by Elise Noble
You’re getting paid to be here, Sky.
Yeah, but I’d rather have been pummelled in the gym.
At least I had Rune. “Wow, she sounds friendly.”
“That was Vanessa.”
“The girl from chemistry class? Yikes.”
“I’m skipping it next time.”
“You can’t. Not so soon after you’ve arrived. You’ll get sent to the principal’s office.”
“Good. I can bug it while I’m there.”
“No. Not good. We’re getting a copy of the exam syllabus. That’ll tell us what you need to study, and I can run through everything with you before class in case the feed cuts out again.”
“You sound as though you’re enjoying this a little too much.”
“I don’t get to do this sort of thing every day. It’s awesome. Like, I’m studying all my favourite subjects and getting to be a spy at the same time.”
“Awesome? That’s not the word I’d use.”
“And I suppose it helps to keep my mind off…you know, the other stuff.”
I did. The “nearly dying” stuff. In a way, it was strange. A quirk of fate had seen Rune land in the middle of my world, and now here I was, stuck in hers.
“Perhaps you could ask Rafael to teach you self-defence? He’s good at that.”
“Rafael’s scary.”
“Yeah, but he won’t hurt you.”
“Maybe, but I can’t ask him anyway because he took off.”
“Took off? What do you mean, he took off?”
“Emmy was complaining about it earlier. Black said Rafael took some personal time, and Emmy said Black should have stopped him because we’re in the middle of a job, and Black said he wasn’t Rafael’s keeper, and then Emmy slammed the door on her way out and I haven’t seen her since.”
Rafael had abandoned me?
That hurt, but in a way, I was also relieved. Rafael’s absence meant he wouldn’t see me flailing around at Shadow Falls like a duck out of water. As long as he was back in time for me to continue my training at Riverley, what did it matter where he went in the meantime?
“I need to get out to the sports field.”
“Good luck. That’s something I can’t help you with.”
Didn’t matter. If there was one thing I could do, it was run. Apparently, I was only two-tenths of a second off the school record in the hundred metres, and suddenly, the blonde girls wanted to be friends with me. Tiffany, Meaghan, Carlie, and Deandra. Four clones. I hoped somebody back at base would write their names down because I’d forgotten them already. In my head, I christened them the Britneys because their skirts were too short and they’d hiked up their boobs like in the “Baby One More Time” video.
“Hey, do you want to eat dinner with us?” Britney number one asked. “It’s Sky, right?”
“I need to unpack this evening.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
If I couldn’t think up a plausible excuse not to. They weren’t my kind of people at all. Too false. Too plastic. Fake hair, fake nails, fake eyelashes. I didn’t have any of those. Emmy hadn’t put a limit on my expense account for this job, but I still didn’t want to spend my free Sunday wandering around the mall in Culpeper in an attempt to fit in, which was apparently an option according to the brochure. The school ran a shuttle bus service there every weekend.
Asher Martinez wasn’t my kind of person either. Too lazy, too cocky, too damn slick. But I still caught him watching me as I walked back to New Hall at the end of the afternoon.
CHAPTER 21 - SKY
THANKS TO RUNE, plus Xav who helped me out with art advice, and the gods of technology who smiled down on me, I survived Friday’s classes. I also had a snoop around the staff offices and bugged three of them, although I had a hairy moment when one of the janitors decided to start cleaning early. Those three had been reasonably straightforward—unlocked doors and enough mess that nobody would notice one of Nate’s special two-way adapters in an electrical socket. If they did, then the janitors would hopefully get the blame. Nate’s adapters worked just the way regular adapters did, with the added bonus that their built-in bugs could draw power from the mains. No pesky batteries to change.
The other offices would be a bit trickier because their owners kept them locked. I’d learned to pick simple locks in London, plus Ravi had spent some time instructing me on more complicated ones during quiet moments in the run-up to the operation at the Grove. But opening locks took time. I’d go for the easy wins first.
After dinner, I went for a meander around the grounds. Technically, we were meant to go in pairs, but nobody noticed when I slipped into the woods. And I had Dan with me in spirit if not in body.
“Mack’s started making a 3D model of the campus,” she told me. “We’ve got rough footprints of most of the buildings from satellite photos, but tree cover’s made some of the edges unclear. Could you walk around the tennis pavilion? And there’re several small buildings behind the gym we need to take a closer look at.”
“A 3D model? Like with bits of cardboard?”
Dan burst out laughing. “No, like a hologram.”
Oh.
Her giggles subsided, but my embarrassment didn’t. Just for five minutes, could I manage to not say something dumb? I headed along a gravel path in the direction of the tennis courts, hidden away behind another dormitory.
“When I first started at Blackwood, we only had basic computer programs and they were a real pain to set up, so sometimes we did use cardboard and glue,” Dan said. “I remember spending evenings building crime scene mock-ups with Black, and he’d always curse because his fingers were too big to do the fiddly bits.”
“Did the models help?”
“It’s always useful to get a visual. And now with the improvements in technology, we can take Mack’s simulation, feed it into VR goggles, and use it to practise walking around the campus. Plus we might be able to find a possible location for the paintings. Those old buildings sometimes have hidden rooms.”
