Chapter Text
“Sorry , you want to apply for what?” Ray asks incredulously, half eaten corn chip frozen in midair.
“Leave,” Charlotte repeats. “You know. The annual leave we’re all entitled to as your employees?”
“The annual leave none of us have taken since we started working here?” Henry finishes, shooting Ray a look that lets him know he can’t worm out of this one.
Ray looks around, avoiding Charlotte, Jasper, and Henry’s stares as he tries to think of a reason why they can’t possibly leave Swellview for a whole week .
“Um. I don’t remember ever saying you guys could take leave. Must’ve made that up,” he scoffs. He finishes off his chip as the three teens shoot each other knowing looks.
“Actually, it’s in the employee handbook,” Jasper states opening up his worn employee handbook to a tabbed page. He hands it to Ray, and points expectantly at a sentence highlighted in bright yellow, then circled in red, and underlined in blue.
Just in case Ray misses it.
Ray looks from the page, to the teens, and then back the page. There’s an awkward pause before Charlotte sighs in exasperation.
“Read it.”
“Yeah dude read it,” Henry repeats.
“Yeah read-”
“Jasper.”
“Sorry,”Jasper chuckles sheepishly.
Ray sighs, reluctantly letting his eyes travel over the words.
“All employees of Junk ‘N Stuff are entitled to three weeks of paid annual leave for every year that they are employed at this establishment,” Ray pauses, “Hold on - paid ?”
“Yup,” the three teens reply in unison.
“So, not only do I have to let you guys leave for a week. But I have to pay you? This is ridiculous. Who wrote this?”
“You did, dude. It says so on the first page.”
Ray turns to the front, and sure enough, on the first page, in bold, hard to miss letters are the words “written by Ray Manchester, your handsome employer, and owner of the fine establishment known as Junk ‘N Stuff”.
“Told you,” Henry says smugly, leaning onto the revolving couch.
“Okay, fine whatever, leave approved. But why do you need leave? Aren’t you guys starting school soon? You can’t miss school!”
Charlotte makes a noise of disbelief, and Jaspers eyebrows shoot up, while Henry’s jaw drops.
“Dude. What?” Henry asks in disbelief.
“I just think, that as your employer and the only positive adult role model for you guys,”
“Not true at all but carry on,” Charlotte mumbles.
Ray glares at her before continuing, “I just think that I should encourage you to make good choices. And skipping school for a week isn’t one of them.”
“Dude, I had to leave halfway through a test to rescue you because you’d trapped yourself underground.”
Ray narrows his eyes at Henry.
“Oh yeah, and remember that time you gave our teacher chicken-pox so you could investigate Ortho?” Charlotte adds.
“I still can’t believe that was you. But it makes sense. Your accent was kinda off,” Jasper muses.
“Both emergencies, and my accent is spot on. I receive many compliments.”
Jasper, Charlotte, and Henry all roll their eyes.
“You guys still haven’t answered my question. Why are you missing the first week of school?”
“Technically, we aren’t,” Charlotte starts.
“Our school was picked by the owner of the Z-Tech boarding school for prodigies to participate in their yearly ‘immersive experience’,” Henry continues.
“Wait wait wait wait. Pause,” Ray interrupts, “You mean to tell me all three of you are going away. To a school for prodigies ?”
“Exactly, ” Charlotte confirms with a nod of her head.
“I don’t think I’m quite following,” Ray says, evidently perplexed. He’d expected some excuse about a school history trip, maybe even a math tournament (although he was still pretty sure Charlotte had made those up to get out of finding Dr. Minyak for him). But a week long stint at a school for prodigies ? That seemed like something Charlotte would dream up.
“Okay, well the best way I can explain it is, it’s kinda like, this school owned by a multi-billionaire made specifically for nurturing people’s natural talents, and every year they pick a school to send over their gifted and talented students to experience their teaching methods,” Jasper continues.
