Espion | Book One

Four.

She was back. And, for the life of her she couldn't stop staring. 

Anna couldn't tear her gaze away from the mammoth-sized fountain in the centre of the open field, as she headed towards the female dorm building. Neither could she keep her mouth from hanging slightly open at the variety of students that passed by her. A few of them seemed to ve members of a band, carting around large instruments. She even passed a few cheerleaders cooing at the track team jogging around the perimeter of the field. 

All of them looked rich. This was so different from the world she was used to. It was as if she stepped into a parallel universe filled with money tissues and coins falling from their eyes as tears.

As she continued past the field to the dorm buildings standing behind it, a voice in her head whispered that she had nothing to worry about. She was a NPA agent. It didn't matter that this was an environment she wasn't accustomed to. She should be able to adjust for the sake of the mission. Seeing peeing statues beside the entrance of the dorm building shouldn't deter her, because nothing came in the way of her mission.

With that thought, Anna passed the threshold of the very first building. The entrance was nothing but a screen door, with black modern fixtures. The receptionist rounded the corner, pointing out the different communal rooms such as the TV room, the washroom and the kitchen. Up the stairs, she said, were the rooms.

There were a few girls lingering around here, as well. Two blond-haired girls walked by Anna, dressed in their pyjamas. They ran their gazes down the length of her as if she was were an unusual creature, despite their sleepy eyes and bed hair. Anna paid them no mind. She continued up the stairs, following the receptionist until they came to stand before a room marked Room 34. The receptionist knocked but waited no less than two seconds before heading inside.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Something flew towards Anna's face and she dodged it, easily. With a quirk of her brow, she looked at her attacker.

"You can't just barge in here without knocking first!" the girl sitting on the bed screeched. "What happened to privacy?"

The receptionist seemed unbothered by the girl's accusations. Instead, she chose to cock her head to the side and smile brightly. "But I did knock," she replied. "You just didn't hear it."

"Then you should have knocked again!" The girl was obviously not comforted by the receptionist's wide smile. She picked up another pillow from her bed and threw it. This time, it hit the receptionist in her face. Anna huffed a small laugh to herself, watching the lady's smile distort into a small grimace.

"Mina," the receptionist started, calmly. "We aren't alone, as you can see."

Mina's eyes shifted over to Anna and the previous anger was immediately replaced with curiousity. She sagged on her bed, the rage flowing out of her and she pointed one long manicured finger at Anna. "You are?" she asked.

"Annabelle Ferguson," Anna answered automatically.

"She's your new roommate," the receptionist gestured to Anna with her hand, "and the headmistress wants you to show her around the school."

"Aw, but my classes don't start until one!" Mina flopped over on her bed with a groan.

"You don't have a choice," the woman said stiffly, all bubbliness and perkiness gone after Mina's angered attack. She lingered for a moment, clenching her hands at her sides. It seemed as if she wanted to say something more but then decided against it. With a lift of her chin, the woman turned and left the room, leaving Anna and the two men alone with Mina.