| Everyone lies, right? I mean it’s sort of part of the human nature. You just can’t really go without lying. Can't, but why in the world do they have to lie most often to me. I could use without all of the lies. It doesn’t help me at all really. Like the fact that in October, Kevin told me that he didn’t like me but yet he tried to kiss me under mistletoe at the winter dance a few days ago.
This Christmas I would like to know the truth from now on. It’s coming in one day and I cannot wait. I don't really understand it myself, but I have always loved Christmas. I have always had really bad Christmases, and I have always looked forward to the disappointment. Even when I am opening the pair of socks that I had from my father I was always happy to have them.
It seems to me that I always thought of the whole meaning of Christmas better than the holiday itself. There was also a dance on Christmas Eve for all who wanted to go.
I was going to go. It was supposed to be an assignment anyhow. We were to be handed forms at the end of S. O. where we would be assigned a character to play during the dance.
Even those who didn’t like dances knew that they couldn’t miss out on the chance to do this. It would be the best place to be for the entire school year it was rumored.
Every class was pitching in for some last minute detail. Most girls would be wearing outfits fit for a ball, but I had my idea all ready to go. I would be wearing a very pale gold dress. Not a ball gown and not a really big and puffy princess one. It would be a very simple, normal dance, dress. One that was right between the big princess and the slinky cocktail.
I was proud of myself for coming up with that, and when I ran it over with Dan he said that if I wasn’t his sister and saw me in that kind of thing ne would probably think that I was hot. I told him to please please please, never say anything like that ever again. He just laughed and went back to staring at Heidi.
He really needed to get over her. No offense meant for him. I had asked him if he knew what Connor and Kevin would be wearing. He didn’t look very comfortable about that question but he told me that he didn’t know.
There it was again, there was the lying. Why my life was so messed up sometimes, I really didn’t understand it at all.
Back to present day.
We were in S. O. and it was nearing the end of class. Everyone was super jittery and excited. I saw that Veeta, the German girl who didn’t even know what Christmas was, look at the clock every five seconds. Even Professor Gleek seemed even more annoyed than usual. Or was that just me? I could never tell. It was silent for about five seconds. Then Kevin stood up.
It was normal for Kevin to be the one that broke the tension. He shouted, so that the whole class, that was crowded into the room, could hear. “Okay. We cannot wait so why don't you just give us our packets and we’ll be fine.”
Professor Gleek seemed to weighing his options but then he said, “Fine. But, you're not allowed to tell any other teacher. Understood?”
His lip curled up at the thought of anyone finding out what he did. He kept sneering as everyone filed up to his desk to get his or her pamphlet for the person that he or she was going to have to become.
We found out that we would have to be on a date with someone and it looked as if they had tried to match us with people who we knew or liked. I, go figure, got matched with Connor. My god like, almost brother is who I got matched with. Again, a messed up life.
It could have been worse. Here is some of the information that I had in my packet. My name would be Kaley Hoshen, I was from a rich family who owned a villa in New York, and I had no siblings and was in a relationship with Max Delmini (Connor). Wows. This would be an interesting dance.
The bell rang just then, signaling everybody to scramble to pick up their books. We all rushed off to our different houses. I slowed down just slightly to tell Connor I would meet him at &:30 tonight.
Heidi and I were back in our room by 6:20, something that neither of us had managed to do before which made us fall on our beds and laugh like maniacs for five minutes. Then I remembered someone else laughing like a maniac and I abruptly stopped
Then we started to get dressed, me in my dress and Heidi in hers. When we were done Veeta came up and pronounced us schön, the German word for beautiful. Then she told us that we needed to do hair and makeup.
She told me that my hair was to curly so we used her straightening iron and she said that Heidi’s hair was perfect and then she told us to both close our eyes so she could do our makeup.
When she was done I flat out refused to open my eyes saying, “I know that I look horrible and you can’t tell me otherwise.” Then I felt a light nudge on my shoulder so I pointedly turned away from the mirrors. I opened my eyes to see Dan standing above me with a smile playing across his lips.
“You may think that you look bad but I think that you look absolutely amazing. Why don't you look in the mirror?”
I followed his advice, only because he was my brother. I saw an amazingly dazzling girl in the mirror. Veeta had done the best job bringing out my eyes and then making my completion rosy instead of the pale girl that I usually saw.
I smiled as I went out to the living room and saw Connor there. When he looked around at me he just stared. That was a first. And it was funny.
