CHAPTER 1
Amy was at class, listening carefully to her English teacher, Miss. Mandon. Almost two years had passed since the Clue Hunt came to an end, and she was almost happy to get back to her normal life. Her best friends, Jake and Rachel, got to know about her trip around the world, (of course, not the clues part) and were kind of sad she didn't bring anything back. But now she was in peace, she was over Ian, (ah, yes! FINALLY!) and she had nothing to worry about. Oh wait. The Vespers.
Right. The Vespers were the evil family tracking us and observing us during the clue hunt, and are now preparing to attack.
Amy almost lost her stutter too! Once the clue hunt got over, the Madrigals were thrilled and offered training to Dan and Amy. Of course, Amy had to accept. Dan had yelled "Oh my Ninja-Lord! Ninja training? Awesome!" and well, he tried a ninja move, but that didn't turn out too well. Ouch.
Anyway, she was in class, when the teacher asked her, "Amy? Are you there, darling?"
"Uh, yes. Yes ma'am!" she said. She was never one to get distracted during class, so Miss. Mandon let it go.
"As I was saying, um, oh yeah. The student exchange program! So, there is a British school we are exchanging our students with, and one of them are coming to our class!" she said, a smile spreading across her face.
The class stared in surprise, and in silence, until Madison, the rich snobby girl broke the random silence by saying, "Ooh, I love Brit guys! They're accent's like, oh my gawsh! And they are SO HOT!" she said, sitting up straight. Amy rolled her eyes and asked,
"So who's going to England?" she asked, not realizing one bit Ian was still living there.
"Oh yes. Excellent question. Mike Middleton is going," she said pointing to an all smiling Mike, "Because he was already moving to England so we thought maybe we could send him!" she said.
Then it hit Amy, just as the bell rang. Miss. Mandon was about twenty eight years old, and was fun to talk to sometimes. So Amy went over to Miss. Mandon and asked,
"Miss. Mandon, which school is this? Is it a rich kid's private school? Please tell me it's not!" she pleaded, shock rising in her voice.
Miss. Mandon looked surprised. Then she relaxed and asked, "Well, uh, sorry to break it to you Amy, but I'm afraid it's private. Anything wrong?" she asked, concerned.
Amy stiffened almost immediately. "N-nothing. Thanks," she said as she awkwardly started to leave.
Miss. Mandon grabbed Amy with her hand and raised an eyebrow. Oh no, the you-better-tell-me-or-it's-detention-for-you eyebrow. Stupid detention!
"Well," Amy said. "I, uh, have a distant cousin living there, and, I uh, um we uh-" she tried forming sentences, but couldn't.
"Oh I get it!" said Miss. Mandon. "Well, sweetie, don't worry! I'm sure it's gonna be o.k!" she said, winking playfully. I just sighed and made my way to History.
While going to History, Jake and Rachel joined me, questioning looks on their faces. Amy just smiled and kept walking, until Jake and Rachel blocked her path.
"You never told us you fell in love with a distant cousin on your trip!" Jake teased. Jake was a funny guy, he had caramel-blonde hair with searching blue eyes, and was good-looking, but not really Amy's type. They were good friends.
"Shut up, you two! And I did NOT!" she said, pushing them out of the way. She was blushing furiously, and had to look down. Amy had worn a blue top with a black sweater on, and skinny jeans. Her copper-red hair was till her elbow and was brushed neatly and she looked really natural.
"Please, c'mon Amy! Tell us!" said Rachel, obviously curious. Rachel was this love monkey when it came to these stuff. She was a brunette, with striking grey eyes, (A/N: Kind of reminds you of Annabeth from PJ, right?) and was the biggest fan of music since Nellie.
"Okay, fine," she said as she settled down in her seat. The teacher wasn't here yet, so she turned around to tell Jake and Rachel. "So it all started with Ian. Ian Kabra." she began.
"Wow. Cobra?" Jake asked, amused.
"No. K-a-b-r-a. But it sounds an awful lot like Cobra. Anyway, he..." she told them about everything, getting a little teary eyed in the middle, but she snapped out of it. Her story ended like this: "...That selfish, jerk-face! That, that-"
"Eh, okaaay. I get it." Jake said. She realized she looked like a volcano, and she snapped back to reality.
"Amy, don't worry. Nothings going to happen!" Rachel said, a small smile creeping out of her lips.
As if on queue, the History teacher came in, and the teaching began.
