Chapter Three- Escapes & Questions

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.

I read the note over 3 more times and then kind of just stared at it for even longer. Then the thought finally gets into my head. My dad's alive.

"My dad's alive." I whisper and quickly look around to see if anyone is around. I notice happily that no one is around so I quickly stuff the note under my bed covers, keeping in my head to find a better hiding place for it later on. Lunch is nearly over and I've lost any appetite that I had gained from the day so I just make my way over to COW. I sit in my usual seat and wait for everyone to arrive as there is still a few minutes until we need to be in lesson. Everyone sits in their seats and Liz takes her place next to me.

"Where were you at lunch? Zach was sat there worried that he had upset you, what even happened?" Liz asks impatiently.

"I had to take a shower. Zach didn't do anything bad, just made me realise a couple of things is all." I answer looking down at my textbook.

"How did a shower take you the whole of lunch?" She asks with disbelief and I shrug, causing her to get frustrated and blow her bangs out of her face. "Cam, I know we keep on saying this but it's because I don't think you understand how true this is. Yes the boys are here and yes they are going to cause a distraction but right now you are making things more negative than they are. Just because they are here doesn't mean that you should blow us all off."

"Liz, I'm fine. I'm just getting stressed about school; it's not always easy being the famous chameleon. So stop fussing everything is okay." I lie and I know she knows I'm lying because I can see the hurt in her eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not affected in the same way that everyone thinks I am. I really do just need to have everyone off my back about the boys because the more everyone focuses on it the more of a deal it is going to be." I try to comfort her and it seems like she believes me a little bit as she nods her head in understanding. Our teacher walks in and she starts teaching. Unfortunately I completely tune her out and I start thinking about the note. My dad is actually alive. In the flesh, not locked up but moveable alive. Well I hope that it's him or else my hopes are up for nothing. Plus he wants my help; not mums or any other professional but mine.

"Miss Morgan, the answer." I blink a couple of times and I see Professor Smith's face.

"Pardon?" I ask trying not to sound as clueless as I am.

"The answer to the question I just asked you." I blink once more and she lets out a sigh. "The question Miss Morgan as you clearly weren't listening, was where was Gallagher last spotted before she went into hiding?"

"Sorry miss. The answer is Singapore." I answer, feeling relieved that I read ahead the other day.

"Well done Miss Morgan, however I hope that I will now be interesting enough for you to listen more closely to my lesson in the future." Professor said and I simply nod my head. Professor Smith then goes back to teaching the lesson and I start copying down what is on the board.

"What was that about, Cam?" Liz asks, nudging my side.

"I've already explained; I have a lot on my mind." I state and she humps but doesn't ask any more questions. The lesson is a pretty easy lesson and I'm glad as my head is not in the right frame of mind. The bell rings not soon enough and with a quick goodbye to Liz I go as fast as I can to my next lesson so no one can try and talk to me. My last lesson of the day is Co-Ops and I'm happy as it might be the only lesson that will keep me busy, which means my mind is off of the letter. No sooner had I got there and sat in my normal seat Bex was sitting next to me with a questioning look on her face.

"Where were you at lunch? You missed tacos!" Bex says as if it was a crime that I wasn't there, which of course it would have been on a normal day.

"I just wasn't that hungry and I was showering." I lie and she knows I'm lying because school, especially Gallagher girls always requires you to have a full stomach. Bex looks like she is about to say something but Mr Solomon enters and I have never been happy to see him because unlike Liz Bex will get to the bottom of things and not always in the nicest way. I realise that everyone else has entered the room so Mr Solomon starts the lesson.

"What is different about me from the last time you saw me?" Mr Solomon asks the class.

"Your shoelace on your left foot is done up and your ring is back on your left index finger rather than your left middle finger." Bex and I answer while everyone else is trying to figure it out.

"Impressive. Now tell me, how many steps have I taken since being in the room?"

"17" This time the whole class answers.

"Last question: How many Blackthorn boys are now in this room?"

"12" everyone else answers while I say "13."

"Tina, what makes you say 13?" Solomon asks.

"I can hear 13 pairs of footsteps, so one was yours which makes there 12 boys." Tina answers looking impressed with herself.