But I was struck dumb by his appearance. He looked even more godlike than usual, wearing a white tux. His eyes seemed to be enhanced by his outfit. But in a second I was fine again.
He continued to stare at me throughout the walk to the gym which doubled as our dance area, seeing as we hardly ever used it except during training drills for S. O. We walked down the makeshift steps but as we entered I knew there was something wrong. Everyone was on the ground with black bags tied around there heads.
Then I heard a female voice behind me say, “Hello Danielle. I see you have entered our little party.”
Then I turned around and punched Arrabella as hard as I could in the stomach as hard as I could.
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| October passed
***
Then November
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| Later that day, we were handed our schedules. My classes went like this: 9:00 A.M. Spy History, 10:15 A.M. Disguises and Camouflage, 11:30 A.M. Lunch, 12:45 P.M. Extra Gadgets for Girls, 2:00 P.M. Free period, 3:15 P.M. Explosives, 4:30 P.M. Gadgets, 5:45 P.M. Special Operations.
I mean disguises I would love and what about those explosives. Will we be making them and setting them off or are we going to learn how to diffuse them. If so I could have used that when that bomb was put in our house.
This made me smile, because Dan hadn’t been such a tough guy then, but he was strutting around the whole school like he owned the place! He was flirting nonstop with Heidi, which made me laugh because she kept trying to get him to back off, but it was like trying to train a fish to bark at a dog.
As I thought about this, the bell for Extra Gadgets for Girls rang and I had to jump up and grab my stuff from under my desk. As it turned out a tall, olive skinned woman with her hair tied into a pony tail at the back of her head, named Professor Lahti, was to teach the class.
She seemed cool enough, to me that is. She definitely knew her stuff when it came to girls gadgets. She talked about the famous lipstick/laser girl gadget, to the not so well known comb that doubled as a sleep tranquilizer. It was all amazing, even to the girls who had known about this kind of stuff for years.
Then we had a free period during which I hung around with Kevin, Connor, and Dan. There wasn’t much to do but talk. I learned about how Connor’s mother was single and never dated, how Kevin’s little sister Gretchen would be coming here very soon, and how the teacher for Gadgets for Guys was a totally strict maniac who had yelled at some guys from the weasel family.
Then we had Explosives next. We, that is to say all the guys and girls, had that class together. The teacher there was Professor Oprega. Apparently the class was to learn about how to blow up bombs and diffuse them. It was an interesting lesson with the teacher hovering over our shoulder and saying, in the most loving voice, how bombs were very destructive and had to be treated with very special care.
Near the end, someone moved their hand over one of the bombs on the Professor’s desk and accidentally set it off. Almost everyone laughed but then Oprega turned his hawkeyed stare on all of us and it shut us up immediately.
Then Kevin, who was sitting next to me, said, “Yeah. That was definitely treated with special care.” I giggled.
“Is there something that you want to share with the whole class, Mister Bons?” Professor Oprega came swooping down on us.
But before Kevin could say anything that might get himself into trouble I stepped in. “Sorry, Professor. It was my fault. I was the one who was talking.” I flat-out lied.
“Oh, well,” Wait, was the strictest teacher flustered over me. One word. Wow. “I suppose there is always the exception to one rule.”
Wow, I thought again. I was the exception to the rule. Go figure. I was always the exception to every rule that contained crime.
Next was Gadgets, so this was the normal stuff. Such as grappling hook pens, hollow books, and other things. The teacher for that class was, none other than, Professor Leonardo. It was funny, the way that she stared at me.
Still the exception to the rule. Urgh. Why me of all people.
And then the last lesson for the day was Special Ops. Our teacher was hiding when we came in the door but I immediately sensed that he was on top of the cabinet that was half hidden by large folders at the top.
Just to annoy him, I said very loudly, “You can come off the cabinet now, if you like. You might get a bit camped if you stay up there too long.”
It was a bit cute, the way that the Professor came grumbling down from the cabinet. Obviously he had been up there just the slightest bit too long, for he was stretching as he got down.
He said, “Very good, Miss Blackthorn. You are the first to figure that out all day. Now, the reason that this class is placed at the end of your day is, though your minds are set on your dinner you will be testing all that you have learned each and every day. You may have no problem in succeeding but I will make sure that even if you do have a problem, I will make you succeed. And even if you are famous and like to show off you may have a bit of brains in yourself, as Miss Blackthorn just demonstrated. I am Professor Gleek and you must be prepared.” Just then the bell rang and they ran out of the room.
