Agent BlueBird

Chapter 9-Being painted

Rebecca and her mother made an appointment with Francois (with a French accent) to have the painting done. They also found out from him that all the previous paintings had been in trusted to him, however he does not quite know where they are yet. So, they agreed to meet within a week's time, so he has time to prepare everything he needs and search for the previous paintings. But until their appointment Rebecca has to follow the new training program that her parents planned for her.

Every day is the same: go to school, go to The Grill, do training and endure a self-defense class with Kyan-who won't stop talking about what happened before in the 'locker room'- after that they go home, and she does homework. It has only been a week, but she is already getting bored with the uneventful routine. The classes are fun though, she gets to kick Kyan around and learns to control her ability a lot better. She even sometimes uses it on random people when playing around with it a bit. Never her parents though, it seems wrong since they never used theirs on her. She tried using it on Kyan once, but the awful things that are hidden in his mind can cause nightmares.

It was evening and Rebecca is already in bed, busy reading her favourite book. Her mother knocks on the door and asks, "Becca, honey. Are you still awake?"

"Yeah, come on in." She pushes herself up with her elbows from a lying position into a sitting one. Her mother walks to her dark blue bed and sits down on the edge, next to Rebecca's legs.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Her mother asks in a gentle tone. Rebecca just shrugs and looks down as she plays with her fingers.

"I know this is hard on you. It has been a lot to take in this past week and to have the burden..." Her mother takes a deep breath.

"Of being the person who a whole family, species really, is counting on." She shakes her head. Rebecca looks up from her hands at her mother, who's head is now hanging.

"To be honest, I haven't really been thinking about it too much. I've just been sort of on autopilot. Doing what I'm told and what is expected of me" Her mother offers her a weak smile.

"You are an amazing girl and probably the best daughter anyone could have. That is why you were chosen for this. You can handle anything, and I am very proud of you." As she says this, she grabs Rebecca's hand and gives it a squeeze. Rebecca and her mother sit like that, smiling at one another for a while. Moments like this are what bonds families together.

"Well, you better get some sleep," she says finally and pats Rebecca's leg. She leaves and closes the door to the blue and grey themed room slightly.

The next day Rebecca and her mother go to 'the mall', at least that is what her mother told her father. They arrive at Francois's house, which is more like an apartment really. He lives in a navy blue coloured skyscraper with big windows that resemble portholes, trailing the steps on the way to the apartment. The building reminds Rebecca of the ocean. They walk up to the buzzer at the entrance of the building and press in the code Francois gave them. They hear a screeching noise and the door pops open. Francois lives on the 10th floor and there are many stairs but luckily there is a lift. They walk into the very small room that is about the size of a closet. The lift starts with a jolt and causes its usual zero gravity feeling. The door opens with a ding, and they walk to the door that Francois described. Rebecca's mother knocks on the blood red colored door.

As they wait for him to answer the door Rebecca's stomach goes into spasm. It is from the stress of what she has to do now. She grabs her stomach and doubles over, bending forward in pain. "Are you okay?" Her mother asks in concern. She moves to help her daughter stand up straight.

"Yeah, it's just my irritable bowel syndrome acting up again. I'm a bit nervous." They hear running from behind the door and a high pitch, "I'm coming!" which is soon followed by a loud crash. Rebecca straightens up at the sound and soon after, a bewildered Francois appears at the front door.