Undercover: A Romance

Chapter Twelve

The rest of the week passed slowly for me. But my determination stayed with me the whole time. I had a mission. A purpose. Nothing was going to deter me from that purpose. My determination showed in my school work. I knew the show of being a student was important and I milked it for everything it was worth. I also knew that I had to keep Amanda happy. I went through the motions of sharing made up secrets with her and listening to her drama. I even bought her and Leslie best friend bracelets. I would not screw this mission up.

I saw James in Wal-Mart on that Wednesday. I was so determined to do a good job that I pulled him into the furthest corner of the store and made out with him. He knew I would be at his house Friday and I made sure that he knew he would be mine for the night. It didn't feel right kissing him after the heated kiss I had shared with Mr. Matthews, but it had to be done.

Mr. Matthews and I continued our daily routine of making small talk during our first few periods together and then during seventh period we would always get closer to each other and laugh and talk. He had been neglecting teaching the freshmen class and instead spent the time mainly talking to me. I got on to him for neglecting his teaching duties but he told me that he usual didn't teach in his freshmen classes. Instead he assigned a book for them to read and gave them questions to answer.

Friday came agonizingly slow. But none the less it got here. Friday morning in home room Amanda, Leslie and I were talking about our sleepover and I decided to drop the bomb.

"Um... Guys. I'm not sure how you're going to take this... but uh..." I paused and ducked my head to make it look like I was afraid to say anything. "Well spit it out hot stuff." Leslie urged. She always called me something that had to do with my looks.

I looked up at them. "Well. My Aunt Kasey dropped off my cousin at my house last night and told me she would be staying with me for a couple of days. So she's at the house right now..." I trailed off looking up at them through my eyelashes.

Amanda freaked. "Oh no! You are coming! We have been planning this all week! There is no way your cousin coming to visit is going to ruin this!" Then she got this look like she had an idea. "She can come too!" She shouted.

Everyone in the class turned and looked at our group. I smiled and waved them off and they all seemed to get the hint to turn back around. "Amanda. Are you sure?" I asked making it seem like she didn't have to. I didn't want to make everything obvious. "Of course I'm sure! You're both coming." And with that everything was settled and our plan was set in motion.

The day passed quickly after that and before I knew it Camilla and I were ringing Amanda's door bell. Much like last time, James was the one to open the door.

"Nikki! I'm so glad to see you again." And to my surprise he gave me a big hug. "Now who is this young lady?" He asked stepping back and taking in Camilla.

Camilla extended her hand to him and he shook it. "I'm Camilla Vanderbelt. Nikki's cousin. It's nice to meet you." She gave a bright smile. "Pleasures mine ma'am." James replied in his Southern voice. We made our way into the house and up the stairs to Amanda's room. When we walked in, Leslie was looking through a couple of CD's while Amanda was sprawled out on her bed. At the sight of me she jumped off the bed and ran to hug me.

"Nikki! I'm so happy you're here!" She turned to Camilla and wrapped her arms around her. "You must be Camilla! Nikki told us about you." At first Camilla stiffened but she soon returned the hug. She gave a small chuckle. "I've heard a lot about you too." She replied stepping out of the hug and closer to me. It was almost comical because I knew Camilla had meant that she had read Amanda's file to know about her. I hadn't really conveyed anything about Amanda to her.

As soon as everyone got acquainted with one another, we went downstairs to fix food. Of course Camilla and I told them we would cook. And so we did. We cooked spaghetti. Once the food was done, Amanda and Leslie excused themselves to go wash their hands, which was a stroke of luck. Camilla and I quickly made their plates and drinks and spiked both with the sleeping pills. We gave both girls an extremely heavy dosage. When we were done we placed the food and drinks onto the table and made our own.