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p style="max-height: 999999px;"strongchapter five/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Zach and I entered the CoveOps classroom, eyes bright and hearts beating fiercely and excitedly. Finally, after sitting through four lectures, the freshman attempting to speak French during lunch, and Liz's obsessive complaints about my 91 grade point average in CoW, we would be able to get out and go on a mission. We came in to see Mr. Solomon sitting on his desk, hands folded, waiting for the students to walk through the door. When he saw us enter first, he smiled, obviously eager to start the class. As the students shuffled in quietly, he took a deep breath, and spoke, an emi-know-something-you-don't/emgrin lighting the dark features of his face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Covert Operations isn't a profession. Covert Operations isn't a skill. And Covert Operations isn't a hobby."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Solomon scanned the room, watching the students soak in every word he was uttering. He finally rested his eyes on the back of the room, where Zach and I were standing./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Covert Operations is an art. A practice. A lifestyle. Its not about emgetting dirty. /emIts about blending in. emBecoming /emthe dirt. Going with the crowd. Believing your act so thoroughly you know every fact to perfection. This isn't a emgame, /emladies and gentlemen. This isn't a grade. Not a job, or a paycheck. This isemyour life. /emYour emworld/em. emOur /emworld. And we're making sure nobody screws it up even more than it already is."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He looked around the room again, reading the faces, discovering the secrets everyone was trying so desperately to hide. He took a deep breath, than released it, letting the words sink in before replacing them with others./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""What we do, we do because no one else will. We are the world-changers. The life-shakers. The life-emsavers, /emand the life-takers. What we do is not for the faint-hearted. Not for the quitters. This stuff is only for the passionate, the brave, the stubborn. The bold and the tough."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He paused, and added,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Michael Phelps. 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold. Most decorated Olympian of all time. He says that he treats every race the same. Whether it was a summer-league swim, or a 200 fly at the Games, he treated it with the same seriousness, the same thoughfulness, excitement. He trained for disaster. His coach, Bob Bowman, prepared him. He purposely broke Michael's goggles in practice so he had to race without them, which prepared him for his fly race in the 2008 Olympics when his goggles fell off, and he emstill won gold. /emHe knew just how many strokes, how many breaths, when to turn, because he was emprepared./em If there's anything I want you to take away from this lesson, remember Michael. He took everything seriously. He was prepared. He knewemwho he was /emand emwhat he had come to do."/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Solomon smiled./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""There's bookbags in the back of the room with your name on it. Prepare yourself based on what's in the bags. I expect you downstairs in the lobby in thirty minutes, with your pack."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He nodded as a signal for dismissal, and we rushed to the back of the room to find plain, simple, black book bags with our names sewn onto them. I found mine and hurried back to my dorm, not bothering to check what was inside./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"I dumped the contents of the bag out on my bed curiously, my heart beating fast inside my chest. A long, flowing light blue formal dress was the first thing that came out. Along with shoes, a purse, and some random things to stuff inside. The comms were in the front pocket. I changed quickly, and was just opening my wallet when Bex and Macey entered our room./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Cammie whatareyoudoing?! We only have emthirty minutes /emto get ready and rush downstairs, and you're playing dress up."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bex looked flustered as I scrunched my eyebrows./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Uh, this emwas /emwhat was in my pack."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macey came along and inspected the dress./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""So, you get a blue Armani dress that Cameron Diaz wore on the red carpet last week and we get black sweats and a shirt to match?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macy sounded jealous, but I just looked confused./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""So you didn't get one of these-?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bex just rolled her eyes./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Who knows what Solomon was thinking, Cammie. Just go with it."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"So I shrugged and pulled out my wallet, finding some credit cards and a wad of cash. I took out my student id and read it carefully./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emName: Ashley Smith/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emProfession: Student at UCLA/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emDOB: May 14, 1993/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"The picture on the card was me during the ball, and I fumbled with it nervously./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Macey?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Hm?" She replied, obviously still annoyed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""This picture was taken when I was at the ball, when you did my makeup. And, I need to look like I do in the picture-"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macey was torn, trying to choose between holding a grudge, or getting to do someone's makeup. She eventually gave in to her CoverGirl instincts and patted the chair in front of the vanity. She did it quickly and I rushed to finish the rest of my cover. We painfully waited before it was time to meet downstairs, and we tried to contain our excitement as we bounced down the stairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"As I descended, I noticed that I was the only one wearing a ball gown, everyone else wearing what Bex and Macey were given. When I joined the group, I recieved jealous glares from all the girls around me. Finally, Solomon and Zach emerged out of no where, obviously in a heated conversation. Solomon was in a slick tux, but it was nothing compared to Zach. In one word, he looked hot. (Well, hotter than he normally does..) The girl's stares ranged from jealousy, to outrage, to more jealousy, to respect. Zach looked to where everyone was staring…which was sadly me, and did not look away for quite a while. He gave me a small smile and joined me once I came down the rest of the stairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"When I joined him, he put his arm around me. Everyone headed out to the vans. And that's when it all started./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;" /p
