Get Your Spy On

Get Your Spy On

Chapter 6

Alex’s POV

I couldn’t believe I’d be going to the spy headquarters today. It’s sort of like orientation/ training. He said there’ll be a test as well, but I’m not supposed to know though. Dad has basically gave me the rundown on what’s going to happen; we’ll learn about spy equipment, our enemies, how many tasks we should be able to complete in a year, and our training schedules. I personally felt like this was a waste of time since are parents could teach all of this to us, but apparently by suggesting this you’ll get thrown across the room by your brother.

Sloane could barely contain herself in school. I swear, she’s been acting bright and chirpy all day. I asked her and all she said was she was excited to finally start training hardcore. I will admit it’ll be fun to train now knowing what we’re training for. Tyler wanted to hang out after school, but I had to lie to him and say I was going home to hang out with my family.

Right when I got out of class I raced down the hallway, almost slamming into a group of freshmen’s huddled together. I saw Wendy finger wave good-bye to her friends, then skip to her fathers’ car, looking innocent like a bunny.

Sloane patted me on the back as she ran passed me to get in her dads car. I laughed and got into my brothers car, saying hello politely. I’m still pissed with him for unkindly throwing me into the wall.

“Dad is already there training,” Ben said, cutting Wendy’s father off on the road. He honked at us, either playfully, or rudely. “The Alpha wanted to talk to him about a promotion.”

“Dad deserves it,” I said, throwing my book bag to one of the backseats. “He’s been doing overtime for him, right?”

Ben nodded his head. I looked over at him for a moment, a thought going through my head. “Say, how does Gary Adams feel about you dating his daughter? I’m surprised he’d let you date her, being a spy and all.”

Ben rolled his eyes at me as if I were a child. “He’s glad I’m dating his daughter. He thinks she’s safer dating a spy than dating a regular boy.”

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. All spies call people who aren’t spies regular people. Personally I think we’re normal people as well, just with an odd occupation. I thought about how just a week or so ago, I had no idea what was really going on in my family. I feel like an idiot for not noticing sooner about Ben and dads odd behavior whenever I talked about work, or the late nights with Sandy which probably never happened.

When Ben rolled up and parked in front of a black building with no sign, I knew we were here. I grabbed my gym bag filled to the brim with clothes to change into, then got out of the car. Sloane strolled up right next to me and gave me a confident smile. I smiled back at her, her smile is contagious.

We all gathered around each other, giving each other nods and handshakes. We started for the entrance, when a car pulled up into the parking lot, nearly hitting one of the SUV’s parked near the front. The car parked, then out came Eric, red faced and sweaty.

“Sorry I’m late,” He apologized more to the parents than us. “School is far from here and I had to go home to pick up my uncles car. . .”

Gary slapped him on the back, then ushered all of us into the building, looking back his shoulder to make sure nobody was watching us. He closed the door tightly behind us, then headed to the secretary behind a black spotless desk. Everything was lined vertically, and not to mention neat. Her hair was in a sleek bun, not a stray brown hair in sight.

“Hello,” She said, greeting us with a smile. She has perfect teeth, pearly whites if you want to be corny. There wasn’t one flaw in this girl.

I felt somebody poke my side with their finger. “When you’re done ogling the sectary, maybe you’ll listen to what’s going on.”

I glanced over and saw Sloane smirking at me, her finger still in my side. I turn a beet red and turn back to the secretary, trying to concentrate on every word she said.

“The Alpha would like to see you four in the office,” She said to me and my squad. “Gary, Allen, it’s time for you two to go on your mission. Ben you can go ahead and start your daily training since there’s not a mission for you today.”

We all looked at each other, then gave awkward good-byes. Wendy, Sloane, Eric, and I followed the secretary down a hallway and into an empty office besides a cherry wood desk. She left us alone, giving us no explanation where the Alpha is.

