Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any of the characters. I'm too lazy to make smart ass comments at this point.

This is my first Alex Rider fanfic, so please don't kill me. I don't wanna die!!!!...sorry. Well, I'll get right to the point. I don't know how schools work in England. Hell, I don't know how anything works in England. So since I live here in the USA, the school system's gonna be how my school system is. Naturally, I'm just having fun, so no flaming please! Seriously. I have really low self-esteem and confidence. Mainly it comes from looking half my age, but that's not the point. Friendly criticism is always welcome. Put an emphasis on the word 'friendly.' Okay, I'll shut up so you can get to the story.

Oh, and this is more of an alternate universe story because instead of there being a threat with Nikolei Drevin, Alex has other problems to deal with. Don't worry. Scorpia's still involved. And Yassen didn't die. Why? He's awesome! Let's just leave it at that. Also, sorry, but I had to tweak the time line of when Alex got shot for this story to work.

PS: You will learn that I like bringing people back from the dead. ;)

Du-te cu un text (Just go with the story)

Se bucura! (enjoy!)

Alex sighed as he slid underneath the covers on the bed. Being in a hospital, no matter how luxurious, took a lot out of you. Especially when guards are stationed outside your door for the first few days. Thankfully, Alex could finally put all that behind him. He was done with MI6. When Mrs. Jones talked to him, she'd said he didn't have to worry about world affairs anymore. And for some reason, this time it actually sounded as though she meant it. No more blackmail. Jack loved that idea. She didn't want to worry about Alex going on life-threatening missions just to keep her in the country with him.

Alex felt himself drifting off and out of instinct, fought the signs of sleep. After all the missions he'd been on, sleep seemed like a foreign idea. One of myth. He glanced at the clock and smiled. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet. He didn't care. After listening to the sounds of the nightlife coming from beyond his window, Alex finally slipped into a dreamless sleep.

~:~

"Alex!"

Alex groaned and held the pillow over his head as Jack called his name from downstairs. The sudden movement caused him to gasp as an excruciating pain spread through his chest and left arm. Being kidnapped had not been to merciful on his wounds. Alex couldn't help remembering the incident.

Armed men had come into the hospital and shot and killed the receptionist. They'd come for Paul Drevin, but got Alex Rider instead. 'Kaspar', as the man had called himself, had sent his goons after Alex, thinking he was Paul. After capturing him, much to the pain of said goons, they'd nearly cut of one of his fingers as warning to Paul's father, Nikolei. After Alex escaped, much to his discomfort, the American's CIA had uncovered who had really been behind it all. Nikolei Drevin himself. His space hotel project, Arc Angel, began to cost him too much, so he decided to crash it into Washington DC. But the CIA had caught him just in time. The man was obviously a psychopath and ended up getting the life sentence. Paul was sent to live with his mother, which made him very happy. That was the only good that came out of it. Unfortunately for Alex, his reward for escaping and leading them to Kaspar's hideout, was much more grand. In just one month, he was scheduled to meet the Queen.

Thus more unwanted attention.

"Alex!" Jack called for what Alex guessed was the last time.

He stumbled, and nearly fell, out of bed and rushed to get dressed. Again, the sudden movements caused him a lot of pain, but he did his best to ignore it. If he couldn't manage getting dressed, he'd never be able to get through his first day of his second year of high school. Everyone already thought he was a drug addict, except the girls, who still studied his every breath. Why? He didn't even want to know.

After he managed to make his uniform cooperate with him, Alex went downstairs to a fuming, but concerned Jack. Her hands were placed on her hips and her eyebrows raised in a look that said, 'This is possibly the dumbest thing you could possibly do.' Alex only gave her a weak smile before carefully walking into the kitchen, her gaze following his every move.

He sat down at the table and noticed his breakfast was placed in front of him. The first thought that came to mind was, 'This could not have been made in ten minutes.' In front of him was scrambled eggs, toast, pancakes, cereal, orange juice, milk, and an omelet. He looked up at Jack, who'd come in only a moment ago, looking very confused.