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p style="max-height: 999999px;"strongchapter five/strong/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Zach and I entered the CoveOps classroom, eyes bright and hearts beating fiercely and excitedly. Finally, after sitting through four lectures, the freshman attempting to speak French during lunch, and Liz's obsessive complaints about my 91 grade point average in CoW, we would be able to get out and go on a mission. We came in to see Mr. Solomon sitting on his desk, hands folded, waiting for the students to walk through the door. When he saw us enter first, he smiled, obviously eager to start the class. As the students shuffled in quietly, he took a deep breath, and spoke, an emi-know-something-you-don't/emgrin lighting the dark features of his face./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Covert Operations isn't a profession. Covert Operations isn't a skill. And Covert Operations isn't a hobby."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Solomon scanned the room, watching the students soak in every word he was uttering. He finally rested his eyes on the back of the room, where Zach and I were standing./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Covert Operations is an art. A practice. A lifestyle. Its not about emgetting dirty. /emIts about blending in. emBecoming /emthe dirt. Going with the crowd. Believing your act so thoroughly you know every fact to perfection. This isn't a emgame, /emladies and gentlemen. This isn't a grade. Not a job, or a paycheck. This isemyour life. /emYour emworld/em. emOur /emworld. And we're making sure nobody screws it up even more than it already is."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He looked around the room again, reading the faces, discovering the secrets everyone was trying so desperately to hide. He took a deep breath, than released it, letting the words sink in before replacing them with others./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""What we do, we do because no one else will. We are the world-changers. The life-shakers. The life-emsavers, /emand the life-takers. What we do is not for the faint-hearted. Not for the quitters. This stuff is only for the passionate, the brave, the stubborn. The bold and the tough."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He paused, and added,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Michael Phelps. 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold. Most decorated Olympian of all time. He says that he treats every race the same. Whether it was a summer-league swim, or a 200 fly at the Games, he treated it with the same seriousness, the same thoughfulness, excitement. He trained for disaster. His coach, Bob Bowman, prepared him. He purposely broke Michael's goggles in practice so he had to race without them, which prepared him for his fly race in the 2008 Olympics when his goggles fell off, and he emstill won gold. /emHe knew just how many strokes, how many breaths, when to turn, because he was emprepared./em If there's anything I want you to take away from this lesson, remember Michael. He took everything seriously. He was prepared. He knewemwho he was /emand emwhat he had come to do."/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Solomon smiled./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""There's bookbags in the back of the room with your name on it. Prepare yourself based on what's in the bags. I expect you downstairs in the lobby in thirty minutes, with your pack."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"He nodded as a signal for dismissal, and we rushed to the back of the room to find plain, simple, black book bags with our names sewn onto them. I found mine and hurried back to my dorm, not bothering to check what was inside./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"I dumped the contents of the bag out on my bed curiously, my heart beating fast inside my chest. A long, flowing light blue formal dress was the first thing that came out. Along with shoes, a purse, and some random things to stuff inside. The comms were in the front pocket. I changed quickly, and was just opening my wallet when Bex and Macey entered our room./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Cammie whatareyoudoing?! We only have emthirty minutes /emto get ready and rush downstairs, and you're playing dress up."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bex looked flustered as I scrunched my eyebrows./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Uh, this emwas /emwhat was in my pack."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macey came along and inspected the dress./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""So, you get a blue Armani dress that Cameron Diaz wore on the red carpet last week and we get black sweats and a shirt to match?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macy sounded jealous, but I just looked confused./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""So you didn't get one of these-?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Bex just rolled her eyes./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Who knows what Solomon was thinking, Cammie. Just go with it."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"So I shrugged and pulled out my wallet, finding some credit cards and a wad of cash. I took out my student id and read it carefully./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emName: Ashley Smith/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emProfession: Student at UCLA/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"emDOB: May 14, 1993/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"The picture on the card was me during the ball, and I fumbled with it nervously./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Macey?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""Hm?" She replied, obviously still annoyed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;""This picture was taken when I was at the ball, when you did my makeup. And, I need to look like I do in the picture-"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"Macey was torn, trying to choose between holding a grudge, or getting to do someone's makeup. She eventually gave in to her CoverGirl instincts and patted the chair in front of the vanity. She did it quickly and I rushed to finish the rest of my cover. We painfully waited before it was time to meet downstairs, and we tried to contain our excitement as we bounced down the stairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"As I descended, I noticed that I was the only one wearing a ball gown, everyone else wearing what Bex and Macey were given. When I joined the group, I recieved jealous glares from all the girls around me. Finally, Solomon and Zach emerged out of no where, obviously in a heated conversation. Solomon was in a slick tux, but it was nothing compared to Zach. In one word, he looked hot. (Well, hotter than he normally does..) The girl's stares ranged from jealousy, to outrage, to more jealousy, to respect. Zach looked to where everyone was staring…which was sadly me, and did not look away for quite a while. He gave me a small smile and joined me once I came down the rest of the stairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;"When I joined him, he put his arm around me. Everyone headed out to the vans. And that's when it all started./p
p style="max-height: 999999px;" /p
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