Anomaly

Cinnamon

In an odd twist, Park and Ferris weren't actually upset that I had skipped school again or that I had been with Alora. They were upset that I hadn't answered my phone. I tried to explain that it had been on silent because of school, but they pointed out that I hadn't been in school. Which was fair, but I still didn't know why they had to call so many times.

They seemed spooked. Really spooked. And I didn't know why. But I knew better than to pry for answers I wouldn't get.

They also pointed out that my assembly stunt wasn't a great move for being undercover. Apparently, our neighbor Becky had shown Park the video on TikTok. It was captioned "How to destroy a bully," and already had thousands of likes.

Showing off like that had been stupidly impulsive. Someone recording and posting it online hadn't even crossed my mind, but it absolutely should have.

In a rare display of empathy, Park assured me everything was fine. Fortunately, the video didn't have a clear view of my face. Not to mention, no one would have been able to out my secret identity, because I had no contacts outside the Agency in my real life.

At least, that's apparently what the commander said when Park had sent the video to him.

I cringed thinking about Langford watching me flipping around in my underwear, but he had apparently thought it was awesome.

Even though things had turned out shockingly well, I resolved not to do impulsive things anymore. All actions had consequences, plenty of them unintended or unexpected.

My assembly performance had been no exception.

The video went from thousands of likes to millions. Park and Ferris had to field calls from talk shows and news stations asking me to come on and perform. Fortunately, by February, my extended 15 minutes of fame had passed. Not a moment too soon, either. Park's newfound benevolence towards me had been tested every time the phone rang.

The most unexpected consequence of the video was being recruited by college gymnastics teams. They had a lot of conditions; they wanted to do their own assessments to evaluate my potential, and even if I did well, it was late in the recruitment cycle, so they may not have much scholarship money to give me.

I didn't care. I had put my entire life into training, and to have that hard work recognized was exhilarating. The commander gave his approval, I did the tests, and the next thing I knew, I had offers from several colleges to join their teams.

I ultimately chose Penn State. It was midway between D.C, New York, and Pittsburgh, which meant I would get plenty of interesting cases through the Agency while at college. And it had rolling admissions, which meant that Alora could still apply.

It was strange - ever since we kissed, she had been fairly aloof. We were still together all the time, but she had gone back to sitting far away from me when we watched movies and wouldn't hold my hand in public. I originally thought the internet fame had temporarily scared her away, but her attitude persisted even after the initial hubbub had died down. We hadn't even kissed since the day of the Assembly.

Which is why I had planned a Valentine's date to rekindle that initial fire.

Park had let me borrow her car to drive Alora to a restaurant one town over. We were going to get Chinese food - her favorite - and then walk around the cute downtown area and check out different boutiques.

I arrived at Alora's place at 6:30 sharp to make it to our reservation at 7:00. She came out in an outfit I hadn't seen before – skintight leggings and some kind of skirt or dress, partially hidden under her jacket. It was a new outfit, one she had decided to debut for this date. That, coupled with a subtle hint of mascara and curled hair made it clear that she was trying to impress me.