“Really? Does Riverley?”
“It might have one or two.”
“Can I see them when I get back?”
“Ask Emmy.”
“I’ve got a question for you as well. Who was the guy who talked me through my drama class yesterday?”
“You don’t want to know.”
Why not? It didn’t exactly matter, but it bugged me when I didn’t know who I was speaking to. He hadn’t introduced himself, and I could hardly ask in front of everyone.
“I do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Dan gave a soft “fine, you asked for it” snort. “Armand Taylor.”
I’d met a bunch of actors when I served drinks in various clubs, and my run-in with Brock Keaton had put me off celebs for good. But there were still limits to my composure.
“Armand Taylor? No way. You’re joking.”
He was A-list. Arguably Hollywood’s number-one heart-throb. And now that I thought about it, the voice on the phone had sounded kind of familiar. My knees went weird, and I sat down on an old tree stump.
“I did not spend eighty minutes being told how to act by Armand Taylor.”
Another peal of laughter was all the answer I needed.
“Sometimes I hate you.”
“So you don’t want to meet him when you get back?”
“No, I… Really?” More bloody laughter. “Shut up. I’m going to walk around the tennis pavilion now.”
The freaking tennis pavilion. I’d never picked up a racquet in my life. Good thing tennis wasn’t on the schedule until the summer term or that would be yet another thing I needed to learn. Who would Dan find to teach me? A Wimbledon finalist?
I stayed outside until the nine o’clock curfew. Why bother going back early? Blondes one through four were doing their nails in the living room when I walked into New Hall, and Vanessa was stretched out on her bed, reading a book.
“Hi.�
�
She ignored me.
“Did you have a nice evening?”
“You don’t need to pretend to be my friend, you know.”
“Just being civil.”
Was it really that difficult to say “hello” back? Even when I’d lived in squats with virtual strangers, we’d said “good morning” and made an effort to get along.
“Whatever.”
“Okay, fine. You win. I don’t want to be here any more than you do, so let’s just keep out of each other’s way and try to make it bearable, okay?”
Her answer was to turn over and tuck the quilt tighter around herself.
“Goodnight, Sky,” Dan whispered in my ear. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
Saturday afternoon found me lined up on the sports field for a cross-country run. I’d had the choice of more running, a dance workshop, or horse riding. Twerking probably wouldn’t go down so well at Shadow Falls, and Emmy’s horse had gnashed his teeth at me when I met him last week, so the choice was a no-brainer. We only had to do three miles—two laps of a winding woodland circuit—and without Alex chasing me on a dirt bike or Rafael making me stop to do push-ups every five minutes, it would be a walk in the park. I could cruise it.
Or maybe not.
“Afternoon,” Emmy said in my ear. “I hope you’re not thinking of slacking.”
“Of course not. The thought never entered my mind.”
A pause.
“Liar. Your pulse just increased. Honey, you need to get better at fibbing.”
I glared at my traitorous watch. As well as two-way comms, it came with a heart-rate monitor and a GPS tracker. And, it appeared, a race simulator. Two blobs appeared on the screen, labelled S and E. Emmy was running too?
“The top six finishers will get the chance to represent Shadow Falls in the Independent Schools Athletics League in two weeks’ time,” the coach announced. “The first heats will be held at the Kennedy Academy in Maryland.”
Who cared? I was more concerned about staying within spitting distance of my boss. The whistle blew, and I took off as if a pack of rabid wolves was chasing me. Then remembered I needed to pace myself and slowed down a bit as I ran over the first hillock. Was I ahead? Only just, and I had a massive bloody hill to go up. If Emmy had started off from Riverley, she’d still be on the flat. The first slope there started two hundred yards from the terrace, and it was a gentle incline, not like the climb I was facing.
“You’re slowing,” Emmy warned a couple of minutes later.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw I’d opened up a big enough gap from my fellow students to choke out a response.
“I’m on a fucking mountain.”
“Bullshit. You’re on a hill.”
“It’s steeper than the ones near Riverley.”
“I’m in Zermatt.”
“Where?”
“In the fucking Alps, Sky. On an actual mountain. We should’ve enrolled you in geography lessons.”
Ah, crap. I ran faster.
By halfway through the second lap, I’d opened up a comfortable lead over everyone but Emmy. We were still jostling back and forth for position, and she’d cursed a number of times because apparently there were boulders in Zermatt and she had to jump over them.
Hold on, who was that ahead? I was fast, but I shouldn’t have been able to lap anyone, not in that space of time. As I got closer, I realised it was Vanessa.
“My roommate’s ahead, and she’s limping,” I muttered to Emmy.
“Go do what you need to. We can pick this up tomorrow.”
“Oh, brilliant. I can’t wait.”
Vanessa pivoted as I closed the distance, but she didn’t look particularly happy to see me.
“Are you okay?”
“I just twisted my ankle. It’s fine.”
“It’s obviously not. Why don’t you wait here while I fetch someone to help?”
“The last thing I need is a fuss. I can walk back.”
