A Treacherous Path

Chapter 1

Jake strode out of Principal Rotwood's office with a swagger and a confident smile, and found Trixie and Spud waiting for him by his locker.

"Yo, Jakey!" Trixie said. "What gives? Did you pass Rotwood's test, or...?"

"Oh, I passed all right," Jake smirked. "With flying colors."

"Awesome, dude!" Spud gave him a fist-bump.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Jake said. "What do you say, guys? Pizza and video games at Grandpa's shop?"

"Totally!" Spud agreed.

"I heard that!" Trixie exclaimed.

As they made for the exit, Jake spotted Rose up ahead. She was leaning against the railing at the bottom of a stairwell, distractedly staring at her palm.

"Rose!" Jake called out.

When she didn't respond, Jake approached her and gently placed a hand on her arm. "Rose, hey."

She started and looked up quickly. "Oh. Hi Jake."

"You okay?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rose insisted. She smiled at him. "Did you pass your test?"

"Did I ever!" Jake said. "I didn't even need the answer key—the 'great scientific mind' Rotwood was gonna test me on was himself!"

"Oh." Rose thought for a second. "In retrospect that probably should've been obvious. So you're not gonna be held back?"

"Nope," Jake shook his head. "Come September, I'll be heading to eighth grade with the rest of y'all."

"That's great!" Rose put a hand on his shoulder.

"We were just about to go get some pizza to celebrate," Jake told her. Then his face fell. "I wish you could come with us..."

Rose brightened. "Actually, the Huntsman is out of town for a few days. He went upstate for some business at the Academy, and he took 88 and 89 with him. I convinced him I would be fine here by myself. I don't know how I managed that, but he went for it."

"That whole 'dragon pelt' thing must've earned you some good will with him," Spud said.

"I guess so," Rose agreed with a shrug.

"So you can hang with us in the real world?" Jake asked hopefully.

"For the next few days, at least," Rose said.

"All right!" Jake exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air with excitement.

"Well c'mon then," Trixie said. "What're we waiting for?"

The four of them left school together and went to Lomardo's to pick up a few pizzas, then headed on to the electronics shop.

As they went inside, Jake nudged his friends. "Hey, watch this," he said with a sly smile.

Lao Shi was sitting at the counter behind the cash register, and he looked up when Jake and the others came in.

"Check it out, G!" Jake sidled up to the counter and flashed a cocky smile. "I passed Rotwood's test!"

Gramps crossed his arms and harrumphed.

Jake grinned and leaned in close. "Aaand I did it without the answer key."

His grandfather's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

"Yup," Jake straightened and crossed his arms, nodding proudly. "Once I figured out who he was gonna test me on, it was a piece of cake."