Notice.

                                                            Rule 1 - Notice Everything..                                                               
              The beginning of a new school year is never easy for anyone. That is why for us, it was that extra bit harder. I go to school in the middle of nowhere, but that’s what makes it fun! Wait, wait, wait, did I just say ‘school’ and ‘fun’ in the same sentence?! Jolee has started to make me live for school.          

                She is my bright haired best mate, don’t get me wrong, but her idea of fun is sitting indoors, trying to get past the Governments firewalls.. so yes, now you know what I mean! For an amazingly tall person, Jolee Kay is the brainiest classmate I have ever met! That is the main reason she was put in Kingsworth Grammar College for Outstanding Young Pupils.

I got put in because of my dad. One of MI6’s top agents, Deputy Head of our school. Not that I would call it a school, more of… a teaching faculty for agents in training. Yep, I said agents. Well, we actually say spies, instead of agents. We hadn’t a clue what to think in first year of training, so dearest daddy here, said spies, and that gave a clue of what we would be in for.
                                                                     **********
         “Taylor!” My best friend’s American accent echoed loudly through the empty hallways. It was a day before school started, but Alexis Lorter was always a day early, she liked having ‘bagsy’s’ on the bunks and wardrobe space. I, however, was only 3 days early for school, as my Dad has debriefing on what to teach and how to teach it. Oh yeah, Taylor, that’s my name. ‘Tay’ for short. Taylor Hearley for long!
              “Oh my gosh! Tell me Everything! How was Berlin! What about your mom? How was she? How are you! You haven’t seen a boy have you? You have? Oh, nope, you haven’t”She always does that ‘answering before you can’ type of thing. “Well, on my vacation I…..”
         
              I decided to ignore her, mainly as she was talking about boys. She has had about ten boyfriends? I haven’t had one. The chatter didn’t seem to stop for about 10 minutes (well, 9 minutes, forty-four seconds), so when it did, I was a bit shocked; it usually goes on for about 10 years.
 
              I turned around to see her just peeking out of the door, her back was facing me, her skirt, showing off her tanned legs, her short sleeved top, showing off her tanned arms! I was just taking in the fact that it was about 5 degrees in the ‘school’ (although it is the size of a mansion, so I will call it a mansion), and she hadn’t got a jumper or tights on, and then she disappeared from view. Unbelievable.
         
                “Lexi!” I ran after her, she was running as well, but I knew I was faster than her so when I caught her up she slowed right down, to a walk.
         
                “What the… Why did you…” I tried to speak, but I couldn’t; we had just been on a jog around various stairs and corridors. She just shrugged and said,
         
                “I’ll tell you when I see it.” When I see what? I was about to say that when she stopped and stared at something on the cold stone wall. Okay, so Lexi was a very observant girl, and she had spotted this on the way in, no doubt. It was a picture, no, a huge collection of pictures, of all of the pupils studying at Kingsworth this year.

                I expected to hear the usual complaint about herself. It never came. I tried to take a look my picture, but we were nowhere. No names of my class in year 11 on that wall. Not Lexi’s, not her brother, Johnny’s (Good, I thought to myself), not Ryan’s or even Jolee’s! Something was up and what happened when we quietly walked back to our room made me think more so…

         “Where is it? You can’t hide it from me! It won’t work silly!” It took me a while to realize what she was talking about. It was a rather sudden change of subject as well! Yes, she was my best friend, yes, I missed her loads, and yes, I usually got her something really cute from Berlin. The last one was a top, I think my mum brought it for me, but it was too big, I figured it would fit Lexi, so I gave the top to her. I had forgotten all about her gift this time!

                “Uurrmm, Lexi?” I slowly and quietly started confessing, watching her throwing my clothes this was and that. “I didn’t… I mean, I forgot… I mean….” At that exact moment, my tall, quite nice-looking (!) father appeared out of nowhere. He is kind of known for that.

         “Knock, knock!” he almost shouted to us. Lexi immediately stopped making our room a carpet of clothes, as we bolted upright from the surprise of the sneak attack.
             
                “Sorry to interrupt you girls. Hello Alexis! How are you?” he said, sounding almost surprised, as if he was putting his voice on… He had his hands behind his back. He was hiding something, I could tell, not only because I was a spy, but because he was my Dad. I was anxious, but realized something. He called Alex, Alexis, he never does that, unless what he is hiding, or about to say refers to her….

         “I’m awesome, thanks, Mr. Hearley. I had a lovely vacation to….” He didn’t let her finish her sentence, also a rare sight; my father loves to hear Alex’s stories, especially from America….

