Chapter Two- A day full of surprises
"Miss me Gallagher Girl?" Zach asks sliding into the seat next to me and putting his arm around my shoulder. Yep, they are definitely going to distract me, especially Zach.
I refused to answer him and carried on shoving tasteless food into my mouth. I quickly peered around me, trying not to be noticed and unsurprisingly saw Grant sitting next to Bex and Jonas sitting between Liz and Macey. The rest of them exchanged hellos' to the boys and chatter among the hall started getting louder as they were talking to the boys, gossiping about the boys or talking about what happened in their day. I didn't bother listening or talking and concentrated on finishing dinner so I could speak to my mum about this very awful idea. I finish a minute and 40 seconds faster than I normal do, clear up my plate and head towards where the teachers sit to eat so I could speak to mother.
"Hey mum, I was wondering if I could speak to you about something private." I whisper to her and face the wall so no one can lip read what I'm asking, even though it isn't an interesting or private conversation.
"Sure sweetie; just head into my office and I will meet you in a few minutes once I have finished dinner. I trust you to not touch things that are private." She whispers back with a small smile and I peck her cheek. I head out of the hall unnoticed, with the Hallways empty I was finally able to relax and digest the information. I knew where most people were in the academy and as a committed spy who liked knowing everything it was a lovely situation. I head to my mum's office, open the door before sitting on the brown leather sofa and wait for her. With 2 minutes on the clock the door finally opens, with my mum walking through placing herself next to me.
"You did say you wanted to know more about the Blackthorn boys." She jokes and I muffle a groan into my hands.
"Mum don't joke about this, it is serious. Sure we wanted to find out information about them so we could be on level terms but not to the extent where they have to be here for however long they have to be here for. This is my last year at Gallagher Girls, I would rather spend it with all of the girls working hard than around guys who are distracting, annoying and have no idea how this place is ran." I tell her calmly, feeling everything but calm though.
"Cammie, you just need to pretend they are your brothers, like you have done with the girls here. Be a Gallagher girl; be strong and independent. You can be one of the best spies the world has ever seen, so don't let anyone ever get in the way of your hard work. And your dad was one of those boys years ago with Solomon so they can't be all that bad." Mum winks at the end however her headmistress voice shines through as she speaks which makes me smile.
"Yeah I know mum but I just wanted it to be the girls however I will be able to cope with the boys being here. Anyways I have to go and get ready before the girls steal my time slot for the bathroom." I say as I head towards the door.
"Okay Cammie, see you tomorrow." She sends a kiss my way. "Oh and don't go exploring." She adds at the end and I don't bother replying as we both know that I am going to end up hiding in a passageway for a little while. I make my way out of the office and head for the passage next to the Gallagher's sword. I look around to see that no one is looks and when the coast is clear I bend the rusty nail and the brick wall slides open, creating just a large enough gap for me to get through. As quickly as it opened it closed and I was able to get in comfortably without anyone seeing. I walked along the pathway that had less cobwebs than most due to it being one of the most frequently used by me, until I reach the window that had a pillow below it. I put the pillow down last year when I realised I loved the view more than most of the other windows. I sit down on the pillow and think about the world around me, how the boys are going to change my last year and my general ponderings. After a little while of sitting around my inner clock tells me that it is 9.38 and I have to force myself off of the pillow and start making my way back to the bedroom so I can get ready for bed, especially as the girls will want to talk about the boys with me.
I open the bedroom door to the room I share with Liz, Bex and Macey, shut it behind me and scan the room. Liz is in the bathroom taking off her makeup, Bex is doing homework and Macey is listening to 'Born this way' by Lady Gaga on her IPod, which although was low enough for me to not hear the music her lip movement to the song gave it away. I head over to my bed and flop onto it, moving my head so I can see the other girls. Bex looks up from her homework, Macey takes out her earphones and Liz peeps out of the bathroom to look.
"So the boys are back." Macey states trying to get the conversation started.
"So glad you are becoming a spy, Mace. The world would really be missing out if you weren't." Bex replies giving some of her British sarcasm.
"Let's think positive about it though; at least we get to find out more information about the boys now." Liz tells her, closing the door to the bathroom and making her way to her own bed.
