Chapter One
Cammies P.O.V.
"Just be yourself," my mother said, as if that were easy.
"Ohhh, I wonder who the books are about." Bex said. I was wondering the exact same thing.
"I'm sure we'll find out soon Rebecca." Mom said.
Which it isn't. Ever. Especially not when your fifteen and don't know what language you're going to have to speak at lunch, or what name you'll have to use next time you have to do a "project" for extra-credit.
"Please don't be what I think it is" I pleaded out loud. This is sounding really familiar, and I absolutely do NOT want everyone inside my head (especially the person I'm sitting next to).
Not when your nickname is "the Chameleon".
"Dammit." I said under my breath. Everyone was so much in shock that my mom didn't even tell me anything for the "unlady-like" language.
"Ohh we get to hear everything you think, Gallagher Girl!" Zach gloated.
"Shut up, Zach." Macey stood up for me.
Not when you go to a school for spies.
"Way to give it away, Cam." Liz reprimanded.
Of course, if you're reading this, you probably have at least a Level Four clearance or higher and know all about the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women- that it isn't really a boarding school for privileged girls, and despite our gorgeous mansions and manicured grounds, were not snobs. We're spies. But on that January day, even my mother… even my headmistress… seemed to have forgotten that when you've spent you're whole life learning fourteen different languages and how to completely alter your appearance using nothing but nail clippers, and shoe polish, then being yourself is a little harder- that we Gallagher Girls are really far better at being someone else. (And we've got the fake IDs to prove it.)
"It shouldn't be hard for you to be yourself." Mom said regretfully under her breath.
My mother slipped her arm around me and whispered, "It's going to be okay, kiddo," as she guided me through the crowds of shoppers that filled Pentagon City Mall. Security cameras tracked our every move, but still by mother said "It's fine. It's protocol. It's normal."
But ever since I was four years old and inadvertently cracked a Sapphire Series NSA code my dad had brought back home after a mission in Singapore, it had been pretty obvious that the term normal would probably never apply to me.
Liz paused, confused. "This can't be the end of the chapter, but it skips."
"It's alright, Elizabeth" Mr. Solomon said. "The note explained that we only needed to hear part of this. Just continue reading. When it skips, just say 'skip'".
"This is my daughter, Cameron."
"Of course she is! She looks just like you." Which just proved that whatever terrible nose incident he'd experienced had no doubt affected his eyes, too, because while Rachel Morgan has frequently been described as beautiful, I am usually described as nondescript.
All of a sudden everyone was talking at once and it all seemed directed towards me. But the loudest of all, was Zach, sitting right next to me.
"You're beautiful. You should know that. You're not in any way: plain." His voice was demanding; like this was the most crucial fact I would ever hear. All around me everyone was protesting, even Mr. Solomon, which was kind of weird. I just ignored all of them because I knew they were just being nice. Eventually, everyone calmed down enough for Liz to read again.
"Strap this on young lady," the guard said, handing me the ID badge.
"Skip" Liz said annoyed. "Chapter Two"