Alabama Dreamin'

Hi. So this is my first one-shot ever, so I'm not sure if it will be all that awesome. This just popped into my head after reading the latest short story on . So if you haven't ready Day 45: Liz yet you might not want to read this. The title is a bit random, but it's what popped into my head.

Disclaimer: characters belong to the genius that is Ally Carter.

Liz's POV

A few hours after my disastrous attempt at baking with Ellie, I sat on my bed flipping through the SAT prep books that I had long ago memorized. I was tutoring some of my neighbors

this summer, and wanted to prep myself to seem like this wasn't stuff I knew in elementary school. Then I heard the phone rang. "Lizzie, phone for you," my mom called. "Who is it

mom?" "Someone named Jonas." "I got it, hang up when you hear me on the phone." I jumped off my bed and raced to my reading nook that I set up in one of the corners of my room.

It had a fluffy beanbag chair, an all-purpose charger I created that had a replaceable end so you could use it to charge any electronic device, my iPod dock and my landline phone. I

grabbed my phone as quick as I could. "Hello?" I heard a click as my mom hung up the phone. "Hi Liz. It's Jonas." "I know that. My mom told me, so, what's up?" "Nothing much. I've

just been hanging out at home, I'm working on a-" "Jonas can you hold on a second? I need to make sure the phone is secure, my sister likes to listen in sometimes." "No I don't!" I

heard Ellie call from down the hall. "Then why did you just scream 'No I don't!'? Now hang up!" "Fine." I opened up my laptop and hooked it up to a special panel in the landline that I

installed, then I added firewall type-things to the phone lines so the landline would be impossible for even the NSA to tap or trace, and made sure nothing was being recorded already. I

picked up the phone again "Okay, my end can't be tapped, traced, or recorded, and I put us on a different line from the rest of my house so my parents and sister can't listen in. Are

you all good on your end?" "Yeah. I'm on the cell phone we had to create for our covert technology exam during the exchange." I pulled up where the signal was coming from on my

computer screen, and one look at the device number and incoming and outgoing signals showed he was telling the truth. "Cool. So, what were you saying before?" "Oh yeah. I'm

working on a serum that will keep bugs off your plants yet isn't poisonous because my mom loves gardening but hates the bugs on her plants yet doesn't want to harm the environment

with insecticides. Are you doing anything this summer?" "Not really. My sister and my parents have been hanging out with me a lot, so I can't really do much for obvious reasons, and I

also promised a few of my neighbors I'd tutor them for the SAT, and they know I'm smart but they don't know I'm above PhD smart, so I'm trying to figure out how to tutor them

without giving my IQ away, because that may raise suspicions." "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You always think of something." "Thanks. So, have you found anything?" "Sorry Liz,

nothing. Speaking of finding things, have you heard anything about Zach? He hasn't contacted Grant or me since he found out about Cammie." "I think he went off the grid to find her, I

guess we just have to wait. Hey, want to hear something less depressing but still upsetting in it's own right?" "Sure." "My sister wants to go to Gallagher Academy. And she knows

something is different about it, because I so adamantly tried to convince her not to." "Wait, so what happened exactly?" Thanks to my eidetic memory, I remembered every bit perfectly,

so I told Jonas the entire conversation verbatim. "Liz, you can do it. I have complete faith in you. If you couldn't do it, you would have walked into Headmistress Morgan's office a long

time ago and asked for the tea. And as for danger, we'll be stuck in labs all day, so we'll hopefully be a bit safer." "You're right. Thanks Jonas." "Anytime. So, your sister really wants to

go to Gallagher? It's kinda sweet if you think about it." "Why do you say that?" "Well, it sounds like she wants to be like her big sister." "I never thought about it like that. But I still don't

want her to go." "Why not? It sounds like she's good enough." "Exactly, and it's my job to keep her that way. Before Gallagher, I was the best at every single class except PE, which I

was okay with. Now, I'm not the best at everything. And sometimes, I feel like I'm not cut out for a school like Gallagher. For what it's preparing us for. You look at people like Cammie

and Bex and Macey and you see that they're made for the career path we're on. They're smart enough to do all that's required of them, and I am too, but I'm not strong like they are.

