"Okay, does everyone know what they have to do?"
I jerked awake; the voice startled me, as well as the dream. I snuck a quick glance around the room. Luckily, Trixie's chair was facing away from me, she was addressing everyone but was looking at the two boys who were crowded around her red office chair, nodding as she motioned to the screens. They were seriously going to damage their eyes leaning in that close.
I can't believe I didn't wake up. Even more unbelievable was that Trixie didn't notice me sleeping. I mean, I did nap just to pass the time, but I was sure one of them would wake me if Trixie had anything important to say. I guess I may have been wrong, or it may have just been the fact that Trixie just didn't have anything important to say. It wouldn't really be the first time.
Trixie yapped on endlessly and I would definitely live to regret it if I try and go back to sleep, so I decided to get up and abandon my idle lying. I stifled a groan with the back of my hand and reluctantly climbed to my feet, retreating to the back on the room to anxiously pace. I did this for a couple of minutes. Forward and back, turn and turn again. When that got boring I stopped, lent against the wall and impatiently tapped my foot against the floor; resisting the overwhelming urge to play some music. If Trixie heard, she'd murder me.
For a second time I glanced around the room- my foot still tip-tapping- taking in everything. The blinking computer screens that beeped and blipped so often I thought it may drive me to the insanity of screaming and punching the monitors. The few windows that let in zero air and did nothing to cool you down on a hot day were flung open, attempting to tempt in a breeze, but, as expected, doing absolutely nothing to help eliminate the humidity of the room. A small couch was spread out across the floor- where I had previously been napping- and a few multi-coloured bean bags to sit on. Posters of all kind were spread across the walls, helping to hide the bareness of them.
They showed our different personalities. For me there was music posters -mostly rock- and images depicting deadly martial arts moves. For Vin; several James Bond posters each one with him posing with a gun or some special effect explosions in the background. I enjoy teasing him by saying they look crap- though he always knows I'm joking. For Newton; science posters of famous scientists and science-related humour only he understood even after explaining it for the umpteenth time. For Trixie; some posters of movies she likes but mostly plans and diagrams of things Macbeth could spring on us and previous schemes we had thwarted. Wait, thwarted? When did I get so posh? I pondered the thought for a while.
When I tuned back, Trixie was still droning on about safety precautions and I still wasn't listening- there was no doubt Trixie would lecture me later- but I'd already heard it a billion times, one more reminder and my brain would explode. Maybe even literally. Gross. Just imagine brains splattered all over the- Ew, I do not even want to go there. It looked like Vin was beginning to zone out too and I really couldn't blame him. He rolled his eyes and combed his fingers through his blonde hair before reluctantly tuning back in as Trixie addressed another aspect of something-or-other.
I fumbled around in my pocket, searching for my phone. My fingers grazed the metallic surface, nicking a scab on my finger on the edge of my phone case. Ow, you little- I gave a silent tut and snatched my phone, carefully sneaking it out of my pocket and into the open. I gave a once-over glance at the others- Vin looked over at me and I froze but again he rolled his eyes, ignored my phone and turned back to Trixie like he never saw a thing- before pressing the power button, causing my phone to switch on. The surface silently lit up. I used the touch screen to scroll down the home page and click on Options and turned my phone on silent. I didn't want any unexpected phone calls.
"Zero, are you even listening?" Trixie questioned, shooting me a disapproving glance. I discretely slipped my phone back, although I was sure she had noticed it, so there was hardly any point in trying to hide it. Her brown eyes probed for an answer. I really disliked that stare. I winced and slowly nodded once, putting on my best innocent face. I don't even have an innocent face, I'm hardly 'Innocent', more like 'Gothic Freak That Has A Very Bad Background, A Moderate Dislike To Rules And An Extremely Short Fuse', other than that, what's not innocent?
She sat in silence, arms folded waiting for an answer, sarcastic reply or brush off, all of which were very common. Newton and Vin had also turned to watch. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Vin, 'The King of discretion' , mouthing 'plan' behind his hand. You can not get more obvious than that, I mean, seriously, it's almost impossible. I rolled my eyes, like it was the most obvious answer ever, and attempted to place a spin of sarcasm or at least 'I really can't be bothered' attitude on the end. "The plan." I said with a small, uninterested shrug. It came out sounding lamer than I expected. "We're talking about the plan." Trixie eyed me for a couple more seconds before –quite to my horror- continuing to review the safety precautions.
I only just managed to contain my sigh of relief when Trixie finally stopped talking and allowed us to leave. "Oh and don't forget-" she called after us but was interrupted by Newton, who by now was running on a very small stretch of patience. Vin lost his over an hour ago. Me? I don't have patience.
