Chapter 2

As the cab turned on my street, I saw a car in my driveway. Crap. It wasn't my mom. She was on a mission. We had bought a house in Roseville recently so I had a place close to Gallagher. I had been here the week before school started and Macey had a house twenty minutes away. Liz and Bex were at Macey's.

"Just pull over here," I told the driver as I gave him money. He nodded and I got out. I snuck through the back lawns until I got to my window. I then climbed up the side of my house and snuck in the window. I ran in my closet and put on sweats and a t-shirt. I threw my hair in a messy bun and walked down the stairs.

"Well, where have you been?" Joe Solomon asked as he casually read the newspaper and drank coffee at my dining room table.

"Macey's," I lied easily. "Why are you here?"

"Your mother wanted me to come check on you to make sure you got to Gallagher alright. We're picking up Macey, Bex, and Liz," he answered. "Grab your bags. We're going. I didn't realize you'd be out so late." I grabbed my stuff and we got in the car. We picked everyone up and as soon as we got to the school, we ran upstairs to our dorm to talk.

"What happened last night?" I asked.

Bex snorted. "I was about to ask you. We went to dance and when we looked back, we saw you and Mr. Hunky flirting."

I rolled my eyes but was inwardly freaking out. "It was nothing. What about you and Grant?"

"He was so sweet! I hope I see him again, but he's not a spy. We all know how that went with you and... I'm sorry," Bex mumbled.

I shook my head. "I can deal with it. I'm moving on. I'm trying not to focus on Josh." I had bigger problems.

"All this from talking to mystery boy?" Macey teased.

I laughed. "His name is Zach and he actually gave me a nice little pep talk. Now, Lizzie, how did things go with Jonas?"

She blushed bright red. "He was really sweet and he seemed intelligent. Plus, he was cute in a nerdy way. I really liked him." We laughed.

"I need to go get a book out of the library. Anyone want to come with?" I asked. Macey shrugged and got up to follow me. We walked there through a secret passageway and we were outside the door when we heard voices.

"I'm glad you made it back safely, Rachel," Solomon said. Mom was home? "Have you visited Cammie yet?"

"Not yet. So, did you check on her?" Mom asked.

"Yes. She came home pretty late but she was at Macey's," he answered. Macey held back a chuckle. She didn't realize how late I was home. Macey just thought I lied about going to the party. "And the mission?"

"They'll be here tomorrow with the rest of the girls. It's all set to go," mom replied. Macey and I exchanged a look. What was set to go and who was they?

"Good," Joe said. We heard them walking away. We got out of the passageway and continued our walk to the library.

"What was that? Who will be here tomorrow?" Macey asked.

I shrugged. "No clue, but we have 24 hours to figure it out." We ran to the library and then back to our room and told the girls everything.

"I know how to solve this problem," Liz said.

"How?" Macey, Bex, and I screamed.

Liz rolled her eyes. "We wait." Gallagher girls were a lot of things, but the three Gallagher girls in front of Liz were anything but patient.

"Are you kidding me?" Bex looked ready to strangle Liz.

"No. We don't have enough information to solve this in twenty four hours. We can't bug them or tail them and we have nothing to research. Go to sleep and learn to be patient," Liz said, turning off the light and hopping in bed.

I woke up, feeling much better than yesterday. I did kind of miss Zach, though. The sad thing was I screwed it up. It was a hit and run and if I ever did see him again it would be so uncomfortable. I heard screams and remembered today was the welcome back day.

Girls ran up and down the halls yelling greetings in many different languages. I got up and changed into my Gallagher uniform and headed downstairs. I might of slept in a little because it was time for the welcome back lunch (I know, I know, it's usually dinner but they changed it this year. I have no idea why. I think they just wanted to start classes earlier). I walked in and sat by Bex, Macey, and Liz.

"Do you think they're going to tell us who 'they' is?" Bex asked.

"I hope so. I can't wait any longer," I answered.

My mother walked to the podium. "Welcome back girls! We're going to have a fun semester and I'm really excited for all of the new opportunities. Now, this semester, we'll have something very different that hasn't happened in years. Meet the young men who will be here all semester from the Blackthorne Institute for Boys!" We were stunned into silence as the boys walked in. More boy drama? Seriously? That was the last thing I needed.

Macey squealed. "Look! They're here!"

"I can't believe it!" Liz gasped.

"Oh my gosh!" Bex exclaimed.

I was staring at the table. "What?"

"Grant, Jonas, and Nick are here!" Macey said excitedly. Yay! Their boys were here. Good fo- wait. If Zach lived with Grant, Jonas, and Nick, they had to have some tie. I just really hoped they were related and didn't go to the same school. Zach being a spy was too much to handle. I looked up and saw the three boys my friends liked and scanned the line for Zach. I saw a boy with a stupid smirk on his face and then I made eye contact with him. His jaw almost hit the ground. We both were staring at each other with dumbstruck expressions.

"Girls, you may all go to class," my mom said. I got up and booked it to Mr. Smith's COW class. My friends looked between me and the boys they liked and hesitantly followed me.

Bex caught up as Liz and Macey stumbled behind and said, "Um, is there a reason we're jogging to class?"

I shrugged. "I'm just, uh, trying to workout more. Lose a pound or two."

Bex raised an eyebrow but otherwise let my crappy lie pass. "Whatever. Just know I'll find out sometime." We got to COW and I looked at the seating chart. Bex, Macey, Liz, and I all sat in a row of desks, one behind the other.

"Let's begin class," Mr. Smith began. "So, one thing you need to know about-"

"Knock knock!" A voice said. Now I didn't get to know what I need to know. I looked to see who interrupted the lecture and saw Dr. Steve, the Blackthorne advisor. He opened the door further and revealed the four boys I had come to know too well. "These four boys will be joining these young ladies classes. I'll have them introduce themselves and then we'll find them a guide."

"I'm Jonas Anderson and I am on the research and development track," Jonas said.

"Are there any girls on the research and development track who could show Jonas around?" Dr. Steve asked. Liz's hand shot in the air and Jonas took a seat next to her.

"I'm Nick and I'm on the covert operations track," he said. Before Dr. Steve could speak, Macey patted the seat next to her and he grinned and sat down. A few girls sighed. We finally had boys around us, all of whom were very good-looking, and they didn't even glance around.

"I'm Grant Newman and I'm on the CoveOps track. Who wants to be my guide, ladies?" He then winked and I held back a laugh. Bex just rolled her eyes as everyone's hands went up. When he sat next to her, she flipped her hair in a flirty way I couldn't master.

Next up was Zach. "I'm Zachary Goode. I'm on the CoveOps track and I've found my guide." Zach walked across the room and almost every girl held their breath as he walked. I just turned away and then turned back and he was right next to me. Every girl groaned. "Hey, Gallagher Girl." I just tried to ignore him. "Seriously? We're not even going to talk?" I nodded and he groaned and slid farther into his seat. Today was bound to get interesting... And really awkward.

I figured I would upload two chapters today so there was a little more to read. I hope you're enjoying it so far and please review.