The Way I Lie

Chapter 4

Kayline McKenzie

Kayline leaves the table fast but not too fast to show people that she's excited. She walks a normal pace until she turns the corner. She starts to speed walk down the grand hall.

Kayline doesn't know if she's anxious or excited, because it's either a serious assignment or a simple your turn to clean the gym today.

Kayline stops in the middle of the hallway and take a deep breath.She faces the wall and pushes on a square just a couple of inches from a lamp. While pushing the square, it runs her handprint, identifying if it's really her and not an imposter.

The wall splits in two, opening to a darkness. Kayline steps in the room, while the walls close behind her. She's in the darkness for a few short seconds before a light turns on, on the ceiling. The light moves down and measures her short body. Then moves back up. When the security is finally over, the entire box is lit up. She shields her eyes from the blazing light, when she feels herself descend. By the time her eyes adjust, the wall behind her splits in two and opens to a whole new floor.

Kayline steps out and sees people rushing through, and many different rooms. Mostly training rooms, mostly research rooms.  The academy does both. In the middle is central control, where most information is transferred or sent to.

            Kayline walks up to the receptionist as she was finishing a call.

" Oh hi, Miss. Mackenzie. How are you this fine evenin?" She has a thick accent, probably raised in the farm district. Kayline's mind completely blanks out on the receptionist's name, so she does the best she can. She improvises.

" I'm doing great, I love your sweater, where did you get it?" Flattery can get you anywhere. The receptionist goes on a long story about what store, the directions, and how expensive the material is.

" Oh, but you little dumplin' don't want to here the details, don't ya? Well the Boss is waiting for you up in her main office. She just got off preppin the yunnins."

" Okay thank you!" Kayline says back to her. She could barely understand her last sentence. Kayline crosses the room with a bunch of six year olds. The kids were watching a video. They are probably learning what the difference is between a kitchen blade and CQD Blackhawk Mark 1 Type E blade is.

Kayline could feel her anxiety go away and then return to the comfortable feeling of nothing.

Kayline put herself back to when she was 6. When she had to watch her fellow friends get ridiculed and beaten when they made a mistake or when she was 13 and had to stand by and watch a boy get 'disciplined' for choosing the wrong answers. She admits, she was a little scared back then.

But Kayline worked her tail off and now look where she is. She is at the top, soaring and flying higher than any agent. So why does she still feel like she's tethered to the ground?

Sometimes, Kayline daydreams of a different life. A different path to take her far from here. But everyday proves her wrong. Everyday is a new job, someone to exploit. Someone to lie too. And each day her feelings go deeper and deeper into an abyss. She's even lucky to have her sister, not only in the academy, but also as her co-agent. Yet having a sister by her side allows her to have a weakness. To be vulnerable.