As dinner and dessert passed I was very quiet. Then everyone went to their rooms and I heard Heidi fall asleep on the other side of the room so I got up and dressed in some baggy pants and a t-shirt. I knew who I wanted to talk to and I knew that he would already be awake.
Dan meet me half way down the stairs. We walked in silence for a while and reached the door that lead to the grounds outside. It was calm and peaceful in the light it was a midnight stroll. We walked in silence through the whole thing but it was as if we were reading each other’s mind. It wasn’t some type of technology; it was something bigger and deeper than that. It was a bond that Dan and I had. It was the bond of love that all twins had.
We went back into the school and we, silently, said good night. I went upstairs and fell asleep almost instantaneously. And I knew that in his room Dan was doing the same thing.
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| My song is the sound of the ocean
My song is the beat of the rain
My song could sing you to sleep
When everyone else can't be beat
Take a breath
And look at me
What I want know
Is what you see
Is it the girl
You were supposed to see
Or is it the girl
You wanted to see
Every story should have
a happy ending
Will mine end that way
Could I go down in glory?
My song is the sound of the ocean
My song is the beat of the rain
I thought I had been alone when I woke up so, I had sung a song that I had come up with when I found out what was going on, My Song. But it seemed that I wasn’t, since I heard someone clapping softly in the doorway. I thought it could be Dan, but when I turned around it was actually Veeta. She smiled slightly as she saw the shock flit across my face.
She had a very soft voice, “Expecting someone else?”
“No,” I said, “just a bit surprised that it’s you, Veeta.”
Now it was her turn to be shocked, “You know my name?”
“Why wouldn’t I know your name? You're part of my family.” I gave her a soft smile.
She returned it with just the slightest bit reluctance which I didn’t fail to notice. “You have a beautiful voice, you know,” She said in a falsely cheery voice.
“Well thank you very much. Do you want to give it a go?” When she shook her head I said, “Come on. You will do great.”
“Alright, I will try.” She started into the first verse and I knew that she was so much better than I could ever be. Her voice was as beautiful as the birds’. I even thought that the birds had stopped to pay tribute to their sister with the singing voice, possibly better than their own.
“Could I go down in glory… is there something wrong?” I realized, a little bit late, that I had tears in my eyes.
“No, I'm fine. But why do you think that I've got a beautiful voice when you have a talent? An amazing talent that you should show to everyone else.” I started toward the door and then turned around. “Come on.” I said insistently.
“But, where are you going?” She said with fear in her voice.
“To the dining hall, of course. And just in time, too!” I replied after looking at the clock. “Almost everyone should be there.”
I was excited to go down but it seemed that Veeta wasn’t.
“But what if they decide to laugh at me? What if I am no good?”
It was my place to laugh. “How could you even think like that? You would have to be insane. Veeta, you are amazing and you should show it. For me?”
“Okay. I’ll do it. But I'm doing this for you.”
So we ran down the stairs and into the hall. I walked up to the staff table, talked to one of the teachers, and ran back down to where Veeta stood.
“They said that we could do it.” I said to her, giddy with excitement.
So with that I pushed her up onto the stage where we had been sorted the last night. Veeta started singing My Song and I felt so happy. Every head had turned, just like for me last night, and everyone loved it. Once it was done I even saw some girls with tears in their eyes just like I had had in mine.
She smiled and looked at me. Then she ran down to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me up to the stage.
“This girl is the reason I am up here, so thank her, too. And like the girl in the song she doesn’t need to be treated any differently than us.”
I loved Veeta then, because she was really learning that I was just like her.
|
| So, we had landed quickly and cleanly. I walked out of the aisle with Kevin in front of me and Connor behind me. My portrait of Connor in my backpack. I had all of my clothes that I had bought or brought from the house in a small suitcase. I felt a bit self-conscious about it. Everywhere I looked, everyone had larger suitcases. I walked out and I saw Dan coming up the other aisle. He looked like he had sat between two cute girls since while he was grabbing his stuff he was chatting animatedly to a beach-blonde girl who looked like she could have been in one of those commercials for perfect skin. She and Dan had so much in common didn’t the, I thought scathingly.
