Love Bound 1: Wings [YA Fantasy/Comedy]

Chapter 7: Target

You have got to be kidding me—weren't the words to hurtle into Cammy's mind when she'd seen the kids, a.k.a 'targets', once Mr Sultan had brought her to the school the next morning—under heavy cloak-and-dagger, of course. There was no way he was letting the humans see them, so he cast a spell to make them invisible to the human eye.

"Your first assignment is a pair from your school. Isn't that exciting? Upper management always likes to make the first pairing as easy as possible on our cadets so you start off on the right foot, build the confidence you need to tackle the harder cases that will follow you in your career, and occasionally, the impossible cases that define it, like your dad... and your mother. There is a reason they head two of the biggest postings on Earth. All made possible because the success of their first one instilled a taste for it..."

Mr Sultan had touched down on the school lawn with the kind of grace Cammy couldn't match. His winged-descent was remarkably smooth—like an elegant butterfly—whereas Cammy's wings fluttered with an incessant whoop-whoop of a giant moth. And her landing?—well, let's just say she hadn't entirely planned on that half-hearted somersault that landed her on her ass, legs sprawled. She had been irrefutably glad no one could see them—the two Cupids—one walking, one splattering among them. She had as much grace as a baby giraffe learning to walk for the first time. All legs—or all wings—and no skill.

Did they have to fly there when school was an achingly walkable distance from home? Yes, apparently they had. It was an 'opportunity' to get some flight experience, as Mr Sultan was fond of repeating.

"Much like a pilot trains to handle the wings of a plane, Miss Kamdev, you must learn how to maneuver yours!" Mr Sultan had laughed—for the first time—extending a hand out to pull her to her lanky legs. "Don't worry, I think I took about a month, if not more to get used to mine."

"And wait till you see the kids you got." His smile has shown almost all his teeth as he let go of her hand.

Cammy's stomach dropped to her pelvic floor. She had to set up two people from school. Yuck!

"Who are they? Please tell me I know at least one kid," Cammy begged, wiping the dew off her derriere. The white skirt she wore sported two blurred, round green splotches on her buttocks. She definitely could use more flying lessons too.

"It's a surprise!" Mr Sultan's smile had widened as he led her up the lawn, now sprouting clumps of students.

As they passed a few students, she wondered who 'the kids' were. She just wished it wasn't one of the popular kids. Cammy didn't do popular kids, or more so, they didn't know she existed, and thus it'd be weird if she walked up to them, leaned in, and whispered the incantation Aziz had been teaching since the day before.

Her stomach did a flip as Aziz headed straight for the very group she hoped she didn't have to set up. It's not like the popular kids needed any more nudging. They were already experts at attracting attention.