When Amy told Dan about that, he burst out laughing. "Oh, you wish! I mean, out of a million people in England, you expect it to be the COBRA?" Dan said, gasping for breath.
Amy sighed. He had a point but.. "You never know, Dan. Now stop laughing like an idiot and go to something useful," she said, pushing him out of the way. She needed some time alone to read.
Then a few days later, it was time for the exchange. Amy was excited. She didn't know why, but she was excited. She got up, freshened up and ended up deciding what to wear. She was never the dressy type. But Summer was settling in, so she decided to wear skinny jeans, a yellow tank top with a very thin, white jacket on top. She brushed her hair and had her break fast, said good-bye to Dan, Fiske and Nellie and walked to school, since it was very close by.
As she walked through the hallway, she met her friends, Jake and Rachel. Jake whistled at the sight of Amy, and she blushed. Jake just laughed.
"Whats the plans for today, Amester? Smoochy-smoochy with the Cobra kid?" Jake asked, kissing the air.
Amy elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" he muttered, rubbing them. Finally Rachel asked her in a low voice, "Amy, look out for Madison. She's been eyeing you suspiciously. Maybe she kinda heard the story."
Amy froze. Oh great! She might spread it to the whole school! That witch! But then she relaxed, and said, "Well, I don't really care. I'm not going to a corner and hiding. Not anymore!" she said, looking at Rachel. Rachel just smiled.
They reached class, and their first class was English. Miss. Mandon entered the class, looking at Amy first and smiling. Miss. Mandon really liked Amy. Amy immediately grinned back.
"Well, class. As ya'll know, the exchange-" she began, but was cut off by Madison.
"Yeah, yeah. We know, Miss. Mandon. The British guy's coming today, blah blah blah, but where is he?" she asked, looking around.
Miss. Mandon laughed. "Okay, okay. I see your interested in British boys, Madison?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Madison blushed, and said, "Nothing. Well, uh, we're waiting!" Madison exclaimed. To annoy Madison, Miss. Mandon kept looking at her watch. Ah, good old Miss. Mandon, she always kept everyone entertained. Madison grew hot, and Amy's heart started beating faster, her stomach churning.
"Okay, fine! Well, he'll be here by now," she said.
And then, suddenly, a familiar black haired, amber eyed, hot 14 year old walked in. Amy cursed silently.
"Class, this is Ian Kabra," Miss. Mandon smiled, "Our exchange student." she finished, glancing toward Amy. Amy just stared coldly into Ian's eyes. Then out of no where, Amy said,
"Hello, Cobra," she spat. She then noticed everyone's attention on her and blushed. Ian just grinned like an idiot. Correction: Total, complete, lifeless, handsome pig idiot.
"Why hello, Amy love. Been some time." he said as if to annoy her.
"Don't c-call me l-love!" she said, angrily. She didn't notice everyone staring at them like an emotional movie scene.
"Love." he said.
"Stop it!" she said.
He just raised an eyebrow and sat in the seat that was empty, right next to Amy. She glared daggers at him, and he just smiled.
All the girls were staring at him, as if he was an angel. Especially Madison. Miss. Mandon cleared her throat uncomfortably, and then got the classes attention. She could feel Ian's eyes on her most of the time, but pushed the thought away. Curse my life, she thought.
After class, Madison was eyeing Amy even more suspiciously. Or maybe you could say, furiously. Madison was furious because,
a) Ian kept staring at her.
b) She didn't know Amy could know such a beautiful guy.
Amy went over to Ian in their next class, which was Art. Ian had art with her too? Wow. That's just great.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, struggling not to make eye contact, because she knew she'd stutter.
"Why, um," he began, but was cut off by an angry Amy.
"It's part of what the Madrigals planned, wasn't it? The Madrigals had told me to not be surprised if I bump into any of my cousins. But y-you? W-why would they choose you?" she said half to herself.
"It's amazing how much a girl can change over a year," Ian said, grinning.
"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.
"Your annoying stutter's almost vanished, and your sense of clothing had changed a bit too." he said, his grin widening.
Strange. This wasn't like Ian. At all. Amy turned red.
"Why you-" then she stopped herself, and slowly looked around. Everyone was just staring at them, and Jake was snickering.
That was it. Why does everyone have to stare like that? "What are ya'll staring at?" she asked, furious. "Get back to your own work. You heard m-me." she said.
Ian raised an eyebrow. "Answer my q-question, Ian!" she half screamed.
