Amelia, Kodi, Reb, and I stood around the Dining Hall's double doors with the boys waiting for my mother to cue me through my comms.
"How long have you girls been going here," Alex asked. "Since the seventh grade, but Alivia has been staying here since kindergarten," Reb answered. "So how old are you girls," Dondre asked. "Sixteen, but Reb's the oldest of all," Kodi said and smirked at Reb. Reb punched her arm and smiled.
"So…when the first time you hacked into Langley," Jake asked Amelia shyly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said quietly, "When I was three." His smile grew wider than it already was.
The only two people who weren't talking was Trace and I. He stood there arms crossed and a serious look on his face.
I was studying him in the reflective surface of the door handle. I realized he was watching me through it too.
"Alivia I am giving you a countdown of twenty," my mom's voice broke through to my ear, making me wince. "Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen, fifteen." "Just to clarify we are not having a huge grand entrance right," Trace asked. "Correct. We are to enter like normal civilized people," I answered stiffly. "Six, five, four.
"Okay then, you have answered my question."
"Two, one-."
"Gladly."
"Now."
I pulled open the oak doors and stepped inside with the other seven. A hush filled the dining hall and let me tell you; to get 1,000+ girls to go quiet instantly is a miracle in itself.
"Ladies, I would like to introduce to you the four boys from Blackthorne Academy for Boys. They have come all the way from Maine to be with us. Now they will introduce themselves."
The seven of us stood up on the stage and whispers filled the air as my roommates and I stood off to the side.
If the gossip in this school was a newspaper; I'd be all over the front page. I could see it now: Alivia Goode and roommates are guides to extremely hot boys. I could see my roomies were thinking the same thing.
"Hi…..I'm Jake and I am on the Cove Ops Research Track," and then he slowly backed up. "Hey, I'm Alex and I am on the Cove Ops Field Track." He gave a wink to the entire student body of Gallagher and they all fainted I swear. "Hi, I'm Dondre. I am also on the Cove Ops Field Track. I worked with Rebecca Baxter Newman and Grant Newman over summer and I am fully aware of everything about Rebecca Violet Newman," he smirked at Reb and I knew that boy would regret it in P&E.
And then it was Trace's turn.
"Hey, I'm Trace. I'm a sophomore like the rest and I am taken. By whom I can't tell, but she's in this room. Only thing, she doesn't know it yet." A loud whisper rang around the room and I knew we wouldn't hear the end of this for a while. As he walked past me Trace whispered "I think they like me."
We sat down at a table practically reserved for us. There were eight chairs exactly and eight plates with eight dishes and eight cups.
We all sat down and I sat on the opposite side of Trace so I could watch looked up at me and smirked. I smiled coldly back and started to fill my plate.
"So, how was your summer," Reb asked Dondre. "Oh very exciting. Especially when I had to disable a bomb with your mother. Very interesting actually," he smirked and picked up a roll. Amelia was sitting awkwardly next to Jake and she looked like a really red toothpick. It reminded me of a picture I saw once of Aunt Liz. Kodi was poking Alex with her nail filer because he wouldn't stop messing with her.
I laughed to myself but stopped when I saw Trace watching me from the silver pitcher in the middle of the table.
"You know," I took a bit of my steak, chewed slowly, and then swallowed, "watching somebody while they're eating is actually quite creepy," I said matter-of-factly. "Oh really?" "Yes really." "Well I guess staring at someone from a gold door handle is considered normal then?" I took another bite and made a mental note to thank the chef for dinner. His steak was the only thing keeping my head straight.
"No, it's called normal for a spy." "Well then it's not normal for you." Everyone at the table froze. "What do you mean by that?" "I mean you are, technically speaking, a spy in training. Keywords: in training." I chewed slowly and then took a sip of my drink. "Well then, I guess it is not normal for you either." No one moved.
Slowly but surely a smirk spread across both of our faces.
Twenty minutes later everyone was all eating and talking like old friends except me and Trace.
We were both watching each other.
Like for instance, I know he's left handed but shoots with his uses the right side of his mouth to smirk and barely genuinely smiles. His hair is constant bother because he runs his fingers through it constantly but doesn't seem to want it cut. He speaks little but moves a lot. He's always moving his hands whether he knows it or not. Also, he likes to pay attention to one person at a time.
And that person just so happened to be me.
When I looked up from his hands I saw the smirk on his face and I knew I had to change that. "Let's get this straight: the smirk is my thing. It has been patented and legally bought by the Goode family. So in other words, no smirking." "Well then this," he smirked and I fought the urge to slap it off, "Is going to drive you insane."
"Only if I let it," I said smugly.
"Well I'm good at letting people break down walls, get to do things I want them to, and letting me have what I want." "Well I guess we have something in common my friend. Here, people do things my way." "Well this is going to be a change for me. You are going to be a force to be reckoned with." "I couldn't have said it better myself."He smirked and then thought better of it.
I chocked back a laugh but let me tell you, I almost died inside.