"But I wanted information about the boys, not for them to move all the way over here so they could stay until they find another come; something that is going to take a long time seeing as it has to be top secret and super safe." I grumble, still not willing to think of any reasons why the boys' being around us is a good thing.
"What's got your panties in a twist?" Bex asks.
"Does it have something to do with the boy who is always trying to be all over you?" Macey asks with a smirk.
"Zach means nothing right now, honestly. This is our last year to be a Gallagher girl and go to this school. As much as the girls aren't always my favourite they are my sisters and they were who I planned my last year with before heading off to all 4 corners of the world for spy missions. I am going to love doing missions, especially if I get to be with you girls, but I wanted this year to be spent with just my sisters. I'm sorry if that is selfish but that is what I wanted. Then the boys come waltzing in and I bet so many of the girls will change because of them and will act differently around their sisters to get the boys attention." I reveal my thoughts of the topic in a loaded mess because these girls are more than just my sisters or my best friends, they were a part of me and they would always be there to help me go through any problems; just like I would with them.
"Cammie, calm yourself girl. Everything will be alright so you don't need to worry. Just don't let Zach get to you so much or so easily." Macey soothingly says.
"He isn't getting to me!" I shout and bang my fists to the bed before taking a deep breath, lowering my voice and carrying on. "He's not getting to me Mace, I just know that they boys are going to make this year so much more complicated than planned. Plus the way he speaks in riddles about everything drives me up the wall; he always knows more than anyone and pretends he doesn't, but what happens if the information he is given we don't receive and it is needed?"
"Then we take it from him." Bex answers simply, trying not to anger me more.
"It isn't that simple Bex, we know more than anyone what those boys have done and kept from us." I reply but it doesn't sound as confident.
"Sure it is Cammie. We are spies; we are born to take resources however we need to." With one last pointed look Bex stands up and heads to the bathroom closing the door; and closing the conversation too.
"It is all going to work out somehow. Like always just trust us because we never fail when together." Liz finally pipes up quietly with a caring smile. I smile back and with the worry at the back of my mind I start getting ready for bed.
The four of us head down to breakfast at 8.01. We get into the cue for breakfast, take what we want and head to the table that has been 'reserved' by us since we started. Liz sits down next to me, Macey and Bex on the opposite side. Grant, Jonas and Zach sit on our table, Grant sitting next to Macey with Jonas on his other side and Zach sitting on my opposite side. I stifle a groan as I realise I should at least try and be nice to them.
"Hey girlies," Grant opens up and all four of us share a look before cracking up.
"Don't ever do that again, way too not you." Mace advises and pats Grant on the shoulder.
"Whatever. I have a silly question for everyone. If you had a child and you were forced to name it after any of us here out of the 7 of us who would you pick as the name. Cam you start." Grant asks and I shake my head at the question he asks. They really are pointless. The life in him though makes me happy that the spy ways aren't ruining all kind of life.
"As weird as they question is it is easy; my dear friend, Rebecca." I state, making sure to pronounce every syllable of her name before taking my first bite.
"Cammie, I think I need to remind you that I have a talent of being able to kill you in 14 different ways using just my Weetabix and a spoon." Bex threatens with only a little light in her eyes.
"Nah I'm good Bex, I already know. But seriously Bex would be my choice." I grin back at her and turn to Jonas. "What about you Jonas, who is the lucky pick?" I ask, giving him a teasing smile.
"Well, err, I guess I would pick erm Lizzy." He stumbles over his answer, his cheeks going a nice shade of beetroot red. Liz matches the colour very quickly and removes eye contact from anyone that she can. It becomes pretty obvious that they like each other, and I only hope that they will get together soon. Lord knows there needs to be something good coming out of the boys staying with us.
"Dude, boy got moves, way to answer that kind of question!" Grant shouts and tries to hi five Jonas but he swiftly ignores the hand and I kick Grants shins, hard enough to make him stop but not enough to hurt.
"What about you 'Lizzy', you wanting to be just as embarrassingly cute?" Grant asks, causing Bex to kick him harder than me and for Grant to grunt in pain. "Girls you need to stop kicking, so violent." He jokes and I have to hold onto Bex to stop her from kicking again.
"I would pick Jonas as well." Liz answers, keeping them both the same red colour. They are both shuffling around, clearly wanting the topic to be taken away from them.
"I reckon none of the names are good enough, I would pick Josh." Bex says, grinning at me, finally getting her revenge back.
