For the rest of the week, Genesis continued working at the internship with Jesse. Most of that time was spent teaching Genesis more about how genomes worked, and how to identify what parts of the genome corresponded with what features an organism had. Genesis tried to be receptive to what Jesse was teaching her, but it felt like a mountain of information to comprehend. She felt like it would take years before she could call herself a certified geneticist.

"She just had to leave me all this stuff, didn't she?" the well-dressed man sighed. He was standing before a big pile of boxes that had been inadvertently bequeathed to him.

The regionals were held in December, right before Christmas Break. In the two months leading up to it, Genesis trained hard with Ramona, Charlotte, Talia, and the rest of the cheerleaders. Over time, Genesis learned the routines that Ramona and Mrs. Wilson had planned out. Her nerves were amounting about the regionals, but she was doing pretty well in practice. It helped that Ramona had basically abandoned her old bitchy persona, and was now much more encouraging. Everyone on the squad appreciated the now-positive influence she was bringing.

Since things were shaping up for the better, that naturally meant something had to go wrong.

It all started Tuesday morning when Genesis was leaving her Homeroom class with Mr. Aaron and heading to her Physics class. She was passing some of the lockers when she saw Ramona and Modesty being approached by a boy. At first Genesis didn't recognize him, but then she realized it was Adam Severson-the guy who'd snuck that note into Genesis' underwear drawer during Ramona's party! She involuntarily glared at him, wishing she could go up and punch him.

Genesis' first gynecologist appointment was on October 20, 2023, a week after Ramona's party. After school, Genesis got in the car with Reginald to drive to the gynecologist's office. On the way, Genesis didn't know what to think. As Gene, he'd had plenty of doctor appointments, and he'd built up a pretty good rapport with his doctor. But now Gene was Genesis, and she was going to a doctor that was especially meant for women. Considering she probably wouldn't be a woman for much longer anyway, something about it just didn't seem right.

Since Reginald and Paulette were so merciful, they decided to let their daughters go right to bed when they got back from the Homecoming football game. But they woke them both up early the next morning for a little chat.

Genesis' memories of what happened next were scattered.

After the encounter with Wallace, she went back inside the gym and met back up with Charlotte, who then gave Genesis a ride home while consoling her about the traumatic event. Then Genesis got home and opened up to her parents about the incident. Both of them were just as horrified as Genesis expected. Even Ramona didn't seem to have many insults in store. Reginald and Paulette sat down with Genesis and tried to console her, but Genesis didn't care. She just wanted to go to bed and forget this whole thing happened.

Genesis opened the door to the gym. There she saw Ramona in her cheerleader's outfit, talking to the cheerleading coach Mrs. Wilson. "Why hello, Genesis," Mrs. Wilson said when she saw Genesis. "Welcome to the cheer squad!"

Genesis forced a smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Wilson," she said.

"Here's your uniform," Ramona said, tossing Genesis a cheerleader outfit. "The other girls are already changing."

Genesis ran home as fast as her legs could carry her. What Mirna had said about casting a mass memory-altering spell really scared her. She did NOT want her father to forget the son that he had-and, okay, Genesis supposed her stepmom could be in on it, too. She'd need their help to figure out a way out of this mess.

When Genesis got home, she threw open the front door and ran into the kitchen. There, she saw her stepmom working on washing the dishes. Paulette looked up at Genesis and frowned. "Who are you?" she asked.

Nick stood outside the building where his last class was held. His Introduction To Performing Arts class had ended ten minutes ago, and this was the time of day he'd been looking forward to the most. Because his crush had a class nearby the building where Introduction To Performing Arts was held, and it wrapped up around the same time Nick's did. So now Nick had the chance to make a move.

What was Rachel thinking? She should've just told Jesse she was Randy from the start. Then maybe Jesse wouldn't have agreed to give the speech at Randy's memorial and made it that much more awkward for Rachel to come clean with him. But it was too late now.

The day after the memorial assembly, Jesse seemed pretty down in the dumps when he came into Science. "Hey," said Rachel. "About yesterday, I just..."

