, and Mo had their hands on their hips, and a bundle of tied parachutes rested at Mary’s feet. Pickles wound herself around Grace’s shoulder, and even she was giving me a ferrety look that said, “Oh no you didn’t!”
Dad’s footsteps sounded behind the door, and he stepped back out onto the roof, clearly wondering what was taking us so long. “Are you guys coming or— Oh, hey, everyone! Glad to see that you’re all okay!” He gave them a little wave, ensuring that Nolan the ferret was still tightly gripped in his hand.
“Yeah, hi!” My voice was traitorously hoarse and my mind blanked. “Uh … How did you guys get up here?!” I pinched my lips together. Maybe if I made them disappear, I could make it seem like they hadn’t seen anything. But judging by the look on Mary’s face—a playful “I told you so” kind of look—they weren’t about to be fooled.
“What … ?” Dad said, blinking with confusion. “Did I miss something?”
I stared at my feet while Mary stifled a sharp giggle.
“How did we get up here?” Bert repeated, incredulous. He adjusted his glasses and pointed to the furry ball of fury in Dad’s hand. “Who’s the ferret?!”
The familiar house flanked with trees sent a happy rush of excitement through me. It had been a couple of months since I’d seen it, and the crisp fall air and a cozy trail of smoke coming from the fireplace made anything seem possible.
“Don’t just stand there,” I said. “One knock, and we get this over with. Aren’t you curious to see what happens?”
Dad stopped with his hand in midair in front of the door. His shoulder was wrapped in a sling, a single flower tucked into it by his wrist. We’d been standing there for at least five minutes already, and the autumn chill was starting to make my nose run. I could smell the crisp, woodsy scent of turning leaves. Change was in the air.
“I don’t know, Nikki,” he said. He let his hand drop again to his side. “Do you think she’ll even hear me out?”
I glanced back at the Academy van, where my friends were waiting. “Go!” Grace mouthed in the passenger side window. Charlie and Mary clapped their hands soundlessly behind the side window. Bert and Leo gave us both a thumbs-up from the back seat, eager to show their support.
“You got this, Mike!” Leo hollered.
“I’ve tried every equation I can think of,” I said. “And the truth is, I have no idea how Mom’s going to react. But there’s only one way to find out.”
“Right,” he said. “Sometimes you need to try something to see if it will work. Let’s do this.”
He stood taller and straightened out his jacket and tie. He’d gotten a fresh haircut for the occasion, and without the threat of global disaster looming over him, he looked a lot like I remembered him, all those years ago.
“Together,” I said, lifting my hand to join his. “One, two …”
We both knocked on the door.
To Be Continued
It doesn’t take a genius to know Nikki Tesla’s not done saving the world. Read on for a sneak peek of her next impossible mission!
Ahh, vacation.
I stretched my arms above my head, letting the movement and airflow cool some of the clammy sweat from my body.
Know what my favorite part of vacation was? Besides the little capuchin monkeys chattering in the trees above me?
There were no disasters.
No evil villains trying to take over the world.
No ridiculously impossible odds to face, and no world-saving missions to complete.
It was only me, my family, and the huge orchid balanced above my ear. Relaxing in the teeming jungle with chirping birds and insects all around us. Though to be honest, the fact that the orchid wouldn’t stay in place was already getting on my nerves. I was ready to throw it into the ocean.
“Can’t I hold onto the flowers instead of being decorated in them? I’m not a flowerpot,” I whined. Pickles, my ferret, seemed to agree, swiping the wispy tendril of flower as she shifted from her perch on my shoulder.
“No way, kiddo.” Mom’s mouth turned up into a satisfied smirk.
If you’d ever seen my mom before today, you probably wouldn’t have recognized her. She usually had what I like to call “Momface”—a combination of weary and paranoid, probably because she spent most of her time worried about whether or not one of my latest inventions was going to blow up the house.
Understandable, considering it was known to happen on occasion.
But ever since my dad had come out of hiding from the police (and us!) after being framed for attempted murder seven years ago? Mom was a breezy, smiling ray of sunshine.
“We only get to do this once, so everything’s going to be special. And if you insist on Pickles riding on your shoulder during the ceremony, she’s going to have to get used to the flowers …”She handed me a cluster of messy wildflowers as a placeholder bouquet. “Both in your hands and your hair!”
I rolled my eyes. “Technically you’re not doing this once,” I reminded her. “This is your second time walking down the aisle. To the same guy, even. What’s the point of getting married again? You never got divorced or anything. He just disappeared.”
“The point, my dear child,” she said, “is a new start. We’ve gone seven years without your dad, and we want to make his return special. Plus, this time, you’ll be there with us. It’s the start of a new chapter in the book of our lives!” She lifted her hands dramatically.
“Oh boy,” I said. “The book of our lives needs another lemonade, not a wedding!” I licked my parched lips, trying to remember where I’d left my water bottle.
