Agent 11

Chapter Two: A Regular Day

Agent 11
I stretched as I woke up, autopilot on as I reached for my glasses. Then I stopped, remembering the whole night. After thinking, I continued, putting them on. I yawned, which was followed by a gasp from someone else. "Your yawn sounds like a baby kitten." Blake sat in my reading chair, a book and a cup of coffee in his hands. Great. Now I had both kitten yawns and kitten snores. "Morning 'Human Lullaby'." He laughed. "What's planned for today?" I asked sleepily. "Huh?" "Blake, I have an entire day to waste before going on a special mission. Please say you have something planned." He smiled. "We could all get ice cream." That was Blake's emergency plan. In his book, everyone liked ice cream, though it was true in my case. I got out of bed, and shooed him out the door to get dressed. A pair of dark navy jeans, a black shirt, and my jacket. I could see why the old me had liked such dark styles. I opened the door, walked downstairs, and immediately started laughing. Sam was in Lucy' dark blue shirt, light gray jeans, and white leather jacket. And she looked absolutely adorable. I was used to seeing her in pastel dresses, so I was rather unsettled, but I commended her for finding the sweetest looking clothes in Lucy's closet. She saw me, and smiled immediately. I was relieved that the event yesterday had not affected her too much. I crept up behind our black haired combat boot addict. "Hey Lu." I said, stealing bacon off her plate. "Oh, I see. You're getting revenge on my revenge. Nice." I shook my head. "Nope, just hungry for once." Lucy laughed, but as it faded, a serious expression came over her face. "Hey 11, I'm sorry. What I did was kinda dumb. I hope it didn't make things awkward between you and Sam." I raised an eyebrow. "Lu, you've gotten sentimental. When did that happen?" I smiled. "But if it makes you feel bad, we could pretend nothing ever happened." Lucy nodded. I turned back to see Michael reading a book at the table, the plate next to him untouched. "Bet you wouldn't have tried to 'get revenge' if I had said Michael." I smirked, watching a reddish hue cover her face. "I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy got up from the table. "I have to go meet Casey for training now. Enjoy the bacon you stole." I watched, planning to share the confirmation of what I already knew with Sam. As she shut the door, I remembered that we were all going out for ice cream. "Hey, remind me to grab a cone for Lucy if she's late." I called over my shoulder to Sam as I got my shoes on. I planned to go for a walk before meeting up at Della's Ice cream. It was my favorite place, simply because of the view of the main courtyard. You could see the glittering fountain and tiny, well cared for bushes trimmed into fancy swirls. Lacing on my dark purple converse, I smiled at the fresh air. The sun had only just come up, and traces of night still patterned the sky. I walked around the city/suburb, just taking in the calmness of the surrounding area. It was priceless, the subtle beauty of just observing life. I walked over to my favorite part of the garden, the hedge maze. The hedges were pruned into perfect walls, until they began to wilt, then the gardeners would plant a new hedge and make a new maze pattern. The A-Team constantly had races to see who would finish first, and it was usually me. See, I have an uncanny ability to navigate mazes. I'd follow instinct, and dart around random corners at high speeds. Oddly enough, it worked better than slowly observing. It had definitely come in handy during my last special mission. I decided to give it a try, surrounding myself with the dense walls of the carefully trimmed bushes. Left, right, double back because I hit a dead end, right again, and suddenly I was out! One mess up was my newest record. I smiled broadly, wishing the others had seen my achievement. I looked up, seeing that it was time for me to go, but as I left the plush green grass onto concrete, I caught a glimpse of my face in a window. A flush of life was on my cheeks, and my eyes were light. A soft smile lit up my face as I turned left at a fork, and spotted the ice cream parlor. I walked in, seeing the others had gotten a table for four, but had stolen a chair to make a seat for me. I realized that Lucy had cut her training short to join the event, and was currently holding a chocolate cone with whipped cream and nuts sprinkled on it, almost identical to Michael's. She had pecans, he had almonds. I noticed a lonely cup of vanilla with a blue plastic spoon and no toppings sat by the empty chair. My usual. I walked over, and sat down. "Guys, my ice cream could have melted." I huffed. "But it didn't. And that's what counts. You're welcome for paying by the way." Michael said, before suddenly turning back to Lucy. "Hey, watch all sides of it." A single trickle of chocolate had melted, falling onto the table. "Oops." Lucy shrugged noncommittally. I looked over at Blake, who was holding a blueberry swirl. "How do you even like that flavor?" I hated blueberries with the force of a thousand suns, and could not comprehend how my intelligent, well evolved friend could even tolerate the flavor of blueberry, much less enjoy it. "It's called taste." He said hauntily, to which