         “Oh please, it isn’t school yet Lexi!” ‘That’s more like it’, I thought. My father had always know Lexi as Lexi, but in school it was either Miss.Lorter, or Alexis. ‘Lexi’ stuck well, and suited her.

         I suddenly realized I was holding my breath, and remembered to breathe out. Unfortunately, my dad and Lexi both heard me and glanced at me for a split second, and then my dad carried on.

         “Please, call me Rick or Richard; you are as much our family as we are yours. Oh of course, Mr.Hearley will be fine in school time.”  He smiled, probably remembering the good times he had with Mr.Lorter, Heath, as we were always told to call him.

                My dad and Alexis’ go way back! They went to school here together. My mum and hers also went to the same school, but about 2 or 3 hours away from here. Lexi spent most of the holidays with us, when I didn’t go and see my mum in summer.

         “Anyway, I came to give you this,” He turned to me as he said so, and handed me the most gorgeous outfit, that were all Lexi’s size. I only know this because she did a fashion show of all of her ‘fave new clothes!’ to me as soon as dad left the room. But he still hadn’t. Not yet.

         “Thanks Dad….” I was a bit stumped on what to say. I knew I didn’t get Lexi anything, I had forgotten. I didn’t tell my dad that, he would have made a fuss, but somehow he knew. I mean, I only found out when I unpacked, 2 days before Lexi got here… About 10 questions popped into my head at once, how did he know? How did he find out? If he knew after I did, how did he get it so fast? I only knew one teacher at our school that went to France over the summer holidays. Well, she kind of lived there. She is exactly Lexi’s size…. It clicked. At least 3 of my questions had been answered.

         “You left it in my suitcase, when you met me in France after my meeting, you didn’t have room in your case, remember?” Why he told me this I didn’t know, it was probably the confused expression on my face.

         “Oh yes. Thank you Dad!” I said quite sternly, surprising myself. He got the message and left, quickly, also what he can be known for.

                                                                   ************

         After the hilarious fashion show, we went to dinner. Although, two girls sitting alone in the ‘dining hall’ was a bit quiet and weird. Especially the ‘Atlantic girl’ and the ‘Deputy’s Daughter’ (the chefs nicknames for us).

                We usually had dinner with my dad and one of the teachers, but today the head chef cooked for us. It was vair confusing, but too amazing. Up to the point that Johnny walked in. With a plate of food. And sat down next to us. Johnny is Lexi’s brother, Lexi being older by 3 months, 4 days, 1 hour and 57 minutes exactly, (I am afraid Jolee’s information sometimes rubs off on me). I have never liked him. I admit, I thought he was kind of cute when I was old enough to think that, but I shook that thought off, as soon as I realized what I was thinking!

         “Hey Alexeeee!” He over exaggerated as he sat down next to her. He took one look at me. “Got even nicer I see Tay?" The sarcasm in his voice really hurt. Not like it usually does. I know he meant nice looking. And, as you guessed, he was joking.             

         “Oh ha-ha, you are soo unbelievably funny, Johnny! Your girlfriend is very lucky! Oh yeah, I remember now.” I said all this sarcastically, in a fairly high voice. So I lowered it a lot when I said, “You don’t have one.” He flinched. I could see Lexi kind of chuckling to herself out of the corner of my eye. ‘Okay, maybe that was a bit out of order’ I thought, ‘maybe I should apologize....’

         “I know,” he started, “And I don’t know how you can say that because, last time you, Lexi and myself checked, neither do you!” ‘Nope, it wasn’t out of order’. He went back to eating and smirking the way he usually does after he insults me and I can’t get back at him.

         “I know.” A small mouse like voice answered him. I don’t know what happened then; I stood up and walked out, listening to the quiet whispering voices of Lexi telling her brother off. I was walking away. Something a spy should never do unless completely necessary. And I had just done it. Oh well. No one would know. That reassured me … not a lot.

         I was walking toward my room and I passed a mirror. It was an antique one, it had belonged to the very first headmaster. I couldn’t help but look into it. I mean, what girl in the whole world would walk past a mirror and not think about looking into it? I recognized myself, still small, although I had grown a lot since last year. Did Johnny really mean it? Of course he did. Didn’t he? Something ran down my cheek, from my right eye. My cheeks were burning up, I could feel it. I proved it, when I placed my hands on them. I blinked the little tell tale tears away, thinking I was so silly. I just went to bed. Why had that got to me so much? I didn’t say a word or a peep when Lexi checked on me. I pretended to be asleep. It was going to be a new day tomorrow. A new start. And I would finally get to ask my dad what was going on.