2

ZACH GOODE.

Grade: Sophomore

Age: 15

School Blackthrone detention Facility

Height: 5' 7"

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Brown

Interests: Normal

Personality: Cocky, Confident, smart, athletic with a touch of romance

Mission: Earn the Trust of The boys, and the Teachers, Excel.

Everything was pretty much the same. I admit I was confident; I did have brown hair and eyes that matched. I was 5 foot and 7 inches (and growing!), but I knew those weren't the things that mattered. It was the mission. That was the thing she wanted me to know.

"Honey, you'll be fine." My mother came to stand beside me, continuing the conversation we started inside. She put her hands on my shoulders, and I felt myself recoil; fighting it, I made myself sigh in relief.

"I know. I'm just not used to going to school."

"Honey, school will be easy. You know you'll do great." Her eyes glanced towards the left breaking my stare; number one on the list that singles when someone was lying slash hiding something, but my mom is too good to let me know when she is doing either of those actions. Which means she wanted me to ask her what was wrong. And I fell for it. "There's something else."

"Its just that…this is an important mission." Which translates into no screw-ups. For some reason, that got me on edge.

"What, you don't think I can handle some boys and teachers that are dumber than screws?"

My mom rose to the challenge. It was one thing to talk to her like you were below her, totally another thing to speak like equals. "I'm not saying that. It's just you're young, inexperienced…" She said trying to calm me down, but did the opposite.

"Inexperienced! I have been on more missions with you than any of this guys in there." I pointed angrily towards the cabin. And don't even say I'm young, I apparently wasn't young when I was back with Lucy. I had to break the news, I had to cover it up."

"That was different. You have to learn, and that was the best way. I did what I had to do." She gave me a look that told me I was reaching the danger area, but I disregarded it and continued.

"Yeah, now I have to get some teachers and boys to trust me like there is no tomorrow. Not like I haven't done that before." Sarcasm dripped off of every word. My mom was angry now. But not the type of anger that turns her face red and makes her hands ball into fist. It was the type of anger that told you that if you didn't back up, someone was going to end up in the hospital. "Now Zach, don't you even think you can do this. If there were anyone else I would send I would. I don't want you to…"

"To what, Mom! To screw up? To rob? Steal? Murder? What don't you want me to do, Mom? Then my face stung. I didn't jerk my hands to my face, my eyes didn't sting with tears, I just shut up and stood still.

"You are not going to get that tone with me. I know that you have this attitude about you and I have just about enough of it." It sounded like a lecture a normal mom would give a normal kid. But normal mom's don't slap their kids. "You will let me finish my thought and then you will respond in a respectful way."

"Yes ma'am." She was no longer my mother, but the leader of the Circle of Caven.

"Now, if there was someone your age that had your abilities I would send them. I much rather have you here, but I don't have that yet. So I'm sending you. And I don't want you to screw up."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, now go get packed."

I felt my eye throbbing, black and blue no doubt. I quickly had the despairing thought of showing up to school with a black eye. But I pushed the pain out of my nerve endings and swallowed hard. Then asked my mom a question that would probably get me a second bruise.

"Mom," pause. I saw her turn, her eyes had turn to rocks. "What does the Circle want with that journal."

"Zach, I am not doing this." she turned wary.

"I know, its just…I need to know if it concerns my mission." I didn't keep eye contact. I knew her anger was still boiling.

"It doesn't. Joe has it covered."

"Right." I said, turning my back on her and waiting until I heard her footsteps back towards the house. I stayed out for another hour. Changing from the 47 to a blowgun.

Finally, as the sun slipped below the trees I walked back in. My room was on the second story and it was small. I could barely fit a bed and a dresser, but I didn't mind. It wasn't like I had a whole bunch of stuff or anything. My room was painted a dark brown, the dresser made to match. Everything was picked up and nothing was on the floor. There was no family pictures or calendars, just a made bed and closed drawers.

I got my suitcase and dumped everything in it. It took less than ten minutes. But by eight I was ready to leave. I got up and sat on my bed. I really didn't have anything to do. So consequently I was bored. I got up and went outside.

It was dark already. Brief moonlight showed through the gaps, but we didn't pick this house because of the scenery. So I guess to have secrecy you have to have darkness too. I stopped and let my eyes adjust; pretty soon I could see where I was going. The trees loomed up in front of me. And I soon found the path that led to the cliffs.
It took a half hour, but I didn't mind. I felt the vast space beneath me. It was so easy to imagine that I could just walk off and not get hurt. I would be able to fly, to be released of all sense of gravity, all sense of responsibility. But I knew that if I did act on those wishes, someone else would be subjected to things no kid my age should be subjected to.

So I took a deep breath and started to walk back, staying there for less than a minute.