Thank you for your advice with the paragraphs! It's helpful to know what I can improve to make it easier for you to read the story. So, thanks again.
I tried to make shorter paragraphs in this chapter, especially when there is a conversation. If you like, you can once again tell me what I can improve and if the paragraphs are better that way.
Now enjoy reading!
Penny, Kayla and Ben are sitting in the dinning hall, enjoying their lunch.
"So, Pen, how was your first target practice with Talon?" Kayla asks.
"Good I guess. We at least successfully completed it." Penny smiles at Kayla. "What about yours?"
"Easy" Kayla says smiling at Ben. "He is amazing with the paintball gun." Ben smiles happily at the compliment. He then turns to face Penny.
"Why did you say you 'at least' completed it successfully? What I heard from Kayla, training at HQ is way harder than having a gun and shooting at targets." He titles his head in confusion.
Penny rolls her eyes. "Well thanks to Talon's big mouth, we were tied back to back with our weapons out of reach. We had to free ourselves first without getting hit by the targets before we do so. Talon just…"
"Talking about how amazing I am?" Talon asks while squeezing himself between Ben and another male agent from the Eagle Agency.
"Did it take you that long to fix your hair?" Penny asks instead of replying, forcing herself not to break into laughter.
Talon looks at her slightly offended. He carefully brushes through his hair. "Looking that good requires a lot of work. Not all of us like to wear our hair as short as Ben." he says pointing at Ben's 3mm short blonde hair.
"It's uncomplicated that way" Ben says shrugging his shoulders.
"See, I told you it's a lot of work" Talon says triumphing, smirking at Penny.
"And what do you think how much work it is to have long hair? Like a girl?" Kayla says looking at Talon like she wants to pick a fight.
"OK. That's enough talk about hair." Penny states firmly. "Does anyone know what the next task will be?"
Just when Penny finishes her question the instructor who welcomed them the day before gets in front of the buffet and starts speaking into a microphone.
"May I have your attention please?" His voice boomed through the dining hall. Everyone falls silent at once, looking at him.
"Thank you. I am here to announce a couple of things for the following week. First of all, congratulations all of you passed the first task." A round of applause starts.
The instructor holds up his hand and the hall falls quiet again. "A list with the results is available in the training hall now. All your results will be summed up there and every month the pair with the lowest ranking will have to leave the camp."
A girl about Penny's age with red hair raises her hand.
"Yes?" the instructor calls her.
The girl rises to her feet. "I heard from other agents who were here last year that every month there is a chance to improve your ranking with a special mission?"
"That's correct. At the end of every week there is a special mission. It's a field mission in the surroundings of the training camp. Every pair can volunteer to go on such a mission. If you succeed your final ranking will rise. With the special missions you can raise your ranking a maximum of four ranks per month."
The instructor looks around the hall to see if there are any more questions. He then continues.
"The rest of the week will be target practice like today, only the locations will change, and the difficulty will increase. Use your free time to prepare for special missions. Familiarize with the technical equipment in your treehouses, train with different weapons or get to know your partner better to see if you can help them with their weaknesses."
He looks at the clock behind him.
"Dinner will be ready at six. Those of you who want to participate in the special mission can come to me after dinner every day. But let me remind you once again. If you fail the special mission, it's just like you failed a regular task and you must leave the camp. That's all for today. Thank you."
After he left, chatter starts to fill the hall once again.
"Come on Ben. I'd like to see our results" Kayla says getting up, carrying her empty tray.
"Yeah, and on the way, I can tell you about the special move my brother taught me." He replied, also taking his tray and getting up."
Kayla walks over to him, then turning around.
"Bye Pen, we talk later. Call me when you are back at your treehouse, so I can come over."
Penny nods and continues eating. Talon looks at her confused.
"Don't you want to know our ranking?" he asks.
"I guess it won't be too good." Penny says shrugging her shoulders.
"What? Why? We were brilliant…I mean I was brilliant and you were not too bad either." Penny looks at him with raised eyebrows a smile playing around the corner of her mouth.
"Oh, forget it!" Talon exclaims, shoving a piece of omelet in his mouth.
"I heard the rating for the first task is based on time. We wasted a lot of it trying to free ourselves." Penny explains nonetheless. "We can go over after we've finished and look whether I'm right, OK?"
Talon nods and keeps eating in silence.
After they finished, they walk over to the training hall. Penny feels a little odd because Talon hasn't talked to her since she told him about the rating. He looks deep in thought, so Penny decides to stay quiet as well. When they arrive at the training hall there is a huge chaos of junior agents shoving and boxing their way through to see the ranking list.
"Uhhh, this will take forever for us to get through." Penny mutters. She turns to Talon and waves her hand in front of his face.
"Talon? Hey! Talon?" He blinks several times and stares at the crowd in front of him.
