Sunday, October 22
Spy School?
When I wake up, I see that it’s just after nine o’clock in the morning. I look over at Sander’s bed and see that he’s no longer there. I hear voices from the other room, so I figure he’s in there with Jaxon and Hunter.
I get out of my bed, heading to the bathroom before I join them in the front room.
In the other room, I see that they’re not talking—they’re watching the news. My heart leaps when I hear the words East Raven Academy. I sit down on the couch beside Sander, not saying a word. He grabs my hand as we watch the report.
I hear the reporter say the words no casualties, which immediately lifts my spirits. Nobody died.
There were a few injuries, but none of them life threatening.
The words bring me so much relief.
I have been feeling so guilty... guiltier than I even realized.
“Everybody is okay,” I say, breathing out a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, they are,” Sander says, squeezing my hand. “You got an email earlier saying school is going to be closed for a few weeks to give everybody a chance to recover, so, technically, you’re not missing any school, not for a while at least.”
I smile at his words. I don’t know why it makes me so excited, but I am. I don’t want to miss any more school.
Things are good.
Really good.
“So, we really are on vacation then,” I say.
“Yeah, I guess we are,” he says.
“Except you still have to train,” Hunter says.
“That’s okay,” I say. “I don’t mind training. But this is my last outfit, so I’m going to need some new clothes.”
Especially because these clothes aren’t great for the heat. I have on leggings and a t-shirt. If I’m going to survive in the heat, I’m going to need some shorts or a skirt—anything else.
“We are, too,” Jax says. “This hotel has a good laundry service, too.”
“Good, I hate doing my own laundry,” Hunter says.
Me, too.
Though, I am going to miss doing laundry with Emma and Teagan on Sunday afternoons. Somehow, doing my laundry with them made it not so bad. Maybe because we could spend our time talking about boys, or whatever else we wanted to talk about. It made laundry seem less mundane and I actually looked forward to our time together, when it was just us—no boys allowed.
Now, I’m stuck with three boys.
Eh, it could be worse. At least they’re my friends. And Sander is my boyfriend.
Wow, that’s still so weird to think about.
Sander is my boyfriend.
“So, breakfast on the beach and then the mall?” Jaxon asks.
“Breakfast on the beach?” I ask.
“I found this amazing restaurant online where we can eat breakfast while looking at the ocean,” he says. “I know we’re technically working, but this is the closest thing I’ve had to a vacation in a very long time.”
“Yeah, okay,” I say. “Sounds good to me.”
I want to spend as much time as I can outside while we’re here. I, too, haven’t had a vacation in far too long.
I grab a ponytail from my bag, the only rubber band I have left, and put it on my wrist just in case I need it. I know it’s hot here, and we’re going to be shopping later. Plus, I’m dressed in pretty warm clothes for the weather.
The restaurant is only a few blocks away from the hotel, so we walk. I’m enjoying the sunshine, but it’s a lot more humid than I’m used to. Half-way there, my hair ends up in a bun on top of my head so none of it is touching my neck.
“Working out here is going to be so much fun,” Hunter says.
I look at him to see that he’s sweating, too. Glad I’m not the only one. It’s apparent that he was being sarcastic though.
“You guys are wimps,” Sander says.
“Says the guy who was raised in Texas,” Jaxon says. “Maybe we can sit inside at the restaurant.”
I laugh. “We’ll be okay in the heat.”
Because, even though it’s humid, I’m still very excited about being here. It’s so nice. I’ve been trapped on the campus at East Raven and I want to enjoy every moment of this while I can. Who knows how long I’ll get to be here.
It’s clear we’re in a pretty touristy part of Miami, but that’s cool with me because I am a tourist. The waitress seats us at a table outside, which isn’t so bad. Now that we’re sitting, there is a bit of an ocean breeze.
“This is nice,” Sander says.
My thoughts exactly.
“Miami is kind of nice,” I say. “I might like it better than LA.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I like the East Coast for some reason. And if I lived here, it’d only be a... what... three-hour flight to DC?”
“Maybe two and a half hours,” Jaxon says.
“Maybe I should go to college here,” I say.
“Have you decided what you’re going to college for?” Hunter asks.
I shake my head. “No clue.”
“You should take a year off and train with us,” he says.
“You can’t just tell people not to go to college,” Jax says.
“I’m mainly going to college because my dad wants me to,” I say. “Mom could care less. She told me she only went to college to meet a husband.”
Hunter chokes on the drink he just took. “Your mom is awesome.”
I laugh.
Well, I guess it worked, ’cause she did marry my dad. She didn’t finish college, but Dad did. He eventually went on to get his master’s degree, after the two of them got divorced. Education is very important to him.
“Is that why you’re going to college?” Jaxon asks.
I roll my eyes. “No. Besides, I’ve got a boyfriend. Even so, I’m not like my mom. I don’t need a man to validate me. Not that there is anything wrong with her. She just... likes being married.”
Hunter and Jaxon both look between Sander and me.
“You guys decided to finally make things official?” Jaxon asks, looking at Sander.
