"But we haven't got masks or.. disguises or-", a girl named Courtney stammered.
"These are your disguises. Cover legends, ladies and gentlemen. You have three minutes to memorize every piece of information within them," Joe said as he handed each of us a folder.
I could see Liz, the nerdy one that Jonas liked, eagerly raising her hand to ask a question. Joe smiled, already knowing her question. It was kind of scary how he did that.
"Even if you are not on the CoveOps track, Ms. Sutton. Spies are the ultimate actors, ladies and gentlemen. It's the heart of what we do. So tonight your mission is simple: you will become somebody else," Joe finished.
So tonight wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, but still. Memorizing a folder of information and being someone else? That was simple. As long as my person wasn't a lame nerd, tonight would still be fun. Joe started walking away, then he spun around to face us.
"It's an exam, people. Culture, languages, observation… The real tests in these subjects don't have anything to do with words on a piece of paper. Tonight isn't about knowing the answer, ladies and gentlemen. It's about living them," he said.
It was kind of weird being called gentlemen all the time. Especially by Joe, since I've known him for years and now he was calling me gentleman.
My name was Jacque Legrand. I was supposed to be a charming international art thief. I was afraid of no one at the party and I spoke a dozen languages, meaning I could converse with anyone I chose. I liked my cover a lot. I could pretend to be charming and flirty, and everything I wished I really was. I could do things I would never usually do if I was in my right mind, or too scared to do in reality. Because now I would be a fearless suave international thief who charms every girl. Yes tonight wouldn't be that bad.
My original plan had been to dance with Cammie all night but then I wondered if maybe I could get her jealous. It was so hard to tell if Cammie liked me or not, I was always so painfully obvious, although I tried to play it cool. Maybe if I ignored her and acted like I was having a great time with everyone else she would finally show her feelings. But if she didn't show any feelings, then that means she doesn't like me. That would be hard to take for my ego.
I immediately walked up to Liz and smoothly asked her to dance. She looked relieved that someone had asked her and then launched into every detail of her cover life. Then I saw Gallagher girl dancing with Dr. Steve and I couldn't help laughing seeing how awkward she looked. She looked my way so I twirled Liz and kept laughing, trying to look like I was having the best time without her. The dance ended and I looked around for other girls to dance with. I saw Grant surrounded by a mob of girls begging for him to dance with them. He looked extremely comfortable and I could tell he was loving his cover, which was to be a playboy.
I kept looking around and saw Cammie's mom standing by the punch bowl talking to another teacher. A smile spread across my face and I casually walked her way.
"May I have this dance, my lady," I asked suavely remembering people mentioning in passing that she was the First Lady of France.
She smiled and took my hand as I led her to the dance floor.
As I was dancing with some other girl, I was starting to lose track of all the girls I had danced with, Mr. Mosckowitz found Cammie and rushed towards her. Ok, so I had quickly figured out (I mean, I am a spy) that Mr. M (as he was called by students) was the most un-spy-like spy I have ever met. I mean, even a normal person could be better undercover than him. I took one glance at Cammie's uncomfortable expression and I decided to ditch the ignoring stage and be a nice guy. I sighed and went over to get a drink for Mr. M and myself. Then I headed over to Cammie to save her from isolation, well she wasn't totally isolated, but I'm sure I could've provided better companionship.
"Yes, Mr. Secretary. I did," I heard Gallagher girl assuring Mr. M.
"So tell me, Tiffany, are you enjoying the party?" he asked, clearly trying to start a conversation.
"Tiffany is the life of the party," I chimed in, coming up behind them.
"Excuse me, Mr. Secretary," I said, offering Mr. M a glass, "but I believe this is your drink."
Mr. M nervously twirled his fake mustache trying to think of the correct answer, even though it wasn't a trick question. But I mean, I don't think he's goes out a lot. He stopped twirling it when it came off and he quickly stuck it back on. Yes sir, he is one sly spy.
"Oh yes. It is!" he exclaimed and he grabbed the glass out of my hand.
Then a puzzled look crossed his face and he leaned close to Cammie and asked, "It is my drink, isn't it?"
"Yes," she whispered back.
"Thank you, my good man," Mr. M said to me in a random British accent.
Mr. M continued rambling on in his British accent. I gazed at Gallagher girl but she was looking behind me at someone, and one of the worst techniques to look behind you is to actually turn around.
"Isn't that right, Tiffany?" Mr. asked her.
There was a pause and then her eyes refocused on us. Before she could stammer, I quickly piped up.
"I wonder, Mr. Secretary, would you mind if I borrowed Tiffany for a moment?" I asked Mr. M politely.
"Not at all," Mr. M chuckled and he clumsily walked to a food table.
"They're playing our song," I commented absently. I put my drink on a tray, took Gallagher girl's arm, and guided her to the dance floor.