The Other Side

Three Teenagers. One Spy: Chapter 14

I was sitting in a circle on the dark blue mats watching ‘Coach Davie’ show basic tackles.

    I sighed and bit my lip, my mother had showed me them when I was five years old.

    “Okay! That’s how you do that!” Couch said looking down at the poor boy that hadn’t seen it coming, “Now pair off!”

    Landon came over to me with a grin, thinking he was going to win.

    “Hey! That’s unfair give the girl a chance at least,” Coach told him with a stern look.

    I smirked and answered before Landon could, “Don’t worry coach I will.”

    Coach looked puzzled for a second before stepping in, “I think I’ll supervise this one. If you don’t mind.”

    Landon shrugged, “Go ahead.”

    I smiled my evil black-mouthed smile and spoke up. “Watch me beat this guy up? Go ahead.”

    A few minutes later Coach passed us some equipment. When he passed some to me I shook my head.

    “My old coach,” I gulped, “Told me, you’re tougher if you get used to fighting without the gloves. He said it prepared me for real life.”

    Couch looked at me with a very quizzical look not even bothering to cover it up, “Suit yourself,” he said raising his arms in surrender.

The fight was far easier than I thought it would be. I didn’t even break a sweat. He left loopholes for me to get out of. He sub-consciously gestured – well not gestured but looked – to which body part he was going to attack with. Thus letting me block it with ease and getting an attacking hand ready.

    “Tell me you let this girl win, you’re captain of the wrestling team. Tell me you let her win!” he demanded but Landon shook his head and opened his mouth.

    I looked up at Coach’s disappointed eyes and laughed. “He so let me win. I’m just a girl! He was being a gentleman.” I giggled, acting like a stupid schoolgirl. Landon so owed me for that.

    Relief flooded his face. “Thank goodness.”

After class I walked to the canteen and ate my sandwich. Abi was in Study Hall and Dylan was with Landon somewhere.

    Suddenly the pack of wolves – I mean guys – came over to me and sat around me. Including Dylan.

    “Why’d you do that? And how’d you do that? You didn’t even break a sweat. That’s a little . . .” he started, not even bothering to say “Hello. How are you? Good? That’s great! I need to talk to you . . .”

    “My mom,” I said with a hesitant laugh, pushing back my thoughts on how Landon could of started the conversation a little nicer.

    “She must be awesome, is your mom awesome?”

    “Yes, she was awesome. She taught me everything I know. She taught me subjects when I was two. And taught me how to fight when I learned how to walk.”

    “Why did she stop? You’re clearly awesome.”

    “She . . . Mine and Abi’s mom died.” I said, with a sad sigh.

    “Oh. That . . . Sucks,” he said regretfully.

    “It’s cool. No worries,” I said taking a bite out of my prawn salad sandwich.

    “You and your sister want to hang with us after our last class?”

    “I don’t know, ask her,” I said with a chuckle and gestured to my ‘sister’ who was walking into the canteen.

    “Hey! Amy! Want to eat lunch together?” she asked me putting her salad on the table.

    “Just finished, thanks,” I grinned brushing down the crumbs on my front.

    “I’m thinking of red hair. Should I get it red?” she said to me twirling her dark hair in her fingers.

    “No way, you numpty – I mean idiot . . !”

    She shot me a look as if to say I myself was the idiot – or numpty in my case.

    She subconsciously brushed off my mistake and laughed her girly giggle, “I know. I’m not totally clueless. I was just testing if you were,” she said confidently.

    “I’m going to go and get some CD’s.” I said, standing up.

    “Which ones?” Abi asked, eyeing me curiously.

    “Black fountain angels! Of course!” I screeched and looked at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world – which it wasn’t as I’d just made it up on the spot.

    “Oh, all things good and bad! You always buy that and listen to it all night. Did you pack your headphones this time?” she asked me with an irritated spark in her eye.

    “Maybe,” I said cunningly, “Maybe not.” I finished as I walked off.

    “Cousin Amy! Wait for me!” Drake shouted, gathering his things.

    As we were walking toward the music shop I hissed, “Could you make it any more obvious?”

    He turned back to see Abi and the guys just enjoying their food and shrugged, “Yes.”

Sitting on the funky chairs in the music shop, I asked, “So how’s things going?”

    “Malcolm says we’re leaving tomorrow.” Dylan said quietly.

    “That’s crazy! We’ve been here two days! He can’t just—”

    “What did you think, Tanse?” he snapped in a totally un-Dylan-like way. “We’d stay here for months and make new friends and maybe live a normal life?”

    I looked at him with pure shock covering my face; he’d normally never be like that.

    “You’re such a dreamer. You need to wake up and enter the real world,” he spat.

    I looked at him my eyes wide with horror, staring at him. Refusing to stop looking at him, I got up and pushed past him, speechless I walked away from Dylan, away from cover identities, away from everything un-real and fake.

    I started walking slowly but soon my walk turned into a run and my run into a sprint.

    My legs pumped as I ran as fast as I could, through the trees, until I reached the Iron Gate – where the school ended – and pulled myself up.

    Taking a final glance back, I jumped down.

    “Sorry about that,” 

    I turned my head around frantically searching for the voice, the voice that belonged to no one other than Malcolm Morris himself.

    “Sorry about what?” I asked him.

    “Dylan . . . He has issues with things. He hides it behind a smile but I guess he just snapped.”

    “I know that, I noticed. But when we were going into the Mianders he wasn’t sad or mad or even the slightest confused. Until one point but then again it only lasted brief moments.”

     “Don’t pay attention to it, honestly. Everything’s fine.”

    “Then why did we come here?” I eyed him.

    “I can’t trust three teenagers and Andrew to stay in my work alone whilst I do my business.”

    “So why are we leaving so soon. I mean, it’s been two days and I’m doing great in Biology.”

    He rolled his eyes. “Tansy?”

    I looked up at his face and nodded, “Yes?”

    He smiled as he pulled a band aid from his pack around his waist.

    I looked at it cautiously. “What’s that?” I began but before I could finish my sentence I heard Morris mutter something like “sorry about this” and then my vision turned blurry.