Third-Person POV

At the Browning residence, the next day...

"We have to head back to LA and to our jobs," was the first thing that left Khadijah's mouth upon Tamarious, Kennedy, and Tiffany's arrival from school the following day as they saw the young woman and her twin sister dressed up. "We noticed that Dad's been on our tail and kept us from Kyle since we aligned ourselves with you guys and our grandparents, so we gotta lie low and head back to reality for a while."

"Damn it," Tamarious hissed before greeting his parents and the Tillman couple as his girlfriend and sister did the same, all three teens heading for the den to start on their homework. "And I take it that you guys won't be back in time for Thanksgiving?"

"Unfortunately, that's right," Khandi commented dourly. "It wouldn't matter anyway since Dad didn't invite us or our grandparents for next week's planned festivities at the Dermotts or the house. So we have to head back to our careers and watch from afar."

"I was afraid of that," hummed Kennedy, rolling her eyes. "With Yesenia and Telfair now out of the picture for who knows where and our group dwindling down, we might as well be sitting ducks at this point."

"But we can't back down now," Tiffany reminded her. "I mean, there's still our new ally from Mississippi to consider and hopefully, the odds will be in our favor."

"Right," Grandpa Tillman noted, shaking his head. "I just talked with his momma earlier. She said that Kelante is soon to arrive as early as Saturday afternoon so he can check in with us while his parents finalize everything back home. I gotta be at the airport to greet him, anyhow."

"Is he staying with you guys?" Mr. Browning wanted to know.

Grandma Tillman nodded. "He'll be at the York residence for the most part, but once his parents and grandparents arrive- my sister and brother-in-law, they'll be taking up the house next door to us," she commented. "Brian thought that they should move closer to you all, but Noreen won't hear of it and said that Kyle and Kelante should be sticking to each other like they did in the past.  They were close when they were younger. But now that Kyle's parents' got him in their clutches, who knows what can happen?"

"All the more reason for us to get things settled once and for all," Tamarious said fiercely. "We can't lose time or allies at this point. Our numbers are dwindling and we need to get this shit done. The sooner we get Kyle back to normal and all of us out of Berkeley, the better."

Kennedy shook her head uneasily. "I dunno, you guys," she said hesitantly. "Something tells me that we might be over our heads on this one. I'm not doubting anything and all, but we might want to be careful, especially with Marion."

"What makes you say that?" her mother asked.

Kennedy took a deep breath. "Don't get mad or anything, but I think that he could be a traitor- a double-agent working with those Populars to take us down," she replied. "I don't have any proof, but we need to be careful."

"Marion's loyal to a fault, sis," Tamarious commented, narrowing his eyes at his sister briefly, "but we will keep our wits about us."

"Do that," Khadijah replied, grabbing her car keys as her twin collected her purse. "Khandi and I got to head out now. Traffic is a bitch and we want to head back home before it's too dark out. Browning, it's all in your hands at this point. Bring our brother back to normal or put him out of his misery if he's too far gone as he requested. In either case, you and everyone else need to get out of here before the end of this year."

"Right," Tamarious vowed. "Be safe, ladies. And may the power of rebellion be with you."

"Same." With that, Khadijah and Khandi York left the Browning home and headed for their cars.

"We need to get things rolling as soon as possible," Grandpa Tillman intoned, eyes full of anxiety. "The longer that we delay things, the more edge that my son-in-law has with keeping Kyle under his thumb."

"Right," Tamarious said as he closed his AP Chemistry folder. "Listen up, y'all. We take this weekend to lie low and give Parrish time to settle in. Next week, though...all bets are off. We get things rolling and prepare ourselves for the York/Dermott Thanksgiving dinner. As for Lancaster, we keep watch over him."

Everyone nodded.

Kennedy just bit back a sigh, her gut instincts telling her that there was more than what met the eye. We are facing a losing war, she thought as he directed her energy to her Calculus homework. I need to make plans for an early exodus if things go wrong. But if Tamarious and everyone else can pull this off, then all the best to him. We're going to need one hell of a miracle to pull this off.

She was sure of it.

Ooh, child! The winds of change are blowing hard as Kennedy is rethinking everything! What do you think will happen next as Thanksgiving weekend is soon approaching in Berkeley? Well, we'll have to wait and see as the next chapter features Kennedy Deveraux and Kelante Parrish at the airports in their respective cities! Don't go anywhere!

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