The gang meet up after school and head to their usual hangout, the ice cream shop. The owners of which have expanded. Adding more room for more tables and booths. Probably because of the increased activity, thanks to Chris and the group. They even have their own spot now, most of the time. Two tables put together.

  “Weird test, huh?” Chris asks the others.

  “Yeah, it was fine till the st page.” Ivy comments. “Why would they want to know how I feel about the testing of new genetic advances on humans or animals?”

  “Like they want to make some kind of superhuman or something.” Paul says.

  Chris immediately has a fshback to the Director and…Tetra. Something he’d like to forget.

  “Either way, I think I did pretty good.” Elle leans into Chris. His arm wraps around her.

  “Me too. Now we just gotta think about what we’ll be doing over there.” Paul comments.

  “Yeah, right. Like we’ll all be going over.” Jackson leans back and crosses his arms.

  “Oh, quit your bitchin’” Elle says.

  Chris busts up ughing. Did she really say that?

  “Well, they had their chance, but they didn’t want to take Spanish. So…” She sticks out her tongue and gives them a raspberry.

  The owner of the shop, Mrs. Naomi Franklin, comes over and takes their order. Everyone gets their usual. Banana splits for Elle, Chris and Faith. Paul and Ivy get the turtle sundae. Celeste gets the Strawberry smoothie. Jackson, the cinnamon sundae and Jerry, the rocky road sundae. As if those two couldn’t get anything that didn’t hint at their particur powers. Sheesh.

  “You guys seem exceptionally cheery today. What’s up?” Naomi asks.

  The crew takes turns telling her the quick version.

  “AccuLearn, huh? Never heard of it.”

  Chris tells her of the random choosing thing.

  “Oh, must be Tailorton’s first time. ‘Bout time this town got something going. Besides your parents’ company.” Motioning to Chris and Elle. “I’ll be rooting for ya.”

  Naomi returns to get their orders.

  Chris pulls out the pamphlet and goes through it again. Although he had meticulously reviewed the test many times, the st page held a perplexing puzzle that left him pondering. At least in the back of his mind. Why would they ask about genetic testing, biological research and drug trafficking? He finds a toll-free number on the back.

  “Geez, Chris. Haven’t you looked at that thing enough?” Jackson asks, smiling.

  “Rub it in why don’t ya.” Jerry adds.

  “What is it, Chris?” Elle asks.

  “Oh, nothing, really. It’s just that st page of the test. Got me thinking is all.”

  “Just call that number there.”

  He looks at it, then puts the pamphlet away. “I’ll call at home ter. It’s not that important.”

  Naomi comes out with their order and everyone digs in. Everyone ughs and jokes, having a good time. But Chris can’t help but think about AccuLearn’s survey.

  **********

  Chris settles in at home after saying good night to the gang. And asks if he can call the AccuLearn hotline on the brochure. He had told his parents about the test when he got home, and they thought it was a good idea.

  He dials the number and after a series of prompts asking for some information. Zip code, nguage and reason for calling. Chris presses the corresponding button on the phone for information.

  “Please stay on the line while we transfer your call to the next avaible representative.” Followed by horrible music. He makes a face and bounces to the music.

  “Delightful music?” His mom says, failing to control a few snickers.

  Chris smirks and rolls his eyes. Then he waits…and waits.

  After what seems like twenty minutes, and might just have been, someone answers the phone.

  “Hello, and thank you for calling AccuLearn.” A cheery young woman’s voice answers. “My name is Sandy. How can I help you?”

  “Hi, my name is Chris Talvert and I’ve just taken the quiz for the trip to Spain.”

  “That’s great. And how do you think you did?”

  “Well, me and my friends thought the quiz was rather easy. But then again, we studied like mad.”

  Sandy lets out a small ugh. “That can make a difference. So, have any pns on what you would like to see if you win?”

  “As much as I can see, really. But back to the quiz. I had a question about the st page of the quiz.”

  “All right. Could you tell me what the question said?”

  “It wanted to know my opinion several unusual topics. Among them, human-animal genetic testing.”

  “All right, and what was your concern?”

  “Well, first off, it had nothing to do with Spain or the Spanish culture. And…well. It just didn’t seem to fit into the quiz at all. I guess I want to know why you put it in.”

  “It threw you off, didn’t it?”

  No kidding.

  “The reason we put it in is that we want to know the opinion of young people on a rising concern over in Europe and Asia. There have been several rumored incidents of both animals and humans undergoing certain…questionable procedures. We haven’t been able to confirm those rumors yet, as no solid proof exists.”

  “I see.” If there is no proof, why ask? Weird.

  “We’re sorry for throwing you off track with that question. We merely wanted to know your opinion on the matter.”

  “That’s okay.” He pauses a moment, trying to think of anymore questions.

  “Would there be anything else, Mr. Talvert?” Sandy asks.

  “I was curious about AccuLearn itself. I’ve never heard of them or of the past contest winners or anything.”

  “Yes, AccuLearn has been around for only a few short years, so it’s no wonder you may not have heard about any of our past contests. We also dislike the media hype a company like ours would get if we had our contest bsted over the airwaves.”

  Chris thinks back on the celebrity status Elle got st year, and the first part of this year, too. “I can understand that.”

  Chris receives a motion for dinner and informs Sandy that he has to leave.

  “If you have any further questions, you can call the number and one of us will be gd to help you.”

  “Great. Thank you for your time.”

  “You're welcome and good luck with the contest.”

  “Thank you.” Chris ends the call and hangs up.

  “Feel better?” His dad asks him.

  “Yeah, guess I was worried for nothing.”

  His dad pats him on the back and walks with him to the kitchen for supper. Chris’ mind was at ease.