Visible Ghosts

4

It's finally September 1st. Our mission starts today. Zane and I spent the past week getting school supplies, putting cameras in classrooms and offices, and dodging Phil's attempts to make us work more.

Our team has more favors and capital than we know what to do with. Each of our aliases have large sums attached in case we have to disappear but we have no use for the money otherwise.

My schedule is pretty lax, I have one class on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and two Tuesday Thursday. I have lab on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

"Zane!" I yell up the stairs, grabbing my bag off the floor. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up."

"Coming." He calls back, a door slams and he's running down the stairs pulling a T-shirt over his head. He kisses the top of my head as he dashes into the kitchen. "You want a mug of coffee?"

"Already have one." I twirl my keys on my fingers listening to the banging of cabinets. "I also have yours. And breakfast. You can eat in the car."

He spins around and gives me puppy dog eyes. "You do?" I hold up his mug and a tinfoil wrapped breakfast sandwich. "You do love me buttercup! I knew it."

He picks me up and I squeal trying not to drop either coffee cup or food. "Put me down you heathen."

He drops me to my feet, a crooked grin covering his face, his midnight blue eyes sparkling. Snatching his coffee and sandwich from my hand he practically skips to the garage. "Whatcha waiting for? You're going to make us late."

Grumbling under my breath I double check to make sure all the doors are locked and head into the garage. The smell of gasoline and oil mix with the scent of the cleaners we leave out here.

The drive to campus is short. Zane chatters aimlessly about if he's going to get invited to parties or if Greg has as yellow teeth as his pictures show.

I pull into the back parking lot, it's further away from the main bustle of students. For being a community college, Walter Sky has approximately 8,000 students. Some full time and others taking a class here and there trying to get degrees or certificates. There's four main buildings; the administration office that holds most professors' offices and a handful of conference rooms, the gymnasium and auditorium, the "science" building that has all the labs, and the lecture hall.

The largest classroom holds about 100 students but they fill it to capacity in introduction courses letting as many as 125 students register. There are student accounts of having to sit on the ground or lean against the wall for lectures and exams.

Professors are overbooked, instead of teaching two or three courses a semester they're jamming in five or six sections with one TA to cover two classes.

All and all, it's a disaster. Luckily, Zane and I have our classes in the morning so we can find parking.

My first class is Business Management. And guess who Phil signed me up for, Owen Blackbourne. That sneaky man.

Zane and I part ways in the lecture hall, he heads upstairs for GIS and I enter the auditorium style classroom. I find a seat off to the side in the middle of the rows, I have a clear view of the two entrances and exits. If I lean my back against the wall I can see most of the seats.

I spy Luke and North Taylor coming in the side entrance. Luke's blonde hair is tied back into a messy ponytail, locks escaped his band and are framing his high cheekbones. North is scowling, his black shirt is tight across his chest as his arms cross. Only Luke has a bag slung across his shoulder, the brown leather a stark contrast against his baby blue collared shirt and khaki slacks.