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                     *          *          *

       September 5th

       Agent R. Harris becomes more acquainted with the Cherubim. Agent K. Masters gives instructions to all agents involved in the operation. Agent A. Peterson and Agent R. Harris take action together as planned.

       13: For Better or Worse

       Date: September 5th

At Smile Academy it's a tradition to start every year off with a photoshoot. You don't ask why you're leaving the premises on the first day of school. You don't ask when they had the time to set everything up. You don't ask how they plan to find you in the huge mall that you're inside of.

       You don't ask any questions whatsoever.

       You smile and pose for the camera.

       Everyone at Smile knows this and has accepted it.

       That's everyone except the Cherubim. And since I was officially initiated into the group yesterday when I joined their Facebook page, that also includes me.

       But I would have never agreed to their terms anyway.

       "You want me to do what?" I demand, crossing my arms.

       "It's not just you," the photographer in front of me tries to reason. I roll my eyes, turning my head impolitely to stare out at the stores that surround me. "Everyone has to do it."

       Susan, standing on my left, looks up from her phone to give the photographer a look. "Um, no. I am not stepping in front of that camera dressed in polyester underwear from some brand that no one's ever heard of, and there is no way I would let you take a picture of me half naked and plaster it on the walls all over the Plaza." She drops her phone into her purse, her expression hard. "And neither would they," she adds, pointing at me, Natalia, Leah, and Maria.

       "What we're going to do," Natalia speaks up, "is go get ourselves some lattes and maybe buy a donut if we're feeling like eating sweets today."

       Leah, who stands on my right, purses her lips. "I don't think I'm feeling sweets," she says, turning to Maria. "You?"

       Instead of playing along Maria blinks at Leah confusedly. "I don't get it . . . why don't we just do the photoshoot?" We all turn to stare at her. "What?" she asks.

       In the corner of my eye I see Natalia sigh and shake her head.

       “Okay, look, Mr.—” I pause to glance at the blue nametag on his white button-down shirt. “—Kinkle," I finish. Adjusting my bag over my shoulder, I ignore him when he corrects me for the mis-pronunciation of his name.

       “We're a part of something in Smile Academy that your brain doesn't have the ability to understand, called the Cherubim. And the Cherubim, well, we don't do lingerie photoshoots in the middle of Whitehaven Plaza. So no, we will not be joining the rest of the school at the moment. If we get in trouble for it, which we won't, we'll figure it out on our own. Just leave us alone."

       Without glancing back at the three girls I swivel around and walk into the Dunkin' Donuts behind me. As soon as I push open the clear doors that lead into the store, the smell of coffee bursts into my nose.

       The Dunkin' Donuts inside the Plaza is surprisingly empty. About five circular tables can be seen from where I stand with matching stools around them, and only three of the tables are clean.

       I wrinkle my nose.

       "Hey, Rachel," says a voice from behind me. I turn to see who's speaking.

       A pair of startlingly green eyes meet mine.

       Standing a little taller, I let myself focus on the only square table in the room that comes with only two seats, and decide to acknowledge the boy with a nod. "Alex."

       The exit door that I came through is next to the square table, which is positioned so that anyone can see us through the window. As I step towards the table I see a guy with a dark leather jacket – accompanied by a blonde – pass the door with a phone in his hand. By the time I take the seat across from Alex, the guy that walked past comes back to the door again.

       As soon as he steps inside, I realize the guy is Adrian. He walks straight past our table, not even noticing Alex and me sitting together, and a familiar blonde in a skin-tight red skirt bounces along right behind him.

      Maria and Adrian walk up to the front of the store without a care in the world, oblivious to Alex and I at the back.

       Isn't this girl the one that was telling me Adrian was "totally not" yesterday?

       When I turn back to Alex I find his gaze fixed on Adrian as well, his face making no effort to hide his irritation.

        Surprised at Alex's reaction, my eyes wander back to the couple standing at the cashier. Adrian turns to Maria and says something, most likely asking her what she wants to order, and Maria whispers a response into his ear. The two end up laughing together.

       "You know, I really don't like that guy," Alex mutters, watching Maria's hand find its way to Adrian's shoulder. My head snaps toward his.

       Alex doesn't seem like the type to dislike anyone. "Why?" I inquire bluntly. "You just met him a few days ago."

       Alex's eyes meet mine again, and the irritation in his expression disappears. "Multiple reasons. First I just didn't like him because he was your boyfriend."

       I roll my eyes, but I feel my cheeks get a little warmer and choose not to acknowledge that I haven't blushed like that since I first met Adrian. "Next reason."

       Alex's grin appears. "Too soon?" he muses, a playful glint in his eyes.

       "More like too corny," I retort.

       The boy crosses his arms, and I watch him shake a few locks of his blond hair out of his eyes. "How was that corny?" he asks.

       "It just was," I reply simply.

       "No way."

       "Yes way."

       "I refuse."

       "Next reason," I say, sighing. I then realize my face is displaying a small grin of my own, and this surprises me even more than Alex disliking someone. And I can tell it surprises Alex too because he pauses to watch my expression.

       After a few seconds, Alex continues with a smile on his face. "Other than the first reason, he's my roommate. These past few days I've been stuck making friends with the same people he has. It's at the point where even Jeffrey Lin finds him annoying. And Jeffrey Lin is possibly the most annoying prick I've ever met."

       Hearing him speak of people such as "Jeffrey Lin" so casually makes a question pop up inside my head. "How long have you been attending Smile Academy?"

       He scoffs. "Let's just say I've been here long enough to know that when a girl does this," he says, placing his hand on mine, "the only thing she really wants you to do is buy her a pair of those shoes she saw at that store across the street."

