Worth POV

After I left my little Q&A session with Cammie, I knew nothing would be the same. My roommates would be intimidated, even scared of me, and every student in the school would know exactly what I had said by dinnertime. It's not like we were great friends before, but I didn't really like the idea that they would all stop talking to me, noticing me, etc. I had gone through it all before–you let something slip, blow your cover, and you can say goodbye to your social life. It's honestly easier not to have one in the first place.

I stayed in the library until I was sure that Bex, Cammie, Macey, and Liz had gone to sleep before I crept back to my room and fell into bed, asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I didn't wake up at five like I usually did–I guess I was so exhausted that my brain couldn't wake my body up–and when I opened my eyes there was sunlight streaming through the windows and the room was empty. Great, it had started. I laid my head back down on the pillow, ready to go to sleep again when I saw the calendar above Liz's bed. It was March 16, which made it my birthday–my sweet 16, actually. I had forgotten like I did every year; it was odd that I forgot my own birthday, but it wasn't my real birthday anyway, just the one I was given when I was a baby. That's what happens when you're trained from birth to be a super spy.

I burrowed deeper into the quilt only to have it yanked off a moment later. I glanced up to see who had disturbed my peace and saw a shiny silver nose ring. "Get up before we have to drag you out," said Macey, grinning evilly. "What?" I looked around the room and saw the rest of my roommates: Bex standing behind Macey, getting ready to drag me out of bed if need be, Liz grinning next to her, and Cammie standing on her other side looking a little unsure of what would happen next. I swung my legs out of bed and stood up. "What are you doing here?" Bex slapped me on the head, slightly harder than she needed to. "This is our room too, in case you haven't noticed." I rubbed my head a little. "I meant why are you standing over me as I sleep?" Lix smiled even bigger. "We're going into town and you're coming with us." I sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea, guys." Bex hit me on the head again. "She said you're coming with us, not 'do you want to go?' " And I knew that not going was not an option.

I started making my way to the bathroom but was stopped by Macey. "Oh no you don't. I'm planning your outfit today–no more jeans and dark t-shirts for you, not in my presence." I made my hands into fists. This was going too far. "Over my dead body," I replied. She smiled at me. "That can be arranged." Cammie intervened before it could go any further. "How about we go for a compromise–Macey gets to pick the shoes and do your hair, and you, Worth, can pick the outfit." Macey was about to complain when Liz spoke up; "It's her birthday, Mace, let her wear what she wants." Macey sighed but agreed. "How do you know it's my birthday?" I was honestly curious–that kind of thing is seriously classified. "Oh, a little bird told us," said Cammie. "You mean your mom told you," I inferred. "Nope. Our little bird's name starts with an S," said Bex. No way–Soloman told them? I grinned in disbelief. "I guess we better get going then," said Liz.

We got to town and shopped awhile and then went to lunch, where they surprised me with a big cake with 16 candles in it. I found myself actually enjoying the trip and even laughing once in awhile.

When we got back to my room, I just had one question. "Why are you guys being so nice to me?" I asked them. They looked at each other. "Should we not be nice to you?" Cammie asked. "No. It's just that, after I told you–you know–I figured you wouldn't want to…I don't know…" Macey smiled knowingly. "You thought we'd be intimidated." "Well, yeah." They all started laughing. "Worth, we were already intimidated by you. Besides, we don't care that you're a spy. My mom and Bex's parents are spies too and we don't run away from them," Cammie explained. "But…" Bex was starting to get impatient. "Leave it alone Worth. We're sticking with you–you might as well get used to it."