“Early as ever, Lila,” my bnest friend Jenna jokes, leaning against my car.
“Yup,” I mutter.
“Lila?”
“What?”
“Why did you bring your Ferrari to school?” She asks. My gaze skips over the cushy leather seat and gearbox.
“Whoops,” I say. This is not good. I don’t like to show off just how rich my family is. I have a nice little Fiesta that I drive around. I guess I got into the wrong car in my haste to leave. Yes, I really am that blonde sometimes…
“Cutting it close again?”
“Very. She was up before I got to the garage.”
“Ouch.”
“Tell me about it.” I roll my eyes. It may sound harsh, but I try to avoid my mum as much as possible. She’s not cruel or anything. She’s just….She has major psychological issues. If she was my real mum, I’d assume I got mine from her. My real mum must have had something wrong with her too. Or maybe it was my dad, I’m not sure.
“You ready for the maths exam?” Jenna breaks into my chain of thought.
“I was ready last year,” I tell her.
“Lucky for some.”
“You’ll do great,” I reassure my best friend as we head to the exam hall. She doesn’t reply, but she looks nervous. I just shrug and remind myself that nothing I say can help her right now. She’ll remember how smart she is once she opens the paper.
“Hey, Shayne,” she says as we approach the hall. My eyes skim over my neighbour, Luca’s younger brother; sweeping from his tousled blonde locks, past his green eyes and tight chest muscles, right down to his clumpy biker-style boots. I wonder what he’s doing here. He works for MI6, like his brother.
“Hey girls,” he replies, fixing his gaze on me. He always makes me kind of nervous, like his eyes are super glued to my body. I don’t think he likes me very much.
“You ready?” Jenna asks him, twirling a lock of hair around her baby finger.
He shrugs. “I’m not taking the exam.”
“Then why are you here?” I snap.
“To get you. Luca tried, but you drove away.”
“What are you on?” I ask.
“Okay, guys, good luck!” My form tutor, Mr Hunter calls, glancing over at me. I like Mr Hunter: he’s really cool. He’s more like another best friend to me than a teacher. Shayne’s muscles tighten when Mr Hunter looks at me.
“We need to leave, now. MI6 wants you,” he whispers in my ear, gripping my arm and pulling me downstairs.
“Lila!” Jenna calls.
“Umm, family emergency!” I shout back. “See you later.”
I wait until we get to a quiet hallway before I strike out at Shayne.
“What is your problem?” He hisses, reeling around to face me.
“You can’t just kidnap me!” I protest. His face softens and he takes my hand, gently.
“I can’t talk about here, there’s too many people watching you,” he says, glancing through the windows of classroom doors.
“What are you talking about?” I demand.
“Please. Just let me drive you to the office and Luca can explain this to you,” he pleads.
“No!” I squeal, running back upstairs and into the exam room where he can’t get me.
“You’re late,” the examiner tells me, handing me the paper as I take my seat.
“Sorry,” I mutter, starting immediately. It’s so easy. I could have done this when I was ten.
