Espion | Book One

Three.

The main hall was packed. Girls and boys, all ranging from an estimated age of fourteen to eighteen, littered the walkways with their chatter and light, expensive perfume. They were all dressed in uniform. The boys wore a white shirt, blue and burgundy striped tie, and dark blue blazer, the school's crest emblazoned on the breast. The girls milled about in pristine white shirts, the same blue and burgundy striped tie, a blue blazer with a burgundy lining, and a matching pleated blue skirt.

All the girls chose to wear their socks up to their knees, though Anna couldn't understand why . No one paid her any mind, seemingly unaware of her presence as she unknowingly hid behind the bulky bodies of the men accompanying her. All Anna could do was stare.

Staring was the only reaction reasonable to such a sight. Laughter tickled her throat, but it felt out of place in an environment like this, where she'd never felt so out of place. She was not used to deal with...normal teenagers. Not assassins, not accomplices, not loose ends that knew a little too much. Just teenagers living their regular lives. And not once did it cross her mind that she would have to wear a uniform.

The men before her stopped when they noticed she wasn't walking. They looked over their shoulder at her. Anna didn't have to look at them to know they wore impatient expressions but she didn't care. An uncomfortable layer of overwhelming bewilderment settled on her body. She simply stood there, staring out into the wide hall.

"Agent," one of them called, his voice tight. Anna lifted her gaze to his. He motioned with his head, indicating that they get a move on and Anna nodded, swallowing. There was no use standing here. She only needed to give herself some time to get accustomed, is all. For someone who'd braved minefields for the sake of a mission, this should nothing.

This time, when they started walking again, Anna realized that people were beginning to stare at her. Their eyes were filled with curiosity and judgment, running their gazes from head to toe. Anna didn't care to hide her own curious stares and a few girls looked away, whispering furiously to their friends. Anna didn't mind. She was a little awed, in fact. The students all carried themselves with an upright dignity, a trait Anna knew she lacked. She looked down on her attire, just as she turned the corner, wondering if she might have to change her wardrobe for this mission.

It was clear they weren't a fan of her attire. That was the only reasonable explanation for the disdain Anna saw in the eyes of many she passed. They were judging her, practically screaming at her that she didn't belong here. Anna silently agreed, even as she ignored them. She belonged in a gun range or on top of her motorcycle, not in this preppy school with rich and snobby elites. She was only here because she was told to be here.

Even so, Anna didn't like the idea of being in the spotlight for to long. The less people that took notice of her, the better. So, she pulled at the hair tie holding her hair up, making her thick blanket of black locks fall around her face. Still, her whiskey brown eyes scanned her surroundings to satisfying her curiousity.

The men were walking faster than her, now far ahead of her. Anna had slowed her pace, giving her time to take in as much as she could. She didn't have to skirt around anyone, or push through crowds. Everyone she passed skirted her, as if she had the plague. A voice in her head told her it had everything to do with her being the newcomer. These people didn't look like the sort to like outsider.

A ball collided into the back of her head. Anna's head snapped forward, the force triggering a sudden ache to spread. A soccer ball fell to her feet, coming to stop at her toes. The air around her seemed to go still. If everyone hadn't been looking at her before, they certainly were now. Anna slowly reached her hand to touch the sore spot, turning around to find the culprit.