„Does that mean they're agents of some organization too?" Simmons asked. They were sitting on the branches of the tree again. They had some time before the bell rang and Daisy told them what she found.
„I suppose. If this agent Hill gives mom orders they must work at the same place." Jemma said.
„Did you write it down?" Yo-Yo asked Daisy.
„Yeah, last night," Daisy answered. „Then I put back the paper."
The bells rang soon so they had to get inside.
Fitzsimmons and Deke were on chemistry. Deke would've preferred to be in the front, but he wanted to help Jemma put the compound she wanted together. He was mostly annoying her. While Jemma was working, Fitz made sure she didn't get caught. At the end of the class, Jemma sneaked the vial out of the classroom. She, Fitz, and Deke went to the place they discussed with the others earlier. They were all there already.
„Do you have it?" Daisy asked. Jemma nodded.
„The question is, who goes home feeling sick?" Yo-Yo asked.
„I volunteer," Daisy said. „I'm clearly the most careful of us all."
„Who told you that?" Yo-Yo asked jokingly.
„I agree with Daisy. She should go. And she's old enough to take care of herself, so Mom and Dad won't feel the need to urgently go home to her." Mack said.
„Well, that depends on how sick will that thing make me," Daisy replied.
„Nothing serious..." Jemma started. She wanted to list the things it would cause, but Daisy cut her off.
„Please don't start listing! Just... Will I be okay enough to stay home alone for a while?"
„Yes," Jemma said with a certain voice. „I think," added on a less certain one.
„That is very disturbing," Yo-Yo said. They had no more time to discuss it. The bell rang. Jemma gave Daisy the vial and they all went to class. Jemma's uncertainty made Daisy question if the plan was really safe. She held the vial in her hand and her hands on her lap.
„What's that?" Mike asked.
„It's... It's nothing," Daisy said.
„I haven't seen anyone looking that uncertainly at nothing," Mike replied.
„It's part of a plan me and my siblings created. But the one who should be certain about it seems the most uncertain." she said, giving in while Mike sat down. Moments later, the teacher walked in. A few minutes into the lesson, Daisy took a deep breath and when the teacher didn't pay attention, she drank Jemma's compound. She wasn't sure what to expect, but not this. Nothing happened. She felt okay. She looked back at the teacher to make sure he didn't notice her not paying attention to the lesson. Soon the compound started working. Daisy started to feel sick. She put the vial in her bag. Before she finished the movement, the teacher spoke to her.
„Looking for something?" he asked.
„Just my water bottle. I'm not feeling well." Daisy said.
„You should go see the nurse's office. Can someone escort her there?" the teacher asked, turning to the class. Ward immediately volunteered, but he had a bad reputation in the school so the teacher assigned Mike instead. Mike took Daisy to the nurse, who told Daisy to go home and asked for her parents' phone number to call them. Daisy gave Coulson's number to the doctor who told him that Daisy is sick. Nor Coulson nor May could go pick her up, but Daisy swore she felt well enough to walk home on her own. The doctor still asked Mike to go with her. Daisy didn't want help but stayed quiet about it. She and Mike walked quietly next to each other until Mike got tired of it.
„So the plan you made with your siblings was to get you sick? For what reason?" he asked.
„That's a secret," Daisy said. She wanted to make something up in case Mike doesn't drop the subject.
„That is not an answer," Mike said.
„That is an answer. Just not the one you were waiting for."
„I'm not going to drop it, so you better answer. Or I could wait around at your place and tell about your plan to your parents."
Daisy sighed.
„Fine," she gave in. „We want to figure out what our parents are hiding from us and if I would be home, I could look around in their room."
„So you willingly drank that stuff that made you sick?" Mike asked, surprised.
„That was the plan," Daisy answered. „My sister made a compound in her chemistry class that would make me sick."
When they arrived at Daisy's place, Mike offered to help her. Daisy insisted that she was okay and didn't need help looking inside her parents' room, but the truth was, she didn't feel fine. Mike saw it on her, so he went in anyway.
„You should get back to the school," Daisy said.
