Surveillance, Surviving, and Falling in Love.

It appeared that she had left the door open for me, to get out. It was confusing, because I could have sworn she was on the other side, but I didn’t have time to think on that now. I had to get out of here, and fast.

I quickly and quietly snuck out of the door, closing it quietly behind me. I looked around the unfamiliar white hallways, not sure where to go. There was a door up ahead, and I figured it was my best shot. I ran through it, and there was a stairwell leading up and down.

“Up equals out,” I muttered, and began running up the stairs. They lead me to another door, and I opened it, looking around.

I was standing in the streets of Spain.

I looked around, seeing people walking by in brightly colored fabrics, not even noticing that I had just ran out of the building.

“The best thing to do would be to get away from here,” I said to myself, and I began walking.

What about Jazz, though? And Avery, and my mom? I shook my head. I knew that they would be okay. They were tough people, who could take care of themselves, and each other. If Phoenix was going to be any help to them, I was confident they would make it out.

Now, I just had to survive long enough for them to find me. I checked my pockets to find that the man had taken all of my gadgets, leaving me with nothing. I wasn’t surprised, but I sighed, and pulled my hair back. The first thing to do was to blend in, and for that to happen, I needed a new look.

As I walked around looking for a store, I memorized the style of all of the girls here. The thing I noticed most was bright colors, and short hair.

I gave up on searching on my own after what felt like an hour, and decided to ask someone where I could find a clothing store. I approached the nicest looking person around me, and quickly asked them my question in Spanish. She pointed me in the right direction, and I thanked her, moving that way.

I quickly found the clothing store, and snuck in. If it was one thing we spies were good at, it was being sneaky, and Lord knows I was going to need it. I had no money on me, and I needed clothes. That meant stealing.

I slipped unnoticed into the shop, and began walking the aisles, looking at all of the pretty clothes on the racks. I decided on a bright blue t-shirt in a paisley print, and a yellow skirt. I took them off of the rack, and moved into the dressing room. I switched my dirty old clothes with the new ones, and I tried fixing my hair in the mirror. I smiled, content, and then peeked out of the dressing room. No one was looking. Good.

I made a mad dash from the dressing room to the front of the store, dodging people and moving as fast as I could. I was doing pretty well, until I ran into a woman whose hands were full of clothes. We collided, and I fell, landing on my butt. The clothes flew in the air, and she began swearing in Spanish. I got up, brushing myself off, and began helping her pick up the clothes. I handed them to her sheepishly, smiling apologetically. She looked me over once, and then studied my face for a moment.

“You. You are Pippa Martinez!” She exclaimed. I was confused, and a little scared. Who was this lady, how did she know who I was, and why did she know my name?

“Who are you?” I asked. She looked around the store, and when she was satisfied that no one could hear us, she leaned in close to me.

“I am the dowager princess. My name is Maria Isabella, and your mother was one of my closest friends.”