       Amused at his words, I let my mouth spread into a full grin. I then open my mouth to reply, but my hand is tingling at the contact with his, and my heart is pounding too hard against my chest for me to continue. When my green eyes finally meet Alex's, I can't even remember what I was going to say.

       And then the moment is interrupted by a voice.

       "Guys," it says, and I freeze.

       Being with Alex has made me forget about the actions of my ex-boyfriend and new best friend, but it comes back when I turn to face Adrian over my shoulder. The small smile is wiped off my face so quickly that I think everyone inside the room notices my discomfort.

       Which is most likely true, because everyone in the room is staring at us. Maria is nowhere to be seen and the store is now filled with people – students of Smile that have heard of my involvement in the Cherubim and seen the breakup between Adrian and me.

       "We need to talk," Adrian says, staring at me. His gaze is lands on Alex, but then darts to Alex's hand that now rests on top of mine. And then he turns back to me, his eyes narrowed. "All of us."

           .          .          .

Twenty minutes later the three of us sit inside the computer lab on the fifth floor of the west wing, stationed in different areas with black laptops in front of us.

       Kyle's face is all that's on our screens.

      "What do you have?" he asks through his microphone. I look over at Alex.

       At my signal, he begins typing away at the small chat box in the left hand corner of the screen.

       USER 502 is typing...

       A few seconds later, his message appears on the screen before me.

       USER 502: Maxwell Thomas has been known as the principal for only two years. Smile Academy was originally established by the surname Torres.

       I blink at the screen for a moment. Then my hands find their way to the laptop's keyboard.

       USER 501: Smile Academy has no documentation of Maxwell Thomas whatsoever. He is only said to be the principal through word of mouth. If our sources were not reliable, we would have to complete a full analysis of the school.

       Kyle's eyes narrow for a split second, and without him telling me anything I can tell he's impressed that I've found this out. It takes a lot of effort to complete a partial analysis of the school the way I did. I've searched every office, every computer, and every folder inside Smile within two days.

       "Without something that Special Operations can qualify as proof, that information is invalid," reminds Kyle's voice. My expression hardens. At the moment I'm glad that my face can't be seen at Special Operations, and that Kyle can't hear the sound of my voice.

       USER 501: I am aware. I'll have the proof ready for Special Operations.

       "Yes. You will," he replies finally. I scowl. "Agent Nichols. What have you found?"

       My eyes stay glued to the screen until Adrian's reply comes up. I wait, because I know he hasn't found much, and it won't sit well with Kyle. It takes a while but eventually his twelve-worded-response appears.

       USER 500: Jeffrey Lin is related to Maxwell Thomas through his sister by marriage.

       I blink at the screen. Knowing Adrian, there is a possibility that this information is not his discovery. That's what I'm thinking, and Adrian has done nothing to convince me otheriwise.

       There is a moment of inactivity before Alex begins slamming his fingers down on the keyboard.

       USER 502: I told you that.

       USER 500: You led me to it, but I found the document myself.

       USER 502 is typing...

       "Agents," Kyle starts, his voice firm, "your mission begins now. Agent Nichols I suggest you start working. You're behind. You won't get credit for this operation unless you complete it with your associates.

       "Agent Peterson and Agent Harris, you are expected to find out everything you can. Use Maxwell's relatives, teachers, favorite students; anything you can find. Just get us his whereabouts and get him in handcuffs. Understood?"

       When no one else responds, I type in one word and press enter.

       USER 501: Affirmative.

           .          .          .

"So exactly who is the principal?" I ask Natalia. I stick my fork inside my fruit salad and bring a piece of watermelon into my mouth.

       We sit inside the lounge on the second floor of the east wing, where Natalia and Leah share a room. This lounge is covered in green. I notice, because I'm eating from a neon green container that matches Natalia's cup.

       The blonde takes a long sip of her iced tea before answering my question.

       "I've never met him. His name is Mr. Thomas; he comes in to check on us from time to time. We don't see him often and he only checks in with the assistant principal and about four other students whenever he does come in.

       "But the assistant principal is Christopher Jacobs, the guy who pretty much does Maxwell's job for him. Maxwell hired him purposely to take care of the school."

       "That’s against the codes of the Board of Education," I lie, making conversation. "Which four students does he check in with when he comes in?" I ask.

       Natalia pauses, her hand playing with her bendy-straw while she thinks. "Well it's one student from every senior grade. The freshman representative is Kristen Fell, the sophomores have Ginger DiGiovanni, Eli Howard represents the juniors, and . . ."

       The blonde trails off, lost in thought. A few seconds pass, and I bring another piece of fruit towards me so that I don't look too eager to find out. "I know he's a senior but I just can't remember that last one's name," she finishes.

       I swallow the fruit, but a breath of air is stuck in my throat. Just one more name and I could've been a step closer to finding this guy.

       "Rachel, I think we should get going," says Alex from behind me. “I was going to introduce you to Jeff—”

       "That's it!" Natalia exclaims, snapping her fingers. "His name is Jeffrey Lin."

       Slowly, I turn towards Alex. "Well, let's go meet the guy, shall we? We shouldn't keep him waiting," I say. And then I stand and grab my purse. When I meet Alex's gaze, I tell Natalia without looking, "I'll see you later."

       Then I start towards the door. But as I'm leaving, I can't shake off the feeling that there's something Natalia hasn't told me. And, as usual, I have a feeling my instincts are correct.

                     *          *          *

       Not really in the mood to write a message. Had a death in my immediate family and I really don't feel up to it at the moment. Comment and vote and share.

       'AwesomelyBlaze