They're tough and can handle the bad, can keep their self in check, can live with the fact that they have to keep huge secrets from people they care about. Bex and Cammie grew up

knowing where they were going, and Macey doesn't really care if her parents don't know because she barely communicates with them and doesn't care what they think, because she

isn't close to them. But I'm different. Every time I see Cammie bounce right back after a concussion, every time I hear about Bex and Cammie talking about MI6 missions Bex went on

with her parents or Cammie practicing fighting with her parents and Abby, I'm reminded I'm living this whole life my family can't know about. That I can't go to my parents for comfort

after something terrible happens in the field. That whenever I create a new security device or sell something to NASA or the NSA or find out a way to increase the gas mileage on the

car I'm working on, I have to tell my parents that I just blocked a computer virus or won some science fair. There are days where I just want to cry because of all the stuff my family

can never know about me. And half the time I feel like one more little thing will break me, and everything will just come pouring out. The truth about Gallagher, why I've barely talked

to Bex and Cammie and Macey this summer, the real reason Cammie's dad isn't around, what really happened in Boston, just everything." I heard a click as a phone got hung up, and I

got a little confused and hurt, until a request for a video chat from Jonas popped up on my computer. I clicked on the accept button and Jonas's face popped up on the screen. "Sorry,

about that, I just wanted to say this next part face to face as possible. Liz. You are so much tougher than you give yourself credit for. You can handle it. Never forget that. You are so

amazing. And, well, I really like you." An uncontrollable smile grew on my face. "I really like you too." Jonas smiled. "So, will you be my girlfriend?" "Yes." I smiled until I heard Ellie

singing, "Liz has a boyfriend, Liz has a boyfriend." I groaned. "That was just possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done. I should have checked to make sure she wasn't in hearing

distance." Jonas looked worried, "How much of that conversation did you think she heard?" "Shit. I'll be right back, can you contact Bex, Macey, and Grant and have them ready to join

this just in case?" "Sure. Go." I scrambled out of my beanbag chair and grabbed my sister, dragging her into my room. "1. Be quiet. 2. How much did you hear?" My sister opened and

closed her mouth. "Ellie, how much of that conversation did you hear? This is important." "I started listening in after I hung up the phone." Crap. I dragged Ellie to my reading nook, and

grabbed my computer. "Jonas, are Macey, Grant, and Bex ready to be conferenced in?" "Yup." He started typing, and in a few seconds, the screen was divided into 4 sections, each

showing a different face. "Ok, are you all in a secure location." They all nodded. "Now, what the bloody hell is going on Liz?" "Bex, language. My sister is here." "I know damn well your

sister is with you. Now, what I want to know is how much of your conversation did she hear?" "Whoa, bombshell, calm down," Grant said. "Grant and Bex, shut up. I only have so long

on here before the senator and his wife drag me to some stupid function with the Winters. Now, Liz, how much of the conversation did Ellie hear?" Jonas plugged his phone in the

computer and accessed our conversation to play back to everyone, then played back the video chat conversation. Bex and Macey looked shocked and upset. "Liz, why didn't you ever

tell us how you felt?" Bex asked. "I didn't want to bother you guys. And Bex, looking at you and Cammie and Macey, I felt my feelings were downright stupid. You guys seemed to have

no trouble at all, with anything. The only problem's Macey had was catching up." "Oh Liz. You can come to us with anything. We're not friends or just roommates, we're sisters." Ellie let

out an indignant "Hey!" at this. I think, despite all our training, we forgot she was there and why we were all talking. Grant, for once, was the logical one. "Uh, I think we should get

back to the issue at hand." "Wait, why is this a big deal. So what if Liz sells things to NSA or NASA, that's pretty cool. Not everyone can say their big sister sold things to the U.S.

government before they even graduated high school." "Actually, the first time I sold something to NASA, it was the 8th grade." "Cool. So, again what's the big deal? It's not like you're

spies." Despite all of our training, we froze. Ellie looked around at our frozen faces. "Wait, are you-" but before she could finish, I clasped my hand over her mouth. "Ellie, listen to me,

and listen carefully. You cannot tell anyone. And I mean anyone. If anyone finds out, best case scenario, you're given memory erasing tea, worst case scenario, you and whoever you

told ends up in a casket. Do you understand? The only reason we can't give you tea is because we don't have any and you are smart enough to start Gallagher in 7th grade. Now, " I

turned back to the computer, "Someone call Professor Buckingham and the CIA, and tell them Ellie Sutton is coming to Gallagher in a year and one month."