There are no chairs in the room besides the one next to the desk, and none of us dared to sit down in that chair. Wendy looked at all of us and rolled her hazel eyes at us. “You three are acting like you’re in the principals’ office.”

Nobody answered her. Sloane and I saw no point in arguing with Wendy, and Eric doesn’t want to take sides since both sides hate him abundantly. Wendy rolled her eyes again and leaned against the wall, looking bored.

Sloane coughed out loud and dug the toe of her Converse into the carpet. After what seems like hours of waiting, the Alpha walks in, wearing a crisped suit like always. “Ah, my newbie’s! How are you four today?”

“Good today, sir, thank you for asking,” Eric said in business-like tone, shaking the Alpha’s hand professionally. “I’m eager to start training and learning the ropes to being a leader.”

Wendy put her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag herself. Sloane actually cracked a smile, but quickly looked away. Eric reddened, clearly embarrassed.

“You four seem to be getting along just as I expected,” The Alpha said, pleased. “Well, let’s not waste anymore time! We’ll start with the pool. It’ll be the first test for you four today, alright?”

We all nodded, giving each other the same skeptical look. If you just walked into this building, you’d never know it was for spies. Everything is bland, like coffee. The Alpha opened one of the doors to the east side of the building. We all filed in, and gasped. The pool is the size of a football field easily. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

“I want you to jump in that pool and get to the other end of it,” The Alpha said simply, smiling at us. “Oh, and wear the clothes your wearing except your shoes.”

We all looked at each other and slowly took our shoes off. This is too easy, what’s the catch? We all stood a good foot away from each other, giving us plenty of room.

“GO!” The Alpha boomed out loud.

We all jumped in. The sound of water surrounded me, comforting me in many ways. Swimming is one of my passions, something I wanted to do competitively, but my father said I couldn’t. I started swimming back up for air, but something pushed me back down. I look down and see a claw coming out from underneath the pool floor. The claw wrapped itself around my right ankle tightly and started pulling me back down.

What the? I start tugging on the claw, my mind going a thousand miles a minute. I started kicking it with my left foot, hoping it’d break its grasp on me. I’m running out of air too. There’s no way the Alpha would let us suffer down here, right?

When I thought all was lost, I saw Sloane’s blonde hair appear underneath me. She swam all the way to the bottom and clicked a switch. The claw retreated back inside the whole it came out of. I swam all the way to the top, gulping in a huge breath of air. I coughed out loud, ready to vomit.

Sloane appeared next to me, her blonde hair stuck in her mouth. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, trying my hardest not to vomit right there and then. We both dunk ourselves back into the water, and then made our way to the end of the pool.

I looked around, looking for Wendy and Eric, but they were nowhere to be in sight. We kept swimming to the end, both of us cautiously looking around. Sloane and I both know there has to be an obstacle before we get there. Sloane and I are now only a few strokes away, when Sloane grabs my hand and screams out loud. I didn’t need to know what she was screaming about when I saw arrows shooting from all directions.

I pushed Sloane deeper into the water to avoid them. One of them hit my arm straight on, pain searing through it. Sloane grabbed it and tugged it out, wincing as she did so. She disposed it, then helped me to the end of the pool. Right when she touched the edge of the pool, arms pulled me and Sloane out of the water.

“That was marvelous, simply marvelous!” The Alpha said delightedly, clapping his hands in triumph. “You two work incredibly well together!”

Sloane looked at him as if he’s crazy. “He’s hurt. He needs somebody to take a look at it immediately. The arrows are filled with poison!”

Two men came in with a bottle of blue liquid. They poured it on my wound, producing sizzles and a burning sensation. I heard the sounds of footsteps, then the sound of coughing. I turned around and saw Wendy and Eric standing next to each other, both of them looking cross.

“Ah, how was it?” The Alpha asked them, a smirk forming on his face. “You both didn’t even get passed the first booby trap. You two are certainly stubborn aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Sloane said, looking at them confused.