After getting out of the terminal there was row after row of limo chauffeurs. I saw the blonde Dan had talked to, part from him and go up to one that had a sign that read Miss Juliana Jackson. I felt Connor, who had been at my side, part from me and go to one and on my other side Kevin did the same. And then I saw one that said Miss Danielle Blackthorn and Mr. Daniel Blackthorn held up by none other than Scar-face. I smiled to myself as I went up to him, beckoning to Dan as he watched me. It seemed that Dan either didn’t trust Scar-face or didn’t recognize him.
I was a bit scared to talk to him and then I realized that there was something bothering me about him. Then I placed my finger on it. His scar was on the wrong side of his face. So, I veered off course in the direction of where Kevin was standing. I pretended to talk to him while I explained to him what was going on.
He laughed in some good places and said, “Now you’re positive that this isn’t the guy you knew?”
“Absolutely. I have one of the best memories in the world.” I replied.
“Then I think that you should go on the school bus. Everyone considers themselves higher than that. No offense or anything,” He said in response to the look on my face.
“Will Dan and I be alone?” I asked suspiciously.
“Do you see anyone here who would want to ride on it?” He answered me.
“Okay. Well this will be the best acting job that I've ever done.”
And with that I went up to the fake Scar-face and slapped him yelling loudly as I went, “You are so fired, you dumb screw-up!”
Then I stalked off with Dan in my wake. I then ran onto the school bus and the driver left knowing that it would be in vain to wait for any other people to come.
We were the first ones within the school grounds so the people took us to a waiting area. Then, as everyone else filled the waiting hall, a teacher, I think she said her name was Professor Leonardo, called role. She didn’t even speak louder than a normal tone, yet her voice filled the whole hall. And then she called, “Danielle Blackthorn.” Every voice in the hall, even the professors which had been consistent throughout the whole time, fell silent. Every head swiveled in my direction as I called out, “Here .” Every person stared at me and then went back to talking, though now, undoubtedly about me.
I thought about why they were staring at me and smiled. If they only liked me for my fame they weren’t my real friends. And I was in for a real treat when it came to picking my friends wisely but I let the thought pass.
We were told that we would be sorted into our families, which apparently were the people that you shared a house with, which meant 5 rooms. I was called up and looked in the mirror smiling at my reflection from the other end of the hall. The whole hall was silent as this kind of fortune teller hovered over me while she muttered about bravery and strength in my aura and also leadership. I thought it was a load of junk while she talked and spoke of a new beginning for everyone in which ever family I was placed with. That everyone would bond and learn from my presence.
I was just starting to think she had gone insane when she finally, after ten minutes, decided to place me in the tiger family, where, she told me all people brave and calm and kind and smart and many other things were linked to it.
After another thirty minutes, my interview taking longest, I had Connor and Kevin and Dan and two other girls, one named Veeta, a blonde haired girl, and Heidi , a brunette English girl who was very hyper and who I instantly took a liking to., in my group.
Even though I thought that the women up there was still a fraud, we all seemed to have many common interests which was good. The “families” were all seated at their own individual tables. Seeing as our family was of the tiger and they all seemed to be named after the different types of animals. The table cloth had an intricately sewn tiger design on it. It was very beautiful, not a normal orange and black tiger that was usually seen but a very amazing white tiger.
“What I really love about Heidi is that she didn’t seem to care that I was famous but she liked me for my personality, and so when we found that we would be sharing a room in our “house” together we both jumped up and down like maniacs. The she said something that I couldn’t hear but I just nodded knowing that I would still find out later. Then the women at the head of the largest table, the staff table by the looks of it, rose and a great silence swept over the whole hall.
Her voice was strong, clear, and kind but commanding in a way, “Well, as we know we it is a new year. A new beginning. And with that we must accept changes, which is why you must remember to be very careful around the village. We have rumor spreading around there that we are spies. We must be careful.”
“And we must unite. For as one we are doomed but as many we could not be challenged.” Said the wispy woman who had placed us in the house.
“Yes. We must. Every single one of you in this hall today, no matter what the circumstances be, you will always be welcomed back with pride and joy.” Said the head, staring around the hall and her gaze fell upon Dan and me. “Every one.” She said again.
And I knew that she meant us, Dan and me, she meant that we would always be welcomed. If things went wrong we would be welcomed here. This would be our second home.
Dan and I exchanged a glance, we would take her up on that offer when we needed it.
I turned to Veeta and smiled. She just stared at me.
But I knew this was just the beginning. A new beginning, no doubt. So when it really started to come, really, really came, I would be ready. We would all be ready. When it came.
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Jordan's Story
