4. Eavesdropping
Alex reluctantly followed Alex Meyer back to Vivie's house the next day, actually not too affected by jet lag. He could have stayed behind, but that would mean dealing with Luke Farrior, and he'd choose the other Alex over Luke any day. At least the other Alex didn't ask stupid questions.
"Hey, Alex, I need to talk to Vivie, okay?"
"Is it personal?"
"A little bit…"
"I can wait."
"Thanks." The other Alex shot him a grateful look, then hurried off to a room upstairs. Alex followed him, and when he closed the door, Alex quickly got out his Nintendo (a newer version of the model from four years ago) and listened in.
"Alex, the curse is over," the female voice reminded him- probably Vivie. "Besides, Aaron's dead- and the only Aaron look-alike that we know of is Austin. I don't think that Nessa's using her head."
"I agree on that, Vivie, I know the curse is over…"
"Maybe it isn't over?" she guessed.
"I don't know. I thought that Nessa told you everything."
"Me too. Well, apparently not. Alex, I can sense that something's about to happen. I can't explain it, but I just know…"
"Look, Viv, I know you're stressed out about it, but let's wait until we run into him again, okay?"
She sighed. "Okay. I wonder why Nessa's not doing anything…"
"I know, me too, but let's talk about something else, okay?"
"Okay."
Alex's mind was reeling. What was this curse that Vivie seemed to be afflicted with? Why was Aaron such a big deal if he was only Nessa's ex-boyfriend? Why would Alex Meyer want to keep that a secret from him? Didn't he know that Alex had experience in these matters? Well, he'd come for a vacation, and he wasn't going to get involved this time. He'd learned his lesson from doing that.
He stood up and kept the Nintendo, with no intention on eavesdropping on Vivie and Alex Meyer's private business. Vivie was pretty, with auburn hair and green eyes. But the way she looked at Alex- as if she knew something about him- made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Well, Alex didn't need to see any romance- it seriously irked him- and he wasn't looking for any. That was final. He was good with everything the way it was- except being stuck here.
"Are you looking for something?" a female voice asked sweetly. Alex turned to see a brown-haired, sapphire-blue-eyed girl. He noticed that her eyes were abnormally large, kind of sad, but also sweet and joyful. What was with these people? What had happened to everyone (besides Luke) that left a haunted look in their eyes? Alex didn't have the answer to that question.
"Uh…"
"You must be Alex Rider. I heard your voice the other day." She smiled pleasantly. "Are you looking for something?"
"No. Um… who exactly are you?"
"Oh, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" She giggled, then quieted at Alex's disapproving gaze. "I'm Lissy Rivercreek- Vivie's sister."
"You two do look alike," he observed.
"No we don't." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously. We're as different as night and day."
Alex decided that he really didn't want to get into an argument with this girl and instead racked his brains. "Whatever. Where's the bathroom?"
"Um, right there… take a right on the first door."
"Thanks." Alex locked himself in the bathroom so that he could take a moment to process what he had just overheard.
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After Alex knew that he'd said enough to catch Alex Rider's interest, he kissed Vivie and left the room. He found Lissy outside the door and asked, "Have you seen Alex?"
"He's in the bathroom."
"Oh, okay." Alex wandered downstairs, where he saw that Nessa was on the phone. He almost walked into the kitchen when her words made him think twice.
"Yes, Alex Rider is here, Mr. Blunt… no, he and Vivie haven't talked yet! He's not getting along with the Alex over here either… I know he's experienced, but that doesn't mean that Vivie will listen to him! I don't know if she cares that he skied down a mountain and got shot by a Scorpia sniper! She doesn't know about Scorpia, Blunt…"
Alex hid himself and made a face. Scorpia? What was Scorpia? And what about Alex Rider? What made him so experienced?
"Yes, Alex Rider may be a teenage spy, but he's getting old. What are you going to do with him…? You don't know? Alan, that's not fair! You have to let him choose what he wants to do…! I thought that you didn't own him! What are you playing at?"
Oh. Alex Rider was a teenage spy. And if Alex had the facts straight, the plane had known that it was going to Texas all along. Alex knew that MI6 was a British intelligence agency. But why was a teenager associated with it?
"Look, Alan, that doesn't make sense. You know what? I'm not going to help you. You're on your own. Call me back when you decide to give Alex his rights. I could use his help, but I'm not going to force him to help Vivie… no, call me back later! Goodbye!"
Alex stood up slowly and exhaled. That was what had hurt Alex Rider. He felt like he understood the other boy now. He must have gone through a lot. Alex couldn't imagine the pain that Alex must have gone through doing those things…
"Okay, Alexander Meyer-"
"It's just Alex. Alex Roderick." Alex Rider had arrived at some point, and Alex just hadn't noticed. No wonder he made such a good spy.
"Whatever. Why were you eavesdropping?"
"I was just coming down to the kitchen. I didn't know that Nessa was on the phone with some MI6 agent."
"Whatever. I heard you and Vivie talking.'
"You eavesdropped on me?"
"Pretty much."
Alex sighed. Now he'd have to explain- although he had intentionally planned it this way. But he certainly hadn't planned on Nessa helping him to understand.
"Well, that means that you have to tell me about yourself too, Rider."
To Alex's surprise, Alex Rider acknowledged his last name like it wasn't a big deal. "Fine. But you have to tell me about the curse. Deal?"
"Deal." Alex paused. "Do you want to go out for ice-cream while we're at it? My treat."
"What are we, five?"
"Do you want to or not?"
Alex Rider shrugged. "I don't feel like I have a choice."
"I'm not going to shove sugar down your throat."
"Don't even think about it, Meyer. Spy skills come in handy."
"Hmph. I never said that my past was easy either."
"It's not the curse?"
"It's Vivie's curse. It has nothing to do with me."
"Then why are your eyes exactly like mine?"
"You're both eighteen. You're both named Alex. And the similarities don't stop there."
The two boys stared at each other in silence while Nessa Roberts smirked in the corner. They stared into each others' eyes- the exact same shade of brown- and tried to find the words to speak. Alex broke the silence.
"Let's get some ice-cream."
"Yes, let's." Alex Rider agreed. He had an athlete's body- Alex didn't play sports except occasional lacrosse- and he admired the other Alex for that. But for now, it was ice-cream time.