“Well you see, Sloane,” The Alpha said, clearly enjoying the power to embarrass Eric and Wendy. “They couldn’t work together, so they both passed out and had to go into the emergency care section of the building.”

Wendy shivered, her usually perfect black hair tangled in unflattering ways. “It has nothing to do with teamwork. It’s all about luck. Like any of this will actually happen on an actual mission.”

The Alpha shook his head, laughing out loud. “Sloane and Alex won because Sloane was able to get out of the claw and then she went to save one of her teammates when she saw them in peril. They then saved each other numerous of times to get themselves to the end of the pool.”

Wendy looked like she was going to throw herself in the pool and let herself drown. Eric looked pathetic, sitting there with a guilty look on his face. The Alpha looked at him and gave him a disappointed look. “You are the leader, Eric. You got in last place. If this keeps up, I will have to kill you.”

The seriousness in his tone made us all go silent, even the guys helping me with my arm went silent. Wendy turned a shade of green, and started playing with her hair. Nobody wanted to speak up first, especially after someone just threatened your teammate’s life.

“Well,” The Alpha said, smiling brightly. “Now that we got the warm up done, lets start the real training, shall we?”

We all murmured yes, feeling uncomfortable. We grabbed our shoes from the other side of the pool, then left the pool room, all of us letting out a sigh of relief. We all didn’t die, just a few minor accidents. We followed closely behind the Alpha, none of us wanted to get the next death threat. We passed a gym; Ben’s training in there with a few of his friends. We walked into another plain room. The only thing in there are weights and exercise equipment. We all strolled around, admiring the room with no interest.

The Alpha disappeared out of the room, then reappeared with a cart. Bottles lined neatly on the cart, tinkling as the cart moved. “Alright, you four. Come on over here and take a good look at these.”

We all walk toward the cart hesitantly. He handed each of us a miniature glass bottle filled with yellow liquid. “I want you four to drink all of it, and let me know how your body is reacting to it. I then want you to try to heal yourself with one of these.”

He gestured with his hand to numerous of bottles filled with different colored liquids. On the test we took, we had to talk about substances spies use to heal themselves in various ways. They lean toward calling them potions, but to me, potions are for witches and wizards.

“One. Two. Three. Go!”

We all chugged it down. I squinted my eyes, waiting for whatever’s supposed to happen, happen. I felt nothing. It tasted like water with a hint of lemon. I heard someone drop to the floor. I turn to my left and see Sloane out cold, her arms spread out. I looked to my right and saw Wendy and Eric swaying in their spot, both of them struggling to stay awake.

Right when Wendy and Eric dropped to the floor, the Alpha clapped his hands loudly. “Excellent work Alex, simply wonderful! Why I’ve never seen someone stay wide awake during a sleeping potion!”

He grabbed a bottle of clear liquid and poured it into Sloane, Eric, and Wendy’s mouths. They all woke up simultaneously, blinking rapidly. Wendy stood up and crossed her arms angrily. “Of course you’d do the sleeping potion first.”

Sloane and Eric stood up as well, both of them looking dazed from the sleep. The Alpha grabbed four bottles filled with pink liquid and handed it to us eagerly. I took a sip of it, then drank all of it. Nothing happened just like the other one. I watched the others and saw all three of them start gagging. Sloane kept punching her stomach, her eyes watering, and Eric grabbed his throat, his eyes widening with every second.

Wendy stood shock still. She was feeling everything Sloane and Eric were feeling, but she showed no emotion, like she was lifeless. Sloane grabbed three bottles of violet liquid. She poured one of them down her throat, then handed the other two to Eric and Wendy. They both took it eagerly and drank it as if their lives depended on it.

They all started coughing out loud, thumping their stomachs. I looked at them all, confused. Why is it working on all of them, but not me? Wendy looked at me, her eyes sending daggers at me.

“Marvelous, simply marvelous,” The Alpha said, looking directly at me. He turned to Sloane next and gave her a grin. “You knew what to take, and most of all you helped your teammates as well.”

