Confidential

Initiation

I was sitting outside my apartment, my legs swinging back and forth. The street was quiet, only a few cars driving along the old cobblestone road. I got up off of my perch on the stone wall that surrounded the old building and walked back inside, waving to Georgia, the receptionist as she called, "School was good today?" without wating for an answer she continued, "There was a woman that was here earlier, I sent her up to your apartment," I looked at her quizically, "Tall, long wavy hair, skinny?" I shook my head and she shrugged. 

Instead of taking the elevator, I took the stairs, all the way to the top - to the penthouse. When I reached the front door to my apartment, I stuck my key in the lock and turned: the woman that Georgia described, her dark hair fell loosely down to her waist, like my own, and her eyes peered out from a pair of giant, black glasses, was scanning the street outside the window.

I coughed and she spun around on her heel. She spoke, "Come with me." 

I glanced at her as though she was crazy, "Why?" I scoffed. 

"She told me that you might not go," she sighed, "This might take a while, you may want to sit down."

The woman explained that her name was Josephine and that she worked at the Spy Academy. I looked at her again when she said that, "What spy academy? I didn't even know there was such a thing!"

"Well there is," she went on explaining how I was put down to go there since I was very young and that I was to come at the beggining of the next school year (in three months). 

"What about my mom, did she know about this?" I questioned.

"She would, as she went there when we were your age."

"You know my mother?" I gaped. 

"Yes, in fact we are good friends, but I must be going. Make sure you do not tell anyone!" Josephine suddenly got up and left. 

Geeze, dramatic, much? I thought. My mom was coming home in a few hours from her job at the studio - she was a fashion designer. I slung my backpack down onto the wood floor and slipped out my laptop. 

I sat on the couch and flipped it open. I typed in 'Spy Academy'. Your search has no results. I sighed and my eyes started drooping, I just realized how tired I was. 

***

When I woke up, it was still sunny, but snow was drifting down and landing in clumps along the road. Bored, I looked at the clock - mom wouldn't be home for another hour, I decided to go downstairs to talk to Georgia. 

Georgia was sitting at the front desk, uninterestedly flipping through pictures on her phone. When she noticed me coming down the stairs, she smiled, "Eleanor, I was getting soooo bored. The Finnersons are not coming home for another two hours, the Gordans got here a while ago, and everyone else is either doing errands or stuck up in there apartment!" 

I frowned sympathetically. "So what did that lady want, she certainly left in a hurry!"

Remembering Josephine's words, I refrained from saying what really happened, "Well, I really don't know, something about selling food or another... Yeah she had to go to a meeting right after she stopped by here." I suspected that Georgia didn't believe me, but she didn't prod. 

The phone rang, Georgia picked it up and held up a finger to me, "Hello, yes, okay. See you!" Georgia set the phone down again, "It was your mother, she will be here in a few minutes."

"Did she say why?" A thousand possibilities flew through her mind: they let her go home early (her boss), or she wanted to pick her up for something... or even something to do with Josephine.

"She said something about telling you something important." she smirked at my surprised expression.