"What..." Alex started, but was interrupted by a very dangerous looking Jack. He was wondering if her maternal instincts were kicking in, even though she wasn't Alex's mother.

"You will eat all of it!" She told him. He didn't doubt the consequences that were hidden underneath the said words.

"How?" he squeaked. He hadn't meant to sound so pathetic, but there was no way he'd be able to eat all of the food.

Jack sighed, her hands going back to her hips. "You've been on plasma for nearly two weeks. You need real food, real protein in you."

"But why so much?! And besides, I was told to stay away from greasy food. And I'm sure this stuff qualifies!"

She shrugged. "Figured you'd be hungry for a real breakfast."

Alex glared at her. That couldn't be it. She didn't cook a huge breakfast just so he could get the nutrients he needed. He could get that with the well proportioned meals he was used to.

Alex continued to look up at her, looking more like a kid than he had since Ian died. She gave in. "Fine. I'll eat some of it too." She didn't seem to happy about it, but Alex was satisfied. They ate their abnormally large meal in silence until it was time for him to go to school. His first day of his tenth year. Fun.

He stood up from his seat at the table and walked toward the door. Finally; he could ride his bike to school and be a normal part of the system just like everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Jack said, somehow managing to pop up right behind him. When did she become a ninja?

"Uh..." Alex thought. The fact that Jack had been so sneaky and quiet was enough to raise suspicion. It was the tone of her voice that really had him scared. "Getting my bike..." he finally finished.

She chuckled at the normal statement and said, "Oh, no you're not! I'm driving you, and picking you up."

Alex groaned inwardly. She really was babying him. The wound didn't even hurt that bad anymore. He tried to make a break for it, but Jack already had the collar of his jacket clutched in her hand. Looking up at his over-protective guardian, he almost looked like he was pouting. But Alex Rider didn't pout. None of the Riders did. But Jack wouldn't forget. Oh, she'd never let him live this down.

Alex didn't get a chance to argue because not a moment later, Jack was dragging him towards her car by his jacket. She forced him, gently, into the front seat and quickly went around to the other side and started the engine. Finally giving in, he put on the seat belt and patiently waited for his guardian to start the car. He glanced in her direction and noticed a particularly smug look on her face as she smiled at him. Alex only glared back.

The drive wasn't unpleasant. She was listening to some American band called Thousand Foot Krutch. The music was good, and gratefully, there was no conversation. Well, at least not until they got to the school. Jack parked at the curb and Alex moved as fast as he could to get out, hurting himself trying to get the damn seatbelt off. At this, Jack made the most unnecessary suggestion.

"I think you should just come back home with me..."

Alex gave her his please-don't-start-this-again look that he'd just recently perfected. It had the perfect amount of contempt, sarcasm, aggravation, and pitifulness. Jack could never say no to this look. And Alex took great pride at this.

"It was just a suggestion..." Jack muttered. Alex smiled at her and stepped out of the car. He closed the door and saw her point a finger at him before she drove off. This was her way of saying, 'Don't make me regret this.' He just chuckled and walked through the front gates of the school.

Many of the students, even the ninth years, gave him nervous glances. He also noticed, much to his horror, the girls of every year gushing over him. What they were gushing over? He didn't want to know. All Alex wanted to do was track down his friend Tom Harris. Out of all the people he knew in the non-spy world, Tom was the only person who knew his secret. The one thing Tom didn't know about was his bullet wound. And hopefully, for now, he'd be able to keep it that way.

"Alex! Over here!" he heard Tom call. He looked around to look for the source of the call and found Tom standing alone by a tree near the front entrance. Alex smiled. Tom was the only person he wanted to see at this hell hole. He walked over to his best friend only to be greeted by more stares than before. Apparently, Tom calling his name caught the attention of the entire student body.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Hey? Hey? Is that all you have to say? What really happened to you? Why were you really in the hospital?" Tom poured out, leaving no question left in his mind. This took Alex completely by surprise.

"Later," Alex muttered to his friend, carefully analyzing the looks they were getting. Tom got the hint and immediately shut up, giving Alex an apologetic smile.

