The Other Side

Three Teenagers. One Spy: Chapter 20

I was walking around the building engaging in subtle conversation with my new peers. It was the day, the day I started Under-water spy school A.K.A Prestigious.

    Yes, I was a little nervous. But most of the nerves came from the excitement. I had never been that excited before.

    Prestigious was certainly not like most schools. After all it taught children of rogue agents. As in agents that had quit their secret service agency and used their information to get into the bigger society that was Malcolm’s. It was very illegal but try telling that to three hundred determined young spies in training.

    Obviously once you become rogue your kids won’t be allowed to go to the schools for the good agents. So they need to learn their skills somewhere and that somewhere is where I was standing engaging in a subtle conversation, like I said.

    This information was all new to me. Thanks to Dylan, he had told me all he knew. Well, mostly. He had told me he was sent to Aconfarm by Malcolm and he had to live with fake parents for a top secret reason. Yes, he told me this but the bigger questions like “Why did you move to Aconfarm?” and “Why is Andrew my protector?” were not answered. He had told me about Prestigious and his sister. And That I was grateful of.

    It was strange realising that when Dylan said “Where have you been all my life?” to Lori I thought he was playfully flirting as a joke. Now I realised that it meant something far deeper. Literally it was a distressed call I couldn’t see. I couldn’t sense.

    Where have you been, Lori! I haven’t seen you in ages!

    And that got me thinking to: Were they split up as children? For me?

    I asked – I begged. Dylan wouldn’t tell me why. He said he knew all about Rona – and Malcolm – but he had been lying. He said it was for my own good. He said it all was. . .

What hurts more? I asked myself time and time again the night he told me. You can’t know the truth? Or that you weren’t good enough for it?

    So as I was walking, engaging in subtle conversation, I was really trying to sort out the messed up thoughts that were tackling me.

     I felt guilty about Dylan being taken away from his mother and his father and his sister. I felt guilty about knowing all this and putting Dylan at risk. And I felt just plain old guilty.

    I was spaced out when Dylan and I walked into a corridor where no one else was. The subtle conversation had ended and regrouped without me and I was alone with him when he tapped my shoulder and asked me if everything was alright.

    All I could do was jump into his arms and tell him over and over again how sorry I was.

    “It’s OK, Tanse. Seriously don’t feel guilty,” he said, stroking my hair.

     “Can you really not tell me why you were split up?”

     He laughed into my hair and murmured, “No, but don’t feel guilty about it.”

    “But what about your family and your sister, I bet you missed them like hell.” I said as quietly as I could.

    “At first,” he started with a sigh, “But then I became friends with you and my other parents were really nice. And then I made friends at normal school. And then I started falling for you. And look at us now. I’m glad I did it.” I finished, hugging me tighter.

    I looked up and smiled, “Really?”

    “Yes, really, now stop moping about. Or I’ll find a way to erase your memory.” He threatened.