„I'll say you were feeling very bad and I waited till your parents got home," Mike replied.
„You lie much?" Daisy asked.
„If I have to."
They put down their bags in the antechamber and went up to the floor. Daisy led Mike to her parents' room, but when she tried to open the door, she couldn't.
„It's locked," she said.
„Let me!" Mike said. Daisy stepped aside and let Mike there. He kneeled down.
„Do you have a hairpin?" he asked looking at the lock. Daisy was a bit surprised by the question, but then she realized what he needed that for.
„Hold on a sec," she said and ran off to get one. When she came back, she handed the hairpin to Mike who started picking the lock. Soon enough, he got the door open.
„Here you go," he said as he pushed the door open.
„You are full of surprises," Daisy said as she walked into the room. She actually didn't believe she would make it this far, so she didn't plan on where she would look for answers. The shelves in the room were mostly full of Coulson's vintage artifacts and books. Both his and May's desk were arranged.
„Where do we start?" Mike asked.
„I don't know," Daisy answered, staring at the room. Then she walked to Coulson's desk and pulled out the top drawer. Mike walked to May's desk on the other side of the room.
They looked through every drawer and shelf, they even opened the wardrobe, but they found nothing. They were about to leave the room when Daisy noticed something on Coulson's desk. A file was laying open on top of it. Daisy asked herself how she didn't notice it, then she walked to the desk. She closed the file holding her finger at the page it was open.
„Classified. SHIELD clearance level 7 required." she read out loud.
„SHIELD? Is that where your parents work?" Mike asked. Daisy didn't answer. She turned a page and started reading.
„Are you sure you should be reading that?" Mike asked.
„It's the only thing that might contain answers about my parents' workplace," Daisy answered.
„It's something called 'the gifted index'," she said.
„What's that?"
„I don't know, but by the sound of it, it's listing gifted people."
„Like the Inhumans?"
„Inhumans aren't the only people with gifts, but yeah."
Daisy pulled her phone out of her pocket and started taking pictures of each page. She would read the rest of that stuff later. When she finished, she left the file there as she found it. The two teens heard voices from downstairs. Daisy recognized Coulson's voice.
„Quick, get out!" Daisy whispered to Mike.
Coulson recognized one of the backpacks laying on the ground, but the other one was new to him.
„Daisy?!" he shouted the name so it could be heard even upstairs.
„Upstairs!" she shouted back. Coulson went up.
„Is everything okay? I thought you were still in school." Coulson said.
„Yeah, I wasn't feeling alright," Daisy said.
„Who's your friend?" Coulson asked, referring to Mike.
„Mike Peterson, sir," Mike said introducing himself. „I'm Daisy's classmate. I was asked to escort her home."
„Which was unnecessary. I could've come home on my own." Daisy said.
„You go get to bed! You're sick." Coulson told Daisy. Daisy growled and left for her room.
„I'll be going then," Mike said after Daisy shut her door.
„Nice to meet you," Coulson said.
„You too, sir," Mike replied.
That night the kids held a meeting. They would hold meetings every once in a while. Usually, it was to discuss a way to get out of a problem they didn't want their parents to find out. They would usually hold these when May and Coulson weren't home, but this time, they made an exception. It was almost midnight. Since Daisy wasn't feeling right, they held the meeting in her room.
„How are you feeling, Daisy?" Jemma asked as she walked in.
„Simmons, quiet. We're gonna get caught." Fitz whispered behind her.
„Sorry," Jemma whispered back. „How are you feeling, Daisy?" she asked again, whispering.
„Better," Daisy said (whispered). Jemma sat down next to her sister, on the side of the bed. Fitz sat down at the end of the bed, Mack stopped at the door and leaned against the wall, Deke sat down on the ground, and Yo-Yo pulled the chair from the desk over to Daisy's bedside.
„Did you find anything?" Fitz asked.
„Yes. I found a file. I read it over in the afternoon." Daisy said.
„You stole the file from Mom and Dad's room?" Yo-Yo asked. She was surprised and proud at the same time.