"The druggie returns!" he heard one of the twelfth years exclaim when he caught sight of Alex. His name was Sean Ernest. If there was anyone Alex hated outside of MI6, it was Sean. The older boy always made it his mission for the year to make Alex's life a living hell. Aparently he was sticking with the 'druggie' rumor. The idiot wasn't very creative.

"Stuff it," Alex glared at Sean. The moron just didn't know when to quit.

"What did you just say?" Sean glared at Alex. Like Alex, Sean was a 2 dan in karate, so a fight with him wouldn't be pleasant. But if he must...

"Mr. Ernest!" The three of them – Alex, Sean, and Tom – turned around to see the school secretary, Jane Bedfordshire walking towards them with murderous intent. "What do you think you're doing?"

Alex could feel all the eyes on him. It was embarrassing to have someone on the school staff coming to your rescue. Thankfully, everyone loved Ms. Bedfordshire. And the fact that Ms. Bedfordshire absolutely hated Sean Ernest. It was probably because he acted like the perfect student: Good grades, athletic, polite, good posture, quiet, involved. This is what most people saw in Alex: Slipping grades, constantly falling asleep in class, nearly always slouching, always staring out the window.

"Good morning, Ms. Bedfordshire," Sean said sweeter than any boy should ever sound. It was just disgusting.

She glared down at the twelfth year. "What do you think you are doing?" Sean dropped the facade. Jane Bedfordshire wasn't stupid, which meant his act was over.

"Teaching Rider his place."

"Oh? And where would his 'place' be?"

"Somewhere off with his druggie friends." Oops. Wrong thing to say.

Ms. Bedfordshire grabbed his arm and dragged him through the front doors of Brookland School and snapped, "I think you need to have a talk with the headmaster." Sean protested, but couldn't escape from her grip. After they disappeared through the double doors, all the students who were outside burst out in a fit of laughter. They might have found it funny, but Alex had a strange feeling that this year was going to be difficult.

Tom looked at his stoic friend and managed to say through his laughter, "Loosen up, Alex! Mr. Perfect just got busted." Alex managed a genuine smile for his excited friend.

Just before Tom could say anything else, the first bell rang, signaling the students to go to the auditorium for their 'beginning of the year assembly.' Alex looked at the large room with obvious resentment. There really was no point for anyone but the ninth years and new students to attend this stupid meeting. Everybody else had heard it all before. They'd all sleep and get yelled at for not paying attention and life would go on. But for some reason, part of Alex looked forward to listening to the boring speech. It would be the first normal thing he'd do since he was shot and started ignoring MI6. Instead of contemplating on it further, he walked in with Tom, who was still complaining about how boring it would be for Alex, since he was so used to saving the world. Alex wished his little friend would just get it through his head that it wasn't as glorious as the movies made it out to be. When Alex saw who was on stage, he realized saving the world would be much easier to deal with.

Mrs. Jones, Alan Blunt, the sergeant from the SAS training camp at Brecon Beacons, and the. K Unit. All the people who made his life a living hell. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt dragged him into MI6, Alex sent the sergeant into the river, and the K-unit didn't accept him. At least at first. After he sent the sergeant into the river, they finally started to like him. Right as Alex was leaving, Wolf gave him his SAS pin. Alex currently had that same badge on the collar of his uniform jacket. But that was beside the point. Why were they here? Alex looked around the auditorium and noticed other agents; the same ones he'd seen at Ian's funeral. Only this time the guns were drawn and ready. He also noticed that the only seats that were available were in the center of the third row.

He and Tom sat in their seats, both having a perfect view of everyone's faces on stage. They were all so relaxed, even the K Unit. Well, at least for the moment.

Because then he heard, and saw, the sergeant scream, "K UNIT! ATTENTION!"

They all snapped into attention, not out of obedience, but by habit. Alex even nearly jumped into attention like Snake, Eagle, Fox, and Wolf did. Thankfully, he caught his mistake just in time, and in turn, the movement only looked like a spasm. Hopefully one that hadn't been noticed. The movement caused a flame of pain to rise in his chest and arm and he did all he could to not scream in agony. Why the hell did gunshot wounds have to be so bloody painful?!