Ian's eyes widened. "Okay, calm down, love. You look like a volcano." she looked like she was ready to punch him, so he quickly continued, "Well, ahem, yes. It was. the M's had a brief talk with our branch, and they thought I could go. But I refused. But then, when our so called Father got angry, I had no choice. So I ended up here." he said. Amy was deep in thought.
"Vespers." she whispered, her hands trembling.
"Yes, love. Vespers." he said, hoping to annoy her.
"Ian, I swear I will punch your face if you call me LOVE! So you better n-not make an attempt to c-call me l-love." she said, her face inches away from Ian's. Ian looked offended, and Amy felt a pang of guilt. No! She didn't! That stupid jerk deserved it!
Then she felt really tired, and took a step back. While doing that, Madison put her foot in the way and she slipped. "AAH!" she shrieked, going down. Everyone started laughing, including Madison. Ian just looked surprised, and got up to help her.
"Ow," she muttered, while taking Ian's hand.
"Are you o.k, Amy?" Ian said, making her sit in her seat.
"No. I think I-I broken a-an ankle," she said, trying to move her foot.
Ian nodded. He whispered in her ear, "We'll get you to the nurse," he said. The teacher, Mr. Phillip, came in just in time, but immediately got a phone call. "Excuse me, class," he said.
"What was that for?" Ian asked Madison.
Madison looked at Ian, and said, "Why, it wasn't on purpose, Ian!" she said, shocked.
"It isn't nice to do that, stupid girl," Ian said. "It's not going to impress any guy if you do something like that." he said, disgusted.
Madison looked at him in surprise, while the whole class snickered.
Amy looked at him in surprise, and awe, maybe. Ian didn't look at her. Instead he just said plainly, "Come on Amy, lets get you to the nurse." and helped Amy up.
Once Ian asked Mr. Phillips for permission, they were walking, actually, Ian was walking and Amy was limping, with the support of Ian and Jake from both sides.
Amy simply couldn't stop cursing, in all languages possible.
Jake couldn't stop laughing. Amy tried to kick him, but instead only she howled in pain.
Ian tried to calm her down. "Um, Amy, who was that girl?" asked Ian. Amy was too busy thinking of revenge, so Jake answered for her.
"She's a rich, snobby idiot. She apparently likes British guys, and she tried to impress you. But instead, total failure." he said. Jake had obviously developed a new respect for Ian.
"She's almost like you, I-Ian," she said, smiling to herself.
"Love!" Ian said.
Jake just couldn't stop laughing. "What are you laughing, Jake?" Amy asked, fully irritated.
"Oh, nothing. Amy, you so wanna do a little smoochy-smoochy scene with Ian," he said.
Amy was raging with anger. "JAKE! You fool!" she said, kicking him with her good leg, and holding on to Ian while doing that.
Ian couldn't stop gagging, and acting like he was going to throw up. The kick drowned all the energy out of her, and she fainted, on Jake. He caught her just before she could fall on him, and Ian helped him to the infirmary. The nurse looked at Ian and Jake all funny, then said,
"She's gonna have to rest for a while. Whatever happened, it's drained all the energy out of her. One of you are welcomed to stay," the nurse said, bandaging Amy's ankle. "Because all teachers have a meeting next class, and I have to go too. It's something important." she said, finishing.
"I'll stay," Jake offered. Ian just nodded and left the room, behind the nurse. Jake flopped down on the chair near the bed. He started humming when Amy opened her eyes and tried to get up.
"Whoa, there, Amy! You don't have energy! Lie down," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
But Amy refused. She got up, sat next to Jake and told him something at surprised him. "I have to talk to you," she said.
"Not good. I'm not the best person to 'talk' to," he said.
"No, please, Jake. I know you aren't but I don't have a choice anyways," she said, sighing.
Jake looked offended. "Fiiiine..." he said.
"Thanks," Amy smiled, then went back to her Amy-is-serious mode. "I kind of like Ian," said said. Jake grinned.
"I know. You show it so much!" he said.
"I don't understand, what?" she said.
Jake turned towards her and said, "Madison was all angry and decided to make you look like a fool 'cause she realized you like him, duh!" Jake said.
"Oh." Amy said.
"Don't worry, Amester. You'll smooch with Ian sooner or later." he said, laughing at his own joke.
"What's with you and smooching?" Amy asked, giving him a death glare.
"I dunno, I like that word. Hey, looks like you're alright now. Let's see whats going on in class now." he said as the bell for Math rang. She took a look at her bandaged ankle, put an arm around Jake for support and made her way to class.