"Not cool Bex." I chuckle out because although it sounded like a bitchy comment it wasn't.
"Cheater, Josh isn't sitting on this table." Grant whines making all the tension leave and everyone starts laughing.
"Sorry, forgot the rules for a minute. I would probably pick Cameron; it's a unisex name so I can get away with calling either gender it and with Cammie being such a good spy, I'm sure my child would be as well."
"I think I would choose Bex. In all seriousness Rebecca has a ton of different nicknames and spellings so even if your real first name came out there is still ways in which you can get around it. So even though you hate it Bex, your name is trumps for spies." Mace answers. "Zach, we don't normally here you this quiet. What is your answer?" She teases.
"I don't really know. I guess since Cam and I will be having the babies I can't name it after her." He sends a wink my way and I make a throwing up sound. "I would probably pick Jonas. Been my friend for so long and I want my kid to be intelligent so he can't be taking after Grant."
"Hey, I can be clever!" Grant exclaims, trying to defend himself.
"Let's have a few examples; you brought up this topic which although has got us talking what purpose is there? You nearly put an explosive mint into your mouth, and your worst was when you once asked what the main meat for thanksgiving was. Do I need to go on?" Zach asks and Grant speaks up.
"Not everything has to have a purpose, you made me think they were mints so shush and you know my mum likes to eat duck so why even bring that one up." Grant replies and they both just start laughing, clearly not taking any of it to heart. We all finish off our breakfast and make our way to our first lesson. Bex and I head off to P.E, which is my favourite lessons after Co-ops because of course it's another lesson with one of my best friends and I get to practice defending myself. Sometimes classes get me frustrated as I want to be out in the field. I just can't show my frustration as I am meant to be a role model, being the Chameleon and also being the headmistress's daughter.
"Right you all know what to do. Split into pairs and do the warm up of 100 stats and then do 50 with a partner. Today is a fun day where we will be showing off our performances." Ms Hancock shouts at us. 100 stats in Gallagher means you have to do 100 push-ups, then 100 sit ups, followed by 100 leg cycles, finished off with 100 lunges. Then with 50 with partner you do the same but with your partner on your back or holding your legs tightly. It was a work out, especially if your partner was as strong as Bex! Bex and I go as a pair, like always, and start doing the warmup. As hard as it is we are both very used to it and dare I say it we sometimes practice it outside of lesson. We finish within 4 minutes and 48 seconds, shaving off a few seconds from our personal best. We are the first to finish and so we decide to go and see which music we can play during our piece. Being the comical geniuses that we are we decide on James Bond theme turn because it's a cheesy song and it always requires a good lesson to happen.
"Okay ladies; today we will be showing our pieces of gymnastics that are inspired by you getting out of a sticky situation where the opponent has a sword. I've been informed that the Blackthorn boys will be joining s soon and so please don't get distracted by them. Seeing as Bex and Cameron finished first you can control the music. Bex you will be performing first." Ms Hancock instructed and I'm too focused on the performance that I don't care that much about the boys joining us.
Bex walks over to the edge of the mat. I see her nod to me and so I press play. As soon as the music starts Bex runs as fast as she can and does a double twist landing to the left by a few centimetres instead of where she is expected to land, she doesn't this on purpose to try and surprise the attacker. She then sticks her leg out as if to trip then up and make them lose balance, of course this wouldn't actually make them fall. She carries on her performance for another 3 minutes and 15 seconds and once she finishes she bows.
"Well done Bex, Cameron you're next." I walk over to the mat where Bex started and hi-five her in the middle. As I reach where I am going to start 10 Blackthorn boys walk into our lesson making more noise than I would like. Of course that means making any noise but still. "Hello boys, can you please sit down around the mat. We are performing our gymnastic routines and then we will be going onto the next topic." The boys all sit around the edge and I try and block them all out, ready to get focused. I nod my head once, signalling to Bex that she should start the music and she does. As the music starts I do the same move as Bex however I land in the middle, my feet touch the ground for barely 2 seconds and I use the momentum to do a back flip where my feet would connect into the opponents chin. I stand straight and do a few punches and kicks, in various different techniques and places to show a range of skills, are remembering to dodge the 'knife'. After that I drop to the ground in a sudden moment and I swipe my feet at where the opponent's legs would be. This would then make them more uneasy and I could then take the knife away with ease. I finish with one final punch that would knock them out, which perfectly stops in time with the music ending. I take a bow and look over to Bex who is giving me a thumb up.