Sloane nodded, clearly annoyed. I glanced at her worriedly. This is getting a little too extreme for me. I don’t appreciate him having control on our lives. The Alpha glanced at Eric and Wendy, disappointment running through him. “You two haven’t succeeded once.”

Wendy looked away, and Eric just looked plain out of his comfort zone. The Alpha shook his head again. “I shouldn’t have expected anything from you two.”

“Hey, come on,” Sloane spoke up, giving him a dirty look. “At least they’re trying to do it. It’s not like they’re giving up.”

He turned and stared Sloane straight on. He walked over to them until they were face to face. His left hand twitched, then without a second to react, he slapped her across the face. Wendy gasped out loud, Eric made a noise, and I, I stood there, too shocked to do anything.

Sloane looked at him, her eyes blazing. She kicked him as hard as she could in his leg. The Alpha groaned and fell to the ground. She stared at him, then kicked him in the stomach, causing him to groan even louder. She kneeled down and stared at him straight on. “Don’t you ever slap a woman.”

Wendy’s eyes were wide as the Alpha stood up. He looked at all of us, his eyes filled with amusement. “If any of you try to pull the stunt Sloane just did, I will have you executed. Do you understand me? And, Sloane, you’ll be one of the few spies picked out to do more advanced missions with the older spies.”

Sloane nodded, having no interest in doing that whatsoever. Wendy stomped her foot in disgrace, and pointed at Sloane with disgust. “She doesn’t deserve to be rewarded for assaulting you, sir! Why do you favor her over the rest of us?”

The Alpha walked over to her confidentially, smiling at her with wisdom. “I stood up to the Alpha in my days. She shows me everything I’m looking for in an Alpha. You see, we never have had a woman for an Alpha, so seeing the way Sloane behaves, gives me great hope we’ll soon have a woman as an Alpha when I retire.”

We all glance at Eric, the leader of our group. Why’d he bother giving him such a high title position if he’s going to praise Sloane the whole time? When it comes down to it, odds are he’ll pick me and Sloane to carry on tougher missions.

“Why don’t you four go work out in the gym and I’ll have one of my assistants watch your work out?” The Alpha suggested, opening the door for us.

We all piled out, then ran down the hall, pushing each other out of the way to get ahead of the other. Nobody wanted to be near the Alpha down the hall, especially after Sloane’s stunt. Yes, it may sound childish, but when you actually see the Alpha, you’re terrified to be near him. Eric beat us, opening the door for us politely.

We all walked in casually, but our minds and hearts are going a million miles a minute. We went into the changing room so we could change out of our wet clothes. When we came out, Wendy headed for the kickboxing area, and Sloane, Eric, and I made our way to the weights. I was surprised Sloane wanted to do weights since she’s such a tiny person.

She piled on two hundred and eighty pounds and started lifting the weights, not even struggling. Eric and I tried to one up each other by piling three hundred on the dumbbells. We started lifting them, each trying to reach fifty before the other.

Sloane caught on easily and rolled her eyes at us. “You two don’t have to be so competitive.”

“We’re not being competitive,” Eric said, huffing and puffing. “I just like being the best. You may get the praise now, Sloane, but by the end of the year, I’ll be the one becoming the Alpha.”

Sloane gave him a dirty look. I can tell she’s trying to be civil with him, but if Eric can’t cooperate, why bother wasting your time? We continued working out in silence, none of us daring to say another word to each other.

After an hour and a half of working out, the older spies started filing in. I saw Gary, Allen, Tim, Sherry, and my dad file in, chattering away like best friends. They head our way, smiling proudly. Wendy appeared out of nowhere and stood next to me.

“Hey, guys,” Allen says, smiling at each of us. “The Alpha spoke with us and said some surprising things.”

“Do you want to explain why you beat up the Alpha, Sloane?” Gary asked his daughter, trying to look angry, but he kept smiling as he said it.

