I woke up early Saturday morning to the sound of girls bustling past my dorm at 7 am. There's something I think every Gallagher Girl can relate to, Saturdays. Most of us sleep in so late that we don't make it to breakfast. Sometimes we'll sneak and shimmy up through the dumbwaiter shaft (exactly 34 seconds) just to get some cereal. The noise, rest assured, was not normal.
Beside me my best friend and roommate Rebecca "Bex" Baxter stirred. Unused to the noise she bolted upright. "What's going on?" She questioned me, a concerned look on her face.
"No clue," I replied, still very confused. Across the room my other two roommates- Macey McHenry (yes the senator's daughter) and Elizabeth (Liz) Sutton sat up also, confused looks dawning their faces as well. Through the door I heard Tina Walters yell "they're here!"
"Who's here?"All four of us asked at the same time. Everyone glared at Macey who let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh fine," she said as she trudged to the door. "Just looks like it did when Blackthorne came," she said matter-of-factly. I shifted my weight from my elbows to sit straight up in my bed. Blackthorne, I remembered, the only other school like us-for spies. If your reading this you obviously have at least level 6 clearance. So you know that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is not that in the least, it's a school for spies.
As a spy in training hardly anything surprises me anymore, but this got my attention. We all knew, they're here- as in my school, for girls. What the heck!? Liz being the more concerning and anxious of the group bolted for the bathroom. Macey now totally had this. She transferred here last year and was a civilian before hand, in a co-ed school( plus she's gorgeous). If anyone is nervous is not her. For. Sure. Bex is the strongest of the group, the fastest, the better spy. So when she shoed me out of bed I didn't dare defy her.
"Oopsie daisy!" I heard from the bathroom just in time to look up and see Liz stumbling backwards, tripping over her book stash by her bed, nothing surprising about that. I turned back only to see Bex staring at me with a hairbrush and a curling iron.
"I believe Rebecca that were only going to breakfast," I stated calmly. Emphasis on her full name.
"I believe Phoebe that Blackthorne is here, the school I which contains boys, that teaches your boyfriend Zach Goode-"
" He is not my boyfriend!" I cut her off
"What ever, he's here," she said gesturing to our stone mansion "and if I remember correctly, you haven't seen him since you tailed each other in Roseville. And I do remember correctly that, that was"
"Two hundred, seventy five days and eleven hours and eight minutes and fifty five seconds ago" I heard fromLiz who popped her head out long enough to state her scary answer and get an approving nod on her curls from Macey
"Thank you Liz!" I blurted sarcastically. I got a happy grin from Liz who obviously didn't catch the sarcasm, an I told you so look from Bex, and a she told you so look from Macey. "Fine," I murmured. Bex inched closer to me with the curling iron and Macey inched closer to me with the eyeliner, which can be very lethal in the hands of a Gallagher girl.
All four of us were scurrying down the hall, riding boots clinking, in six minutes and forty three seconds. As we pulled open the doors to the Grand Hall not even Macey was prepared for what happened next.
There at the front of the table- our table- sat Zach Goode, Grant Newman, Jonas Parson, and some new dude that I didn't recognize. "Girls, we expected you to skip out on breakfast like last Saturday, glad you could join us," Head Mistress Morgan, my mother, stated at her podium at the front of the dining hall. "Thank you," all four of us replied simultaneously, nodding in respect.
"What do we do now?" Liz asked.
"Go say hello to our friends," Macey answered.
As my roommates walked away to go say hello I skimmed the room for an empty seat. My eyes falling on Zach's who patted a gap next to him, in between him and the new dude. "Hi, I'm Fiona," I greeted the new guy. Who replied with a simple, "I know, Ive heard all about you from this guy," my gaze matching his fell on Zach's, "I'm Preston."
"Cool, well welcome to Gallagher, that's Bex, Liz, and Macey, my roommates," I replied not knowing how to continue. Zach just replied with a nod and turned to make conversation with Bex and Grant. So there I sat -feeling too Chameleon like for my own good- alone in the dining hall while my friends reminisced with their crushes.
"Hey," Zach caught up to me "leaving already, you never even ate."
I shrugged "not hungry."
"Now Gallagher Girl that's the worst lie you've ever told, you love food." He retorted. I just rolled my eyes and started up the staircase turning into my favorite secret passage way. "wait up!" Grant called sensing my frustration.
Suddenly I turned, "do you ever wish that your own codename didn't at all aply to you?"
"Now that a strange thing to ask me now isn't is?" He avoided my question. My codename is Chameleon, his is Lonestar, everyone thinks he likes to be alone, to blend in, but he doesn't. "answer me Zach," I demanded sternly.
