Model in Disguise

20. Class Dismissed

Dedicated to: blue_rosario

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      September 12th
      Agents K. Masters and R. Harris endanger the exposure of Special Operations. Agent A. Peterson handles the situation before it is taken too far.

                20: Class Dismissed
                Date: September 12th

The moment I hear Kyle's voice is the moment I feel an undertone of annoyance pulsating inside me. My body is still; no sudden movements and no movements at all throughout the entire class. All I do is watch Kyle speak to every other student as they badger him with questions for forty-five minutes.

      It hasn’t been that long since I’ve seen his face, but I feel like it’s too soon to be looking at his russet skin and deceiving brown eyes. Too soon to see him in the flesh, standing in front of a classroom as an undercover teacher while the girls in the room gawk at him.

      But it doesn’t matter. He’s here anyway.

      He sits in the gray chair at his desk, leaning back casually and pretending to ignore my presence. But I know he's not ignoring me. Because Alex is still holding my hand.

      "Any other questions?" he asks. He scans the class slowly. I do notice when his eyes linger on Alex and I, at our entwined hands and desks pushed slightly closer together than the others. Almost the entire class has been glancing back at us.

      Kyle moves his gaze to someone on my right and smiles, giving a nod as a gesture for her to start speaking.

      "Yeah," says Maria on my other side, twirling a strand of hair. I turn to her, my eyes blankly wandering over her blonde curls before settling onto her face. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

      Kyle's smile becomes arrogant. "Why no, no I don't," he says. Then he leans forward in our direction, and my gaze on him hardens as Maria leans towards him in response. "And you know what else?" he asks, speaking lowly as if telling a secret. "I've actually been looking for that special someone."

      Suddenly I can't stop myself from scowling. Alex notices, and he squeezes my hand to stop me from speaking. The gesture is innocent, though my heart begins to beat faster, and it’s not enough to get me to stop. It seems my mouth has a mind of its own again. Naturally.

      "Why are you here?" I demand, letting go of Alex's hand. Alex grabs it again as a warning, but I continue on anyway while everyone in the room turns to me. "Where's Mr. Howard?"

      Now the class turns to face Kyle, awaiting a response. Kyle narrows his eyes for a split second. But before it's noticeable he leans back again and puts his feet up on the desk in nonchalance. My anger rises at the sight of his actions.

      "I'm here because Mr. Howard has been arrested," he retorts.

      I sit up straighter in my desk. "Why?" I ask. Alex squeezes again, this time harder than before. But for some reason I am not concerned about blowing the cover of Special Operations. I am only concerned with making Kyle squirm under my gaze. And I'm frustrated because it's not working.

      "I don't know," he lies, looking me in the eye. "But I do recall being told something about a missing student."

      "Where did you even come from?" I say. Anger is prominent in my voice as the students watch the both of us back and forth like a tennis match.