Idle Hands

[Tess Abrahams]

Night had fallen at Cullen's School for Gifted Youngsters, and with it a hush as students and teachers alike settled into sleep. The halls, usually bustling and crowded during daylight hours, now lay empty and tranquil. Light from the moon canvassed across the broad floors, accompanied by a few low lamps that were left on for the few who remained awake--like Morgan Gates, a nocturnal twelve-year-old, now quietly settled in the kitchen with a sandwich and a comic book.

It was one of the few times that the school housed relative stillness. With a sizable student population and full staff, all residing year-round, dull moments were hard to come by.

Thus, safely shielded by a top-notch security system, all were afforded time to sleep and recover from busy schedules. It was an opportunity that all leapt at.

Well... most did, at least. There were those who were inclined to take a more adventurous approach to the emptied corridors.

Such a pair were in top form tonight, huddled underneath a faintly-glowing panel of buttons in the foyer; it was normally hidden by a piece drywall, cut to fit snugly and disguise the console, but they had removed it minutes ago. The taller of the pair clutched in one hand a thin, metal instrument; it had been used to cautiously pry one corner of the panel loose and was now being passed to the hand of the other shrouded figure.

Carefully gripping the handle of the minute flathead screwdriver, Tess huddled next to her friend tensly. Her eyes darted across the expanse of the entryway, stopping to check the staircase, before turning back to the matter at hand. "Careful!" The girl cautioned in a furied whisper as the panel was pulled at, grating against the wall in what sounded like a rather loud burst. The two stilled, scarcely breathing. Only when it appeared the noise had gone unnoticed did they allow themselves to relax.

"Here, loosen another corner first." Tess passed back the small tool, itching at the collar of her sweatshirt. "Did we really have to wear black? I feel like a criminal."

[Carlos Calaveras]

With steady hands, Carlos worked free another screw in the panel.

“Quit complaining, eh?” he shot an irritated look at Tess. She had been on edge all night, whilst Carlos had managed to maintain an air of relative nonchalance. He was so used to things going wrong that he had gone beyond the point of worrying. He was sure that there were worse thing in the world than being condemned to a few months of detention. Plus, it would be worth it for one night's free-reign in the mansion and its grounds.

“Alright,” he whispered with a triumphant grin, lifting away the panel covering to expose the console within.

“We're good to go.”

[Tess Abrahams]

Tess flashed a double thumbs-up, and took the panel covering that was handed to her. With the utmost care to be silent, she set it on the floor beside them, well out of reach of any careless limbs that might set it to clattering.

Supposedly the hard part was over. They'd nicked tools from the shop classroom without trouble. They'd snuck downstairs without attracting any unwanted attention. The panel had just been removed, and so far Carlos' penchant for misfortune hadn't done them any harm.

Now all they had to do was disarm the security system. Simple.

Er, in theory. Tess eyed the mass of buttons and switches warily. It looked pretty complicated, the kind of complicated that caused an electrified cage to crash down around anyone who screwed with it.

Ducking her head closer to Carlos', she grabbed his hand before it reached the panel. "Are you sure you know the sequence?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“Not really.” Carlos was honest, at least.

“-but it's too late to back out now,” he said, and Tess gave him a look that suggested otherwise. He eyed the panel with a mixture of apprehension and arrogance. He was pretty sure that he'd memorized what was needed to disarm the system. Then again, he had never been known for his study skills so it was quite possible that the code had been lodged by some useless tidbit of trivia he'd picked up throughout the day.

“If worst comes to worst, I'll just blast the thing. It's bound to... malfunction or something.”

[Tess Abrahams]

"Or something." Tess said. Carlos rolled his eyes and she stuck her tongue out at him.

It was something of a contradiction that she was nervous, because Tess was no stranger to breaking rules. Her mother was a vocal PETA advisor and her father was a human rights lawyer; combined, the two made for near-daily escapades in public displays. The entire Abrahams family - Thomas, Genevieve, Tess, and her little brother Felix - had spent their parent's twentieth anniversary in jail after breaking into a egg farm and rescuing a truckload of chickens. "Rescuing" had been editing to "stealing" in the police report, an 'unfair criminal connotation' according to Thomas.

Breaking rules in a school, however, seemed infinitely more wrong. Especially since it wasn't really for the greater good of anyone; well, except maybe her and Carlos. It was a nuisance exploring the school with the fear of tripping alarms.

Tess held her breath as Carlos punched a few keys, his fingers stilling above two buttons. There was hesitance in their bend, and the girl shut her eyes tight when he pressed one, waiting for lights and shrill grinds to errupt.

Nothing.

"Almost there," She said encouragingly, resting a hand on Carlos' knee.