„No. I took photos of the pages."
„Yeah, that makes more sense," Fitz said.
„I found out the name of... Whatever it is they're working for. It's called SHIELD. I googled it and found nothing."
„And what was the file about?" Deke asked.
„It was about a list of gifted people. Mostly Inhumans. They monitor them. There was also something about the assessment and intake process, or whatever. I didn't find much about that. What I did find is a list of the biggest stories about cases with gifted people. And on top of that list is a case that happened in Bahrain, and the person mentioned there is Melinda May."
„Mom," Jemma whispered.
„They're working with gifted people?" Mack asked.
„I don't know. This is all I found." Daisy answered.
„Well, at least now we know the name," Yo-Yo said.
„What kind of name is SHIELD?" Fitz asked.
„It's an acronym. I didn't find what it stands for." Daisy said.
„Alright. If this is all we have right now, everyone should get back to sleep," Mack said. „If we get caught, no more investigation."
With that, they all left the room. Daisy took out her phone again. Melinda May. Why was her mother mentioned at the top of that list? What happened in Bahrain? Daisy set aside her questions and went back to sleep.
One of her classmates caught Daisy's attention. She was learning the names slowly, but she knew his. Robbie Reyes. He was weird. He never really talked to anyone and sometimes acted weird around some people. In the meanwhile, Fitzsimmons and Deke had their own weird guy. Well, girl. The girl addressed as „Ms. Hale" on their first day. As they later learned, Ruby. She was incredibly strong and fast, she wasn't afraid to stand up against even the most feared teacher, and she had excellent targeting.
They discussed these kinds of things at their tree but didn't pay much attention to it, except for Daisy. She decided that she would find out Robbie Reyes' secret. One afternoon, she finished earliest. Most of her classmates went home, some stayed and talked with others, while Robbie went to the backyard. Nobody went there at that time. Robbie stopped between two trees, leaned against the tall fence, and took deep breaths as if he wanted to calm down. He closed his eyes so he didn't see Daisy approaching him, but he could hear her shoes crushing some dry leaves laying on the grass. He got scared, opened his eyes, and pushed himself away from the fence.
„It's alright. I come in peace." Daisy said when she saw Robbie's reaction.
„If you want the hiding spot, you can have it," Robbie said and started walking towards a different group of trees.
„I don't want your spot. I'm actually here to talk with you." Daisy said. The curious boy stopped and listened.
„You have a secret," Daisy stated. „And I want to know what it is."
„You go straight for it, don't you? Sorry, but I'm not revealing my secrets to the new girl who just walked up to me." Robbie replied.
„Are you Inhuman?" Daisy asked.
„What gives you that idea?" Robbie asked back.
„Almost every time I see you, you're trying to stay calm, it's clear. Also, you're hot."
„Excuse me?" Robbie raised an eyebrow.
„Literally, I mean," Daisy said. „You're literally warm. I can feel it whenever you pass by me. So are you Inhuman?"
„I'm not an Inhuman," Robbie said, short but serious. They suddenly heard Mike calling Daisy's name. Both of them turned there.
„Daisy, get away from him!" Mike said in a commanding voice.
„Why?" Daisy asked. She didn't understand why Mike would want her to get away from Robbie. Robbie however had a history with Mike. A history no one knew about.
„What are you doing here, Peterson? I thought we agreed, you keep out of my area." Robbie said.
„Daisy has recently shown interest in you. I came to make sure she keeps away from you." Mike answered.
„Excuse me?!" Daisy asked. Mike looked at her.
„This guy is dangerous," Mike said firmly.
„It's up to me to decide what danger I'm running into," Daisy replied. She was just ready to continue arguing with Mike when the three of them heard footsteps. Four people turned around the corner of the school and made their way towards them. Daisy immediately recognized her tall brother and two of his classmates, Hunter and Bobbi. The fourth guy walked up front with a cane, but neither of the three recognized him. They all guessed he was Mack's classmate too.
„Told you they're here. I saw them." the fourth guy said while all four older students stared at the younger ones.
