Chapter Three

So far, Amy and Dave were one week into the mission, and Amy was bored out of her mind. She hated having to pretend not to understand anything, and to her it didn't seem to be having the desired effect: Miss Voolt seemed more exasperated by the fact she didn't get it more than willing to give her extra help. It was a very different approach from that of her teachers at CHERUB.

Amy voiced this opinion to John at the end of the week. He looked at her thoughtfully.

"I don't know, have you tried asking her for help yet?" John asked.

"No, but I don't think she would give me tuition, just a few pointers. I've seen her do it with some of the other kids in my class."

"Maybe it would be worth me writing into the school and telling them you're struggling to transition."

"Does it even matter?" Amy asked. "I mean, Dave has the main part of this mission."

"I'm not sure about that. I think that Greg Jennings may well turn out to be a dead end, and I'm sure Miss Voolt is hiding something. Have you seen Lauren since you saw her on the first day?"

"No," Amy confessed, realising she had forgotten all about the girl.

"Why don't you go have a wander round, see if you can see her on the streets anywhere?"

"I need a reason to be wandering round," Amy said. "Lauren seems really intelligent." John smiled.

"If both her parents weren't around, I think Lauren would be perfect CHERUB material. Maybe just tell her the truth."

"What, that I'm a child agent for a top secret intelligence organisation?" Amy joked.

"No, that you're bored and tired of sitting around doing nothing at the flat."

"I don't have anything better to do," Amy shrugged, and stood up, stretching.

Dave walked into the flat, swinging his school bag on to the sofa.

"Did you skip school again?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, although I'm not really missing out on much by bunking." Amy privately agreed with him, if his classes were anything like hers.

"Are you getting any closer to Greg?" John inquired.

"A bit. He's definitely up to something dodgy, but he hasn't said what yet. It's possible he could be with Gwen Choke's lot, but I'm not sure. He doesn't really seem the type to be in organised crime."

"Are you going to the park this evening again?" Amy asked.

"Yeah."

"What do you even do there?"

"Most people listen to music, gossip, kiss, that sort of stuff. Greg tends to go for beating people up more than anything else."

"Nice," John remarked. Dave shifted uncomfortably, and abruptly changed the subject.

On Monday morning, Miss Voolt kept Amy behind after class.

"I've had an email from your father. He says you're struggling, and require extra tuition." Amy nodded. Miss Voolt looked like she was sucking a lemon. Amy couldn't work out why exactly she was so upset by the fact Amy needed help. "Maybe we can get one of the older students to help you."

"I'd rather have you give me tuition," Amy said. If this was going to work, she needed Miss Voolt to give her the tuition herself. She crossed her fingers behind her back.

"It would be a good experience for a student to teach you. Besides, I don't have the time. I'll talk to the older years and get a science student to volunteer." Miss Voolt gestured to the door in a clear dismissal.

"But, given you're a teacher and all-" Amy started desperately.

"Off you go now," Miss Voolt snapped irritably. She picked up a book from her desk and began leafing through it. Amy hung her head as she walked out. She really hoped John could salvage something out of this. What did she even mean, she didn't have the time? What could someone like Miss Voolt possibly do in her spare time that was so time consuming?

Dave was pacing around the kitchen when Amy got back from school.

"Look, John, Greg brings a knife into school on a regular basis, and he's a ruthless lunatic. It's only a matter of time before he stabs someone."

"How close are you to finding out about where Greg gets his money from?"

"I'm getting absolutely nowhere."

"It didn't work," Amy butted in. They both stared at her. "Miss Voolt says an older student should do it, because it would be a good experience."

"I'm trying to have a conversation here," Dave said edgily.

"It was unlikely it was going to work," John soothed. "We can use another method."

"Can you focus on what I'm trying to tell you?" Dave asked. Amy walked out of the flat seething. Most of the time she got on alright with Dave, but there were times when he was just an arrogant idiot.

When she got to the park, she saw Lauren kicking a football with a boy, who Amy reckoned was about eight or nine. She waved to Lauren, and walked over.

"This is my brother, James."

"This is boring," James moaned. "I want to go home and play video games."

"I swear, that's all you ever do," Lauren sniped. "Go off then. I can play football with Amy." James left abruptly, a smile on his face.

"Is he always like that?" Amy asked curiously.

"Yes. It gets on my mum's nerves as well."

"What's your mum like?"

"Oh, she's quite cool," Lauren said.

"What's her job?" Amy said, before realising that wasn't the most normal question for someone her age to ask.

"Don't know really," Lauren said, and booted the football hard into the bushes. She hurried to go and get it. Amy slightly admired the way she'd squirmed around the question. "Do you want to come over tomorrow?" Lauren asked when she returned. "It'd be cool to get to know you a bit better."

"I should probably check with my dad, but I think that would be ok," Amy smiled.

"I need to go home and do some homework now, see you around 4?" Amy nodded, and as soon as Lauren left, sprinted back to the flat.

She burst through the door excitedly.

"Guess what?"

"What is it now?" Dave groaned, and slumped on the sofa.

"I'm going to Lauren's house tomorrow at 4."

"Really? That's brilliant!" John beamed. "I should call campus and let them know." Then he turned on Dave. "I know things aren't going how you want them to, but this is Amy's first mission; can't you be at least a bit happy for her?" Dave looked at the floor, then managed a small smile.
"Well done," he said. "Sorry I snapped."

"It's fine," she muttered grudgingly.

"Ok, so we've got a memory stick coming. Ideally, find her computer, and download anything you can. There's likely to be a lot of encryption, but who knows what we might find?"