So, this is part two of the 'tea series'. If you can recall, the first cup of tea one drinks has no sugar, and is called 'amer comme la mort' or 'bitter like death'. The second cup of tea is called 'bon comme la vie' or 'good like life'. This is once again for Tonya dearest.
It is nearly impossible that they would ever become friends, but alas, they do.
Rachel and Abby are sisters, Rachel and Catherine are roommates at Gallagher, Rachel and Catherine meet Joe in an exchange with Blackthorne, Joe goes to college with Matt, and Abby meets Edward on a mission.
It's a bit like the Breakfast Club.
They each have their fit into their own "stereotype": Abby is the flirty, popular cheerleader. Matt is the all-American boy, captain of the football team. Rachel is the quiet head of the National Honor Society. Edward is the intimidating class president. Catherine is the sexy rebel that all the boys want. Joe is the mysterious guy who no one knows anything about.
No, it isn't 'a bit like the Breakfast Club'.
It is the Breakfast Club.
They all get along quite well, however. They go on big vacations, renting beach houses in the wildest party cities in the world and just having a good time, not having to think about paperwork and moles and intel. There are frequent road trips across the globe, from route 66 to the back roads of Ireland. There are bar crawls and ski trips and just a lot of drunken Bacchanalia.
But it's not all crazy parties and elaborate vacations: There are coffee dates at the Starbucks in Langley. They team up to deal with the mountains of paperwork. They are often partnered with one another on missions.
It's an almost Golden Age in all of their lives, really. They're doing what they love most, the life they've chosen, with their best friends. It's like it will never end.
But they're spies: they should have known that all good things come to an end.
It starts because there all these little cracks and fractures between them. Rachel and Matt are always sneaking off to kiss in the corner. Abby, Matt, and Joe are always off hiking and camping and doing overall really ridiculous things. Rachel and Abby are sisters, and Rachel and Catherine best friends. Edward and Abby have a history, and Matt and Joe are best friends. Then Catherine and Joe are always off on their own because of the whole Circle thing -
Maybe they never really were a coherent group - just a bunch of loosely connected people who were drawn together by one another.
And as time goes by, the little cracks that were not so apparent before begin to tear them apart. Instead of vacations and laughter there's tears and fighting and shatter glass and the pub trips are now solo, to drown their sorrows so dramatically and clichéd into alcohol
They all have their demons that they're trying to hide, too. Joe, with his hasty alignment with the Circle and his unwavering loyalty to the one person who will destroy him. Catherine, with her demons swimming around in her head and their insatiable need for power. Rachel, with her desperate need to be surrounded by peace and comfort and security. Abby, in her endless search for adventure and excitement. Edward, in his need to prove himself above all else. Matt, keeping a secret that will never see the light of day.
And of course, everything does indeed fall apart.
Catherine disappears into the depths of the Circle, Matt dies, Joe hasn't spoken to anyone in ages, Abby flings herself into missions to god knows where, Edward acts like he was never friends with any of them, and Rachel leaves the service for good.
You know, everyone who watches the Breakfast Club wonders what happened on Monday.
This is it.
This is what happens on Monday.
Destruction.