Operation Python

Chapter 1

Beep, beep, beep

Lydia woke up to the sound of her alarm clock at 6:30 on a Wednesday morning. She sighed as she rolled out of bed and groggily walked over to her walk in closet. Pushing the slightly ajar door out of her way, she entered. She looked through her clothes before deciding to wear a pair of black skinny jeans and a lime green hoodie.

Once Lydia was dressed for the day, she walked over to the mirror on her wall and brushed her long black hair into a pony tail. Pausing for a few moments, she stared at her reflection's bright blue eyes. Something seemed a little off, but she ignored her feeling as she slipped on a pair of black socks.

"Lydia, it's time for breakfast" her mother called up the stairs.

"I'll be down in a minute" Lydia sighed as she grabbed her blue book bag and slung it over her shoulder as she made her way down the carpeted stairs.

Lydia walked into the kitchen and set her bag by the front door. Then she sat down quietly as her mother set a plate full of pancakes in front of her.

"What's the special occasion? You never make me breakfast in the middle of the week." Lydia said as she picked up a fork and began eating.

"I'm not allowed to make my daughter breakfast?" Her mom smiled slightly at her.

Lydia gave her mother a sideways look as her father walked into the room. "Don't let her fool you. This is her way of telling you that she is leaving tonight to go on another business trip."

Her mother sighed "Leonard, how many times have I told you to let me handle it?"

Leonard shrugged "she needed to know and you tend to not tell her until the last minute, Alison."

Lydia sighed again and then looked at the time. 7:15. She shot up from the table and ran over to the door. "I have to go. If I don't go now, I'm going to be late for school."

Lydia slid her sneakers on. Alison sighed as she walked out the door. Lydia didn't have time for this today. She hopped on her bike and rode off to school. She felt bad for not saying goodbye to her mother. There wasn't even a way to tell when Alison got back. Each business trip went on for an unknown amount of time. It ended when it did. There was no way to change that.

Lydia arrived at school and chained her bike up when someone approached her. She looked over to see John, one of her best friends who had been there for her for almost as long as she could remember. John was wearing a normal pear of blue jeans with a red t-shirt. He had short, dark hair and a round face all topped off with brilliant green eyes.

"Good morning Lydia" he smiled as he walked over.

"Hey." She paused "where's Brandon?"

Brandon was her other best friend. For most years of her life, it had been the three of them hanging out with each other. They didn't have many other friends in school. A lot of the other people in school seemed like jerks.

John shrugged. "I think he went to home room already"

"Isn't it a little early for that?"

"He wanted to ask about something... Or something... I'm not sure"

"Oh..."

"Are you feeling alright?" John looked at Lydia curiously. She seemed kind of down and he wanted to make sure it wasn't anything major.

"Yeah. My mother is just going on another business trip... Again"

"Ah... I'm sure it won't be too long this time."

Ding.

Before anything else can be said, the warning bell rang and both students ran off to class.

~~~~

Half way through the school day Lydia and John met up for lunch in the school cafeteria. They sat down at their usual table in the corner.

Lydia glanced around and then looked at John. "I'm surprised Brandon isn't here yet."

"Me too, but I'm sure he will be..."

"Hey guys." Brandon walked up to the table wearing his usual jeans and black hoodie. His light brown hair was slightly covering his eyes as he sat down.

"I haven't seen you all day! Is everything alright?" Lydia asked curiously

Brandon nodded. "I'm fine"

"Speaking of missing people, has anyone noticed a few of the kids missing in school? I mean, I know that Carly is missing... But I'm not complaining." John looked at the others. Lydia nodded and so did Brandon. They found it weird that some of the students went missing, but they thought that maybe the missing students were sick with a virus that was going around.

Lydia sighed. "I need to study for a chemistry test, but I really don't feel like doing it right now"

Brandon nodded "I know what you mean"

John sighed "I forgot about that test... Great... I'm going to fail"

The bell rang and the period ended as all the students in the cafeteria scattered and headed to their next class.

~~~~

After the school day, Lydia met up with John outside by the bike rack.

"Do you remember what tomorrow is?" She asked John questioningly. Tomorrow was Brandon's birthday and they were planning something special. Brandon had some trouble with a few other kids in school, but they were determined to make sure nothing would ruin his day.

"Yeah. How can I possibly forget?" John laughed a little. "It's kind of hard to forget when we have been planning for it for so long"

"Did you ever get his locker combination?"

"Of course! Did you think I wouldn't be able to at least do that? It was a piece of cake."

"Good... And remember. We are meeting here early tomorrow. That way we have time to do our thing before everyone gets here"

"Relax, Lydia. You worry too much. It will be fine."

"Alright. I'm trusting you." She walked over to her bike and unchained it "I'll see you tomorrow" with that, she walked off and went home.