I Spy

Chapter 21

Six weeks passed really quickly.  Without noticing it, I had become so much better at being a spy.  With the missions we were doing in town and in London, I was getting higher marks.  I could speak all three languages fluently.  My physical fitness was at its prime.  I could through a punch better than most of my rank, the boys included.  I was getting stronger and faster and smarter than I ever thought possible. 

Ant and I were inseparable.  We spent almost every spare moment with each other and I realised how much he had helped me become a better spy.  We went running together, spoke different languages to each other and did practice missions together. 

After the week of avoiding Ryan, I found out that he was actually a rather big part of my life.  He and I were good friends and I really missed him in that way.  So, with permission from my boyfriend, we became the best of friends.  We paired up together in class and made excellent partners when it came to missions.  He had admitted to me once that he liked me and I felt extremely awkward, but he assured me he would never try to kiss me or do anything stupid again. 

My dad got offered a job at Blackwood which was something he had always wanted.  He would be teaching a new subject called Deception.  It was incredible.  It taught us how to be able to lie on the spot, how to double agent people like he did for so many years and how to pick up on other people’s lies. 

He and I became really close as well, which made the weeks all the more enjoyable.  He told me about my mom and what happened to her, and I told him about Paula and Dave and everything that had happened while I was in their care.  He told me about Labelle and told me stories from his past which terrified as well as fascinated me. 

Jamie and Carter became like the older brothers I never had.  I found myself spending more and more time in their company.  We had weekly dinner dates in town and sometimes we would go into London with Ant and have double dates.  Those always ended in us doing silly missions and generally getting into trouble with Mr Grey, but they were totally worth it.  They had also started teaching classes about hacking and gadgets, taking over that section of Ms Jenkins’ workload. 

I think having his sons safe and with him had turned Mr Grey a whole lot nicer.  He started actually showing some emotion and slowly he turned from a Grey Man into a Colourful Man.  He started popping into classes and telling us stories and laughing.  He was generally a completely different person.  At first it was strange to everyone, but soon we warmed up to our new headmaster and started to love him. 

I was impressed to see that Jamie and his dad had become like father and son too.  The two of them and Ant were like a real family, and I could tell how much it meant to all of them.  It meant a lot for Carter and me too, seeing our boyfriends so happy. 

It was a particularly warm November’s day, a Tuesday to be precise, when Ant decided he wanted to talk me for a walk at lunch.  We did this, but our very short walk ended outside Mr Grey’s office.  Ms Collins smiled at us (it seemed she had had a change of character, too) and told us we could go inside. 

“What are we doing here?” I asked, grabbing Ant’s hand before he could open the door.  An excited sparkle entered Ant’s blue eyes and he smiled a dazzling smile. 

“You’ll see, but only if you let me open the door,” he chuckled.  I narrowed my eyes at him and slowly released his hand.  He shot me another smile and pushed the door open. 

“Hey, Dad,” he said, plopping down into the couch. 

“Hey, Anthony,” Mr Grey smiled and nodded.  “Hello, Marley.” 

“Afternoon, Mr Grey,” I said with a polite smile.  “Hi, dad.” 

My dad, who was seated in one of the chairs, turned around and smiled at me.  It was the warmest, most fatherly smile I had ever received and suddenly I wondered what was going on.