Haha, I played the song below while I was finishing this chapter and now I can't get it out of my head. Stupid, catchy song.

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I am not Ally Carter. I'm just a big fan.

Chapter 10. You Don't Know Me feat. Regina Spektor (by Ben Folds)

The next morning at breakfast we received another shock. As Buckingham handed our table our schedules, Macey nearly choked on her pancake. After spluttering and gulping down half a glass of water she managed to show us why.

Her schedule said she was signed up for CoveOps. Bex, Liz, and I were speechless, but Tina was all abuzz with excitement. "Oh my gosh, you are going to love it! At least, I think you will. Last semester sucked because of Townsend, but Mr. Solomon was great and I really think that Ms. Henderson is, like, the female version of him." Then she lowered her voice a bit as if filling Macey in a little secret. "Though maybe not quite as hot."

Macey gave a little smile. "Then again, who is as hot as Mr. Solomon?" Tina and Eva nodded in complete agreement.

Then Zach spoke up from behind me, "Is that really what all of you talk about while you eat?" We all turned to him and looked at him as if he was crazy. Did he not know girls at all? "I don't know how you manage to keep an appetite."

Bex quirked an eyebrow at him like she knew exactly what he did behind closed doors. "And what, dear Zach, do you talk about over waffles and orange juice?" At this, she took a sip of said orange juice without breaking eye contact which proved to be a pretty intimidating look for her.

"Definitely not which teacher would look better in a swimsuit." He gave me a little smirk as he sat down next to Mick. "Now the students…"

Bex and I exchanged a glance like we were thinking what he said through. Then we nodded at each other and said, "Grant."

Macey snickered as she reread her schedule (it was almost as if she thought that it might change or disappear if she set it down). Liz looked like she might want to debate whether or not that was actually true, and Zach looked like he had just been slapped in the face.

Ah, sweet success.

We parted ways with Macey after breakfast. She had C&A first and we had COW. We wouldn't see her again until lunch which was right before our CoveOps class.

The morning hours seemed to fly by as we all inspected Mr. Smith's new face (not as hot as last year but still better than he had looked in eighth grade) and tried to avoid the smell that lurked around Dr. Fibs (his latest experiment had sort of blown up on him). Madame Dabney gave us a pop quiz on how to slip tranquilizers into someone's tea (which led to everyone stumbling out of the classroom half asleep for lunch).

I don't know what Macey expected as she came up to the senior table. Clapping? Hooraying? Unfortunately, none of us were able to give that to her as the tranquilizers hadn't completely worn off yet. It was hard enough to get my fork to my mouth. Zach was sitting next to me with his face dangerously close to his soup bowl, and Bex was on my other side, simply staring at her food in a daze.

"So…" Macey said causing Anna to wince and whisper, "Too loud." Macey rolled her eyes but continued in a quieter tone, "I have just arrived from my first CoveOps class, you know."

I was excited about that. Really, I was. I was just too tired to show it at the moment. "That's great, Macey. How'd it go?"

Macey smiled and gave a blissful sigh. "It was everything I always thought it would be. Amazing."

Courtney leaned forward a bit to see around Tina's head. "So Ms. Henderson is a good teacher? She actually teaches, right?" Courtney was obviously thinking about Townsend and the fact that last semester was practically a complete waste of time.

Macey nodded. "We talked about brush passes and cutoffs."

All of the seniors exchanged glances. We all knew that no one was as good a CoveOps teacher as Mr. Solomon, but maybe Tillie wouldn't be too bad.

And then Macey exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot!" She reached into her bag and drew out a small folded piece of paper. I could tell it was the real kind because of the way the crease in it was a little frayed and the paper had lost some of it whiteness in the aging process. She handed it to me. "Here, Cam. Ms. Henderson wanted me to give this to you. I don't know what says. She made me promise not to read it."

Suddenly, I didn't feel tired anymore. I snuck a look at Zach and saw that he was more alert now too. Slowly, I unfolded the paper and read the typed writing on it:

.

M-

My words are jumbled and my thoughts are curdled. I make no sense even to myself. But I do know one thing yet. I'm not going to make it. I'm sorry.

-M

.

My eyebrows furrowed. What was Tillie talking about? And why did she write a letter to herself and then give it me? Zach was staring at me with his eyebrows raised like he was waiting for me to explain myself, but I just shrugged. I had no idea what the note was supposed to mean, if it was meant to mean anything. I'd ask Tillie about it when I saw her next hour.

Lunch dragged by (which I wasn't too upset about since Zach was right next to me). When it finally ended, our tranquilizers had completely worn off (except for on Kim Lee as Eva had accidentally slipped her an extra dosage—multiple times). All of the CoveOps seniors headed towards the classroom we had had CoveOps in last semester because even though Bex, Liz, Macey, and I had gotten into the sublevels, that didn't mean they were safe now.

We all sat down in the seats we had taken up residence in months ago, and Zach just so happened to choose the empty one behind me. Tillie wasn't in the room yet, so I can't say I was surprised when Zach leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "What was on the note, Gallagher Girl?"

I fought the urge to turn my head and look him in those deep, dark, mysterious eyes of his (that he just so happened to share with his mother, drat). Instead I said, "You really didn't read it over my shoulder? With all the hovering and obsessing you do, I would've expected that of you."

I could feel him shrugging. "I thought I'd give you the chance to tell me yourself. But if you aren't willing…" He let the sentence fade away. I'm guessing because Tillie had just entered and was staring right him. She smiled at him when he leaned back. I squirmed a little because while I thought it was pretty funny how Tillie could so easily make Zach do her bidding (which isn't an easy thing, let me tell you), I also sort of missed his nearness.

Everyone was quiet in the room as Tillie leaned back on the front edge of her desk. She let her gaze sweep across us, taking everyone in. "Infiltration," she said. "Who can tell me what it is?"

Bex shot her hand in the air. "When an operative penetrates the subject's walls by incorporating themselves into their life."

Tillie nodded. "And how would you go about doing that? 'Incorporating' yourself into the subject's life."

Bex's reply was straight from the textbook. "Get hired where the subject works; Get acquainted with a relative or friend; Pretend to—"

Tillie cut her off. "Yes, I know you know all the ways. I'm asking how you would infiltrate the subject's walls."

"I just—" She was cut off again.

"No, Miss Baxter, you didn't. You told me the choices. Now I want you to choose one." Tillie stepped away from her desk towards Bex. "How would you do it?"

Bex didn't reply right away. When she answered it sounded almost like a question. "With subtlety?" A couple of people chuckled because we all knew Bex wasn't a subtle person.

"How so?" Tillie asked her.

"Well, uh, with a clear understanding of who I was and who I was putting myself in cahoots with."

Tillie gave a little smile. "And that's the catch, isn't it?"

"Pardon, Ms. Henderson?" Tina asked.

Tillie returned her attention to the rest of class and I swear I saw Bex sigh in relief. "Can we ever truly know who we are dealing with? Hell, I hardly even know who I am." Bex and I exchanged a glance, and I heard Zach shift in his seat behind me. "I guess the point I want to make for today is to pay attention to the people around you. I know you've probably been told that a million times. But in my line of work, I've noticed that the people we think we know best—" Her eyes landed on me. "—Are the people we don't know at all."

Tillie continued talking after that. She went on and on about perfecting your covers to the point that you know the most mundane things like what brand of vitamins they eat (yeah, I don't know how we got there either). But for me, the real lesson was over. She was right; I didn't know her at all.

But I would.

Oh, dear. What's going to happen? What the heck is that note about? Trust me, I'm just as curious as you are. :)

I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. And I don't want to sound like a needy, old, begging lady but...review?