"We'll be fine, Trix." He said with a small, very forced, light-hearted chuckle. Vin rolled his eyes and gave a small wave, flashing her one of his 'supercool, reassuring smiles' as he liked to call them. I just thought he looked like an idiot, especially when he face-planted the wall.
"No matter how much you try, you will not be able to phase through the wall." I said, resting my thumb and index finger on my forehead like I was in pain and he just grinned back, finding it more amusing than painful. I gave him a ghost of a smile as I walked through the door, Vin steadying his pace to match my own, joining me at my side. "Y'know, I don't think I could take much more of Trixie, especially after she would've bit my head off for tuning out." I allowed myself to give a glance at Vin who's mouth has gone slightly slack-jawed, before I stifled a sigh and strode over to where Newton was waiting by the wall.
Vin closed his mouth and gave a small, microscopic shake of his head, his lips spread in a smile, his eyes never leaving me as I peeked my head around the corner and declaring that the coast was clear, disappearing around it. "You're welcome." He replied, seemingly to mid-air, knowing that was the closest thing he had ever had to an actual 'thank you'.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, the only eventful moment was when I bumped into Van along the corridor in the girl's dorms. She was moaning about her moisturising face mask- which made her look somewhat like an alien- airily shot me cruel remark before hissing 'freak' and disappearing into her room. Luckily, she didn't spot Vin and Newton, who had ducked back behind the bend in the corridor and closed the door before I could get my revenge.
After that, nothing exciting occurred. Unfortunately, I had Trixie yapping in my ear, though my headphones, relaying orders and going over the plan again. I can't even describe how tempted I was to ditch my ear-piece. The only thing preventing me from doing it was that I actually liked these headphones. We flattened ourselves against the wall and waited for Trixie's go ahead. "Okay, Trix, we're in position." Newton whispered. It was slightly unnecessary, there was no-one else in the room bar us. I guess he was probably taking one of Trixie's safety precautions into account. I wouldn't bother.
"Good." Trixie replied. "Zero?"
"On it." I assured. I knew the door was locked and I wasn't really in the mood for stealth, so I just booted it open. As simple as that. Well, I did lurch forward and grab the door before it smashed into the wall and consequently gave away our position. Still holding the door, I ushered the boys inside and hushed Vin as his footsteps echoed around the silent hall, way too loud for comfort. I silently rested the door back into its original position, making sure it didn't close properly otherwise it would lock, so we had an extra escape route if it was needed.
We crouched down, keeping light on our toes in case we had to move fast. Macbeth was talking to her fish, Vagner, as she normally did. Vin suppressed is giggles by promptly shoving his fist into his mouth. Not the most effective plan, or the most pleasant. I thought it was funny, but didn't want to alert Macbeth where we were so I controlled myself.
We watched as Macbeth picked up a jar containing a bright blue butterfly. I'm not even going to attempt to name the species, because I'm clueless when it comes to butterflies. "Hello, Mr Soper." She crooned, stroking the outside of the glass as the butterfly flew around it's glass containment. I watched it's confusion as it bashed into the an invisible wall. That was very cruel. Even crueller, turning a human into a butterfly.
"Zero, no." I felt a hand grip my arm as I attempted to lurch forward and spring out at Macbeth. Vin pulled me back behind the wall and with Newton's help the two boys restrained me- only because I allowed them to- and pinned me against the wall, hissing warnings in my ears. "Newton, get your hair outta my face." Vin complained, attempting to breathe without sucking in the younger boy's ginger hair. I just sulked, not even laughing as I usually would. They never permitted me to stuff Macbeth into a garbage can, even though she deserves it ten times more than anyone else at this school. It totally sucked.
"Okay." I whispered, rolling my eyes as the boys cautiously released me, Vin giving me a warning look that clearly stated, don't try it. "I'll stick to the plan." I said, rather reluctantly, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Team, you know your parts-" Trixie began.
"Oh really?" I asked keeping my voice to a low whisper, but much louder than I intended. "Maybe you should remind us again." And we're back to the sarcasm.
"Zero!" Newton said disapprovingly, just after Vin delivered a sharp kick to my shin as a warning.
"Go on, Pinkerton is counting on you."Trixie instructed, her voice slightly cold, while I rubbed my shin, shooting daggers at Vin, who guiltily looked away and tried his best to ignore me. Newton gave a small shake of his head before displaying the palm of his outstretched hand to us. Nestled there were three light pink, pea-sized balls of bubble gum. I took a piece and placed it in my mouth, chomping on it until I was able to blow a decent sized bubble. I swelled up, as big as my head and burst engulfing my face in a pink, rubbery mask which would conceal my identity from Macbeth as long as I was wearing it. On either side of me, Vin and Newton followed suit.