"What are they doing?" he asks.
"Looking at their results, I would say." Penny answers him, slightly worried.
Talon looks at her as if to say 'are you stupid?'. "That's not what I meant. I mean why are they queuing when you can get the results much faster."
Penny looks at him confused. Talon smirks and takes off with his boots, landing in front of the list, taking a picture with his phone, flying back and landing in front of Penny.
"Ta-da!" he says bowing lightly. Penny shakes her head laughing.
"That's not fair. No one has such boots" she scolds him.
"Well, it would not be so funny if it was fair. And don't complain or next time you can wait in the queue." he says while looking at the picture he took.
"I was right." Penny says pointing at his phone. "Ranking 180."
"You got to be kidding me!" Talon exclaims angry.
"Just don't brag next time and it won't be a problem." Penny says, looking at Talon in a 'I told you so' kind of way.
To smooth him she adds "And if you'd like we can go to one of those special missions. I'm quiet interested in what they are. I'm sure we'll be on top of the list in no time."
"OK" Talon says. "Now I gotta go. I need to take care of something." He waves at Penny and flies away.
Penny returns to her tree house, still wondering what is wrong with Talon. She grabs an apple from a bowl in her kitchen and calls Kayla.
"Hey Pen, are you back?" her friend asks.
"Yep, you can come over now or should I come?" Penny asks while biting into her apple.
"No I'll come. See you in five." Kayla says, ending the call.
A few minutes later Kayla and Penny sit on the sofa, talking about their rankings.
"We are ranking 15." Kayla happily says. "Ben is like the best partner I could have wished for." She looks at Penny "Except you, I mean."
Penny smiles "It's OK. I'm happy for you." She says hugging her friend. "Well Talon and I are ranking..."
"...180, I know. I saw it. He is such an idiot. It's all his fault." Kayla states.
"He is not that bad, give him a chance." Penny says, surprised herself, that she is defending Talon.
Kayla raises her eyebrows, examining Penny's face.
"You like him" she says watching Penny's reaction. Penny looks away.
"No I don't! He is my archenemy and..." Penny tries to argue.
"...and he got more handsome over the years, he is clever and funny." Kayla proceeds her sentence. Penny blushes and Kayla smiles triumphantly.
"OK, well maybe a little." Penny admits. "But what about Ben?" she changes the subject.
"What about him? Kayla asks with pink cheeks.
"Nothing. Your face tells me all I need to know." Penny teases.
"You know you're going to pay for this comment, right?" Kayla says lunging forward, tickling Penny."
Penny shrieks and laughs. She grabs a pillow and they start a pillow fight.
Half an hour later they are exhausted, laying on the sofa, both still panting, a smile on their faces.
"So are you going to participate in a special mission?" Kayla asks.
"Yes, we'd like to know what those missions are about. I guess it will be fun and a few extra points won't hurt either. What about you?"
"We decided to work on our weapon and programming skills the next weeks, so if it is not absolutely necessary we won't participate this month." Kayla answers.
She gets up and prepares a cup of tea for Penny and herself.
"You know it's nice to be here with you. A friend you can talk to. We hadn't had much missions together at HQ the last couple of months." Penny says.
"Yeah, I think so too. We are going to have a great time here. And not just the two of us." She looks at Penny suggestive.
"Well about him" Penny says knowing what the look on Kayla's face means. "Talon has been acting strange today after lunch. I don't know what's wrong with him."
"What about you go see him after diner? You are partners after all, you shouldn't keep secrets for as long as you are here." Kayla suggests.
"I think you are right. I go over to his treehouse after diner. Than he can give me back my jacket as well." Penny says, looking relieved.
Kayla looks at her with furrowed brow. "Why does he have your jacked?" She asks confused.
"Don't ask." Penny says laughing. "It has something to do with his hair."
Kayla starts laughing too. "He really has a thing with his hair."
The girls talk and laugh together for a few more hours and go to dinner together.
After dinner Penny goes straight to Talon's treehouse. He didn't attend diner and Penny was slightly worried. She knocks at his door but nothing happens. She knocks again and presses her ear against the door. There was no sign of him being in his treehouse, the lights are off.
Penny turns to leave but decides against it. Maybe she could find a clue to where Talon is in his treehouse. She knows it is against the rules to enter a treehouse without permission but she wants to know where he is, so she ignores her bad conscience and hacks the keypad of his treehouse.
The door opens slowly and Penny slips inside. She turns on the lights. She had expected it to look messy but everything was tidy and at its place. She checks the table in front of the sofa, the kitchen and the nightstand but can't find any clues to where Talon is. Penny signs.
"What am I even doing here?" she asks herself.
"I've been wondering the same thing." Talon says, arms crossed, standing in the door to his treehouse.
Penny flinches and turns around. "Talon!"