Chapter 2: Senior Year
“Home sweet home?” Katelyn asked, nudging Susan as they got out of taxi.
“Yup,” Susan agreed, slamming the taxi door.
They got their things and walked up to the large wire gate. Katelyn pried off a cover that was made to look like a stone on the wall. Under the cover was a metal disk. Katelyn pressed her hand against it and waited for the sensors to match her to her student ID.
“Katelyn Hathaway, senior. Welcome back,” the automatic voice said.
Susan pressed her hand on the disk too and then the gates opened.
The campus was massive. It was bigger than any college campus in the world. The main school building itself was old fashioned looking, built with gray stones, complete with a clock tower. There were many open fields for physical activities and along the border of the campus were dense woods.
The inside of the school wasn’t old fashioned in the least though. It was as up to date as it could possibly be. Fast high tech computers and a security system were just the beginning. There were several gymnasiums on each of the seven floors. What rich academy wouldn't be complete without a dining hall, ballroom, small hospital, indoor pool, and science labs?
Katelyn could still remember her first day of school like it was yesterday. She was going to be a senior this year and had never been closer to her dream.
Reflecting on all her years at the academy, Katelyn felt a sense of pride. Her mom had merely explained, tight lipped, that she was going away to a special school where she would be taken care of but over the course of over a decade, Katelyn learned the secrets of the world. The girls who graduated from the Academy worked in a program called the IA, the International Affairs. Each country around the world had spies from the academy to “keep the peace.”
Katelyn always knew she wasn’t going to be living a normal life. As a toddler, her parents never even muttered the word “spy” around her but when her dad went away and never came back, she often heard the word from her mom’s mouth.
This school was her mom’s alma mater and that was all Katelyn really knew about her mom’s past. At home, Katelyn never heard one story about the academy or missions. Of course, her mom had legends told about her but Katelyn secretly wanted to know what kind person her mom really was.
Back to the present, Katelyn entered her dorm room. It was three girls a room. Katelyn shared a room with her best friends Sammy and Jane. Each girls got a bed and a wooden wardrobe. The white walls were covered with posters and drawings to their liking.
Katelyn sorted through her boxes that had been shipped in and made up her bed. Sheets, pillows and blankets in sky blue, white and silver. The empty wardrobe was also quickly filled with clothes on the rack and shoes cluttering the bottom. The little shelves on the doors of the wardrobe held things like toiletries, a jewelry box, a few lip glosses and other random things.
A smile touched Katelyn’s lips as she found her uniform hanging behind the door. The uniform consisted of a brown and gold pleated skirt and a sleeveless white collared button down made of a very stretchy fabric that allowed lots of movement. The girls also has a light pink bow tie as well as olive green jacket embroidered with a badge with “GM” on it. Every student was also given a vest, long socks and dress shoes but those were optional.
The door suddenly flew open.
“Hello Grace Marshall!” Sammy exclaimed. “Oh, hi to you too, Katelyn.”
Katelyn laughed and ran over to hug her friend. “Hey,” she greeted. “How was your summer?” she asked.
Sammy shook her finger. “The deep night conversations with juicy gossip will take place tonight with Jane but for now, you can know that my summer went very well.”
“How about your mom?” Katelyn asked.
Sammy tugged on her bangs and shrugged. It was a habit she had when she was perplexed. “Nah,” she finally said. “Mom got sent on a mission to France. I didn’t see her at all.”
“At least you got to spend time with your dad,” Katelyn quickly added.
Sammy’s mom was one of the rare Co Ops spies that had a family as well as a spy career. Basically, her mom took a year off to get married and have a kid but then completely submerged back into her career resulting in Sammy never seeing her mom.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sammy said, smiling at Katelyn. “I am still thankful because you don’t even have what I have.”
Katelyn gently scoffed. “I’m used to it. Don’t worry about it. Want me to help you unpack?” she asked, changing the topic.
“Sure,” Sammy agreed and began shoving all the sealed boxes next to her wardrobe. Armfuls of clothes were quickly hung up.
Katelyn ripped open the tape on a box. “This is completely all shoes,” she stated.