"Cameron, why do you think there is 13 boys that is excluding me?" Solomon asks raising his eyebrow.

"Same reason as Tina, except I can see Zach on the ceiling from the tiny shadow." I answer and everyone else looks up to see a smirking Zach.

"Well it is hard to catch you out Miss Morgan. Boys take a seat and Zach you can get off of the ceiling." Zach removes his legs from where they were pressed and he is just hanging 2 m from the ground so he simply drops down. They all take their seats and Zach takes a seat on the opposite side to Bex.

"I'm impressed by you Gallagher Girl; very few people have ever got that question right." Zach compliments and I smile at him.

"Got to be at your sharpest." I reply but face Solomon again, waiting to begin class.

"So as we can all see we are a new bunch of students together, normally I would let you introduce yourselves but you have seen each other's files and today is a more urgent lesson. Today so important information has been giving to us and it affects all of you." He pauses and his eyes flicker to me, making me gulp. "Matthew Morgan has escaped from the Circle. This means that we need to be on our toes as they might come here and take Cameron. No one knows why Matthew is so important." I know though. Dad just told me in the letter. Mr Solomon and mum don't know what he has but I do. "He has information on the circle want and need. Today's lesson will be completely different and we will be learning about the threat of the circle, who some of those key members are and how to distinguish them if we see them locally." Mr Solomon informs us and everyone looks at me. I slowly stand up and my chair scrapes as it goes across the tiles. Before anyone can realise what I'm doing I'm running towards the lift, making sure no one can get inside with me.

"Miss Morgan, where on earth do you think you are going?" Solomon asks and everyone starts whispering.

"Places." I shout just at the elevator closes its doors. As it starts moving up I finally take in everything that has happened. My dad has actually escaped; he's so close and has already managed to get into my room. The lift door opens and I start running through the secret passages to get to my room before changing into casual clothes and going into the passage that leads out of the grounds without having to see anyone. I just need to leave. Leave the school. Leave the spy world. Leave the feeling of eyes constantly on me. I can't ever be the Chameleon if everyone is constantly watching me. I walk through the forest and I just keep on walking. The next time I notice where I am I'm in Roseville shopping centre. I walk around the shops making sure I don't have any tails and then when I notice I don't I finally start walking around like a normal teenager. Not that anything about my life is normal. I start to feel a pair of eyes on me and I look around trying to see who it is without drawing attention to myself. That's when I see him. Josh.

"Cammie, is that you?" Josh asks walking up to me with a look of bafflement. I slowly nod my head, not being able to process how much is happening. He hugs me and I find myself hugging him hard, needing the support. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but why are you here? I thought you would be in class right now or something."

"School was giving me a bit of drama and some personal stuff is happening, it all got a bit too much so I just thought I would give myself some space. What about you?" I ask, trying to shake away from the events of today.

"It's mum's birthday today so I need to get her a present. Care to help, I think I need it." Josh jokes, showing off his white teeth and I can clearly remember why I risked a lot for this boy.

"Sure, sounds like fun." I say and we start walking around the shops trying to get an idea of what she wants.

"Do you want to talk about what's got you to run away? I always find it helps me when I explain my problems and share it. Plus I might just act like my mum and not stop pestering you until you tell me." Josh says reminding me of my best friends who are just as nosey but are also just as loving.

"Okay so my school has had boys come and stay with us for a few months. I don't really want them to come as well the girls are my sisters and it will be the last year we are together before we have to leave. The boys have only been here for a few days and they already irritate me. Well it isn't even them and I'm over them being here. It's really just that there is one boy who brings drama because everyone thinks we should date and he's just so frustrating that I don't know what to do. I think I just need to do well that if I can my irritation out on anything I will." I explain because we can't tell him about my dad situation; that would be complicated for the spy world, let alone just a normal person.

"Cammie, is all this running away over a boy?" He teases before growing serious. "You just need to remember that boy drama, make that relationship teenage drama, doesn't matter. You have your friends and they won't ever let anyone close to you who is going to mess you around so I'm sure if they can tolerate him then he is a good guy. Plus if you really aren't interested in him in that way then you should tell him, say that he is cool and you want to be friends because it will be less complicated. Everyone loves to be friend zoned." Josh comforts and although it is good advice I'm more worried about Zach's mother than him at the moment.