“He slapped me so I showed him whose boss,” Sloane said matter-of-factly, smiling innocently. Her dad shook his head, laughing out loud.

“You’re lucky your daughter got away with it, Gary,” Allen said tightly, glaring at Wendy. “She could’ve got killed for that. Remember what happened to the boy who didn’t follow his orders?”

Tim and Sherry glanced at each other, clearly knowing Gary and Allen are going to fight any moment. Wendy coughed uncomfortably, embarrassed about the way Allen is talking to Gary.

“Well, the Alpha certainly does have favorites,” Gary said shrugging. “It’s not my problem if he sees potential in my daughter unlike some of the other kids.”

Cricket cricket. That’s what it sounded like after Gary spoke. Nobody could believe he said that, even if it’s true. Gary shrugged again, then looked at me. “I also heard you helped my daughter out, so thank you. I told Ken you’d be just as good as him.”

I nodded my head, embarrassed. It’s one thing for me to be singled out on something, but another thing if someone tells you that just so the awkwardness will go away in the room. Ben took me home, the apartment of course. I took a quick shower, then called Tyler to see what’s up.

“So, you said you were hanging out with your family huh?” Tyler said, his voice cold.

“Yeah, you knew that, Tyler.”

“How come I saw your dad at the grocery store? He told me that you were hanging out with some of your friends and he’ll have you call me later. Why’d you lie?”

“Dude,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I didn’t want you to get your feelings hurt that I didn’t invite you to hang out with them, okay? It’s not like I wanted to really hang out with them, it’s just something my dad is making me do.”

Tyler’s a good friend, and I will not let being a spy ruin that. He’s been my friend during everything, and if the Alpha tells me I can’t hang out with “normal” people, I’ll have to kick his ass like Sloane did.

“Are you embarrassed of me or something?” Tyler asked angrily. “Am I not cool enough for your friends? And since when do you have friends beside me?”

“Do you think I’m not capable of having friends?” I ask angrily. “If you don’t remember, Sloane is my friend. Obviously I’m making friends or I would have spent the day with you.”

Tyler laughed bitterly. Sometimes he drives me crazy even though we’re best friends. He can be a real girl sometimes, with all of his whining and complaining every time I can’t hang out with him. “Do you actually think those friends will actually listen to all your bull? Do you think they’d talk to you all night while you’re at your moms’ house?”

Sloane would. If I ever let Sloane fully into my life, she’d listen to me and care for me, just like Tyler has. I can see it too, Sloane’s been trying to get me to talk to her, but I keep pushing away. I don’t know, in my mind I can’t trust girls after everything that’s happened involving girls.

“I didn’t think so,” Tyler said, his voice full of triumph.

“Why don’t you shut up, Tyler?” I say, my voice stone cold. “You don’t know my friends, so don’t judge them.”

I hung up the phone before he could answer, not wanting to deal with him and his prissy attitude. All of a sudden, a thought rushed through my mind. I talked to Sloane right in front of him about bowling, and then I told him I’d be spending the day with my family. I’m such an idiot! I’m a terrible liar, and I know I’ll eventually slip about being a spy.

I grab my tennis racket, and flip it back and forth between my hands. I could do all these sports and more than likely win. My dad walked into my room, a look of concern on his face. “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I drop my tennis racket and nod my head at him. “Sure, what’s up?”

Dad leans against my wall and looks at me with concern. “Your mother and I finalized the divorce. After I told the judge about your moms’ boyfriend, they pronounced me full custody of you.”

“Good,” I said satisfied, lying down on my mattress. “I don’t have to go back to that horrid place ever again.”

“No, you don’t. I would however, like it if you could spend some time with your mom. It doesn’t have to be there, and it most certainly doesn’t have to evolve her boyfriend tagging along.”

I turned my head to look at dad. He really wants me to still have a relationship with her. It’s not like I don’t want to, but she’s making it rather difficult for me though. “Fine, I’ll hang out with her tomorrow. I’ll call her up and see if she’s busy.”