“A girl can’t have too many shoes,” Sammy reminded Katelyn as she began sorting them at the bottom of her wardrobe. “When’s Jane coming?” Sammy asked, combing her bangs in front of the small mirror.
“Soon,” Katelyn said. “She’s flying in from Maine.”
Sammy nodded and set to work on arranging her nail polishes and lip glosses. After she was almost done, the door slowly creaked open.
“Jane!” Sammy sang, throwing her arms around her friend. “Can you believe it?! We’re going to be graduating!”
“Yes,” Jane laughed. “Katelyn,” she greeted.
“You got a new haircut,” Katelyn observed.
Jane smiled and smoothed down her hair. “You like it?” she asked, showing off her edgy pixie cut.
“Ohh piercings too!” Sammy exclaimed as Jane showed off her new cartilage piercing. “You had a makeover. No fair,” Sammy muttered.
“I think my parents just felt bad for always leaving me by myself” Jane laughed. Jane’s mom was different than Katelyn’s and Sammy’s. Jane’s mom didn’t work in the Co Ops field but in a laboratory. These labs developed everything from camera contact lenses to destructive weapons.
“Aren’t we always by ourselves?” Sammy asked.
Jane smirked. “Who needs parents when you’ve got friends?”
Katelyn laughed. “Of course, one for three!” she yelled.
“Three for all!” Jane and Sammy chorused.
“I missed this place,” Jane said, flopping on her bed.
“Same,” Sammy agreed. “I’m so glad we still have a week before classes start. Now, we get to stay up all night talking.”
“Why don’t you go first then,” Katelyn offered. “You always have exciting summers.”
Sammy giggled. “You sure?”
“Go ahead,” Jane said, sitting cross legged. They were all on Jane’s bed.
“Okay,” Sammy said, taking a deep breath. She laughed again.
“Sammy!” Jane complained.
“Okay!” Sammy said, smiling. “I kissed a boy this summer.”
“What?!” Jane and Katelyn exclaimed.
“You what?” Katelyn asked, eyes wide.
“Calm down,” Sammy said, twirling a lock of hair on her finger. “It was a summer fling. Nothing serious at all.”
“But what happened?” Jane asked.
“Well, his name is Nathaniel,” Sammy said. “Super nice biceps, great sense of humor.”
“How old was he?” Katelyn asked.
“Your questions are super boring,” Sammy complained. “Eighteen.”
“How did you guys meet?” Jane asked.
Sammy hugged a pillow. “Obviously, I had a lot of spare time. I spent the summer with my dad but he still had work so I went to the mall a lot. He worked in a sports equipment store. We met by chance and started talking. We exchanged numbers and we did stuff like go see movies and get lunch.”
“How long until you kissed him?” Katelyn asked.
“I kissed him before I left.”
“What?!”
“So you’re in love?” Katelyn asked.
Sammy gave Katelyn a look. “No, I’m over him.”
“But you kissed him and everything.”
“Only kissed,” Sammy corrected. “And so? I told him I’d never see him again. I don’t bring my cellphone to the academy. What happens in summer stays in summer. I don’t have time to waste.”
“How did it feel?” Jane asked.
Sammy smiled. “Not too bad. Not magical. Fine.”
“Fine?” Katelyn asked. “Just fine?”
Sammy laughed. “Oh my gosh, Katelyn,” she said. “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”
“I don’t,” Katelyn replied. “But I thought you did.”
“Of course, I believe in love,” Sammy said. “Have you seen The Vow? Based on a true story.”
“But-“
“I wasn’t in love with him,” Sammy said.
“Oh,”
“You’re so uptight,” Jane sighed. “I’m guessing nothing new this summer for you?”
Katelyn shook her head. “Susan and I stayed at a nice beach house by ourselves.”
“I don’t understand why your mom is just so…” Jane’s voice trailed off.
“I understand,” Katelyn sighed. “Obsessed with this love crap. In her heart, it’s my dad or nothing.”
There was a silence.
“We should talk about something else,” Katelyn finally said. “I hate talking about her.”
“Do you hate her?” Sammy blurted out.
Katelyn scoffed. “I don’t have time to hate someone who isn’t even in my life. I’ve walked out of that home and I’ve never looked back.”