Spy School - Nemesis [1]

10: Acquisition of Information- Ingratiation

The Queen Anne

Deck 7

Suite 28

April 26

1100 hours

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Um, hello."

"Hi."

"Hi?"

"Hello."

Needless to say, our greeting was like the one in the first episode of the Big Bang Theory.

"Well, I'll leave you to your tutoring!" said Eric then left, somehow oblivious to the awkwardness. The four of us sat down at the long, wooden rectangular table, which had carvings at the edges like a dining table.

"Well, I suppose we can start with a pop quiz to see what you know," said Mike, pulling the quiz test sheets from his briefcase.

"Sure," responded Bianca. Mike handed the Bianca and Nico the quiz, and they both started working while Mike, Trixie and I twiddled our thumbs. When they finished their tests, Erica started correcting them while Mike Trixie and I gave a brief introduction.

"So, we are here to tutor you about Nicaragua," Mike told the twins.

"Specifically the geographical features and literature about Nicaragua," added Trixie.

"Everyday we will focus either on geography or literature, starting with geography," I said.

"You both did pretty well on the quiz," Erica jumped in quietly.

"Thanks," said Nico.

We started tutoring them about the geographical regions, starting with general information and slowly getting more specific. We started making small maps of regions and mountain ranges, lakes and rivers, valleys and forests. After about an hour and a half of this, Nico asked, "Can we please take a small break? I think my hand is dying from this, and I'm getting kinda hyper."

"Sure," said Mike before any of us could make a decision. "I'm not a fan of sitting still as well. Do you want go and see what stores they have at the plaza?"

As Trixie, Erica and I quickly opened our mouths to say no, Nico and Bianca replied, "Sure!". We resigned in defeat and followed Mike, Nico and Bianca to the plaza. I gasped in awe. The plaza had tan tiles covering the floor, with a fountain in the middle. There were two stories in the plaza, and on the second story there were glass rails to keep the guests from falling. There was a huge chandelier in the middle, and other light sources as well as the chandelier kept the plaza well lit. The shops were small and pleasant. We roamed around, checking out the shirts and stuffed animals in the gift shops.

"This tiger is so funny!" exclaimed Bianca, holding a stuffed tiger in a sailor's outfit. We all laughed.

"And this t-shirt is so huge!" yelled Mike, showing us a XXXL tourist t-shirt that went all the way from his forehead and to his knees. We continued laughing, this time even harder, and continued making fun of the products at the other gift shops.

After a while, I glanced at my watch and exclaimed, "We've been here for over thirty minutes, we have to get back quickly!" Reluctantly, we all ran back to the Mogilefskys' suite. As soon as we sat back down and resumed drawing maps and showing flashcards, a knock at the door signaled Eric's arrival. He opened the door and said, "Hello everyone. This is Mr. Mogilefsky." I then noticed the figure behind Eric. There was a very tall man with black hair and gray eyes. "Hello," he said, "I was just checking to see how you were all doing." He looked over at our notes at the table, while Trixie launched into a brief explanation of our study plan. He nodded, then left.

After a bit of time, Eric brought us some drinks and strawberries. While we were snacking, Bianca said, "I'm going to the bathroom, be right back." Nico said the same thing, and they both went out.

"Did you spike their drinks, Erica, or are they just evading tutoring time?" I asked her.

Erica, coming out of her shy personality known as Samantha said, "Yes, we don't have a lot of time to discuss what we need to talk about. What do you think of Mr Mogilefsky, and the two? They seem innocent, but they still seem to be hiding something. And-" Erica stopped talking as footsteps were approaching. The twins opened the door and we continued tutoring. After about fifteen minutes, we packed our things and went back to our suite.

Another short chapter of 700 words