Cory, Zoey and Shawn sat at the table in the middle of the hallway for their bake sale to help the underprivileged children.

Then Eric came up to them and explained the situation. He asked the three of them to help get Mr. Feeny and the Dean together, but the Dean's ex husband, Curt Kincaid arrived at the college to win her back.

"And the man stepped in between them, and the course of true love for one of our own may have forever been altered by this.... Schivosa." Eric finished explaining.

"Why do you come to us now... on this, the day of our bake sale?" Cory questioned with a Russian accent.

"Well, cause this just happened, like, five minutes ago." Eric replied simply.

Cory nodded his head. "Okay. What do you need?"

"I need for you to do me this favor." Eric responded, turning his accent into Russian.

Shawn then slurped on his tea.

"You need me to do you this favor?" Cory questioned. Eric nodded in response. "You never invited me into your home. You never invited me for a cup of coffee."

"Yes, I know, and for this I am sorry." Eric apologized ashamedly. "But... we must help Feeny, but he mustn't know that it is us. This is the biggest job we've ever attempted to pull off. I come to you with my hat in my hand-"

"It's my hat." Cory corrected.

"It's my hand. Are you in, or are you out?" Eric asked.

"Eric, we're flattered you come to us. But Look around. We're legitimate now." Shawn responded, gesturing to their bake sale.

"We're in the bake sale business." Zoey informed with a Russian accent.

Eric sighed. "Guys, it's Feeny. He's family. This may be his one chance at true love."

Shawn stood up from his seat and strolled over to Eric. "Eric, I just spent sixty-eight bucks traveling around this country. I learned a few things about life."

"Why don't you tell him what you learned, Shawn?" Zoey insisted as her and Cory joined them.

Cory leaned towards his brother. "I love this part."

"I learned to be at peace with myself. I like looking over my shoulder and not worrying about who's coming after me. These schemes and capers I used to hatch, they only lead to despair. That's what I learned. I also learned never to park a trailer across a railroad track when that thing is down." Shawn explained, shuddering at the memory.

"Besides, Eric, I hit a teacher, remember?" Cory pointed out.

"Yes." Eric muttered.

"The Dean put me on probation. I do one thing wrong, I'm outta here." Cory said.

Zoey crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you think that Feeny can take care of himself?"

"I'm ashamed." Eric admitted. "I am ashamed to call you guys my brother, Shawn and Zoey."

Eric grabbed a cupcake and ate the entire thing in one bite before he walked away. Shawn, Zoey and Cory stood in silence as they scratched the bottom of their chins.

"He ate the paper." Shawn pointed out.

••••

Later that day, Shawn, Zoey and Cory sat in the science seminar listening to Curt Kincaid talk about one of his big adventures. Zoey narrowed her eyes at him, knowing this was the guy that Eric told them about.

"So, I jump off the cliff, grab hold of a big old branch, jungle gym to the river, and never saw Chief Yakazo's ugly mug again. And the cursed ruby of the Tzang-Kwai now resides in the Turkish Museum of National History diagonally across from the Hard Rock Café. The end!"

"Wow." Topanga and Angela gaped in unison.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Eric questioned them.

"Well, thank you Dr. Kincaid for that, uh, vivid story, which provides us with a perfect transition into today's assignment, where on neighboring Crete we will find Sir Arthur Evans excavating at Minoan Knossos, beginning in 1899." Mr. Feeny announced which caused most of the class to fall asleep. "We will read what Evans was most interested in excavating and the effect it had on archaeology in the 20th century."

"Ponderous, man, ponderous." Curtis stated, gesturing to Mr. Feeny.

"George is a fine educator, Curtis." The Dean told him.

"Sorry, but when you've had these experiences first-hand, it's a little hard to get excited about reading a book. But I supposed reading is a lot safe than actually doing something." Curtis responded.

Eric then glanced over at Shawn, Cory and Zoey.

"I feel as though this gentleman may require our attention, boys." Zoey admitted.

"Perhaps a lesson in humility." Shawn suggested.

"Something big." Cory added.

"Something spectacular." Zoey stated.

"But let's not get caught like all the other times, okay?" Cory asked.

••••

Shawn, Zoey and Cory came up with a plan to frame Mr. Feeny. Zoey, as usual, was certain it wasn't going to work but she said nothing as Shawn picked the lock to the archaeologist's office.

"Shawnie, Zo, of all the plans we've concocted this is the best one." Cory told them, closing the door behind him. "And we have concocted some doozies."

"And Feeny always caught us." Zoey pointed out.

"Yeah, he always had us figured out." Cory agreed.

"But we're in college now. We're older, we're wiser." Shawn said.

