Edition One

First things first, you should probably know that this story takes place at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. For those of you who have heard of us I can literally hear you sighing right now, but you can stop. For those of you who haven’t heard of us you should know we have a reputation for being a snobby boarding school for rich and bratty heiresses, and sadly, most of us are. But instead of inheriting some decked-out vineyard, we will most likely get our own CIA branch. Yes, this is a school for spies. And we all have our own interesting stories so this story is about four of our girl’s stories Makayla Goode (me), Maddie Demmerson, Jordan Baxter, and Sophie Fellton. We all came from different places with totally different stories, but our subtle similarities made us click and form a bond that could never be destroyed.

I walked through the massive oak doors, taking in the smell, sights, and the feel of my home- The Gallagher Academy. The sound was the only thing missing. I sat there in the entrance, waiting for the scurrying of feet and the chatter of gossiping girls. There was none. No one was there yet. I walked up the great stone steps, listening to the clump of my Mary-Jane's against the stairs. The spy part of me took in everything around me, the amount of steps, the watt measure on the lamps and how many teachers were talking around the corner. 36 steps, 70 watts per lamp - for a total of 1120 watts - and 4 teachers talking around the corner.

The voices were getting closer, and I wanted to enjoy the last hour of silence in the Academy. I took a quick left and shoved all of my body weight into the wall. To someone who wasn’t used to the sight of me doing this, I would look totally mental. But instead of my energy bouncing back on me, the wall gave way and a door appeared leading into a dark hallway. Various creatures scurried in every direction, hiding from the harsh light.

   “Ew.” I couldn’t help but mumble to myself as the door closed and the dark engulfed me. Being the spy that I am, I should’ve “been prepared” and had a flashlight. Being the girl that I am, there was no way I was lugging a flashlight everywhere I went.

 As I continued on my way, I started thinking about the various things that could happen to me.

1.      I fall down into some mysterious mine shaft and die (Possible, where do you think the California Gold Rush Started? California? Puh-lease)

2.      Get lost (Impossible I had been at the Gallagher Academy since I was really little, so I knew nearly every secret passageway there was to know)

3.      Freak out over the small space and die (Impossible, I had never been claustrophobic)

4.      Run into a huge stalactite in the ceiling and come out to observe the large blue bump on your forehead (Possible, and very un-spy-like)

Luckily none of those things happened, I was just able to walk behind the walls of the Gallagher academy covered in cobwebs, with a huge patch of dirt staining the front of my shirt- from my previous incident of a newly found passageway beside door to the East Wing.

It was peaceful walking, just me and no one else, leaving me to my thoughts of the new school year, the familiar faces, and the only home that I have ever known. Ever since I was little when my parents disappeared, I came here to live with my Aunt Macey- the head mistress of the Gallagher Academy. So I’ve grown up in a spy family, seen other great spies grow up, and lived in my spy home (AKA the Gallagher Academy)... yeah, let’s just say I don’t have the most normal life.

I brushed a cobweb to the side and tripped over a brick that never use to be there (yeah, a usual Kayla thing to do).

A shadow caught my eye; it had moved. I stared at it for a moment, absorbing the shape and size. It was more of a blur than anything, but as soon as I stood up, it vanished. The shadow was no longer there. I knew better to call out, instead I followed the branch that lead off by a 90 degree angle. Curiosity has always been my weak spot and I wasn’t gonna let it down now; things just started to get juicy.

I tiptoed over the corner, not even daring to breath. I peeked around the corner and saw the shadow taking the next right. Swiftly, I followed, avoiding the creeks of the floorboards underneath my feet. A shadow, never a good sign, but being a spy-in-training there aren’t any good signs.

I followed the shadow- getting glimpses every once in a while- for who knows how long. I knew the route we were taking- it was leading to the East Wing entrance way, we were just circling back around to where we started. But then when the shadow should’ve taken a right... it went straight- right into the wall. I was puzzled for a moment. After all, the shadow walked right into a curtain covering a wall.

I was sure that the shadow was long gone when I snuck right up to the curtain and brushed it aside. Wall. Stone wall. There was nothing unusual, it was just wall. I would have stayed there, but I knew that my personal time was nearly over. I knew someone would start looking for me. So I made my way to the east wing entrance. Only, I took the long route instead taking the shorter way by making the turn that would lead me there in less than five minutes.

I needed time to think. But I was afraid that the time to think wasn’t exactly helpful. What was that shadow- no, who was that shadow? Where did it go? Why was it at the Gallagher Academy? How did it get into the Gallagher Academy? When will it come back? Will it come back? And what did it want?

As a spy-in-training, there weren’t very many things that could make me feel queasy, insecure, scared. But right then, I didn’t like I was in the world’s most highly secured building, I felt like I couldn’t be in the most dangerous building in the world... I was afraid. It seemed as if the passageway took on another role; the light- which had been just fine before- seemed to dim even further than before, I lost track of my footing and tumbled in nearly every step, and the creeks of floor boards which were never there before were pursuing me. I tumbled down the passageway, silently beating myself up for taking the long route and not going to the light and short route.

A finger tapped my shoulder.