This was Gallagher Academy.

It was pretty, so unlike Blackthorne. The cover for Gallagher was a castle for snobby rich girls, ours was a detention facility.

Needless to say, the appearance was vastly different.

When the guys and I heard that we would be staying at Gallagher for a semester we were ecstatic. All the guys wanted a break from our dreary school and they were all looking forward to meeting some hot chicks.

I, on the other hand, had one girl in mind. My Gallagher girl, Cammie.

She was sweet and funny, although we hadn't met in the best possible way, I liked her. I don't know why I did, it really wasn't a good idea to like anyone. But it was just a crush. I would hang out with her for this semester, then leave. I would be gone and it would be just a harmless little crush that would soon evaporate.

We had packed our suitcases, not much to pack honestly, and headed toward Gallagher Academy. I hung out with my two friends Grant and Jonas. Grant was tall, built, and overall I'll admit he wasn't bad looking. Jonas was skinny and nervous looking. I wasn't extremely close with them, I've always been a loner, but we did hang out at school.

We stood before the entrance to the dining hall, along with all the other guys from Blackthorne. Then the doors opened and we walked in, well strolled in is more like it. No doubt, we were all trying to make a good first impression.

Every girl was stunned at our presence.

I smiled, surprise was my expertise.

Ms. Morgan, the headmistress, who was Cammie's mom, droned on about the history or something about Gallagher. No one was really paying attention. All of us were studying each other.

Only four girls did not look as surprised as the rest. One barely recognized our entrance. She merely glimpsed at us and looked back down at her flashcards. Well honestly I thought I was a little more interesting than note cards. That girl was obviously the most gorgeous out of any girl in the room.

But I could have cared less, because there were three girls at her side.

And one of them was Gallagher girl.

Dr. Steve rushed in then, hurriedly ushering us to the front and strode on to the microphone. Dr. Steve and Ms. Morgan went on talking but I was too busy looking for Gallagher girl again to pay attention.

I finally spotted her just as Ms. Morgan was talking about "forging bonds of friendship" with us.

One girl near Cammie gestured toward me as she said, "I wouldn't mind being bonded to him." I watched Cammie's response. I folded my arms and leaned on the table behind me, trying to look cool and confident.

She glanced up and when she saw me she froze, I smiled at her.

I was supposed to go to Countries of the World class. Thankfully Grant and Jonas were too.

Maybe I'll get to be in the same class as Cammie, wouldn't that be nice, just so I could mess around with her. She seemed to hate my guts, it actually kind of amused me.

We walked into the classroom and I was pleased to note that Cammie was indeed in this class.

Dr. Steve told us to introduce ourselves. Jonas went first, although I wondered why since he hated talking in front of people.

"Umm.. I'm Jonas," he quietly said, nervously shuffling from foot to foot. "I'm sixteen. I'm a sophomore-" he continued before Mr. Smith, our teacher, impatiently interrupted him.

"Thus your enrollment in this class. Welcome, Jonas. Please have a seat."

Dr. Steve ignored Mr. Smith as he explained that Jonas was on the research track of study and asked if any girl wanted to show him around. One of the girls that hung out with Cammie, a cute small blonde fairy-like kind of girl was kicked in the back of the chair by another friend of Cammie's. This other friend of Cammie's had warm chocolate skin, she was really pretty. I recognized her as the girl that was hanging out with Cammie in the beginning of their mission earlier.

"Humph!" the blonde girl cried and Dr. Steve lost no time in assigning her to be Jonas' guide.

"Jonas, you can spend the day with Ms-", he turned to the girl.

"Sutton, Liz Sutton," the girl replied in a soft southern accent.

"I'm Grant," Grant quickly said.

I could see every girl had their eyes on Grant and me. He slid into the seat beside the pretty friend of Cammie's. I could see she didn't mind.

Not waiting for Dr. Steve, I quickly introduced myself.

"I'm Zach, and I think I've found my guide," as I slid into the seat beside Gallagher girl.

She didn't look too pleased.

As soon as we had walked out of the classroom I smiled and said, "So, we meet again."

She looked up at me, well actually I would say more glared up at me.

"So this is the famous Gallagher Academy," I continued.

"Yes," she replied politely. "This is the second-floor corridor. Most of our classes are down this hall."

But I wasn't paying attention to the tour guide speech. I was staring at her. She noticed I wasn't listening and seemed surprised that I was looking at her.

"And you're…" I started slowly "the famous Cammie Morgan."

I couldn't believe that this was actually her. Her eyes had changed to a light hazel, her hair fell lightly at her shoulders, and she was looking at me like she was puzzled. I couldn't help but again notice how pretty she was. I couldn't help but remember everything I had heard about her, she was pretty much a legend.

She seemed uncomfortable of me gazing at her for so long.

"Come on. Culture and Assimilation is on the fourth floor," she mumbled.

"Whoa," I stopped walking.

Culture? This school that was apparently one of the most difficult in the world, a school that was training spies, had a culture class?

"Did you just say you're taking me to culture class?"

"Yes," she said. I grinned.

"Boy, when they say you've got the toughest curriculum in the world… they mean it."

She took a deep breath, it seemed like she was trying to stop herself from killing me. I grinned wider.

"Culture and Assimilation has been a part of the Gallagher curriculum for more than 100 years, Zach."

She had finally said my name, it was nice.

"A Gallagher Girl can blend into any culture- any environment. Assimilation isn't a matter of social graces. It's a matter of life or death."

I did have to give it to her, blending into any environment was extremely important for a spy.

The teacher stood in the front of the classroom and announced,

"Today, ladies and gentlemen, we will be studying the art of… the dance!"

I cracked a smile and stifled a laugh. Cammie was right below me.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Yeah… Life. And. Death."

The teacher seemed to float towards the center of the room as she went on,

"I have been saving this very special class for the arrival of our very special guests."

I wanted to whisper into Cammie's ear again, any excuse just to be that close to her.

"Did you hear that? I'm special," I whispered with a smirk.

"That's a matter of-", she quickly shot back but not before the teacher exclaimed,

"Oh, Cammie dear, would you and your friend like to demonstrate for the rest of the class?"

I wanted to laugh out loud, this was going even better than expected. I could see her boiling inside as we were pulled into the center of the room.

"You must be Zachary Goode. Welcome to the Gallagher Academy. Now I must ask that you place your right hand firmly in the center of Cameron's lower back," the teacher said to me.

I did it without a word. Cammie looked down the whole time. Everyone else scurried for partners as we waited in the center of the room. We listened to the instructions being given and Cammie obediently put her right hand in my palm, all the while avoiding my eyes as much as possible.

I noticed how she was obviously only obeying instructions and seemed to want to avoid me as much as a guy wants to avoid his mother in law.

Why did she hate me so much?

We had only met yesterday during an assignment, sure I had purposefully made her fail her mission, but it was only a cover. She wouldn't judge me based on a stinking cover, would she?

"What's the matter Gallagher girl? You're not actually mad about yesterday, are you?" I asked.

She looked at me and didn't say anything. I could tell by her eyes that yes, she was in fact mad about yesterday.

"It was a cover, Gallagher girl. An op. Maybe you're familiar with the concept?"

She glared at me. But before she could open her mouth the teacher glided our way.

"Hold your partners tightly," she remarked, pushing us closer together.

I could feel her breath on my chest, her hair lightly swaying as we moved, and we started dancing across the floor.