Spies in Disguise: Passports and Protection (#1)

Chapter 4: Spies Start Their Mission

Norma and Natasha were the only two people I told about my backstage job over the weekend. I didn't tell them I was a spy, that I was doing it for a mission, and that I was supposed to arrest a manager.

"Are you serious?!" they both exclaimed when I told them.

"Yep. Want to see the backstage crew tag I have?" I showed them the tag, and then they 'oohed' in response.

"I can't believe it..." started Norma.

"YOU'RE ACTUALLY HELPING OUT 'AWAKE IN ME' AS A BACKSTAGE CREW PERSON?!" Norma and Natasha yell so loudly that everyone turns to stare at us. I'm expecting a whole crowd of teachers to run up to us and tell Norma and Natasha not to shout in the hallway.

"Uh...huh...yeah?" I stutter. 

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"Thanks a lot," I grumble. We have five minutes until the bell rings to dismiss us from school, and my friends and I have packed our bags and are ready to go. "Everyone in the intermediate division pestered me to bring them autographs!"

It was true! Pretty much everyone ran up to me after Norma and Natasha were shouting, and they asked me to bring them autographs. I told them I could try, but I couldn't guarantee that I could get them.

"Sorry..." sighed Natasha. "But you know us, we get excited at every little thing!"

"Yeah, you really do," I mutter. 

"So are you doing your backstage duties over the weekend?" asks Norma. 

"I leave on Saturday, and I'll be back at school on Thursday," I reply. "So I'll be missing three days of school-"

"NO!!!!!" wail Norma and Natasha in unison. I grumble, and make a mental note never to tell Norma and Natasha when I'll be missing school. Their reactions are usually...well, you get the point.

"I'll be lonely on the bus!" whines Norma.

"Who are we going to talk to every day?" adds Natasha.

"You can still talk to each other..." I grumble. "Or are you secretly not friends when I'm not looking? Are you guys just pretending to be friends so you can both talk to me?"

"We can still talk to each other, like you said...but it'll be different without you," explains Natasha. "Do you get it now?" Norma nods in agreement.

"Yeah, that's what we meant," adds Norma. 

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On Thursday evening, Dad and I are carrying the suitcases out of the basement so we can start packing while Mom explains to Ryan why we're going on a trip.

"Ryan, we're going on a trip to the nearby city of Brookfield, because Dad and I have to do some work there," explains Mom, as I carry my suitcase up the basement stairs. "So, you and Stef are coming with us, and so are Quentin, Maddie, and their parents. Their parents are also working with us."

"So what are we going to do there?" asks Ryan, as I help Dad carry an extra large suitcase.

"We have an assignment for you and Quentin-" starts Mom, and Ryan groans instantly. So Ryan and Quentin are going to be doing schoolwork on a trip? Very interesting...

"We have to do homework?!" grumbles Ryan.

"No, no...a friend of ours will take you to the movie theatre every day, and you guys will watch appropriate movies with this friend, and then you'll tell us what you thought about those movies," explains Mom.