"Thanks Joshy, you're a star." I kid and smile at him.

"Shut up, you know not to call me that." He pushes my shoulder lightly and I move like how a normal girl of my size would move. I give him a small hug afterwards to show my true feelings about the situation.

"So what have you been up to since we last met?" I ask.

"Well I guess a lot and nothing at all. I got a cat soon after we last met and I named it Suzie." I give him a 'are you kidding' look and we both burst out laughing.

"What kind of gift you want to get your mum so I have a rough idea what to look for?" I ask looking at all the different shops.

"I think jewellery." Josh says look at one shop and so we both walk into it. He goes off to the necklaces and within 2 seconds of me being round by the bracelets I see the perfect charm bracelet. It's made out of sterling silver which will go with her skin colour, which I remember is a very similar shade to Josh's.

"Hey Joshy, I think I've found the one. What do you think"? I ask, grabbing his attention and pointing at the bracelet.

"Yeah it looks good, she will like it." He tells me rubbing my shoulder before then going to find a shop assistant. He picks 4 silver charms to go on the bracelet and we pick out a heart, a cat, a Champaign class and a little child. We walk out of the shop and stand outside. "Thank you so much for finding this however I need to leave and get home and you really need to deal with your problem." He says giving me a knowing look.

"Yeah I know, thank you for today and the help." I tell him and give him one last long hug.

"It was a pleasure, see you soon." We leave the hug, and I ignore the coldness I feel when we move away. He walks away and I slowly walk in the opposite direction towards the school. I feel my feelings for Josh creeping back and I shut them away because I won't be seeing him soon and the last thing I need is more boy drama, especially with him having no idea about the sky world. I'm so lost in thought that I reach the school gates and there is no point in secretly getting in as I will be in jut as much trouble. I see bubble gum man at the gates.

"Miss Morgan, is that you?" He asks getting up from his seat and you can see where his gun is positioned.

"Yeah it's me." I answer and he opens the gates for me.

"Good luck, the teachers have been going mental trying to find you." He tells me like I couldn't have already guessed that. I don't give a verbal response and just shrug my shoulders. I put on my awesome kick-ass spy mask, putting the day with Josh away and the knowledge of what my dad told me. I open up the front doors and the first person I see is my mother standing there, arms crossed and giving me a very angry glare. Clearly she doesn't want to be doing a spy mask.

"Cameron Anna Morgan! Where on earth have you been? We have all been worried sick." She shouts and everyone around freezes. No one has heard my mother shout, especially not to me as I am seen as one of the best in the school. I think everyone is just excited to finally see someone get told off in public. Unfortunately I'm not going to give them the satisfaction.

"Out," I answer simply and she gives me a look of disbelief, mirroring everyone else's reaction.

"Out? Out! You have been gone for hours! Your father is on the run and the people who want to get him will use anyone, especially you, to get to him and you decide to go out? This is not how I brought you up, as a mother or as a head teacher." She frowns at me.

"Mother I'm same. I needed to get away from everything and everyone. He was my dad, and you think the best way to break the news is in a class with everyone else? I might be a spy but you need to remember that I'm also a teenage girl and that should have been something you came to me with. I was same outside and I was constantly checking that no one is following. Now if you excuse me, I am going up to my room." I walk away from her before anything else can be said. Best way to keep them all silent is to make them feel bad. I head towards my room and when I walk in I see all of my roommates crowded around my bed looking at something.

"Hey guys," I say and look at them.

"When were you going to tell us Cammie?" Bex asks, looking at me with accusation.

"Tell you what, I'm confused?" I ask taking a few steps closer to them.

"About the letter!" She shouts and I'm glad the door is closed and no one can over hear. I see that she is holding the letter my dad gave me and all colour leaves my face.

"Oh no." I say before I can stop myself.

"EXPLAIN!" Mace forcefully tells me and I look up questioning that the man upstairs must really be wanting to punish me.