VERACITY

An unexpected surprise.

I hear a deafening scream that automatically wakes me up.  I'm still in my bed but I'm sweating from head to toe, and all my clothes are stuck to my body. My throat feels parched and scratchy and it doesn't take long to realize that the scream was in fact, my very own.  I sit up and rest my head on the cool wooden headrest of the bed and try to take deep breaths to calm my thoughts. 

I know who the man is.

After all these years, I see someone from my past. How could I ever forget who he was in the first place. He was there the night of the fire and if he knows Adania that means he's the biggest piece of the puzzle from my past. The question is, do I want to discover the mystery of my past, or do I want to leave it how I remember it.  A gas leak that sent all buildings a blaze, burning my whole world to the ground. I'm afraid that if I dig into it, I'll find some unwanted information. Do I really want that? 

I stand up to go get some water from the kitchen. On the way there I meet Ahmed in the living room, who is foreseeably snacking on nachos. I can't help the comment that slips past my lips, " this is why you'll never win against me. You fill your body with unnecessary calories making it impossible for you to be fast." I enter the kitchen, smiling to myself at the site of the teenage boy filling his mouth with tortilla chips at lightning speed. Pity he can’t use that speed to fight. "Well sister, at least I don't look malnourished." he states putting the bowl on the table. " I heard your roar by the way. If I didn't know better, I'd think you killed a lion." For some reason his crude remark puts anotjer smile on my face. Maybe the boys aren't all too bad once you get to know them. 

I fill my glass with water, pouring it down my throat forcibly and follow with three others, before putting the glass down and taking what feels like the hundredth deep breath this night. Ahmed materializes in front of me, but when I look into his eyes, I don't see the pity I was expecting. Instead, I see respect. I arch my eye brows waiting for him to comment on something but he doesn't, he just walks up the stairs back to his room. I hear the door shut softly behind him as it echoes through the silent house. That was all I saw of him that night. 

I don't sleep again but instead spend my time organizing how I'll get all those men out if the office. After much research on the school and the staff I discover that those men happen to be the schools security personnel. Ironic, because I saw them sitting in an office and working.  I also formulate a plan to effectively get them out without having them suspect anything is wrong. It’s in times like this that I remember my dad, when he used to say, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” He taught me some of life’s biggest lessons, and I wish I had more time to learn them all.

Samuel and Regen come down first, since today is their turn to make breakfast. An hour later, Mogul and Ahmed follow and we all sit for breakfast.  Although it’s been quite a few days, none of us exactly talk to each other that much. We all just keep to our own thoughts. I look up from my French toast and see Ahmed looking away. Why does he keep looking at me like that? Oh my god! Does he know that the people next door  hold the key to my past? No Afet! use your head. How could he know that, when you yourself, aren't completely sure.  

As usual, the boys leave first and I follow later. When I reach the gate, where the bus picks us up, I realize Adania hasn't come yet. I wait thinking she’s probably running late but when the bus appears in front of me, I realize she's not coming at all.  For some reason, that thought disturbs me. What if that man I saw yesterday, has something to do with her absence? I spend the whole road pondering on the possibilities of what could have happened to poor ‘giddy toes’.  

When I reach school other things occupy the space in my head. I tell the girls to meet me behind the school during the morning break and head off to class myself. I sit alone in class sketching a roughly drawn map of the school and plan the moves that will work, when a large hairy hand smashes down on my table. A fairly commanding voice sounds grabs my attention, "Darling, unless you’re a planning a break-in,  I don't understand why you would be sketching the map of this hideous school instead of finishing your quadratic graph work." The teacher, whom I don't bother to know, raises his voice at me leaning uncomfortably close to my face. I squirm in my chair shiftily, my clothes feeling weightless, despite the number of layers I had worn today. I crumple the piece of paper and shove it hastily into my bag  looking at the quadratic equations in front of me. "Oh, I'm planning worse than a break-in sir! You have no idea." I whisper to myself. "What was that young lady?" he asks, turning back to me. "Oh nothing, sir. I will get to my work right away." I mumble, sketching random graphs on the paper.

During break, I meet the girls as discussed, and we go over the plan that will take place tomorrow at this time. It will be our one-shot at getting a good look at all the main areas. So far, we have two, the back office at the reception and the classroom below the basket-ball court. By the end of the day, we have a solid plan and we are all ready to find some drugs and expose the frauds. 

Surprisingly, Regen and Samuel Come to pick me up in the tiny saloon car as the girls pack into the bus. The booth is filled with all our bags and so is the passenger seat. Regen steps out of the car and ushers me in. "We are moving, no questions," she says, as Samuel drives out of the school and onto the highway. I don't bother to ask any questions anyway because it doesn't matter where we live. My main concern is the mission and nothing else. 

We reach a much smaller cottage compared to the last one, but this one has a fireplace instead, something I’ve always wanted in a house, ever since I was young. I enter into a room and dump my bag on the floor bed. I move to the single window on the side and throw it open, half expecting to see Adania’s driveway, but instead I see a large oak tree that blocks all sunlight struggling to stream into the room. Well, That's just great! I note sarcastically trying to push the tree with my bare hands.

After changing into some comfortable clothes, I stomp downstairs to see Samuel and Regen with their heads bent talking in low whispers. "Do you think she remembers him?" Regen asks Samuel, with a raised eyebrow. I can't help what comes out of my mouth next. Traitor of a mouth! “Remember what?” I ask shocking them, and myself. Silence. Its eerie and gets uncomfortable. I remember the guidelines list. Agents are trained to ignore other people’s conversations, something I’ve always struggled to comply with. I’m curious in nature and take interest in other people's actions. It’s what makes me a good agent. Regen and Samuel look up and smile, shaking their heads without answering and hand me a bag of crisps, which I gladly take. I'm always hungry! However, there is something there. Something they’re hiding from me. Something worth looking for. Something I will dive into and solve. Not now, but soon.