Sander was clearly the one stopping us from making it official to begin with.
“Yeah,” Sander answers.
“About time,” Hunter says, then looks at me. “I guess that means I’ve got to stop flirting with you.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it means,” Sander says.
Hunter winks at me and I laugh. Some things never change.
“We’re allowed to date, right?” I ask. “You not going to get in trouble with your super-secret Spy School?”
“You told her about Spy School?” Jaxon asks, his mouth hanging open.
“No, I didn’t,” Sander answer. “Not really. She guessed a lot of stuff. She’s smart.”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” I say.
“How do you know the name Spy School?” Hunter asks.
“I didn’t,” I say. “That’s a name I made up for it, since it’s some secret Spy School. It’s a joke.”
Hunter and Jaxon both look at me, then at Sander.
“She’s telling you the truth,” Sander says.
“Why is that a big deal?” I ask.
Nobody answers my question, so I look up from the menu.
“What?” I ask.
“Spy School is what we call it,” Hunter says. “All of us. I mean, it has a name. But nobody knows it. And at this point, Spy School means more than it’s real name anyway.”
“Oh,” I say.
Seriously?
They call it Spy School?
I mean, I guess if they can’t come up with a better name; Spy School is kind of perfect.
Then I remember what Hunter said... about taking a year off to train with them.
“Wait... were you serious about me taking a year off college to train with you?” I ask.
“Absolutely,” Hunter says.
“I would train you,” Sander says.
“We would all train you,” Jaxon says. “Our entire team.”
“What does it mean to train?” I ask.
“Just that... you’d train,” Hunter says.
“Would I join your team after training?”
“You’d have a choice,” Sander says. “Spy School never forces anybody to work for them, even if they go to school there. But if you want to be on a team with us, everybody would have to agree.”
“I have no problems with it,” Hunter says, winking at me.
“Me, either,” Jaxon says. “And you know Gage will love her. And Brett likes everybody.”
“And Serenity loves anybody who’s a girl,” Hunter says.
“The problem is Sebastian,” Sander says. “But I’ll kick his butt if he argues.”
“If Serenity likes her, that’s all that matters,” Jaxon says. “She’s got him wrapped around her finger.
“You’re probably right.”
I have no idea who these people are, but I do like the idea of joining their team.
Not just because of Sander, though he’s amazing. I like the idea of joining their team because what they do is awesome. I want to help people the same way they’ve helped me. They’ve protected me so much.
And more than that, I really like Sander, Hunter and Jaxon. They’ve become friends to me. I have no doubts that I would easily become friends with the rest of their team.
“I still have a year of high school after this year, though,” I say, in case they forget I’m just a junior.
“We can train you while you go to school,” Jaxon says. “Well, Sander can. The rest of us would have to keep working.”
“You’d have to stop working to train me?” I ask.
That doesn’t sound promising.
Sander loves his job.
A lot.
I can’t imagine him giving it up, even for a year to train me.
Sander shrugs. “It wouldn’t be so bad. I’d get to hang out with you.”
My heart pretty much stops.
“Ah,” Hunter says. “Isn’t that the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?”
Sander looks from me to Hunter. “I can’t wait to torture you when you get a girlfriend.”
“Bring it on,” he says.
I laugh.
I honestly can’t wait to see what kind of girl Hunter is going to date.
The mall actually isn’t that crowded for a Sunday afternoon. And the air is cranked up, so I don’t even mind my leggings while we’re shopping.
None of us plan on getting a lot of clothes—just outfits for working out, sleeping and a few day clothes. I mostly just get a few yoga pants, shorts and some t-shirts. The guys all do something similar, and we’ve pretty much got everything we need by lunch time.
As we’re in the mall, I can’t help but think of the time Teagan, Emma, and I went dress shopping for homecoming. That day was so much fun—you know, aside from the whole wondering if Sander loved me or hated me thing.
One thing I do have to get is underwear and bras, so I force the guys to wait for me outside the store while I do that, because it’s a little uncomfortable to do that with three guys standing over me. Also, it’s nice to get a break from the intensity of them. Especially Hunter. He seems to have an opinion about everything. Sander doesn’t care, as long as it’s comfortable. And Jaxon just looks bored.
Me, too, Jaxon.
I seriously hate shopping. This is something my mom used to force me to do with her, like it was supposed to be some kind of bonding thing, but I kind of hated it.
After paying for my underwear and bras, nobody says a word as we head towards the shoe store.
Well, that was only a little uncomfortable.
While we’re in the shoe store, I grab a pair of flip flops, along with running shoes. The only thing I have with me are the shoes I wore to homecoming dance and a pair of house slippers from the hotel. I’m currently wearing house slippers, so I quickly trade the slippers for flip flops.
I look at my red, manicured toenails and smile.
That was a fun day, too.
As I look at my nails, I notice I have a chip from a broken nail. That must’ve happened during the explosion, because I didn’t even notice I had a broken nail.
