Tamarious' POV

Sandifer Bay High School, the next day...

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, yeah.

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S.

We're flying first-class,

Up in the sky with the champagne.

Living the life in the fast lane.

I may not be living in the fast lane with the rest of these snobs, but even I know the feeling when everything seems to be going right after last night's major victory with the destruction of those serums. And as Kelante, Tiffany, and I walked down the halls of Sandifer Bay High dressed in our Sunday best; we knew that everyone was looking at us with contempt as if we were too damn good for them and all the incoming super-losers that were popping up all around the country.

"That's so pathetic," one of the basketball cheerleaders scoffed as we passed her and her clique. "Browning and Company aren't really all that."

"With the news of the bombing and all, I bet they're lost in la-la land with York's major blow to his campaign," one of her friends agreed. "If I knew better, they might've had something to do with this."

If only they knew, bitches! But as long as you can't prove it, my crew and I were basically in the clear.

"Shameless," one of the teachers sneered as we approached homeroom. "Those children and their families need to have them committed to an asylum or sent to jail."

"All of them being too good for everyone," another teacher agreed. "Kyle's a saint to put up with this mess. It's a good thing that he saw fit to change his ways before he got lost in this mess."

I just flipped the two off before motioning my two fellow rebels to join me in our homeroom session, the classroom growing silent with hatred as we took our seats. "This is my kind of morning," I drawled gleefully as Kelante and Tiffany sat down in the desks at either side of me. "All feels right with the world."

"We might wanna dial it back," Kelante commented, looking warily at our classmates. "Like they say, don't count your chickens before they're hatched."

"Definitely," Tiffany agreed, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she smoothed out the wrinkles of her designer skirt.

"Chill out, guys," I assured them quietly. "Last night was a major win for the three of us, so let's enjoy it while we can. And with Kyle and his crew now in hiding and licking their wounds, it's all the more reason to celebrate."

"We know, but I can't help but think that this is all just the prelude to the shit that's about to hit the fan," Kelante commented. "Tamarious, don't let your ego get the best of you. Be on your guard at all times and keep your eyes and ears peeled. Something is about to go down soon if it already hasn't already."

"We'll cross that bridge once we get to it, but we do need to stay focused," I agreed. "For now, let's just take in today and show those haters who runs this show around here."

The teacher walked inside as the day finally got underway. I knew that Kelante was right, but I intend to make sure to savor this victory as long as I could. With the serum now gone, I intend to keep our group of Outcasts surviving for as long as possible even after we've gone our separate ways.

*************

Lunchtime arrived and no one was around to stop me and my crew from enjoying today's specials as talk of college preparations and a final summer vacation before entering the real world flowed like honey out of the honeycombs. "Anyone got any ideas for what's planned for college?" I asked.

"I know Ma and my grandparents are talking about us heading to Georgia after graduation," Kelante commented, pausing to sip on his carton of milk. "I just got my acceptance letter to Emory yesterday before last night's festivities."

"Good to know," I replied. "I'm planning to head up north to Washington State and attend UW in Seattle as I planned. Tiffany?"

The blonde looked up from her salad. "I'm going there too," she told me. "Mom and Dad said that you can stay with us until we both start our freshman year there."

I nodded just as I saw a harried sophomore kid come to our table, me recognizing him as one of the chess club members. "Moseley," I greeted him. "What's up."

The young man looked around, him noticing that he was risking his reputation as a Neutral to talk with an Outcast. "Read this," was all he said before he raced back to his now-dwindling clique.

"What the heck was that about?" Tiffany asked, eyes lit in confusion.

"Damned if I know, but something tells me that he's sending me some warning message about what happened," I commented, unfolding the note and reading it.

Browning, the note began.
Word of what went down is somehow reaching to its boiling point and there's been talk about you and the others being seen there. My granddad was working with Mr. Tillman as the mole while working with the state troopers, so you know that he's been on everyone's radar as much as you and the others are. But things have changed, Browning. The serums that you thought was destroyed at the science lab were decoys while the real ones were already shipped out beforehand. So for your efforts, that was all for virtually nothing.
Be very careful, Browning. You already know that most of us Neutrals that are still around are being scrutinized and questioned for loyalty, so the game's not in our favor. For many of us, we're already facing pressure to join the Titan Club as either heroes or allies. For me and my family (Grandpa Smitty included), we're leaving after the school year is out. Things are getting too dangerous now that the serum's already in the hands of other schools across the country. And if we continue to fight this, Browning...then no one is safe, not even you.
Take care of what you're doing. Trust me when I say that once you're found out, there's no telling what might happen next.
-Vincent Moseley.

I bit back a growl, tossing the letter aside as Tiffany and Kelante looked at me with concern. "What did it say?" the latter asked me.

"Y'all, we might be facing a losing battle and all our efforts from last night might as well be turned to garbage," I replied. "In short, we're in deep shit."

"I was afraid of that," Kelante commented dourly. "I-"

The PA came on with a few musical notes. "Attention, all students," the secretary intoned. "All students and staff members are to attend a mandatory assembly in the gymnasium effective immediately. I repeat from Principal and Vice-Principal Dermott themselves, all students and staff members are to report to the gymnasium for a mandatory assembly effective immediately. Everyone EXCEPT Tamarious Browning, Kelante Parrish, and Tiffany Detweiler, who are to be excused from school for the rest of the day."

"Wait, what?!" Tiffany exclaimed as we saw everyone collect their things and make their way outside before we did the same. "What do we do now?"

"We do what we're told," I replied firmly. "We lie low and go offline. Shit's getting real, y'all, and not in a good way!"

"I'll bet," Kelante harrumphed as we bussed our trays and grabbed our bags. "Meeting at Jolene's?"

"Yeah."

Don't get comfortable just yet, folks! You're not ready for what'll happen as the teen Outcasts are talking about early departures before they have another run-in with a very-unhappy Marcel and Kyle! Don't go anywhere!

Dedication: YourAverageNerd_. Song: "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West.

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