“Thank you,” Dad said, smiling proudly at me. “Oh and before I forget, the Alpha spoke to me about you. You did very well on your test, but something in particular has him and I stump. We were wondering how you were unaffected by the potions he gave you.”

“I was wondering that myself,” I said, looking at him. “The rest of them reacted to it in a splint second, but I never felt a thing. Is there something wrong with me?”

“No no, not at all. I think it was actually me who did this to you,” Dad admitted sheepishly. “I used to give you the potions on regular basis to see how you’d react. I think by doing this, I made you immune to all of them.”

That’s crazy, simply crazy. There’s no way my body could be immune to those potions. The Alpha and them specifically make those potions strong so this can’t happen. Dad shrugged at me then walked out of the room, yelling behind him that dinner will be ready soon.

I looked at my cell phone on my wooden desk, suddenly wishing I didn’t have a phone. It would be a good excuse for not setting up an appointment to meet with my mom. Why should I have to see her if she cheated on dad and has a psycho boyfriend? I sigh loudly, and reluctantly grab my phone and dial moms’ number.

“Hey, Alex,” Mom says when she answers. “I’m guessing your dad talked to you huh?”

There are voices in the background, then I heard Matt Owens in the background asking mom whose she’s talking to. “I’m talking to Alex, honey.”

There were some rustles on the phone, then a click. Somebody must’ve gotten on the upstairs phone. “Hey buddy. It’s sad your dad got full custody of you. I’m going to miss you around here. Say, you don’t mind me using your old room for a man cave, do you?”

“I don’t care,” I said emotionless. “Hey, mom, do you want to play tennis tomorrow near the park?”

“Sure, sweetie, that’d be fun!”

“Hey, I play a good match of tennis,” Matt said, an edge to his voice now. “Do you two mind if I join in on the fun tomorrow? We can play doubles, you can invite a friend, Alex.”

I see what he’s doing here. If I get mom alone, I could tell her all the mean things Matt’s done to me. “Um, yeah, I’ll invite someone. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at four.”

I hung up the phone and punched my wall, leaving a small dent in it. Matt’s really getting on my nerves, especially now that I have the power to kill him if I want to. I could just corner him somewhere and beat the living day out of him . . .

I dial Sloane’s number. She picks up on the first ring as usual. “Alex! Dude, I’m sorry about my dad, he was a little . . . obnoxious.”

“It’s fine. If you want, you can make it up to me.”

Sloane sighs out loud playfully. “Oh man, this is going to be good. What do you need me to do for you? If it involves robbing a bank, we’ll have to wait until my blueprints are done.”

I laugh out loud. “We won’t need blueprints for this favor. Do you play tennis?”

“I played a little, but I had to be taken out of the class due to hitting the ball too hard every time it was my turn to pass it to the instructor.”

“Well, do you think you’d try it again, but this time you’d have to deal with my mom and her psycho boyfriend? “

“Psycho boyfriend eh? I’m sure I could live through it as long as you take me out for ice cream later. A double fudge sundae always tastes good after a good workout.”

“Alright. I’ll pick you up at your house around three fifty, okay?”

“Okay, bye, Alex.”

She hung up the phone, but not before I heard her say something I couldn’t understand. Like another language. I smile to myself as I sit down for dinner. Dad and Ben exchange a look, both of them suppressing smiles.

“So,” Ben said, cutting his burger in half. “Who’s the girl?”

“Sloane,” I said before I could even stop myself.

Both of them look up at me. Dad smiles and shakes his head, clearly enjoying this. “The Alpha told me you two were in synch throughout the test. I should’ve known you two would end up being an item.”

I felt myself turn red. I looked down at my plate and eat my burger quietly. When we finished eating I look at dad. “She’s coming with me to hang out with mom. Matt invited himself to our day, so I had to invite Sloane to come along. I don’t know if I want Matt meeting her though since they live so close together. What if he’s a pervert or something?”