I don’t know why, but when I look at my broken nail, tears come to my eyes. What a stupid thing to cry over—a broken nail. But it’s not really my nail that has me crying. It’s what it represents. I got my nails done with Teagan and Emma. And I miss them. But more than that, a stupid terrorist who has been ruining my life for almost a year has now caused me to be separated from all of my friends. It’s too much.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sander asks, kneeling down in front of me at the shoe store.
“I broke my nail,” I say, and then sob a little after I say it.
I am officially pathetic... I’m crying over a broken nail. What is wrong with me?
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“Then what’s wrong?” he asks.
“I didn’t notice I broke it,” I say. “I must’ve done it at homecoming.”
I think he understands now, or at least pretends to, because he doesn’t say anything else. He just pulls me closer to him, holding me tight. Sander is such a good boyfriend, and I don’t deserve him, but I am so glad he’s a part of my life. I don’t know what I would do without him.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“It’s okay,” he says, gently rubbing my back.
“It’s so dumb, I know,” I say. “I just can’t help it.”
“I promise it’s okay,” he says.
He just keeps holding me and rubbing my back and eventually I stop sobbing.
“What’s wrong?”
I look up and see Hunter and Jaxon both standing there. I don’t want to explain to them what is wrong, because I’m scared I might cry again, so I let Sander explain it for me.
“She broke her nail,” Sander says.
“That sucks,” Jaxon says.
“You’re crying because you broke your nail?” Hunter asks.
“She did it at homecoming,” Sander says. “She just now noticed.”
“Oh,” Hunter says. “Well, maybe we could go get our nails done together. Red is too much for you, anyway. You need black.”
I laugh, wiping away some tears from under my eyes. “You’d get your nails done?”
“If you’ll stop crying, I’d paint them hot pink,” he says.
“Okay,” I say, standing up. “Let’s pay for these shoes and go.”
And seriously, my entire mood has turned around.
I’d love to see Hunter wear hot pink nail polish.
“Is it okay if I get it on my toes?” he asks. “That way nobody but us will see it?”
“Sure,” I say.
Sander and Jaxon both laugh.
“I don’t think you’ll ever live this down,” I say to Hunter.
“Only a real man can handle that much pink,” Hunter responds, ignoring the laughs coming Sander and his brother.
He’s not wrong.
I am sitting between Hunter and Sander, with my feet soaking in the water. All the guys seem surprised that getting a pedicure isn’t as horrible as they thought it was going to be. Actually, they look like they’re down right enjoying it.
This is Hunter’s second pedicure, which he is happy to remind everybody about.
“Except this time, you have to get your toenails painted hot pink,” I say.
“And here I thought you were my friend,” Hunter says.
I grin. “I am your friend. Hot pink truly is your color.”
“So evil,” Hunter says, shaking his head.
“Am I evil, Sander?” I ask, turning to my boyfriend.
“Nope,” he answers.
My point is proven.
“I’m kind of excited about sending a picture of you wearing pink toenail polish to all of our team,” Jaxon says.
“Wow. Betrayed by my own brother,” Hunter says.
“Lots of guys wear nail polish,” I say.
I’ve got to be honest, I’m not much of a nail polish kind of girl—I never have been. Aside from going to get a mani-pedi with my mom every once in a while, I never have my nails done. So, getting them done twice in one week is kind of insane.
I’m getting my nails done with three guys. One of whom is my boyfriend.
“I’m just glad you’re not crying anymore,” Hunter says.
Will I never live that down?
Probably not.
I can’t help it, though.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to cry over something so stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” Sander says.
He reaches over and grabs my hand, so I smile at him. I really do have the best boyfriend ever. He’s about to let some stranger touch his feet, for me. You don’t get better than that.
“Thank you for this,” I say. “We really didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, we did,” Jaxon says. “The second Hunter agreed to paint his nails hot pink, I was on board.”
I laugh.
Poor Hunter. He’s going to be made fun of for the rest of his life for this.
I’m glad we came to Miami. Honestly, it isn’t a bad home away from home. And I am enjoying my time here. I feel freer somehow, and not just because I’m allowed to leave the hotel room, though that is a huge bonus. Most importantly, I feel safe. How could I not, with Spy School protecting me?
Spy School—how funny. I referred to it as that in my head, but it’s really true. It’s still weird to imagine it in my head. Are there just a bunch of kids going there, like a regular school, except they learn how to do cool spy things? I just can’t even picture it.
About thirty minutes later, the four of us leave the nail salon. It’s really funny to see Hunter walking in the temporary flip flops so he doesn’t mess up his pedicure. Jaxon hasn’t stopped taking pictures of him.
I laugh.
“Things are never going to be boring with you around,” Sander says, opening the passenger side door for me.
“I hope not,” I say.
He grins at me, making my stomach fill with butterflies.
I think he’s got it wrong. It’s me who will never get bored with him.
Even though getting kidnapped and chased by terrorists is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, I wouldn’t change it for the world, because all of this means that I got to meet Sander Soto. How can I regret the best thing that has ever happened to me?