I should probably explain the past few months, in case you haven’t been keeping track in my official government records. Actually, you know what? Explaining would take too long. Let me sum it up:
I’m a genius. I got shipped off to a boarding school that turned out to be a secret government-run place called Genius Academy helmed by a tough, no-nonsense lady called Martha. The students’ job, to put it bluntly, is to save the world. We use quick thinking, prodigious expertise, and a good dose of luck to protect Earth and its inhabitants from threats. I’ll admit it: It’s totally fun.
But don’t let the fact that we’re geniuses make you think we’re all the same.
Nope, Genius Academy is an equal-opportunity agency, representing different kinds of brilliant minds. Some of us excel at inventing and building dangerous weapons (that’s me!), while others are experts at stuff like music, physics, chemistry, leadership, or reading people. Or, if you’re like my friend-and-possibly-boyfriend, Leo da Vinci, you’re good at everything. (Which is completely unfair, if you ask me.)
Anyway. So, before I joined the Academy—seven years ago, as I already mentioned—my dad was all over the news for blowing up his lab. The police found plans for a bomb that he was developing to use to hurt a bunch of people. But guess what? He was framed! By an evil dude who wanted to sell one of Dad’s cool inventions for boatloads of cash.
I know! How rude, right?
To make this long story short, he disappeared to keep me and my mom safe, but my friends from Genius Academy helped me clear his name, so he’s back in the picture now.
That’s great because it means I finally have my family together again, and we can let go of some pretty awful stuff from the past.
But it’s not so great because it means I’ve had to endure my parents basically making out all the time, “reconnecting” after so many years apart. Barf!
Don’t ask me why they couldn’t reconnect by going out to a fancy, candlelit dinner like regular long-lost soul mates. Nope, they wanted to get away from it all. And I guess “it all” means air-conditioning and flat-screen televisions. As you can probably tell from the vines and monkeys surrounding me, I’m not at the Academy anymore.
Welcome to the Monteverde Cloud Forest! Home to over four hundred species of birds, one hundred species of mammals, and one nerdy genius with a sunburn. Oh, and my parents, who are now rehearsing for their upcoming (second) wedding, where they’re going to renew their vows and profess their love in holy matrimony.
My job today was to practice walking down the aisle alongside my mom at the right tempo. You’d think that being a genius would mean I’d be good at this, but the truth is, I could hardly balance on the tiny heels that Mom had bought me to go along with my bridesmaid dress. I’ve seen some people wear heels that are three inches tall—how do they do it?!
I mean that literally: I’ve done the calculations, and the physics of walking on heels doesn’t add up.
“So when you hear the second bar of the music, that’s when we go.” Mom gripped my elbow tightly, but her face was all smiling sunshine. Seeing Mom so happy after so many years of sadness was pretty great … even if it was hard on my feet.
Just then, Pickles chattered sharply in my ear and scurried down my arm, using her sharp claws to push off me as she catapulted to the ground. A flash of chocolate-brown and white, she bolted off in the direction of our hotel.
“Ouch!” I yelped, stumbling on my heels.
Mom held me steady and stared after Pickles. “What’s up with her?”
I chewed my lip. “I’m not sure.” I squinted against the dappled sun streaming through the jungle leaves as a last flick of her tail disappeared around the curving trail. A low buzz of anxiety started to quiver
inside my stomach.
“Mind if I go see what’s up?” I asked Mom, trying to keep the edge of nervousness from my voice. “She’s not usually like this. Not unless …”
The chatter of the jungle got louder in my ears. Pickles didn’t race off like that unless she was motivated by something—or someone.
Mom took the bouquet from my hands. “Maybe the hotel staff has been sneaking her treats! Go ahead, sweetie. We’ve got a week until the wedding. Tons of time to practice.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Be right back!”
Kicking off my uncomfortable shoes, I darted after Pickles, my bare feet skidding on the path when I arrived at the cute little hotel my family was staying at for the next week.
“Pickles!” I yelled through the vivid green trees. “Where’d you go?” I clicked my tongue and clapped my hands, trying to get her attention. Usually, if I made noises like this, she’d think I had food and race back to me.
But this time … nothing.
Continuing through the hotel doors, I hoped someone at the front desk had seen her. Would they kick us out of here if she caused trouble? I plastered on a fake smile in hopes of endearing myself to the staff.
“Excuse me,” I said, ducking under the ornamental tree by the door to reach the receptionist. “I’m looking for— Oh!”
The receptionist wasn’t there. Instead, Pickles sat perched atop the shoulder of someone else.
Someone who should have been thousands of miles away …
“Hi, Nikki!” Charlie Darwin lifted her arms and danced in place. Then five other faces popped up from behind the counter, like they were celebrating a surprise birthday party.
Only it definitely wasn’t my birthday.
“What are you guys doing here?!” I reached over to give Charlie a hug, then made my way down the rest of the line to greet Mary Shelley, Grace O’Malley, Adam “Mo” Mozart, Bert Einstein, and, of course, Leo. My six genius buddies were a long way from Genius Academy. That could only mean one thing.
