Careful, Ali ➳ Emison

Chapter 14 | A Sense of Normalcy

Alison answered her phone with a goofy smile once she saw who was calling, "Hi there, sister."

She could practically hear Spencer rolling her eyes playfully on the other end, and the brunette mumbled, "Hey, Ali."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" the blonde questioned as she put her phone on speaker and went back to folding her clothes and placing them in an organized pile on her bed.

"I think we have some shopping to do. I'm onto something."

"Oh, thank God," Alison sighed in immense relief, dropping the shirt in her hand, "I keep telling Em that I need to give you a make-over but she says-"

"What? No, Ali, that's not the kind of shopping I had in mind," Spencer groaned in her ear and she smirked to herself. She just had a gift for getting a rise out of people. "Can you please just get over here so we can go?" she asked in exasperation.

"Fine, fine," Alison relented, hanging up the phone before placing all of the folded items in her closet.

*-------------------------------------------*

Hanna, Aria, and Emily all stared down at the items laid out neatly on Spencer's bed, puzzled.

"Um," Aria mumbled, "guys, I know this whole A thing is serious and all, but come on. We're not Totally Spies."

Alison rolled her eyes hard, before stepping up to the girls with a mischevious glint in her eye. "Well, Aria, in order to be the part, you have to look the part."

"The part of what? Kim Possible?" Hanna joked and Emily chuckled in agreement, causing Spencer to send them a reprimanding look, to which they responded with giggling quietly among themselves like two kindergarteners on a sugar rush.

"A hasn't written you back yet, right, Spence?" Aria asked for clarification.

"No," Spencer answered, "but I'm sure they will. This has to work."

"Guys, we bought these for us to use," Alison returned to her previous point, then paused for dramatic effect, "when we trap A."

That sure got their attention and the Alison gazed at them with a look of satisfaction as Spencer began handing out one of each item to the girls; one black hoodie, one burner phone, one pepper spray, one black baseball cap and one whistle.

"In order to beat A, we have to act like them and think like them," Alison instructed. "And that includes blending in at night-time. Otherwise, we will never catch them."

"So what's the plan with all of this?" Emily asked dubiously.

Alison and Spencer shared a familiar dangerous grin before Spencer went over to her desk, uncapping the whiteboard marker and turning to face the board. She took a minute to draw something out as Alison stood by her side, pointing out notes. Then, the witty brunette spun back to face the three perplexed girls, who seemed as though they now understood even less than before.

"This is going to be our plan."

*--------------------------------------*

The very next day, Emily stood in the locker room, putting on her gray Sharks team sweatpants and a tank top then throwing her wet hair over her shoulder, getting ready to leave. She had finished swim practice a while ago and had stayed a bit longer in the locker room. She didn't really feel like going home. Her mother was not yet back from work, and with her father gone, the house felt pretty lonely. Not to mention, she was generally scared of being home alone while A was still out there.