Chapter 2:

Schoolyard Normality


Tom and I quickly make it outside thanks to Tom's enthusiastic assistance in my department. Sure I want to enjoy the sunshine and all that, but I don't appreciate all the venomous glares and curious stares that are always pointed in my specific direction. And today's no different. The story's spread that THE Alex Rider has returned to school after 2 weeks absence following the holidays. The lie this time was appendicitis, but I don't think that requires two weeks absence and what are the odds of getting that just as school restarts? Well, too many it seemed oddly convenient, in reality it was a sniper bullet in the chest, nearly hitting my heart and killing me instantly. Hah! Give me appendicitis any day.

While recovering in the hospital I was basically left alone with my thoughts and truthfully I've never felt so alone. Sure I have Jack, whom I'm grateful for, she's great and she tries her best to make me feel happy. And there's Tom, who is currently munching down his second sandwich at world record speed, beside me as we sit on a bench under one of the few trees in the yard. But other than those two, I don't really have anyone else. I did have Uncle Ian, but he died, partly thanks to MI6. I've always wondered if he actually worked for them willingly or not. If he did, that's a lot better than dying doing something you really didn't want to do. I have conflicting emotions towards Ian. On one hand he was secretly training me to be a spy since I was young, which I'm now also extremely grateful for, but at first was quite pissed off about. On the other hand, we had a lot of good times and I loved him. He was just another person who has left my life.

In reality, I used to have a lot more friends than just Tom, but they always thought I was lying too them, which is true, since I 'joined' MI6 and they didn't want to stick around me anymore. I try to ignore it, but it does hurt. That's one of the reasons I've become such a jerk at times. You would think it would be all the missions I've done, which greatly contributed to my outlook on life and attitude, but what hurt the most was my normal life and friends disappearing. Speaking of the missions, I hate them and love them at the same time. I hate them because of some of the unpleasant things I'm forced to do as I really don't like killing people, even though some probably deserve it, such as that sniper guy. However, I enjoy the adrenaline rush and sense of adventure as well. If there was ever a contradiction, it would be my feelings towards going on missions.

"Hey, Alex? How are you? Since, well you know?" asks Tom quietly. I told him about the sniper shooting and a shortened version of Scorpia, leaving out some key details, partly because I didn't want him to know, and for his own safety. They're still after me after all. I shift and look at him. Well, looks like he's finished eating, I haven't started. I open my sandwich and start munching while replying, "Okay I guess. I'm getting better, won't be long until I'm back in top form" which is true, but the wound's still a bit tender.

"Oh that's good then!" Tom says, "Hurry up and finish eating, we can have a quick game of football with the others if you want" he continues while pointing over to the other side of the yard where a group of guys in our grade are kicking a football around. Hmn, it's not a bad idea, it could be fun, if they let me join of course.

"Yeah, just give me a moment to finish". We sit quietly as I finish eating, then get up and start making our way over to the others.

"Hey Matt! Do you mind if we join?" Tom asks. Matt is one of the popular guys in our year, and also plays on the boy's football team. I used to be on it, but with all my absences and such I was kicked off. Another thing I can't enjoy anymore due to my other life. Matt's a fairly tall, somewhat muscular guy with short brown hair and dark blue eyes. Apparently, he's a 'hottie' according to the girls I overheard rating the guys in our school on the hotness scale. Hah, wonder what they rated me?

"Oh, hey Tom" he says and glances at me, "Alex" he greets much less enthused.

"Matt" I return, but which a smile on my face. Wow, haven't smiled in awhile. He seems to take my friendliness as a good sign and welcomes us to join the group of boys. We muck around for a bit, as I try to familiarise myself in schoolyard football once more, not that it's hard. We're playing for ten minutes when the bell sounds.

"Come on Alex, we have English" Tom informs me. I know several languages and I still find English one of the hardest to grasp, quite strange. At least my English teacher isn't so bad, she's quite nice to me whenever I return from my various illnesses, but she can become frustrated when I don't hand in all the class work. I hope she's nice to me today.

As I, Tom and the others start heading back inside the building, I start to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The last time that happened, I was walking outside the bank before that sniper shot me. Crap, I quickly look around but don't notice anything out of the ordinary.

I continue walking beside Tom towards our lockers, but that feeling is still there. That's not good. I've learned to trust my instincts after all my experiences and close calls on my missions. I'll have to stay alert for anything unusual. If my luck is good, it will be something like I'm about to get tripped up by the bullies or something trivial. But if my luck is bad, it will be something much worse, and the worse it can be is Scorpia. But are they really that bold as to attack a school in broad daylight? Well, I'm probably just over reacting.