The bubble-gum masks were an ingenious idea that Newton came up with, it covers your whole face, and hair, since me and Newton would be easily recognised by it, being the only children in Pinkerton with white- for me- and ginger- for Newton- hair. In fact he thought up and created all of our gadgets, along with many practical jokes and handy gizmo's which can get you out of a bad situation. For example, smoke bombs, stink bombs and a lot of things to do with bubble-gum and ink. "Let's go."
Macbeth was going to pay. Big time. She was attempting to get rid of Mr Soper and become headmistress of Pinkerton. As per usual. But that wasn't going to happen, not on my watch at least. She was The Worst Teacher In History. No way was I allowing her to become The Worst Headmistress In History too. I lead the way, tailing Macbeth as she began to stroll outside using some secret passage way that could be handy for later missions, Vin only a few paces behind, clutching some new gadget Newton had given him. Speaking of Newton he was trailing behind, having to run every few steps to keep up with us. I poked my head out form around the outside wall of the student's dorms to check the surrounding area, holding one hand up at my side as a signal for the boys to wait.
Almost immediately I was ducking back and flattening myself against the wall, praying that I hadn't been seen. Macbeth was standing there, her back facing me, meaning, unless she had eyes in the back of her head- which I seriously doubt- then she couldn't have seen me. At least, that's what I hoped. "She's there." I whispered. "We gotta stop here." I said urgently, Vin and Newton frantically nodding in agreement. Together, we simultaneously sprung out of our hiding spot.
"Stop right where you are Macbeth!" Vin declared, pointing a finger ahead of him like it would do him a world of good.
"We know exactly what you're planning." Newton added, which was a blatant lie. We assumed she was trying to dispose of Mr Soper and promptly swung into action on that assumption. Although it was well-planned we had no idea what we were up against machine-wise...
It seemed I was the only member of INK that had realised Macbeth was no longer where I saw her three seconds ago. "Damn." I muttered under my breath. Vin and Newton looked at me utterly confused at the disappearance of Macbeth. I just shrugged in reply. "Hey, Mission Control, can you pin-point Macbeth's location?" I asked, deciding that I'd apologise to Trixie later, realising I had been slightly out of order earlier. Anyway, to explain the nickname, I'd taken to calling anyone directing us 'Mission Control'. It kept their identities secret if Macbeth was listening in on us and prevented a lecture for using their real names and putting them at risk.
"There's no need." A victorious, throaty laugh that could only belong to Macbeth- because, seriously, she needs to get updated on her evil-villain laugh- rang out. My gaze flickered to the building's roof where- hey look at that- a platform was jutting out of the top of the building, Macbeth precariously placed atop it, looking very uncertain about the safety of the weak-looking structure preventing her from falling to her death. Her glasses were paced haphazardly on her long pointed nose.
"What's wrong Macbeth?" I taunted. "Scared of heights?" I asked, my eyebrows raised, fists clenched and arms folded. I mean business. A metal ladder shot out of nowhere, making extra sure it smashed into my legs, flipping my over before I had time to jump it. The ladder positioned itself next to the building, propped up against the edge of the platform, held in place by metal bolts that drilled into the bricks. That ladder is going to pay... big-time.
I scowled as I took Vin's outstretched hand. He helped me to my feet, him and Newton wearing matching concerned expressions, while Macbeth carelessly slid down The Ladder Of Doom. "I hate ladders." I decided, unaware that I had voice my thought aloud. Vin shrugged and Newton nodded in agreement, although he still had a wary eye trained on Macbeth. "Okay, so you've shown us your stupid ladder thing." I shot daggers at the ladder as it shook a little, like it was laughing at me. "But what ever far-fetched idea you've come up with, it's not happening so you might as well give up, 'cause I have a History exam tomorrow and I really need to revise." I stated flatly.
This was a waste of time. Time I could be using to do anything else. But no, I had to be here. There whole thing was going to turn out how it normally did, us winning, Macbeth losing. Plus, I seriously can not afford to fail this exam. "Give up?" Macbeth only just managed to splutter the words out. "Give up?" she repeated, like it was the most ludicrous idea she'd ever heard, just like her hair was the most ludicrous thing I'd ever seen.
"Are you deaf or something? That's exactly what I just said!" I snapped. Macbeth tensed. I bit the inside of my lip, wishing I'd held my tongue. Great. Way to go, Zero, you just had to provoke her, didn't you? Damn my short fuse. Trixie was- with absolutely no doubt- going to lecture me when we got back.
Macbeth, on the other hand, allowed one of her stupid, high-pitched laughs to escape her lips, the silence seemed to magnify the sound. It hurt my ears! By the way Vin and Newton were wincing, they were in the same boat. "The fun is just getting started." She promised.
"Yippee." I muttered under my breath, my voice oozing with sarcasm. "I can't wait."