“And since Swellview High doesn’t have a “gifted and talented” society, L.I.M.P is going,” Charlotte finishes.
Ray nods, understanding dawning on him, before he pauses again.
“So if it’s a L.I.M.P thing, why are those two going,” he gestures to Henry and Jasper, who both look offended.
“First of all, who says we aren’t L.I.M.P material? Rhetorical question, don’t answer it,” Henry says before either Charlotte or Ray can get a word in.
“Second of all, the two of us get to go because, get this,” he nudges Jasper and nods towards Charlotte, “Charlotte told Ms. Shapen that this would be a ‘good opportunity’ for Jasper and me to ‘immerse ourselves in school’ and ‘put us on track for a productive senior year’. And she bought it, can you believe it?”
Henry and Jasper fist bump, a smug look plastered across both their faces, but one look at Charlotte and Ray knows that they won’t be wearing those looks for too long into the exchange. Not wanting to destroy their moment, Ray asks:
“So where are we going? Where is this prodigies only school?”
Jasper and Henry stop jostling each other, both turning to Ray in bewilderment.
“We?” Charlotte questions.
“Yeah, we. I guess we could all use vacation time.”
“Dude, first of all, it’s just the three of us,” Henry points between, him, Charlotte and Jasper, “and second of all, it’s a school trip. Meaning you can’t come with us unless you’re a teacher, or like, a helicopter parent.”
Ray looks confused then, brows furrowing as he comes up with his next question.
“So what am I supposed to do? Fight crime with Schwoz?”
“Yes!” all three yell in unison, arms flying into the air in exasperation.
Ray groans, throwing his hands over his face.
“Okay. OKAY fine , you guys can have your little ‘immersive experience’. I’ll just stay in boring old Swellview while you guys go to,” Ray pauses. They never did tell him where they were going.
“Palo Alto,” Jasper fills in.
“Palo Alto - thank you Jasper - and have the time of your lives. That’s okay. That’s fine.”
“Well, glad that’s sorted?” Charlotte gives him a thumbs up, as she, Henry, and Jasper make their way to the elevator.
“Wait. Where are you going?” Ray asks.
“Dude, the exchange is in a week, we have a final meeting at school to get to. You know to sort out the final little details,” Jasper explains as the three of them pile into the elevator.
“Oh. well. You have fun at your little meeting .”
“We will. Bye!” Henry shouts as the doors of the elevator shut, leaving Ray in the silence of the man cave.
Just then, Schwoz appears, robe on and a towel piled on top of his head.
“What did I miss?”
He’s barely finished the question when Ray launches into an answer.
“Can you believe Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper just came in here to ask for leave ?”
Schwoz gasps, hand over his chest.
“No. Did you give it to them?”
“Yes I had to give it to them. It’s in the employee handbook!”
Schwoz stomps his foot, letting out a shout.
“No! We really should have read that before giving it to them. How long are they going to be gone?”
“One. Whole. Week.” Ray punctuates each word with a dip of his chip into the Schwozamole.
“One whole- Ray. what are we going to do? Handle crime together? Just the two of us?”
“That’s what I asked!”
The two of them look at each other for a bit, thinking of a way to somehow make this apparently bleak situation not so bleak. A moment passes before a look of mischief crosses Ray’s face.
“What are you thinking?” Schwoz asks, curious to hear what Ray’s cooking up.
“Henry said we can’t go on that trip unless we’re teachers, or parents,”
“Yes?” Schwoz leans in.
“So, I’m thinking. If we can somehow get the teachers to not go,”
“Then we could go on the trip with them,” Schwoz nods, stroking his chin.
“But how do we get their teachers to stay home?” Ray asks.
Another beat passes before he shoots up.
“AHA!I know exactly how. Schwoz, do you still have that weird virus that almost killed all of us?”
“Yes, why?”
“You’re gonna need to make a few tweaks. But I think I found us a way onto that trip.”