The Inner Cover || Harry Styles

Deux

The perks of being a spy is that I can go nearly all day without being seen, I know how to hide, how to blend in. Or I did before I came to my new surroundings with lots of teenage boys about staring at your best friends.

"Were you guys prom queen or something?" I laugh at them, looking at some of the boys staring at us as we make our way to our first class. Covert Operations. It was up the grand staircase, along the hall and then down 4 flights of stairs. And this is just the beginning of the year.

"Ace, they're staring at you," Blair whispers, handing Amelia her books. "You're a Hendry."

"The girls do the same to your brother," Amelia adds also whispering as if the cream walls of the building had ears. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. "Your family is famo-"

"I know, Amelia." I bluntly cut her off, walking slightly ahead and blocking out the sounds of my roommates talking. I didn't like hearing about my family, I wanted to be known for myself and I wanted my family home. Not in Bulgaria for 3 months and not knowing when they'll come home.

I hated it. I hated not being able to blend in and hide like the girl I could at home. I could walk down the street without anyone acknowledging me but here, I'm a Hendry and being a Hendry in a world of spies, is dangerous. I was the girl that was always going to be seen.

To get the stairs to Covert Operations there's protocols. I have to place my thumb on the finger print scanner and let a machine scan my body before being let in. Everything is grey, and there's only a few lights that hang on the walls. I bet this part of the building has been here for centuries. When Amelia and Blair join me we walk down the stairs silently, getting down to the 4th sublevel. Where girl meets spy.

The cut off to the 4th Sublevel isn't as accessible as the door into the stairs. I could see the seats neatly aligned in perfect rows with desks but the glass infront of us was keeping us held back. I look to Amelia giving her a puzzled look, hoping she'll know what to do.

"It might be a code?" I ask her, hoping not to sound too blunt.

She looks at the glass from a different angle, examining the glass before tapping it in a few places. "It's a computer screen," she smiles as the door opens. "Not glass."

We could proudly step through the doors, surprisingly we were the only people there though. Nobody was there to witness the greatness of Amelia. Her brains really are something.

"Where will we sit?" Blair says looking about, you can see the thoughts raking in her head with the pros and cons of sitting in each seat. "Middle?"

"Uh, sure," the seats in the middle were the best looking ones at the minute anyway. Nobody to spit on you when they talk and you'd be able to hear alright. So we sat, on our single desks in the dim lighted room. Girls started filing in, figuring out how the door works. As the seats were filling there was more things I noticed, none of them were the typical girls who talked about boys. They were all talking about school, and spy work. I loved it. But I didn't love the stares I was getting, some of sympathy and some of disgust.

Being the new girl meant new bait, right? I didn't want to be the bait. I had to show confidence and not let a weakness show, or they'd use it against me. I looked forward, ignoring everyone around me as they became quieter. We were all waiting for one last thing, our Covert teacher.

We could hear the footsteps and muffled coughs of someone walking down the staircase to my right, through the doors. All the girls in te room stayed focused. As the figure walked into the room, girls behind me let out a sigh, either happy or annoyed at the fact our teacher was a man. Mr. Carter stood behind his desk at the front, looking at us all before letting a smug look onto his face.

"Welcome, ladies," his deep, yet mellow, voice echoed the room. "Tell me, why are you here."

He asked something so simple, yet making it so hard. Nobody raised their hand, his statement obviously making it hard to answer.

"Nobody?" He started walking up and down the room, inbetween all of the seats and stared at every person he passed. "Okay then, Acelyn Hendry. Tell me why your parents went to this school."

My heart stopped, why did he pick on me? I let out a breath, trying not to make it look like my parents get to me. "Uh," I stutter a little, my hands finding eachother. "Their parents went here before them, they wanted to join MI6 and make the world safer for people like me and my brother?"

Mr. Carter simply smiled, nodding as he walked back down to his desk. "Correct, Miss Hendry." I let myself relax, wishing I had let myself be more confident about my answer.

"And you ladies, are here for the same reason. We're going to start the year with a test, tomorrow."

I look around me for the first time and see Amelia's hand up, along with a bunch of worried faces.

"Amelia." Mr. Carter speaks, fixing a pile of paper on his desk that was already perfectly straight.

"We don't have anything to study with, Sir."

"Girls, this isn't a written test." And that was all he had to say before all the girls were chatting. Field work.

**

As me, Amilia and Blair sat under the oak tree in the garden of the mansion we had no idea what was coming for us tomorrow.

"Do they keep us on campus for field work?" I question, hoping the answer is yes.

"Ace, do you really think they can do that when this place is surrounded by houses?" Blair tells me, she had a good point, but I'm not too sure I'm ready for field work yet.

Blair froze, fixing her hair and turning her attention to behind me. I didn't want to look but I felt as if I had to. She waved, smiling and I turned round seeing my brother and the one and only headmistress' son, Harry Styles, both waving back to my friends.

"Kayden hangs out with Harry?" My jaw almost hits the floor, my eyes squinted at my brother as he leaves Harry to come and join us.

"Yes, why?" Amelia chirps, taking a bite of her chicken tika sandwich.

"It's nothing," I smile and shake it off. "Hey, Kayden."

"Ace, Amelia," he smiles and turns to Blair. "Blair."

Blair's face lights up like a Christmas tree and Amelia makes a gaging face behind her, I can't help but laugh.

"Why didn't Harry come over?" I ask my brother.

He sighs and looks at me with the most sympathetic smile he can. "Ace, you know why."

And I did know why, maybe a little bit too well.

_______

I know it's been ages... Please forgive me.

Hope you like this though, vote?