"Don't be sorry," Jesse said miserably. "It's not your fault."

So Jesse wasn't mad at her. "Well...okay, I guess," said Rachel.

For the next couple days, Rachel mostly just hung out at Pretty And Pink with Vanessa. Ruth still had to do some work to register Rachel to go to school, since she'd be going in as a new student. But it turned out Pretty And Pink was a nice place to be. The cafeteria served good food three times a day, and there was a game room where you could play board games or video games with your friends. The only thing Rachel had to keep in mind was to stay out of Maddie and Hattie's way.

Randy didn't know what to do. He'd lost his family and his house. He didn't have any immediate relatives he could live with, and as far as friends went...there was Jesse Pindle. He was Randy's best friend, and his family had always been very hospitable to Randy. But the Pindles were off on a cruise, and they wouldn't be home for another couple weeks. Randy wished very badly that he could stay with them, but they wouldn't be an option. All he could do was find a secluded alleyway and sleep in there for the night.

Zoe, Olivia, and Lanie all crowded together, doing their best to protect the box of explosives. "You hand over that bomb you're carrying," said Circe, "Or else all three of you will be killed!"

"Never!" said Lanie. She fired a bolt of energy at Circe, but Circe just absorbed it with her hand.

Olivia looked at Circe with a burning hatred. "You've caused us a lot of trouble," she said. "You trained Miss Johnson to turn boys into girls, which led to the disaster of the Y. F. F. H. You kidnapped Bailey, you kidnapped Rachel, and your men even killed Bailey!"

After their talk with Carter Halbrook, the teens all piled back in their cars and started driving westward. Carter went separate from them to reduce risk of Circe or her witches catching him with their enemies, and Ricardo had to hang back for a bit to gather up some explosives. But Carter promised the teens that he'd book a hotel for them.

Conner entered the address Ricardo provided into Google Maps and followed it to Carter Halbrook's house. The house was located in the suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, right at the end of a cul de sac. When Conner parked his car, Ricardo pulled up right behind him.

"So this is it," said Zoe. "This is where we'll find out what Carter really wants."

"I just hope you're right about this," said Olivia.

QUICK NOTE: I apologize for the rude tone I used in my blog post last night. It was really late, and I was feeling pretty tired, hence why the technical issues I ran into with the site irritated me as much as they did. But I definitely should've been more polite in my wording, and also refrained from using the word "fuck" (in its asterisked form, no less) in the blog's header. And I also apologize for my salty attitude about the previous chapters getting relatively few reads. Going forward, I will try to have a better attitude and take criticism better.

***

Once they'd all gotten out of the Genetics Engineering compound, the companions all piled into their separate cars. Lanie, Conner, and Rachel got into Conner's car while Saige, Olivia, Zack, and Miles all got into Saige's car. Conner followed Saige as she drove off into the night.

Inside Saige's car, Olivia had broken down crying again. Seeing Bailey die right before her eyes had broken something inside of her. She hadn't felt this way since Christina dumped her. "She died," Olivia sobbed. "We came all this way...for nothing."

QUICK NOTE: Shoutout to Uhuru N/Uru for commenting on the last chapter with a tip on how to fix this serial's prelude so it came first in the Organizer page. Thanks so much for helping me out.

***

After getting their blood drawn, Bailey and Rachel were both taken back to the padded room where Rachel had been held before. Circe locked them in the room before going back to start working on their blood samples.

"I can't believe they just did that," said Rachel.

"I know," said Bailey, "But they won't get what they need."

"What?"

Olivia froze with fear when she saw Josie approaching her and her friends' table. "Your boss?" she asked. "Who'd send you out here?"

"Only the greatest witch to have ever lived," Josie answered. "And she has a bounty on you and your friends."

"What does she want us for?" Saige asked.

"Well, she only told me to take one of you," Josie answered. "My colleagues have already gotten another young woman like you."

"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked. "What do you mean, another young woman like us?"