One Step Outside [Book 1]

Chapter 13 Mia

"My original codename was Crackerjack." Bianca begins, Heather watches with excitement. I get to learn more about Bianca's past. "My trainer's name was Ivy O'Neil."

"Were their multiple people training with you?" Heather asks.

"Other than Kodi, I had one other friend who, well, didn't come back from a mission."
"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, just listen. I had a bully; her name was Cleo O'Neil. Such a teachers' pet. She was the second best in my opinion. Of course, I put myself in first place for that. My trainer was impressed with me. She was always like, 'Well done, Crackerjack.' And stuff like that. Cleo had this group of girls who always annoyed Kodi, that's actually how Kodi and I became such good friends. She said I was her first friend at training."

"SUITA was beyond the world cold, the girls in my dorm had all the beds huddled up together so we could keep warm during the coldest nights. Kodi was excelling in medicine training so she had to move to a different dorm. I still saw her, but it just wasn't that often. Weird thing, I was one of the most rebellious kids there. I'd sneak out after dark and explore the world around me. I'm surprised that I graduated. I joined SUITA at age eighteen, one of the oldest kids there, many younger kids looked at me as a role model, which I definitely didn't live up to."

"My best friend after Kodi was named Mia. I was a lot like her. Tall, leader, strong and rebellious. Her hair was black like yours." Bianca describes as she points to Heather's hair. "And she just happened to be Asian."

"Wow." Heather scowls.

"Anyways," Bianca rolls her eyes, "Mia and I were crazy with each other, so many pranks. Once we had graduated, we were sent on our first ever mission in Auckland. We had to retrieve a safe full of diamonds." Bianca's voice starts breaking, "She, well, we were making our way across a large wall. About a one hundred and five drop. It was snowing so that didn't make the climb any easier. The wall had security guards below it and were guarding the safe. We made it across the wall successfully. The hardest part was a one hundred eighty-degree climb. It was either up or down."

"Everyone was struggling, especially Kodi, who wasn't used to climbing. I was doing fine so I was at the bottom, making sure nobody fell. Mia was being arrogant and kept saying, 'I'll be fine! I'm, like, perfect at climbing. Leave me be, help Kodi!' I regret listening to her because the next thing I hear is Mia's screams and the slipping of shoes. I turned around to see Mia on the floor, again, one-hundred and five drop, eyes dull. She died before my eyes. We had to call of the mission and get Mia's body back to base."

Heather frowns, "I'm sorry about Mia."

"It's fine," Bianca says, "You need rest. Like you promised me?" Heather nods as Bianca stand up from sitting on the foot of her bed and walks out the door. "Sleep well, kiddo." Heather grins and pulls up the sheets to finally rest.