I raised an eyebrow. "Blake, you are possibly the worst judge of taste in all of Allegiance." Sam laughed at my comment as she took another spoonful of strawberry flavored ice cream, with chocolate chips heaped on top. "At least you like the good berries." I told her. Blake half-smiled. "11, I admit you're right. It is a weird flavor to like. But you are just as bad as me. Thank god we have at least a few things working for us." I tilted my head, silently asking him to elaborate. "Both of us have good jobs, both of us have good friends, a good brain on our shoulders," I raised an eyebrow. "Brain on our shoulders." I repeated slowly, sceptical. Blake coughed, and continued as if I hadn't spoken. "We are practically celebrities where we work, and one more thing." "What?" He flipped imaginary hair over his shoulder. "We're both stunningly beautiful." I, seeing a chance to make the situation funnier, jumped to my feet, pointing at Blake. "You lie!" I said loudly, earning a few strange looks from people. I ignored them, since we were used to it. "Uh oh." Sam whispered loudly. "11's got low self-esteem again." All of us laughed, but as the seconds passed, a hot flush covered my face. "I wasn't talking about myself." I said defensively. Blake gasped, then grabbed his chest as if a bullet had struck him. "You wound me with your words of steel." He fell down onto the ground, pretending to be dead. "No, that's Lu-" I trailed off, spotting Blake's cup of ice cream facedown on the ground. "Hey, Blake. You weren't that attached to your food, were you?" His head shot up, eyes alert. "My ice cream? What happened to it?" Before anyone could reply, he saw the remains of his food. "Oh." Then he looked up. A smile on his face. "I was almost done anyway." Judging by the size of the blue puddle, that was a lie. In an apology, I offered Blake half of my ice cream. Suddenly, a cry of "Hey" caught my attention. Lucy had just noticed that Sam's borrowed outfit seemed a bit too pretty. "And are those bows?" Sam smiled confidently. "At least there's no glitter. Yet." Lucy looked over at me, as if saying 'This is your fault.' "11, I think you got me better than I got you. I mean, you got one moment of embarrassment, and I'm facing more than a week of paranoia. What if she Sam-ify's all of them?" Lucy's genuine terror made almost everyone laugh again. Almost. I was quiet, thinking about the cold feeling, the need to calm down. The discomfort around my closest friend. Even now, the strange reactions to some of the things he'd say. I'd trade the situation if I could, and have my clothes demolished. I noticed a pair of deep blue eyes staring at me. Blake was also not laughing. He knew something had changed that even he couldn't fix. I blinked, forcing myself to snap out of it, to find a distraction. I looked up at the sky for an answer, and was rewarded with a lovely sight. A radiant rainbow was stretched above me, the most vivid I had ever seen. A small gasp escaped my mouth, and everyone turned to look at me. "That's something you don't see every day." Michael commented, offering an awned smile. Out of the corner of my vision, I spotted a flash of gray from Blake's side of the table. He had pulled out his camera, most likely to photograph the view. The banter continued, and soon ice cream was finished. We made our way into the park, and gathered around the fountain to throw in a coin and make a wish. Sam threw in a dime, hoping for a nice sunny day tomorrow, which was when she had planned a picnic with an old friend. Michael threw in a penny, asking for a new book he wanted about astronomy. Lucy threw in a quarter, praying for her closest to remain anti-Sam (a lost cause). Blake didn't throw in anything that I saw. Maybe he had forgotten his money. I reached into my pocket, grabbing the dollar coin I had put in earlier. "I wish I could remember anything, anything at all about my old life. Preferably my name." I murmured. What kind of person didn't even know their own name? Me, that's who. I tossed it into the water, watching the ripples fade away, then looked up to see Michael watching me. "What?" "What'd you wish for?" I smiled jokingly. "More thunderstorms. We don't have enough of those." Michaels eyebrow raised. "11, we have one like every week." I laughed, feeling better. "Still not enough. Rain is a blessing." I noticed that the others were gathering around the fountain, backs facing me. I didn't have to look over their shoulders to know that Blake was having another 'photographer moment'. You see, he loves taking pictures, and is incredibly skilled at it. He knows the correct angle, lighting, and balance to make any shot look good. Photographer moments were when he forced us to pose in a picture because 'The scenery is perfect' or something. If we said no, he'd give us the puppy dog eyes, and no one with a soul can resist that. Sam taught him how to use his pureness to his benefit all too well. I walked over, and saw his eyebrows furrowed. Apparently, something was unsatisfactory. Blake focused on me, and smiled, frustration disappearing. "11, come over and get in the photo!" I laughed. Blake loved taking pictures, but he especially liked me being in them. "Blake, why do you always want me in your precious photos?" I asked as I joined the huddle. He smiled. "Because you're so full of life that I want to capture the moment." My face must have been disbelieving, a reflection of what I felt. 