"Okay, class, it's time for your next social studies project!"

The entire class groaned, turning away from their conversations. Emily sat, unaffected. Jo was stuck on set for New Town High all week and turned in the project early with Emily as her partner. 

"You'll be working in pairs to find ways to make the Palm Woods greener and more environmentally friendly," Miss Collins said, smiling, hoping to get her students excited about the project. 

The class mumbled, not interested, but also aware it could be worse. James shrugged looking to Emily in the desk beside him. 

"The team with the idea that saves the most energy wins a week off from school," The woman grumbled, her students erupting into ecstatic cheers and applause. Emily looked around at all her friends who were excited about the opportunity. She didn't see the appeal. 

Sure you win a week off school, but you still have make-up work. And your friends are in school all day while you're ready to have fun. It wasn't worth the effort. 

"All right, the projects are due end of the day Thursday so now... pick your partner!"

"Logan!" The class screamed, turning to the boy in the center of the room. Emily watched, amused, as people shouted over one another at Logan, trying to get him to pick them at his partner. He sat there, flattered. 

A tall, massive boy walked forward, harshly gripped Logan's shoulder and yanked him up, the class falling silent. "Logan is my partner."

Everyone shrunk back, afraid to challenge the kid for Logan and gave up on getting the smarter guy in class to be their project partner. 

"Okay," Miss Collins hummed, walking around to see the partners, "Logan and Ozzie are working together. Carlos and James," she nodded at the two boys who were hugging each other tightly in fear of Ozzie. "The Jennifers, a Jennifer and Camille, and- Kendall, where's your partner?"

Kendall shrugged, nodding down to Emily who remained in her seat as everyone paired up, tear a sticky note into pieces. "I guess Emily," Kendall smiled. The girl looked up, hearing her name. 

"Oh, no," she shook her head. "I'm not available."

Kendall frowned, "What?"

"Emily volunteered to be Jo's partner and get the project done early since Ms. Taylor is working on set this week," Miss Collins explained to Kendall.

"I guess I'm flying solo," Kendall shrugged at the teacher, content with his situation. Emily grabbed her notebooks, throwing them in her bag and stood to leave. 

"Can I go if this doesn't apply to me anymore?" She asked, becoming bored. Miss Collins gave her a nod, fairly amused by Emily Moore in class. For someone so bright, she had little work ethic and motivation. Emily smiled, giving Kendall a thumbs up as she skipped out of the room. 

Mama Knight had made an amazing cake the night before. She limited everyone to one slice to prevent arguing. It was a light chocolate with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and she even baked Oreos into the batter. Emily was obsessed. 

With the guys stuck in class for a little while longer, she figured now was the perfect time to mosey up to the crib and have cake without them eating it all. 

Emily pushed the door open, cracking it, "Hello?" Silence. She widened the opening, stepping through to see no one was home. 

Emily dropped her bag on the floor and jumped happily as she swung the fridge open while humming and spotted the holy grail. She sliced herself a piece, dropping it onto a plate. And she closed the fridge, she stabbed a bite with her fork and slid it into her mouth. 

Emily turned to lean against the counter while she enjoyed her cake. The fork spotted in her mouth and she slid it out to see the four boys back in the crib, staring her down. 

"What are you doing?" Kendall exclaimed. 

She took the fork out, "Nothing."

"You broke in to steal our cake!" Carlos accused. 

Emily swallowed her cake, setting the plate and fork down, "Well you were supposed to be in class for a little longer and I didn't hear you come in!" 

James tilted his head, "Probably because you were humming your cake song."

Emily clicked her tongue against her teeth, unaware she was absentmindedly singing the song. Emily created a cake song after the first time she had Mama Knight's magnificent cake. It was a jolly song that went C is for chocolate, A is for amazing, K is for keep away, and E is for Emily.

Emily resumed eating the cake, "I can't even be sorry," she told them. James and Carlos groaned, going off to plan their project. Logan had been nervously biting his nails and bouncing his heels since entering. Kendall sighed, throwing his bag roughly into the stool at the counter. 

Emily opened her mouth to address Kendall's mood when the door opened and Jett entered, "I'm here," he announced, carrying a tray of cheese and crackers. She turned to Kendall, pointing back to Jett, confused. 

"Jett!" He exclaimed, "My partner is Jett. I can't stand Jett," he complained to Emily, ignoring the boy. 

"Jett is right here," Jett said, standing by Emily, "And I would expect a warmer reception considering I'm the only one who thought to bring a cheese platter."

"You two are partners?" Emily incredulously asked. Kendall nodded, rolling his eyes. 

"I know, right?" Jett exclaimed, "I should be with someone almost as good looking as me!" He cried, looking to Emily for affirmations. 

Kendall took a slice of cheese from the platter, "Why are you here?"

"Because I'm not stuck on set all week like Jo and now I'm stuck with you."

"Would you two stop complaining?" Logan snapped. Emily turned around, eating the last piece of her cake, as it settled in her mouth she walked over to drop her dishes in the sink. "Did you see who I'm partnered with?"

"Ozzie Clark," Jett answered. "He's a new heavy in town. He's a psycho in every role he's in, and I don't think he's acting," Jett told Logan, which only made him more on edge. 

Emily walked past the two, "I think he's cool," she commented. Logan scoffed at her, going back to pacing around the apartment. 

"Just keep your phone close," Kendall told him, "and call us if you feel threatened."

Emily passed Logan on her way out the door, satisfied with her visit to the crib, dropping a metal baseball bat into his arms, "And here's a bat in case you can't reach us."

"This does not make me feel better!" Logan cried to Emily. 