"You think he's up to the challenge?" Cory wondered.

"It's us against him, living on the edge, babe." Shawn responded.

"I like when you call him babe." Cory admitted.

"Alright." Zoey began, clasping her hands together. "Eric said this guy Curtis stored all the stuff from the last dig here in the science lab."

"Yeah, he supposedly got something that's gonna alter the course of the new millennium." Cory agreed.

"Are you two ready to execute phase one of our master plan?" Shawn asked.

Zoey nodded her head. "Ready."

"Let's mess this place up!" Cory exclaimed excitedly.

The three of them began throwing loose papers haphazardly on the ground.

"You know, Shawnie and Zo, I honestly don't see how anything could be simpler." Cory remarked as they worked.

"This is child's play." Shawn said. He then walked over to the table that stood off to the side of the room. "What's this, a brain?"

Cory and Zoey joined him to look at the object floating in the liquid.

"That's gotta be his discovery. He's discovered the world's first brain. If this gets out, Fennel never get the Dean." Cory said.

Zoey sighed. "You are honestly an idiot, Cor. The world's first brain no loner exists."

"You could get any woman with the world's first brain." Shawn said.

"Could I get Topanga?" Cory wondered.

"Yeah, I think you could." Shawn replied. Cory yelled in excitement and reached for the container. "That jar's been closed for 5,000 years."

"You know, this must be the world's first jar." Cory grumbled. "How do I get this thing open?"

"Here. Hand me the rare Phoenician mallet." Shawn insisted, grabbing the jar out of Cory's hand.

Cory picked up one of the items.

"No, no, that's an early Egyptian dental tool." Zoey corrected.

Cory fixed his mistake and handed Shawn the mallet. When Shawn tried to use it, the hammer part of the mallet fell off.

"Phoenician piece of crap." Shawn muttered.

"Shawn, you broke it. That's not part of the plan." Cory pointed out.

"I'll replace it. I see them all the time at Bed, Bath and Phoenician. Hand me the Byzantine statue of King Havarti." Shawn said. Cory handed him the statue. When Shawn tried to use the base of the figurine to open the jar, it shattered. "Home shopping channel. There's six billion of them left."

Zoey rolled her eyes as she grabbed the jar out of Shawn's hands, and with some effort, the lid finally opened.

Cory reached into the container and grabbed the brain. Zoey grimaced at the gooey substance that dripped from his fingers.

"Wow, the human brain. The thing that separates us from animals." Cory said in awed.

"Cause they would have an animal brain." Shawn responded.

"I hold in my hands the pinnacle of God's creation. Think fast!" Cory exclaimed, throwing the brain at Zoey.

"Ew, it's slimy!" Zoey squealed and quickly threw it at Shawn.

Shawn missed the catch and the brain landed on the floor, causing it to split it in half.

Shawn picked both half of the brain. "You want personality or motor skills? Cory, look what you did. You had a perfectly good world's first brain, and now look at it."

"I'm sorry." Cory muttered.

"Well, here... Just, like, smosh it back together and put it back in the jar." Shawn insisted.

Cory placed the brain back inside the jar and picked it up. "You know what, I better hide this because...."

Zoey's eyes widened when Cory dropped the jar due to his slippery hand, smashing the glass against some of the other artifacts.

"Cory, you broke another jar." Zoey whined. "I wonder what was in that one."

Then all of a sudden a loud buzzing noise caused the three of them to jump.

"Whoa! That's one angry bee." Shawn commented.

"Alright, forget the bee. On to phase two." Cory insisted.

"Yeah." Shawn said with a smirk. "How about we open a window for some air?"

"Wait a minute, Shawn. Won't an open window set off an alarm?" Cory wondered.

Without answering, Shawn went over to the window and opened, which immediately caused the alarm to ring.

"Oh man. We never learn anything, do we?" Shawn commented in a completely monotone voice.

"And now the teacher from next door's gonna hear that alarm." Zoey pointed out.

"And he's gonna come in here all mad...." Shawn trailed off.

"And I wonder who that teacher's gonna be?" Cory finished.

Then all of a sudden Mr. Feeny entered the room with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, no. It's Feeny." Shawn, Zoey and Cory deadpanned.

"What's going on in here?" Mr. Feeny demanded.

"Nothing." Zoey replied simply.

"We didn't break this stuff." Shawn added.

"Well, who did?" Mr. Feeny asked.

"You did!" Cory exclaimed, pointing at him.

"And we're telling!" Shawn added.

Shawn grabbed onto Zoey's hand without a thought as the three of them ran out of the room, making sure to close and lock the door behind them.