"yes," he answered.
"me too," I answered my own question. I'm okay with being a chameleon, but not all the time. I don't like to be alone. But there I stood my head on Zach's chest in a secret passageway. Perfectly okay. Not invisible. Neither was he. It's weird how much we confide in each other.
"lets go squirt"
"what?" I asked dumbfounded
"im confused…" he stated just as dumbfounded
"what did you call me?" I asked again suddenly, unknowingly turning scary in that little passage way.
"squirt?" he said like it was a question. My aunt called me that, only my aunt, before she went M.I.A a year ago. Scared I did the only thing I could do. I ran.
I could hear Zach bolting through the dining hall doors yelling at Grant or Bex to stop me but he didn't move. I stopped behind the closed doors to listen. "It's not my fault you called her that! She wouldn't have found out if it wasn't for you!" Grant growled. Found out what? I thought. "Her aunt you idiot, She doesn't know she's K.I.A!" Grant stated. Suddenly I couldn't breathe as I heard an "are you okay?" coming from behind me. There stood Preston pressed up against the stone wall hands in his pockets looking right at me. The chameleon. Suddenly I would have liked to be invisible.
"not now Preston," I said wishing he would just go away.
"whats wrong? Is it about your aunt? Im sorry about her," he predicted.
"How'd you know? You weren't even in there," I asked super confused trying not to show it. But even I didn't know that she was… well… and she's my aunt!
"lucky guess?." He stated. Somehow calming me down. All I did was nod as I saw my roommates and our Blackthorne Boys stepping through the Grand Dining Hall's double doors. Wide-eyed my roommates saw me first. Then Zach, Grant, and Jonas followed the girls' could've puked just like Liz, Bex, and Macey. They just stared at Mason and Grant, waiting for answers, just like me.
"Well?" I asked waiting for an explanation.
"When your aunt was declared M.I.A. she stayed at Blackthorne with Solomon, trying to evade the circle. One night during midnight training Catherine broke in and Abby was shot." Grant spoke up. "I told this doofus here to tell you, apparently he never did." Grant finished after shooting Zach and I told you so/Cammie will kill you in P&E look.
Gallagher girls are prepared for everything, but when your aunt is dead, your two really good spy friends lie to you and your trapped inside a mansion, no amount of P&E or C&A could prepare you for it. As I trudged up the stairs my best friends in tow I felt so un chameleon like.
I must have slept until Sunday morning. I didn't want to get up but when I heard Tina yell "Preston and Zach! P&E barn!" I just had to get up. Throwing on my uniform, my shoes, and a pony tail I ran to the barn, using all the secret passageways I knew. Bursting into the barn I heard, no doubt the sounds of fist against skin. I heard a "stop Cam she's going to hurt herself" and a "back off she's got this" from, no doubt, Bex.
And there I went, flying onto the mats I was almost hit by a sloppy punch thrown by Preston, but dodged it quickly. These two guys were fighting like school boys, so sloppy. Zach started to use a Malinsky Maneuver on Preston but I stopped him fast enough to kick himself in the stomach and throw him off the mats. "What was that all about?!" I turned to face both of them, they both looked ashamed.
Zach was bold enough to speak up, "I came down here to be alone just to practice, then Preston over here decided to spar. He did a roundhouse kick on me and told me that I deserved it after the way I treated you." Not trusting myself to speak, in fear of bursting I just gave Preston a look. He nodded. Saying yes. "Get your acts together or I wont be your friend," I said turning to Zach. "And I'll pretend I don't know you." I said turning to Preston.
"Eh," he replied to that.
"don't push me Preston," I joked. He clearly didn't get it and filed out, just like everyone else. "what was that all about?" I asked a hint of fear in my voice. "afraid things would get ugly maybe?" I added all fear gone to cockiness.
"Don't worry 'bout it Gallagher girl" he stated before stepping uo closer to me. In this light Zach seemed genuine and caring, something I thought he'd never show.
"If I ever find that Catherine, she's a gone woman," I say seriously. "you know of her?" I asked.
"She's my.." he started but didn't finish.
"your what?" I pressed.
"My mother," He confided. I'm speechless, his mother! What the hell! I can't no, no. "Gallagher Girl?"
"No! My name's Cammie!" I yelled, more like cried. "How could you? You never told me! What kind of person are you?"
"I'm sorry...Cammie...I didn't want to make things worse. Please don't be mad." He pleaded. i feel bad for him. "Your the only one who didn't see me as a killer, like my mom." He said, sadness in his eyes as he gripeed my shoulders.
"It's okay, It's your mom, not me," I breathed as he engulfed me in a hug.