'Me, full of life?' Just yesterday he had pointed out that I dressed in all dark colors. "It's true!" Blake said defensively. "I'll show you." He was holding it at his eye level, so I stood on my tip-toes, finally able to peer into the camera. Bright images of all of us at the ice cream parlor just a few minutes ago. There were many images of each of us. Lucy and Michael doing a toast with their half-melted cones, Sam crouched down and staring curiously at a brave pigeon that had approached her. Me, glancing up at a bright rainbow in the clear blue sky. My hair shone gold and red in the sun, caught in the faint breeze, my pale skin like a cloud. My lips were slightly parted in an amazed smile, and my eyes sparkled, reflecting the rainbow above. A small dot of vanilla was on the tip of my nose, unbeknownst to the girl in the picture that was somehow me. "Wow." I whispered. I saw what he meant, about looking full of life. "You really are an incredible photographer." He smiled. "Each one I take with you in it turns out perfect." I looked up with a deadpan expression. "It's rigged." Blake laughed, a warm sound unlike ordinary giggles. "Hey, does it bother you that you aren't in any of these?" He tilted his head, considering. "No. I get to capture moments like these, and I'm happy." That didn't sound fair. After all, Blake was a part of our family, and leaving him out of pictures sounded wrong. "Well, could you let one of us take a turn? I want anyone who looks at these to know you belong with us just as much as anyone in the pictures." He nodded slowly. "I guess I could let someone else take photos next time. Any recommendations?" Looking down at the object in my hands, an idea popped into my head. "Me?" Before he could react, I had looped the camera strap over his head, and put it on. I held it up to eye level, grinning broadly. "Say 'Cheese!'" Blake rolled his eyes, fighting a smile off his face. I snapped a photo, but it was all wrong. The light made it hard to see anything. The smile faded. Blake noticed before I could laugh it off, and walked over. I hugged the camera to my chest, refusing to let him see my failure. "What? Does it look bad?" I shook my head too quickly. "Then you'll have no trouble letting me see." Angry at myself, I shoved the camera at him, looking down. A moment of silence. "Uh oh. I think I might have competition." I glanced up at him. "What? It's awful." A smile broke over his face. "Mind was far, far worse." He swiped all the way back to his first photo, and showed it to me. When I saw it, my eyes widened. A huge pile of brown/gold/red leaves, us about to jump in. The lighting was all wrong, but if he had a bit more training, it would have been an ideal picture. He'd had an eye for it from the start. But I saw what he meant. In his, the whole thing was too dark, underexposed. It looked almost black and white. I stared at him. "I remember that. You made us redo the entire thing because it was too dark. You messed with the settings for a while, then turned around, saying you thought it was ready. When you took it, a huge grin was on your face." I swiped left, going to the next one. That one had been perfect. I felt a rush of determination. "I'll try again." This time, I looked around for a place to have him pose. Then I spotted the perfect place. A bench right in front of the gardens. It was ideal. I made him sit on the wooden bench, and held the lens to my eye. A moment later, I took my second photo. I looked at it, and my breath caught in my throat. It was the scene above me, but somehow not. I understood Blake's talk about capturing the moment now. The image was sunlight glimmering off everything. The bushes and flowers, and Blake. It sparkled on his brown-black hair, and in his sapphire eyes. A faint smile crossed my face. Blake stood up, and held out a hand for his camera back. Proudly, I let him look at what I considered a triumph. I watched as, on his face, was the same expression I had when I saw his photo of me. He smiled at me. "Well, you're quite good at this." I shook my head. "No, just beginner's luck."
I spun around to show the others, but realized that they'd left. "Blake! We've been abandoned!" He looked confused, until he glanced around. "Great." I laughed, already forgiving them. It was midday, and I knew I'd have to leave eventually for the mission, but when we walked back, I suddenly wondered how long it would take to pack everything. Not too much, just collecting a couple objects. 'What if I had lost something, though?' A paranoid voice murmured in the back of my mind. We arrived back at the A-Team building, and I took off for the stairs. "11, what's the rush?" Sam called up. "I have to prepare. For the special mission." I heard what sounded like "Abandoned us," as I excused myself. I opened my door, closed it, and plopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. I waited for a moment, relaxing. Then I happened to glance at the clock, and saw how little time I had left. I stood up and looked around my 'It's not messy, it's cozy' room. "What to bring? What to bring?" I mumbled to myself.
     This would take a while.