••••

Shawn, Zoey and Cory told Dean Bolander what had happened and dragged her into the archaeologist office. When they walked in, they saw Mr. Feeny trying to clean up the brain.

"George!" The Dean exclaimed in shock.

"What?" Mr. Feeny asked. He then looked down at the split brain in his hands. "This? I didn't do this."

"I didn't believe them when they told me, but it's hard to argue with something that's right in front of your face." The Dean said.

Zoey nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, we're just as shocked as you are, Dean."

Eric, Blake, Angela and Topanga walked into the room, completely shocked.

"Now, look, this is insane." Mr. Feeny stated.

"Put the brain down!" Shawn demanded which caused their teacher to quickly place the brain on the table beside him.

"What in haven's name were you thinking of when you did this?" The Dean wondered.

"I didn't do it! They did it!" Mr. Feeny exclaimed as he pointed at Cory, Shawn and Zoey.

The three teenagers gasped in shock.

"Mr. Feeny, we are insulted." Cory said in disbelief. "Shawn, Zoey and I have been upstairs selling muffins for the underprivileged."

"They were done here with me." Mr. Feeny explained. He turned to face Topanga. "Topanga, you wouldn't lie for him. Where was he?"

"He's been selling muffins all day." Topanga answered.

"So was Shawn." Angela added.

Blake nodded. "Zoey as well."

"We're legitimate now." Shawn stated proudly.

"Why did you do this, George?" The Dean wondered curiously.

"Uh, you know something, Dean, this was simply just an act of love culminating in an act of vandalism. It actually happens all the time." Eric explained.

"An act of love?" The Dean repeated in shock. "Was this an act of love, George?"

Mr. Feeny hesitated. He looked over The Dean's shoulder to see Shawn, Zoey and Cory nodding their heads.

"Yeah.... Yep." Mr. Feeny answered.

Curtis then appeared on the dock, completely shocked at what happened to his office. "All right, nobody move. Where's my bee?"

"Bee? What bee?" The Dean questioned.

"My bee, it's my discovery." Curtis informed.

Cory's eyes widen. "Uh-oh."

"It's an African Killer bee. I've been searching for it for years." Curtis explained.

Shawn let out a small chuckle. "Curtis, you've been out of town a little too long. Those African Killer bees are swarming all over the country. They're due in Philly next Tuesday."

"This bee has a reverse migration pattern. We mate the species with the Killer bees that are already here, they start migrating back where they originated from, saving thousands of lives. I could be rich!" Curtis responded.

Then all of a sudden a loud buzzing noise was heard.

"It's the bee!" Cory exclaimed.

"Everybody relax! I'll kill it!" Eric shouted, holding the broken Byzantine statue of King Hafaratu.

"No!" Curtis yelled, grabbing the statue out of Eric's hand. "Don't touch that bee."

The Dean gasped in shocked when she noticed the broken Byzantine statue of King Hafaratu. "Oh, Curtis, no. The statue of King Hafaratu you gave me for our anniversary, it's broken."

"The hell with the statue. This stuff is nothing but junk compared to that bee." Curtis responded.

"This is junk?" The Dean asked in disbelief.

"Shh! Don't move." Curtis demanded quickly. "The bee's on you."

The Dean's eyes widen. "Oh, Curtis, you know I'm allergic to bees."

"So you puff up for a little while. This is my Nobel Prize." Curtis responded simply.

"I don't think so, Curtis." Mr. Feeny said sternly. He approached The Dean and carefully took the bee off of her neck. He outstretched his hand to Curtis. "I think this belongs to you. I'll return the stinger as soon as it works its way out of my flesh.

Curtis began to panic as he grabbed the bee out of Mr. Feeny's hand. "No, no. Don't die! Quick! Where's the zoology department?"

Everyone in the room pointed in different directions before Curtis sprinted out of the room.

"Ha! That guys a dope, man." Eric stated, laughing.

"George, that's the most wonderful thing anybody's ever done for me." The Dean told him gratefully.

"I wouldn't let anything harm you, Lila." Mr. Feeny responded with a warm smile. "I hope you feel the same way about me."

The Dean smiled. "What took you so long, George?"

"Kiss her, Feeny." Eric instructed.

The room cheered and applauded when Mr. Feeny and The Dean kissed.

"Now this is a beautiful moment." Cory commented.

Shawn nodded his head. "What's even more beautiful, it's the first time we've ever gotten away with anything in our lives."

••••

Famous last words.

Cory, Zoey and Shawn ended up washing seven hundred-plus windows which wasn't fun, but Zoey just kept reminding herself that it was worth it in the end.

___________________
PUBLISHED: January 4, 2019
WORDS: 2526