"Brilliant Miss Morgan. I can see you and Miss Baxter have been practising together. Well done and keep it up." Ms Hancock writes something down on her clipboard, so I decided to sit back down next to Bex. I grab my water and start drinking.
"We are so going to ace this test." Bex says confidently.
"Bex, you are too cocky." I tell her with a grin.
"Of course I am; I'm Bex, I don't fail." She nudges my arm. "You should know I don't fail anything."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. All hail the mighty Bex." I joke and move my arms like I would if I was actually going to bow down to her.
"You are too much of a doofus." She laughs and knocks my hands away. "Seriously though, we will do fine. We have practiced, neither failed and we made sure to add a range of different moves. Plus everyone knows that we are generally 2 awesome people. You need to relax more Cam; all is going to be fine." Bex changes the tone to sombre and I guess she can see how much last year and the boys are getting to me. I rest my head on her shoulder, and we both take comfort. We get asked to play the music while one of our sisters does her performance. All the girls finish and I guess it must go on longer than we all expect because the bell goes. We all make our way back to the main building.
"Gallagher girl, you have some impressive moves. I'm glad we came when we did." Zach says as he falls into step with Bex and I.
"Thanks Zach that really does mean a lot coming from you." I sarcastically answer back.
"Oh how you wound me. What's wrong though Gallagher girl, you have been like this since we've been around?"
"I have no idea Zach. Maybe it's because I have random boys who I know nothing about living in my school, in my senior year. I don't need you or anyone else causing me distractions and I don't want to see you every time I pop round a corner or do anything. You seem to always bring trouble around me."
"You bring the trouble; I get you out of the tricky spots." He informs me with his signature smirk.
"I can't actually believe you! This is why I don't want to talk to you. I'm trying to tell you something that is serious and you are just pretending it is some sort of big joke. Well I'm done." By this point we both had stopped and were looking at each other, while everyone else had walked off.
"I'm sorry Cameron. However this isn't all me. You have no idea who we are? Ask us questions about ourselves, learn to trust us. I'm causing just as much distraction as your sisters, in fact I talk to you less, but you just get worked up easily by me; so again not me but you. I understand why this is a rubbish situation but you can't keep on blaming me for anything, I'm not as bad as you seem to think I am." Zach's eyes open up, meaning he doesn't have his spy mask on anymore. Before I can understand what he means and how to reply he walks away with what looks like a defeated look.
I go through two more periods, before lunch arrives and I decide to head up to my room to shower. Everyone else is downstairs for lunch and I can't be bothered to try and converse with them when I still have the conversation with Zach on my mind. He was totally honest and fair in what he had to say, which made it worse because I never thought of it like that. Out of everyone I was trying the least and that was because he affected me so much I wanted to try and pretend he wasn't. I needed to get better and so I needed to start trying.
I walk straight into the bathroom and turn on the shower. I get in and wash al of the sweat off of me and start clearing my mind. I turn off the water and change into a clean school uniform and walk to my bed so I can get some more of my books. On my bed I find a letter placed on my pillow and I cautiously look at it. There is no name or anything on it and there isn't a seal so I can't even check for saliva. I open it up slowly and take the white piece of paper out of the envelope.
To Cammie,
I have thought about writing this letter so much that I don't actually know where to start. It's your father. I know that I have been missing for 5 years and I want you to know that I am alive and this is actually your father. The circle kidnapped me, I'm not sure if you know who they are but I can explain all of this later. However, what I do need you to know is they are after me. Even more than before. That means it's dangerous for both of us, as you mean more to me than any other life. You can't tell anyone about this note, it could put everyone at serious risk and I'm still questioning whether or not I should be sending this to you. I have a diary, and in this diary there is information that can either save or destroy the world, I'm trying not to be too dramatic. I need your help and only yours. Please meet me in town on Saturday when you are all allowed out; meet me behind the cinema at 1.30pm. Make sure you aren't being watched and I will show you that it is me and not a fake.
I love you so much and I am very proud of you sweetie.
Mathew Morgan.
Well if I thought I had my mind cleared up, it is no longer cleared.