"Black Sheep, is it?" I inquire to the girl sitting beside me.
She abruptly lifts her head and glances over to me with a brief nod to accompany the previous movement. "Yes. That's the codename..."
She seemed a bit detached from the lesson and distracted when I attempted to make conversation.
At first, I figured she was upset over something that had occurred earlier that day, or perhaps she didn't garner enough shut eye last night.
But after a moment's observation, I concluded that Black Sheep didn't seem to be upset; in fact it seemed to be entirely the opposite. Her eyes were glazed over with some sort of strange joy and the ends of her lips were tugging into an up curl, forming the faintest of a smile.
She was distracted because her mind was glued on something else that she was looking forward to, I concluded a few minutes later.
I have to say though, that was quite the odd behavior for Black Sheep. She usually gives her all during class but today she was totally not herself.
The second class was dismissed, I decided to do a little bit of investigation.
Now, Black Sheep and I hardly knew each other at all- we barely even exchanged words during classes. But I couldn't exactly stop the little plant of curiosity growing inside of me that was being nurtured by her odd behavior. I needed to know why she seemed so different today.
So I hurried behind her, faking a casual walk as if I'm headed to my next class.
As soon as she turns the next corner I know I can't continue the same routine, she'll catch onto me.
Now, my code name is Parrot. That goes true for making noise, just as the real bird.
My sneakers squeak against the flooring just as I slid around the corner. I silently curse my misfortune. I always seem to make noise right at times when I'm supposed to be quiet. Like now, for instance.
Black Sheep swivels her head around suspiciously but luckily I already pushed my body around the corner again, my hands sweating and slipping down the wall and back into my pockets that I hastily shove them into. A tiny sigh of relief escapes my lips. Damn, that was a close call.
I stay pressed against the wall like a statue for a few more seconds, until I hear Black Sheep's footsteps once more.
Then I'm on the move again.
After that incident, I was extremely careful not to screw up again.
Dammit, Parrot, you need to get your head out of your ass and focus here! You're supposed to be a spy! Act like one, then! I scold myself and get back onto my feet, silently creeping behind Black Sheep.
I realized she was walking back to her shared dorm once we had turned a few more hallways (VILE academy happened to be a pretty enormous building).
Finally, she reached the dorm and glanced around as if to check for anyone, which I got to say just rose my suspicions even more.
There was definitely something she was hiding, and this only further fueled my burning curiosity to uncover what exactly that was.