“I’m sure Sloane can take care of herself.”

I went to bed early, and got up early to get ready for a sort of date. I put on one of my nice shirts and a pair of khakis. I sprayed cologne on me, and jumped in the truck. I drove to Sloane’s house, a pretty nice house. She was already outside holding a teal tennis racket. She perked up when she saw me and hurried to the truck. “Hey!”

“Hey. Stay by me and never be alone with Matt. He’s dangerous, really dangerous.”

“I think I’ll be okay, Alex. I’m sure he isn’t as bad as you think he is. Do you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?”

I should’ve told her the things that have happened between me and Matt, but I was worried if I told her she wouldn’t want to come. I looked at her, her face wrinkled, worried about me. “It’s okay, Sloane. It’s just he’s done some things that you’d only see in horror films.”

Her eyes widen at me. “I hate horror films. I’m already in a teeny bopper action film for a life, I’m not ready to be in a horror film that’s 3D.”

I pat her on the shoulder, trying not to get distracted by her. I’ve never had a girl in my car besides my ex girlfriend from a long time ago, and usually she tries to find a way to nearly get us in a car accident.

Sloane looked at the backseat of my truck and let out a loud laugh. She leaned out of her seat so she could reach something in the backseat. She returns, holding a stuffed tiger, her eyebrows raised. “Is this Mr. Snuggles?”

I shook my head, laughing. “Nah, it’s just something my ex girlfriend gave to me during middle school. She named it Mr. Stripes.”

Sloane laughed, admiring the stuffed animal. She looked at the tag on the stuffed animal and let out a noise. “Our dads know the guy who owns this company. He’s a real jerk.”

When we stopped at a red light I took the tiger from her and looked at the company name: Tots and Bots Company. “This guy makes the weapons for the spies, doesn’t he?”

“Mhmm,” Sloane said, grabbing the tiger back from and started examining it again. She looked at one of its eyes, her eyes fixated on it. She touched the right eye gently, then looked at me. “Tots and Bots is a nanny cam company. They specialize in putting cameras into tot’s toys.”

I take it back from her and tear the tiger apart. A small camera falls in my lap, and fluff, lots of fluff. “What the. . .”

“Your girlfriend didn’t have much faith in you,” Sloane said, grabbing the fluff and sticking it back into the tiger. “I can sew this back up for you if you want and give it to you after school tomorrow.”

I shook my head. She handed me back the tiger and I threw it out the window angrily. I kept that tiger because I deeply cared about her, but I know why she put the camera in the tiger. I talked about Wendy too much, and I tried to make her be more like her. She must’ve thought I was cheating on her with Wendy, something I’d never do.

We got to the tennis courts, almost always vacant. We both got out and stretched our legs. Sloane pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and tied her Puma sneakers. Ironically she had the girl style of the same Pumas as me, but I of course had the boy’s version.

Mom and Matt are already on the courts, throwing the tennis ball back and forth. Sloane and I walked in the tennis court and said hello.

“Hi,” Mom said, looking at Sloane quizzically. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Mallory, Alex’s mom of course. I’m surprised you didn’t bring Tyler with you, Alex.”

I shrugged. I don’t have to bring Tyler with me everywhere I go. Sloane shook my Moms hand firmly. “Hi, I’m Sloane Adams, Sandy’s sister. We‘ve met a couple times, but you didn’t say anything to me.”

Mom blushed a deep red and quickly shook it off. “Your sister is lovely, simply lovely. I do have to watch out for her though, she does drop hints every now and then that she’s not a virgin.”

I looked at my mom, horrified. Why would she tell Sloane that? She just told Sloane her sister’s a slut. I gave my mom a nasty look, receiving a death look from Matt. Sloane turned in Matt’s direction and gave him a cold look. “Hi Matt, Alex’s told me a lot about you.”

