Finding Allies

Chapter 2

"As you students know, we will be doing a lab today. Today's assignment will be to create the ideal chemical. At most schools it would be the ideal chemical for cleaning a penny, but since you go to a school to train operatives, I get to be more... creative. So, you will be making a chemical that would best react to multiply the heat and damage of an explosion if set off by a bomb. Your supplies are at your table and you can pick your partners. You have 30 minutes, begin now." Dr. Chase, our chemistry teacher, tells us when we walk into class. I immediately look at Kate and we move our chairs together so we can work together.

"Okay. So the most flammable chemical is chlorine trifluoride, so we need to replicate that as closely as possible." Kate says.  I can see the gears starting to turn inside her mind.

"He gave us hydrogen which is also incredibly flammable..." I say, as I review through the substances set up at our table.

We start adding chemicals and mixing them, creating several different substances before finally deciding on one.

"Add four tablespoons." Kate tells me, pointing to one of the beakers on the table. I grab it and add the respective amount. I turn away to start writing down the chemical composition on my lab when I hear Kate let out a yelp of surprise. I whip my head around to see that we've caught the papers on our desk on fire, and that the flaming paper is slowly creeping towards the flammable chemical we have just created. Just as I grab the fire extinguisher to spray down the fire, the flames reach the vial. I hear a sickening pop as the vial catches fire, incinerating our table in a matter of seconds. I quickly spray down the flame and take one look at Dr. Chase.  He stands by his desk, his arms cross and the look of pure annoyance on his face.

"I can expect to see both of you in detention."

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I glance over at Kate to find her counting the words in her intro to encryption textbook. I let out a huge sigh and glance at the clock. We've only been in detention for 20 minutes but the seconds feel like hours.

After a few minutes, I notice that Ms. Crawley, the librarian and one in charge of detention, has fallen asleep at her desk.

"Pssst! Kate!" I whisper, and gesture over to the sleeping teacher. A sly smile creeps across Kate's face as she pulls a bobby pin out of her hair. I don't know about normal schools, but at spy school, if you get detention, they lock you in the room with the teacher, literally. But Kate bends the bobby pin back and hands it to me. Picking locks with bobby pins was the first thing I learned how to do in Pre-Covert Operations class.

I sneak over to the door as quietly as the operative I was trained to be and start picking the lock carefully, not wanting to wake Ms. Crawley. I keep working until I feel the metal lock retract. I slip out the door quietly and beckon Kate to follow. The door groans as I shut it back and lock it, to add some mystery to how we got out for Ms. Crawley to decipher. After all, this is spy school, doing something like that should be worth extra credit, not frowned upon. This is the first time I have really connected with Kate. And it came through a mistake; I guess I need to learn not to be so afraid of messing up. Our mistakes are what make us imperfectly perfect.