"Thanks for the cake," she smiled, opening the door. 

"Slow down, thief," Carlos warned. Emily sighed, turning back to see him and James back in the room with a newfound confidence. "If you had to guess, what would you think our project idea is?" He asked. 

Emily narrowed her eyes, confused by the question and its relevance. 

"You have no idea what your project idea is, do you?" Kendall smirked. Emily pointed at him, realizing he was right and the boys were fishing for ideas. 

"No, but it will change the world," Carlos whispered. "Go green!" Him and James chanted, their fists in the air. 

"And so win us the week off from school," James smirked. 

"Why would you want to win?" Emily asked, genuinely confused. All the boys turned to her.

"You don't?" James countered. 

Emily shrugged, "Jo and I suggested water filters in every apartment so you can drink clean tap water and decrease plastic water bottle usage and distribution. It took 30 minutes and we got a solid B+." The girl picked her bag back up, planning to leave, "You might not have to go to school, but you still have to do the work, geniuses." 

Emily backed up, placing her hand on the handle, only for a powerful force to push against her, knocking her back as they threw the door open. The girl jumped in surprise, seeing Ozzie enter causing the guys to shriek in fear. 

"Time to social study, partner," He said to Logan who shook with terror. 

"Yeah, totally, okay, cool, whatever you wanna do-Oh!" Logan stuttered before Ozzie tossed the boy over his shoulder, carrying a screaming Logan out, begging his friends to "avenge his death."

Emily turned to the remaining boys left, waved, "Best of luck, world changers," she remarked walking out the door. 

"Go green!" She heard Carlos and James shout from the hallway, laughing to herself as she went to enjoy her two days off.

***

Emily woke up the next morning refreshed. 

Not only did she not have a project to worry about, but Gustavo warned her not to come in to work for a few days. Apparently Katie Knight was fighting Griffin to get rid of the foam cups in the studio, which the company he runs manufactures. 

The girl assumed by the natural silence nature of her current life that the guys all were not done with their projects and focused on those instead. 

Emily was texting Kendall while watching the stock news. Katie got on TV and tanked RCM stock by trashing Griffin live. 

Kendall was mass texting her panicked and asking her if he was allowed to kill Jett. Jett showed up two hours late because he took a two hour shower, turned on all the electricity in the apartment and suggested evicting unattractive people from the Palm Woods to converse energy. 

The only time she opened the door was when James and Carlos pounded on it demanding to know if she had seen a cow. 

By Thursday, she was enjoying a simple morning on the couch watching the news. RCM stock was still falling until Katie came back on announcing the company switched the paper cups and stock began to rise again when the sweet girl batted her big eyes into the camera. 

"And in an unrelated story," the newscaster said, "two teenage boys in pajamas are disrupting traffic downtown in pursuit of a cow." 

Emily choked as her tea when down the wrong pipe at the sight of live footage of James and Carlos running through traffic with a large cow on a leash. 

Stunned she turned off the TV and mindlessly dropped her mug by the sink when a knock rang from the door. She opened to see a pleased Kendall Knight. 

"Hey, what's up?"

"I know you don't have to come to class, but how would you like to witness our project in person?" Kendall smirked, gesturing for her to follow him to class. 

"Why would I want to see your project?" She asked, leaning her head out the door, looking for something in the hallway he could be alluding to. 

Kendall smiled, "Trust me."

Unsure, yet curious, Emily shut the door, following Kendall to the classroom in the lobby. 

Emily sat bored in the classroom as Miss Collins addressed the projects and their affects. Bike shares, recycling... but then she got to the good stuff. 

"And Carlos and James," she said, turning to see nothing. The boys weren't in class and had no project turned in. 

Seconds later the door swung open, James and Carlos running in, shoving the cow through the door. Emily sat back, mouth wide, very pleased with the turn of events. 

Kendall turned back to Emily and Logan. Logan laughed, not surprised. "Thank you so much for making me come today," Emily told Kendall. 

"A cow..." James said. 

"In every room," Carlos told Miss Collins.

"Go green!"

Miss Collins, unamused, "Absolutely not."

"Darn it!"

The woman walked past the cow, standing besides Kendall and Jett's project. "But, making the biggest environmental impact at Palm Woods School is Kendall and Jett!"

In the massive cut out box sat a restrained Jett with tape over his mouth, the signs reading Don't Be A Jett. Kendall put arrows addressing how Jett "wastes electricity, takes 2 hour showers, and is stupid." 

Emily silently put her hand over her mouth as Kendall looked at the class staring at him, shrugging. 

"By keeping Jett tied up, and keeping him away from excessive electronic and water usage, their Don't Be A Jett project immediately cut the Palm Woods' power usage by 22%," Miss Collins smiled. 

"Today?" Emily clarified, shocked. 

Miss Collins nodded at the girl, "And will save 440,000 gallons and water per year." 

"Wow," Logan mumbled to Emily who nodded in response.

"So, Kendall and Jett win!" 

Kendall jumped from his seat, "Oh yes!" He cheered. "I get a whole week off from school."

"Oh no, not just a week off," Miss Collins told him, "A week at the capital, where you two get to share your green idea with the governor and other school winners."

A silent laugh escaped Emily's lips as she bit her tongue, muffling her laughs knowing Jett and Kendall would be spending the whole week together. She scoffed, looking at her friends smugly. 

"Told you the week off wasn't worth it."

***

SUPER short and lame chapter. 

My deepest apologies, but as we've seen before, sometimes it's just the best option for the story. 

BUT this also means a full chapter is posted with this one so I'm not scamming you guys. 

Enjoy!