The Only-Live-Once Society | Book 2

Chapter Five

I slide in next to Vince, forcing him into the window seat. I stare at his face but he refuses to look at me.

After a good minute or so, I say, "Who's that?"

He still doesn't look at me, his eyes trained on the window. "Who's who?"

I nod my head in the direction of the boy he was just talking to, in the seat directly in front of me. He has his back to us. "That."

Vince looks at the boys head and shrugs, "Don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do. Why were you talking to him?"

Vince looks at me, a smug grin on his face. "I think you're seeing things. Maybe memory loss isn't the only thing wrong-"

I don't let him finish, I slam his head against the window and then grab his little finger and bend it as far back as it will allow without breaking. Vince Gateshead doesn't get to talk to me about the outcome of the torture he allowed me to endure.

His face is pink from the blow and pain of his finger. I don't care. "Who is your friend, Vince?"

Through gritted teeth he says, "I don't know what you're on about."

"Fine," I reply and release him. I turn towards the boy, but he's already staring at me.

"I'm Mike." He says, stretching his hand out for me to shake. He's a skinny thing, like a toothpick. His face is mostly covered by thick-black-rimmed glasses and spots. Puberty is not his friend.

I don't shake his hand. "How do you know Vince?"

Mike shrugs, pulling his arm back. "Went to school with him."

"I go to school with him."

"Yeah," Mike says, in a 'duh' voice. "Now. But you didn't go to school with him a couple of years ago. Do you think Queen Aindreas is the only spy school?"

"What's he talking about?" I ask Vince.

At the same time Vince glares at the boy, arms against his chest. "Enough."

There's a silence as we look at one another. Could there be more spy schools? In my head Queen Aindreas is Hogwarts of the spy world, in Harry Potter you don't really hear of any other wizardry school in the UK. Aren't we kind of like that? I mean, how many top-secret spy schools can there really be? How do they keep them all top-secret?

It's plausible Miss Gateshead would have sent her son to one. A different one from her own. It's also plausible that this is a complete lie and Vince is still in cahoots with Daniel Snyder. This Mike boy could be a messenger. Maybe they're plotting what to do with me next.

Vince stands and looks down at me, I stay seated, blocking his way out. "Get off the bus and I'll explain."

"I'm not getting off with you."

"Amelia-"

"I'll come." Mike offers.

"No." Vince hisses at him. "You'll do as you're supposed to."

I look to Mike. "What are you supposed to do?"

He grins at me, "We're tailing you."

My mouth hangs open. I don't ask who 'we' are. It's obvious now. It's genius. Stan has gathered a bunch of teenagers from a school like ours and told them to follow us. None of us would ever suspect a teenager! Not even after what I've been through. We were looking for trained operatives - Mi5, Mi6, the Queens Guard. But teenagers! Who would have thought!

It's brilliant.

Vince is frowning, his finger tapping impatiently on his arm. "Stop grinning like that."