Even as the words left her mouth, her face screwed up in pain as she stumbled over a tree root. Instinct made me grab her around the waist to stop her from hitting the deck.
“We can walk back together.”
“But you’re in the lead. If you keep going, you’ll score a place on the cross-country team.”
“Who cares about that? You need ice on that ankle.”
The girl in second place whizzed past and turned to do a double take. She tripped too, but thankfully she saved herself and kept going. The last thing I needed was two injuries to deal with. My feet itched to catch her up and overtake because I hated to lose, but Vanessa and her leg were more important.
“Lean on me, okay?” I arranged Vanessa’s arm over my shoulders and put my own arm around her waist again. “We’ll take it slowly.”
“You ladies okay?” a voice asked from behind, then Asher appeared beside us. He hadn’t even broken a sweat.
“Fine,” Vanessa practically growled at him.
“Suit yourselves.”
He ambled off, but instead of carrying on along the path, he cut left into the trees.
“Where’s he going?” I asked.
“He takes a shortcut.”
A…shortcut? In training? No, no, no. You pushed hard in training so you could take shortcuts in battle. What was the point in cheating yourself? And more importantly, how did he get away with it?
“The coach doesn’t notice?”
“He probably does, but it doesn’t matter. Asher’s the principal’s nephew. He can do whatever he wants.”
Asher Martinez was related to the Rosenbergs? Well, that certainly explained his attitude. It also meant I’d have to watch my step around him.
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“No problem.”
Was that a hint of civility from Vanessa? Wonders would never cease.
Back at the sports field, the coach glanced up from his stopwatch, looked back down again, then raised his head to stare.
“What happened?”
“Vanessa twisted her ankle. Nobody else mentioned it?”
Because they’d all run past us except Asher, and despite him bypassing half of the route, he was just emerging from the treeline at a slow jog.
“No, they didn’t. If they had, we could have brought a stretcher.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a stretcher.”
“We don’t take any chances with our students’ well-being. Perhaps I should call the nurse?”
“No! I just need to sit down, that’s all.”
Why so vehement? Did Vanessa have a phobia of nurses? I couldn’t say I was fond of them myself, based on past experience. Where did that bruise come from? Where do you live? Where are your parents? And that was just when I’d taken an acquaintance to A&E.
“She did manage to walk back by herself,” I told the coach. “An ice pack would probably do the trick.”
“I’m not sure…”
But Vanessa was already hobbling towards New Hall.
“I’ll take care of her. If somebody could just bring a bag of ice…?”
I didn’t wait for an answer. What were they gonna do, tell me off for helping? Our room was on the second floor—third floor in American—and since there was no elevator, Vanessa needed assistance to get up the stairs.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said once she’d settled herself on her bed.
Silence.
Thankfully, the coach was already halfway up the path with a fancy blue gel pack. When he got to the front door, he knocked. I liked that about this place. People were respectful.
“Ta. I mean, thank you.” I reached out to take the ice pack, and he held on to it for a moment before he handed it over.
“Call the nurse if the swelling gets any worse. Vanessa won’t do it herself.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t discuss a fellow student’s personal affairs. But understand that we only want to help her.”
Weird comment, but okay.
<
br /> “Can I bring her dinner over here tonight? I know we’re not supposed to take the plates out of the dining room, but…”
The coach smiled and nodded. “I’ll let the catering staff know.”
CHAPTER 22 - SKY
“HEY, SKY. NICE outfit.”
In the kitchenette, I glanced up from making coffee—instant, unfortunately—to find the four Britneys in front of me. Was that sarcasm? Or did they genuinely like my clothes? Normally, I’d have assumed the former, but Bradley had packed my suitcase, and the jeans probably cost more than I used to make in a week serving drinks. And my pink shirt was by Ralph Lauren. Even I’d heard of him. At first, I’d wondered how Bradley always picked out clothes that fitted perfectly, not just for me but for everybody else too, but the day before I left Riverley, I’d found out his secret. He had a sewing room in the attic, and in the sewing room was a creepy army of dressmakers’ mannequins, each with a name badge. He simply bought clothes based on our widest measurements, then tailored them based on our body doubles so they fitted everywhere else as well. Genius.
“Thanks.”
“Where did you get the jeans?”
“Uh, I don’t know. My assistant bought them.”
The four of them looked at each other.
“You have an assistant?”
Inside, I grinned, but outside I stayed casual.
“You don’t?”
“Wanna come to the mall with us today?” the tallest blonde asked. Tiffany? Meaghan? “We’re gonna visit a few stores and then catch a movie.”
Going shopping with that crowd was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.
“No, thanks, uh…”
“Carlie,” a voice supplied in my ear. Since it was Sunday and I didn’t have any classes, Rune was taking a break and I had Ryder helping me out.
“…Carlie,” I finished. “I’ll pass.”
“You ran fast yesterday,” another of the blondes said. “At least until you stopped to help Vanessa. Were you on the track team at your old school?”
Why not? “Yes.”
“You should run with Tiffany next time.” She nodded towards Britney number three. “She made the championships last year.”
“I prefer to run alone.”