From the Journal of William Kidd

Entry #11

Journal,

“What’s goin’ on with you?” are the first words that Bill said to me when I got back to school.

“It’s a girl,” are the first words that Maggie said to Bill after I got back to school.

And she was right.  She frequently is.  Lily was still on my mind and I couldn’t shake her.

I told the two of them everything.  That’s what you do with your best friends.  I told them about spot and the phone number and the way her hair smelled.  I guess that’s the good thing about being a spy.  You can remember everything.  Recall anything you want.  It’s nice.

Bill gave me a high-five.  A standard response, I think.  Maggie, however, did something that only Maggie would do in this scenario.  She devised a plan.

We’re going to the movies.  All of us.  We’re all sneaking out and going to the movie theater and I’m supposed to invite Lily.  Maggie’s going to sneak me into her Grandpa’s office later tonight and I’m going to call her—oh, Maggie’s knocking on my door.  It’s showtime.  I’ll talk to you later and let you know what happened.

Welp.  Joe Solomon’s back.

Just my luck.  Just my goddamned luck.  The same night Maggie and I bust into the headmaster’s office is the same night he comes back from whatever mission he went on.  I knew it had been too easy.  The door had been unlocked.  The power grid had been shut down.  I should’ve known it was too easy.  I should’ve known that when Maggie and I finally got to the other side of the room, a dark figure would appear in the doorway and flick on the light. 

“Morgan,” said and exhausted voice.  I got the feeling that even after a month’s long mission, Maggie was the most exhausting thing about Joe Solomon’s life.  “What are you doing?”

Maggie, who had been hiding under his desk, popped up onto her feet.  “Grandpa Joe?”

She ran up to him and practically jumped on top of him.  He looked like he might fall over, but he was too strong for that.  Especially when she was around.  “You’re supposed to be in bed,” he told her, sounding like a true grandfather. I don’t think he minded though.  In fact, it looked like he was kind of happy she wasn’t.

My parents were never happy if I missed bedtime.  They were always glad to get rid of me.  That is, if they were even around for bedtime at all. 

Watching Headmaster Solomon and Maggie in that moment made me miss my parents.  It made me actually miss them.  I haven’t missed my parents since the first time they were declared MIA.

Maybe I won’t call Lily.  I’d probably just fuck it up anyway.  Maybe her mom was right.  Maybe she should just stay away from us Blackthorne boys.  We’re broken beyond repair.

Regards,

Will