Matt looked at her, a smile flickering across his face. “I’m sure he has. All good things I’m assuming, correct?”

“Nope,” She replied cheerfully.

I shook my head, laughing to myself. Mom cleared her throat and looked at Matt. He made his way across the court and stopped next to my Mom. He made a big show of holding her hand, then looked at me, raising an eyebrow. “Why don’t you two go to the other side of the court so we can play?”

Sloane and I both went to our side of the court, sharing a look. She took the right side of our half of the court and gave me a smile in encouragement. Matt looked at us, a smile playing across his face. “Why don’t we go first, then let the ladies have their turn?”

I nodded, not caring for words. He threw the tennis ball in the air then slapped it toward me. It flew across the court like lightning. I missed it and it soared right behind me, making a big clanking noise as it hits the chains behind me.

Sloane and I exchanged a look, both of us wearing wide eyed eyes. She mouthed kick his ass, then gave me an encouraging nod. I threw the yellow tennis ball back at him so he could serve again. This time when he threw it, I hit it dead on. When it flew in the air, it soared lower and lower, then knocking him in between the legs.

“SWEETIE!” Mom cried, rushing over to him. He recovered pretty quickly, standing back up, only wincing slightly.

“Hey, Sloane,” Matt said, looking at her with sudden interest. “Why don’t you and I serve a round?”

Sloane glanced at me, her eyebrows raised. What game is he trying to play with us? He’s a creep, and Sloane is fully aware of it now. She turned back to Matt and nodded her head warily. He threw the ball in the air, then gently threw it at her. She threw it back just as lightly. They kept this up for about thirty seconds until he spiked it at her, nailing her in the shoulder with it. The impact sent her to the ground, making a noise in disgust.

“Are you alright?” I asked worriedly, kneeling down next to her.

“I had to let it hit me. There’s something about him that I don’t like. Maybe he’s one of the enemies because there’s no way he could’ve had that much power in it. If he’s not, I want to know why he isn’t playing professional tennis.”

We both glanced over at my mom and Matt, both of them talking intensely. I don’t know how my mother could pretend that she didn’t see him hurt Sloane, it’s driving me crazy. I helped her back up and looked at her shoulder. It’s a deep red, and you can see the mark of the tennis ball in her shoulder. I grabbed her by the hand and we both walked out of the tennis courts.

My Mom didn’t call after me, and I didn’t expect her too. She just snuggled up to Matt, cooing over him like a puppy. I helped Sloane in the car, then got into the drivers seat. I’m such an idiot for bringing her here, in the wrath of Matt. I should’ve invited someone else, like Tyler. I doubt Matt would’ve hurt him.

“Don’t be sorry, Alex,” Sloane said as if reading my mind. “It’s not your fault Matt is a bigger jerk than you thought. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

I didn’t answer. I bet she wants me to take her home so she can tell all her friends about the lame date she went on, or if she would even call this a date. I started the car, then started driving her home. She looked at me, confused. “Aren’t we going for ice cream still?”

“You still actually want to go?” I look at her with disbelief.

Sloane looked at me, and shook her head laughing. “Dude, I want my sundae.”

I make a U-Turn then head back toward the ice cream parlor. I’ve been there a few times, mostly when I was younger. I park in front of the small ice cream parlor, barely able to fit five people probably. We both get out and walk inside, enjoying how cold it is in there.

“Two double fudge sundaes,” I said to girl behind the counter. She nodded and started making our ice cream. We picked a spot near the air conditioner and sat across from each other.

The lady handed us two sundaes, smiling at us. We started eating in silence. I heard the jingle on top of the door of the ice cream parlor. I look up and saw Tyler walking in with two of his nerd friends I’ve never liked. He glanced at our table and whispered something to his friends. They laugh snort and order what they want.

“They called us losers with a low IQ,” Sloane said, shaking her head, smiling. “Little do they know, huh?”

I glance curiously at her, and then back at them. “Yes, little do they know.”