Once A Spy, Always A Spy

Chapter 1: The Retired Spy Agent

"A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through bribes and reconstructs it."--John Le Carre

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~Rose~

Tick, tick, tick.

I looked up at the clock and saw that I had an agonizing 89 minutes left. It felt like it had been hours ago since the bell signaling the start of our 90 minute classes rang.

Tap, tap, tap.

I clenched my teeth at the annoying rhythmic sound the kid in front of me makes.

The addition of it to the ticking of the clock was not helping my pounding head. I sighed and looked out the window to my left. Car passed by after car and I can only assume that even Fridays are as busy as any other weekday.

My dark blue eyes strayed over to a family crossing the sidewalk. Even from my seat I could see the blonde pigtails swinging as the little girl walked happily as she clutched each of her parents hand. The two adults laughed and led her in a candy shop across the street. It was the same candy shop that I always went to after school to pick up my treats but somehow seeing the little girl go in made me feel jealous. Could it be that she's not in school? Could it be that she's not the one looking out the window of a classroom wishing that she was somewhere else? Or could it be plainly because she was with her parents?

I shook the thought out of my head. I have parents too. Heck I even have a brother to add up to the family as well. But now that I think about it, I've never had a single memory of my parents taking me and my brother to a place for amusement purposes. They always had their driver take us where we want to go but they never came along too. Sounds sad but I understand why they barely have time for us. It's cause of their job. A low chuckle escaped my lips as I thought of my parents' job. It's not an ordinary job.

Then again nothing about me and my family are ordinary.

Sure, we look ordinary and stuff but our backround isn't. My parents work for the government. Not as politicians (Daddy says politics is a dirty game). They are in the business of espionage. Translation? They work as secret agents. Sounds cool right? Not. Sure, you get to travel round the world and get cool gadgets and get to taste international cuisine but unless you want enemies tracking your every move so much that you have no privacy, I suggest not to get in the spy business.

It's sorta like being a celebrity, but in a bad way. Instead of the press trailing you for one picture, assassins trail you for one shot. No, not camera shots. Gun shots at the very least. And instead of fans swooping around you, helicopters and terrorists do.

Which is why I decided to retire. I know, I know, I'm too young to retire from a job. But I'm just 16 and I prefer to have longer days to live. The CIA wasn't very pleased about my decision but they respected it. After all, I was the youngest best female spy in history. My parents were totally supportive about it too. I wish I could say the same for my brother though. He's a spy too. Or should I say, ex-spy. Ian decided to retire as well so he could keep an eye on me as I went to regular school. I pretended to find this as a nuisance and insist that I don't need a babysitter but deep down, I was thankful. I don't think I could go through high school with no one around my age to support me. He still misses the spy days but ever since he discovered football and soccer, he's been looking forward to school more.

I, on the other hand, have been loving school. It's much much better than I expected it to be. I made a lot of friends but my brother and I have 3 close ones in particular. My best friend, Jessica; her boyfriend, Matt; and my brother's best friend, Eduardo.

Jessica and I have been best friends since like my first day. She's the smartest person here and she's the president of the Student Council. She's helped me a lot to adjust. She says she and Matt have been dating since freshman year which I think is pretty hardcore. When I worked for the CIA I never had time to think about boys, much less date them.

Matt's this well-built guy, which I guess is expected from the captain of the football team. He was the one who taught football to my brother.

And lastly, Eduardo. He's my brother's best friend. Aside from Jessica, he's the smartest student in this school. Only difference is Jessica is book smart while Eddie's tech smart. He knows all about technology and stuff. The CIA would love to have him working for them.

All five of us hang out everyday so I guess that's how we developed a close friendship. I smiled to myself and thought that I would never have these kind of friends if I'm busy running around the world as a spy.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Despite being retired for a year, my skills remain with me. My reflexes and senses are as high as ever. I stretched my arms and looked forward again. Apparently we were talking about persuasive paragraphs and now we're gonna write a sample to turn in before class. I sighed and pulled out a pen and paper.

Ten minutes later I stand up and walk to the teacher's desk at the front of the room. I could feel envious eyes follow me as I handed in my paper. I felt a blush creep up my face as I retreated back to my seat. As I sat down and began to pack up my stuff, I heard the door open. I didn't bother looking up to know the principal just came in. As I zipped up my bag I raised my eyes and saw the principal wasn't alone. I felt my jaw drop as the two students behind him smirk at me.  

My eyes widened as a memory clicks in.

No way.

No, freaking, way.

Last time I've seen these two, we were undercover in a mission in the Bahamas!