How To Become A Spy

Chapter Six

A/N: welcome to...the unedited zone. Brace yourselves and escape while you still can. 

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I had my answer.

As the final bell rang at the end of the day, I was the first out of the classroom door. Throughout all the time it took me to collect my things, leave the school building, and get on my bike, the racing of my heart had not subsided.

I tried to take deep breaths as a peddled, but nothing could calm me from the fact that I was on my way to a park to meet someone who was practically a stranger and make a decision that my mother would probably kill me over.

Winter had arrived within the past week and even the afternoons were becoming a struggle to stay warm in. Arriving at the park, I was reminded of that fact as the tree leaves rustled with a huge breeze.

I looked around the deserted area, searching for any sign of Eric. Knowing I still had time, I sat down on the same wooden park bench where I'd met him for the first time that Saturday night.

While I'd been so certain of what I was doing a few hours earlier, it didn't take long for me to begin questioning everything in the same way I had the day before. My eyes were darting around anxiously, looking for movement. Part of me wondered if there were hidden cameras placed all around the area and there was an entire film crew ready to jump out a humiliate me for falling for something so ridiculous. I could hear their laughter already. I could hear the ridiculing at my gullibility and downright stupidity for even believing something like a secret undercover agency could be real.

I was being paranoid.

Lifting my feet up onto the bench, I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin against my knees. I watched the pigeons on the sidewalk, studying how the pecked at the crumbs on the ground as a distraction.

I still had time to bolt if I wanted to. Eric hadn't shown up yet and it would only take me a split second to jump back on my bike and ride off into the sunset. Though as heroic as I was trying to make it sound, I knew doing such a thing would only make me feel like a total coward.

Debby's words echoed through my head again, reminding me that if I didn't see this through, I would always be left questioning what might have happened. 

 I checked my watch. 4:59 pm. I still had a minute. I could make a run for it and then pretend this whole thing just never happened. I could jump on my bike and bolt right now and never have to see or think about any of this stuff ever again. It would be so eas-

"You're here."

I turned around in shock to see Eric standing behind me. I hadn't even heard him approach. I noticed he had green eyes and dark brown hair, which I hadn't seen the other night due to the darkness.

"Yeah...I am," I cleared my throat as I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear that had fallen astray from my ponytail.

"Too early. You got here ten minutes too early." He said bluntly studying my appearance before looking up at the sky.

"You were here the whole time? I didn't see you." I said confused shuffling around on the park bench nervously.

"Agents don't exactly make themselves visible." He an- swered pulling out a small device from his jacket. I watched closely as he began pressing buttons on it, wondering what it was.

"And what do you mean too early? It was only ten minutes early and isn't it better to be early than late?" I argued.

He placed the device back in his pocket swiftly before looking down at me. "No, it's better to be on time. Lesson number one, always be on time. Not too early not too late."