„Thank you, Sousa," Mack said. Daisy already knew he was going to talk to her next.
„What the Hell are you doing back here, Trumers?" Mack asked. Daisy sighed and rolled her eyes.
„You're not my father, so stop acting like it," Daisy told Mack.
„You're right, I'm not your father. I'm your brother who was tasked by your parents to keep an eye on you." Mack replied.
„For God's sake! I'm not 16 like Fitzsimmons." Daisy said.
„Come on!" Mack said firmly. Daisy growled and started walking towards Mack.
„You too," Bobbi said looking at the rival boys. „No one can be here without teacher supervision," she added.
„Oh, Bob! Really? You have to live out your mother-nature on the smaller kids again?" Hunter asked. That was the first time either of the younger students heard him speak. His accent surprised Mike a bit. Robbie didn't care about it, he just wished he would've stayed hiding. Daisy's classmates started walking after her.
„Stay away from Reyes," Mike told Daisy before heading for the exit. Soon Robbie left too. Hunter and Bobbi went to say goodbye to their classmates that were leaving. Sousa went to the building and leaned against the wall. His bag he brought there earlier was lying beside him. Daisy decided to go talk to him while she and Mack were waiting for the others. She leaned against the wall next to Sousa.
„So you're Mack's classmate?" she asked.
„Yeah," Sousa answered. Daisy didn't actually know what to talk about so they stood next to each other in silence.
„Have you heard about this anti-Inhuman proposal?" Sousa asked suddenly, finally finding a topic to talk about.
„No, I haven't actually. I usually hear about Inhuman things."Daisy said.
„You like Inhumans?" Sousa asked.
„Yeah."
„Well, if this ATCU thing succeeds, they might not be around for long."
„What does that mean?" Daisy asked, getting worried.
„There's an organization that says they can cure Inhumanity."
„I've heard about the ATCU, but... How do they even cure Inhumanity?" Daisy didn't feel comfortable saying the word 'cure'. Sousa noticed that.
„Sounds like you don't agree with that," he said.
„Sounds like you do," Daisy replied.
„It's not that, I'm just interested in why. I haven't talked about this with anyone that didn't agree."
„Inhumans aren't a disease to be cured. They're normal people like everyone else. And yet they are most likely to be the victims of hate crimes these days. Which is unfair. They are our friends, our co-workers, our sisters."
„Deep thoughts. I simply just think they should be accepted as everyone else." Sousa said.
„Skye!" Ward shouted from the fence. Daisy looked there and Ward waved.
„You know him?" Sousa asked Daisy.
„Unfortunately. We went to the same school when we were little. Then his family moved here. He nicknamed me Skye saying I was like the sky beautiful and if I'm upset I'm dangerous like a thunderstorm."
Ward motioned Daisy to go there. She just crossed her arms and shook her head.
„And why did Mack call you 'Trumers'?" Sousa asked.
„It's... a family thing. Inside joke."
Sousa nodded. Ward, seeing that Daisy is not going to go to him, decided to go to her instead.
„What's up SSR-guy?" he asked.
„SSR-guy? Really? That's low, Ward. Even for you." Daisy said. Ward looked at her.
„Everyone needs a nickname, Skye," he said. "Dani-boy here is obsessed with this old military organization called the SSR."
"Whatever. Would you leave us alone? I've told you, I'm not interested in being your friend again."
"Come on! We both know you're just playing hard-to-get."
"No, Ward, I'm not. Now leave me alone!"
"You heard the lady. Leave her alone!" Sousa stepped closer to Ward.
"Is there something wrong here?" Mack asked sternly. Ward turned to face him.
"No. Just having a chat with Skye. That's all." Ward tried in an innocent tone.
"Is that what you said after you and that Hale girl almost beat up Fitzsimmons and Deke?" Mack snapped. "Stay away from our family!"
"Geez! So angry." Ward said.
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're a douchebag" Daisy chimed in with her arms crossed.
"Fine, I'll leave. But I'm not giving up on us." Ward said to Daisy before walking away.
"There is no us, Ward!" Daisy shouted after him.