The headmaster walked up to the microphone and said, "Welcome to a new year here at Brookland School." When no one said anything in return, he continued. "I am Jeffrey Bray, the school's headmaster. I am very honored to announce that this will be a very special year for fifty of the boys at our wonderful school. You girls will have something similar later in the year and at a different location. But for now, this assembly is addressed to the young men."

Alex cocked his head to the side in confusion. Fifty? What were they planning? He didn't like the sound of it already. And if Jones and Blunt were involved, it definitely meant trouble for Alex.

"Sergeant Karlson has agreed to host a little project down at the Brecon Beacons training camp. Sergeant?" Mr. Bray gestured toward the microphone he had just begun to step away from.

Sergeant Karlson stood in front of the microphone and began, "Mr. Bray has suggested a training project to get this school's boys into better shape. Naturally, the fifty students of the male student body will be chosen. MI6 has graciously recommended one student for the training program, and has no choice in the matter. Actually, none of you have any choice."

Alex didn't like what he was hearing.

The sergeant stole a quick breath and continued. "Every one of you boys will be given a physical today in the gym. If we're not done by the time school ends, tough! You're staying anyways. And because we thought it'd be fair that you know what to expect, these are the exams you have to pass. One: endurance . You will run around the track for as long as you can, then do as many push-ups as you can, finished by doing as many pull-ups as you can. Two: strength. Bench pressing. That simple. Three: A normal physical test. You will be checked for any abnormalities in your cardiovascular and respiratory systems."

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap! How was he going to get by on that one? Normally, he'd go along and assume that since he had already been chosen to go, but the sergeant had said everyone had to go through the physical, and that included him.

"The unit that will be testing you will the the K Unit, the four men standing behind me now. You will only know them by their code names. They are Wolf, Snake, Eagle, and Fox," Sergeant Karlson pointed to them as he mentioned them. Wolf is in charge of the unit and will be overseeing all of the tests. Snake is the unit's medic and will handle the physical exam. Eagle will handle the strength test, and Fox will be in charge of the endurance test. You will take your tests in alphabetical order. DISMISSED!" he finished and walked over to stand at attention with the K Unit, leaving very startled and intimidated students in his wake.

Alex, who'd been hunched over the whole time in a poor attempt at hiding who he was, sat up straight and watched as the headmaster walked to the microphone again. Well, at least he was towards the end of the list.

"Well," Mr. Bray sighed. He was obviously about to dismiss the students. "We've said all that needs to be said and it's time for most of you to go to your classes. Now. All of the young men with names starting with A to K, go straight to the locker rooms and change into your gym uniforms. The tests will be individual, so this may take a while." With that he nodded at the students, which was his cue for them to leave.

Alex stood up and turned to leave, but not before shooting a glare at Mr. Blunt. He was sure that Mrs. Jones had argued for Alex's sake, so he was okay with her. But the head of MI6 was going to pay. Now he just had to figure out how. Just as he was turning back to Tom, Alex saw Mrs. Jones give him a sad smile. He quickly returned it before turning back to his friend and walking towards their first class. Another plus side to the day, he had all of his classes with Tom, so he wouldn't be bored.

He just hoped he wouldn't die trying to hide his wound from the K Unit.

A/N: So? What'd ya think? Like I said at the first note at the beginning – you know? The really long one? - that things would be tweaked a bit and you'd just have to go with the story (by the way, the words at the beginning that I translated for you, are in Romanian). And I can assure you guys this is probably the shortest chapter this story will have. And this took me three damn days. Yes, I know there are so many Alex Rider stories like this, but this story has been in my head and won't let me sleep! Reviews are always welcome...that and I want to know if you like it. Don't flame me for any mistakes I made please! 8( yeah, that's supposed to be the pleading look, but it just looks creepy. Well, good night!

Some of you may have noticed this updated. I'm sorry, but while I'm working on chapter five, I'm doing revisions on the other chapters. Trust me. They are needed.

Yes, I know the part with Jack and Alex was random and ridiculous (and kind of stupid), but now you see why it's in the funny section (not really).