Miami, coconut beach, 23.03.1999:

After a few days, they finally arrived at the Codebreakers' boarding school. They were just entering the entrance hall. Evelyn looked like she was about to keel over.

"Wicked!" Nora exclaimed, earning a stern look from her father. On the walls of the huge hall were large pictures of action films, cars, and several well-known rugby and football players. They didn't know any of them, of course, but the pictures were good. The walls and furnishings were black and gold. There was a small lobby in one corner with black armchairs and a few sofas with gold cushions. The floors were also covered in black marble with gold stripes running through it. The counter where you could register was also made of black marble with oak panelling. There were a few fake plants on it. Behind him sat a friendly-looking man with a bald head. He now straightened up.

Two metres five." Evelyn said automatically.

"No, more like two metres ten." Dakotia replied.

"Two metres four." The bear now spoke up. Calypso grinned contentedly at Dakotia, who turned away in a huff.

"Group 3 from the Black Forest." Mr Jakobs now sighed and handed the man behind the counter a piece of paper while he looked at the man's black blazer jacket with its many colourful patches.

"Ah, yes, you're early. The others won't be here for a few hours." The man remarked.

"Are they crocheting?" Nora suddenly asked.
"Yes, I do that. But how do you know that?" Replied the man without looking up from the note.

"You just seemed like the type." Nora shrugged her shoulders.

The man just grumbled. Then he handed Mr Jakobs a couple of room keys. "You and that strange aunt have one of the rooms on the fifth floor. The girls share their rooms with Yolanda, Noalia, Maria, and Esther." He explained before turning away again.

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Maria and Esther were sitting doing their homework when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Maria called out.

The door opened, and two girls entered the room. One had long fiery red ringlets sticking wildly from her head, more freckles on her face than you could count,  and was rather short. The other was tall, slim, and had short, wavy brown hair that fell over her blue eyes and headphones over her ears. The girl in question was now grinning broadly.

"Hey, we're the new roommates." She then said in a melodic-sounding voice that didn't suit her at all.

"Ah, yes, Nora and Calypso, right?" Maria asked.

The girl with the fiery red curls was now silent. "I'm Calyps,  and this is Nora." She said, pointing to the tall girl.

Maria pointed to a bunk bed on one side of the room. "You can make yourselves comfortable there. Esther and I sleep there." She said and pointed to a bed opposite.

Without a word, Nora threw her bag on the top bunk while Calypso thanked her. Maria frowned but said nothing. She wasn't one to quickly form an opinion about others.

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At night, Maria was woken by quiet voices.

"I want to go to Dad." Said one of them.

"We don't even know where he is." Yawned the other.

"I don't care, I'll go and find him now!" Insisted the other.

Maria also heard the rustling of bed linen being pushed aside and someone getting up. She heard the soft patter of feet pattering past her and the opening of the door as someone left the room. At any other time, Nora and Maria might have stopped Calypso. But it was 01:30 and neither of them was really awake. So they didn't.

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Esther woke up first thing the next morning. She looked around the room. It was still early, and it was Saturday, so they still had plenty of time. She noticed Nora, who was actually hanging halfway out of bed while she slept, her hand dangling over the edge of the bed. Esther's eyes wandered to the bed underneath. It was empty. She yawned and brushed some hair out of her face before she realised. Calypso was missing.

Esther immediately woke Nora and Maria. Nora waved them off, half asleep.

"She's gone to see Mr Jakobs." She yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her face. Esther immediately relaxed. Maria hadn't even woken up. Nora awkwardly climbed out of bed, grabbed some toilet paper, and went to the bathroom. She came out a little later in her school uniform. Maria had also got up in the meantime and looked at Nora in confusion.

"What are you wearing?" She asked, puzzled.

"I think it's called clothes." Nora said dryly.
Maria looked down at herself. She was only wearing biker boots, shorts with colourful striped stockings, and a red croptop with the words "Bxtch."

"No, you're allowed to wear that?" Nora looked delighted.

"Yes, I mean, are you told what to wear?" Maria shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes, yes, we do." Nora replied.

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At breakfast, the rector of the Field Agents gave a speech, and the rector of the Codebreakers did the same. However, they were so boring that most of them didn't even listen.

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Over the next few days, the students "got to know" each other. Friendships were made, conversations were had, and the odd enmity arose. Surprisingly, there was an enmity between Dakotia and Elenore, the "Queen B" of the field agents. Everyone had actually thought that the two would have liked each other, but that wasn't the case. The two mean girls couldn't stand each other for the life of them. The only question was why.