Chapter Four
After two long weeks of waiting, my friends and I were on our toes. "When do you think it'll happen?" Lizzie asked as we walked down to breakfast. "I have no idea," Macey said. "But I'm going to be prepared, no matter what." She put extra effort this morning, doing her make-up and hair, therefore forcing my roommates and me to be dolled up too. We can't change our uniforms, as much as Macey complains, but we all had mascara and blush on, with brushed out hair.
We entered the cafeteria and grabbed our food, and my friends and I kept stealing glances at the door, as if we were expecting them to appear out of thin air. "You know, we could always be wrong." Bex said, low enough so only Macey, Liz and I could hear it. "But what other explanation is there for those dorms?" Macey questioned, her voice almost as low as Bex. We all shrugged and continued eating, never letting the main doors out of our sight.
Bex and I headed towards Cove Ops while Liz and Macey headed towards their classes, we both kept looking around, waiting for them to appear out of thin air. "They haven't come all day, what makes you think they're coming at all?" Bex asked me as we entered the elevator heading toward Sublevel Two. I let the question hang out in the open as we stepped into our classroom. "Don't bother sitting down," Mr. Solomon told us. "Follow me." We all faced the door and matched his footsteps while we made our way upstairs, to who-knows-what.
"Put these on." Mr. Solomon told us while handing us blind-folds. He was standing in front of a helicopter and I could tell everyone was anxious, wondering if we were going to have to get in the helicopter, even though it seemed pretty obvious. He stepped into the helicopter, and forced with no other option we all followed. Bex immediately tied the blind-fold behind her head and fell asleep as we took off, in complete silence.
"It's… It's a mall." Tina, our school gossip, gasped 47 minutes later. The helicopter was indeed parked outside of a mall and Bex asked what was on all our minds, "Are we here as shifters or spies, and what's our mission?" Sometimes, to challenge us, Mr. Solomon makes us do missions as our other half, and trust me it's as difficult as it sounds. "You are here as spies, and you are to meet me at the Ruby Slippers exhibit at 5 o'clock. You will be tailed throughout the area and your objective is to arrive tail-less and on-time," He told us. "Go."
An hour later Bex and I were walking around, losing tails. "Ooh! I want one!" Bex squealed, looking at two boys sitting on a bench. "Bex, they're not puppies." She looked at me. "Wow, you're really not over Josh." She said to me. I scowled, "I am!" I insisted, but she gave me an unbelieving look and we kept walking. "Bex." I said to her, my voice low and soft. "I see her." She said to a woman going into a coffee shop. She was Ms. Ordinary, only we saw her 20 minutes earlier pushing a stroller in athletic clothes. "This is getting boring." Bex whined. "Well, it's part of the job." I retorted, slightly angry about her comment about Josh. She pouted, "You're still mad at me." She could read me like a book. "Not really mad, just annoyed." I sighed. She made a little gasp. "Oh. My. Bloody. Hell." She said, in between quiet breaths. "What is it?" I asked her looking around, trying to catch what she saw without drawing attention to myself. "Some boys are following us." She giggled as some girls passed us, giving us weird looks at Bex's gasping. Luckily I got her point. "Oh my god, so we were right," I said. "Let's lose 'em." I smirked and pointed to a group of girls that were wearing identical clothing to ours. She subtly nodded and we headed into the herd.
"I like your necklace." I said to a girl named Sarah, as this was a part of blending in. She smiled, "Thanks! I love your hair!" She told me with a smile. Strangers with candy are dangerous but strangers with compliments can get you in anywhere. Bex complimented a girl name 'Vanessa' to our right and they greeted us with open arms. "They are so totally following us!" Sarah said with a squeal. Bex and I shared a glace and I asked, "Who?" She smiled, "Those boys!" She squealed again and all the other girls around us looked back. I glanced back and sure enough I saw the same two boys. "Look! Let's go catch those trains!" Bex yelled and the group started running towards the train tracks and with the momentary distraction we slipped away without notice.
"Let's split up, it's our best way of losing them." She nodded and without question started walking away. I moved towards the elevator, but as I reached toward the button a hand stopped me. "Up or down?" He asked me, as in one of the two that had been following us. I almost let out a grunt in frustration. "Up, please." I smiled up at him. He smiled back and pushed the button. The doors opened and I stepped in, hoping he wouldn't follow, but, of course, he did. It's his job after all. "Are you following me?" I wondered, not hiding my annoyance. "What's your name?" He asked me, ignoring my question. "Cammie," I don't know exactly why I answered him, and with my real name even. "What's yours hot shot?" I questioned, angry at myself for answering his damn question. "Zach." He gave a look of puzzlement that was probably planted on my face too. "Well, thanks for pushing my buttons and everything but, I got to go." I said while slipping out of the elevator doors. "Wait, a girl like you shouldn't be roaming the streets all by herself at night." He said. Nice pickup line. I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the chivalry and all but I think I'm good." I spat at him, and I started jogging towards the exhibit. I know he's going to follow me so I make a wrong turn and somehow find myself climbing out of a bathroom window. I jog towards an exit that's close to the exhibit and step in. It was really close and not ten seconds later I find myself facing Mr. Solomon. "You're late." He says. "But I'm alone." I tell him. "Are you?" And Zach steps out of the shadows, smirking. I scowl, "But I climbed out of a bathroom window and everything!" "Yes, but you still got followed." Mr. Solomon says to me. "Too bad, so sad, Gallagher Girl." Zach says, finally speaking up. "I guess this is the part that I welcome you to Gallagher Academy." I scowl at him. Zach and Solomon both share a look of disbelief for a second. "Very good Cameron, but not good enough." I glare at him for a second then turn on my heel towards the helicopter.
It turns out, out of the eight Gallagher Girls on a mission today only Anna Fetterman, yes you heard me right, Anna Fetterman completed the mission. After I left, the other boy, Grant apparently, tailed Bex so even she failed. We share a look, knowing that as soon as we tell Liz and Macey they're going to freak out. These boys are going to be a pain in the butt.
