We were tumbling in a weird hug/death grip when he yelled in my ear, "Do not let go of me. Hold me tightly. I have a parachute so careful with your arms."

I was facing his body with my arms and legs wrapped around him tightly while he just gingerly put one hand on my hip. His other hand was at his back pulling the chute chord. When he pulled it we jerked upwards and slowed significantly.

While we were descending he tried to be comforting, but even he tried to sound sincere, I was way too petrified to listen. My face was buried into his chest and my tears were probably causing a huge wet spot on his shirt. Not that it would matter when we landed in the ocean.

"Treakle, hey," he tapped my head with his free hand.

I looked up and glared at him, "What?"

"You can swim, right? I mean I have a raft but it takes a few seconds to fill up automatically."

I continued to glare at him. Then I looked down to see how far we were from the ocean; only a few feet. Dravon anticipated what I was going to do and wrapped his arm around my waist tightly.

"Don't. We may be close to the surface but a big splash may attract unwanted visitors."

"Like sharks?"

"No, like those people who blew up the jet." We landed in the water just as he finished.

A chill shot up my spine as the cold water soaked my body. I treaded water while Dravon pulled the raft out his parachute bag thing. He pulled a chord or something and the ocean colored rubber raft began filling up with air. I assumed it was bluely-green so that bad guys in the sky couldn't find us.

Dravon helped me climb on top of it and then pulled himself up too. He then pulled out a small cube and pushed the yellow button on it. I watched it carefully as a red light appeared on the side of the box and a low beeping started going off every two minutes.

"It's a locator device. Not a bomb."

I sighed with relief. I was worried Dravon suddenly became suicidal. "Won't the bad guys pick up the signal?"

"Wow, people don't normally think about that so quick. I'm impressed. Maybe you will become a good spy."

"I'm not becoming a spy."

"Whatever. But no, it has a frequency that is scientifically altered so that only headquarters can pick it up. We'll be saved in a matter of minutes."

We sat in silence while I racked up the courage to ask a question. It wasn't a life changing question, but it was something that I needed to know. My explanations were ranging from immortal to double agents.

"Uh, Dravon..." I decided to work up to that question, get my nosy nerves worked up. "What shot the plane down?"

"A missile, obviously. What, did you think it was a bird?"

"Well, no. I'm sorry; people don't try to kill me that often. Guess I didn't remember to read up on "100 Ways Spies Will Kill You"'

He scowled at me, "its common sense when you see a long pole flying at a moving target. What do they teach you in school? Oh yeah, useless crap like grammar."

"What do they teach you in spy schools then?"

"How to stay alive. That is the only thing you will ever need to know if you want to be a spy."

"Can I get specifics?"

"Nope." He popped his "P" and smiled. Jacob did that the first time I met him, when I asked if he wanted to call me an orphan. I guess I now know why he didn't. I'm not an orphan.

"Holy shit! I'm not an orphan!" I started bouncing up and down, laughing and repeating that happy statement.

"You're about to be dead if you don't shut up! Would you like those bad guys to come back and make your parents childless? It would make everything everyone's ever done for you pointless."

Only Dravon Stewart could ruin a happy moment like that.

"How am I still alive?" Back to my questionnaire.

"I saved you, obviously. Any idiot can see that." Dravon replied smugly.

"So, how are you alive? I saw the plane explode and you were in it..."

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He said winking.

Ugh. This guy is unbelievable.

After that we sat in silence and watched the locator the whole time.

......§......

I was currently sitting in a small office, alone. It looked like a principal's office; what with the filing cabinets, folders labeled attendance, and a plaque that displayed a PhD. I was blindfolded as soon as our rescue mission reached land. So I had no idea where I was, but my guess is headquarters. After the rescue boat picked us up Dravon explained that I'd have to go there to get briefed and swear into secrecy sometime soon. It's not like someone would really believe that I, Robin Kemp, small town "orphan", have super spy parents and an ex-spy "grandmother". But whatever floats their boat.

After I finished looking at everything in the room for the fourth time, I finally heard the door open.

"Ah, Miss Kemp, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." A tall man walked past my chair and leaned against the desk. He was holding a folder with my name, Treakle Kemp, on it. Under my name read "School Records." Why does he have that? "My name is Mr. Rogers."

"Hello sir."

He smiled and continued. "Welcome to headquarters. Well, technically this is the headquarters of our training facilities. We need to have you fully prepared for anything if you are to be involved in this lifestyle. I understand that this will be a change for you since you are probably used to learning about American History-"

"Now you get to learn about spy history."

Both Mr. Rogers and I turned to look at the new comer. Dravon, of course.

"Hello Mr. Stewart. Thanks for knocking. That file you need is in that cabinet. Then straight to your debrief."

Dravon walked straight past me without even glancing at me. I wanted to say something to him, like hey or thanks for ruining my life, something conveying the message that I was a little peeved with him. But he just ignored me. It was like we didn't just share a life altering moment. (Getting a missile shot at us, yeah that one.) Mr. Rogers coughed as I realized I was starring after Dravon, even after he left the room.

"So, you'll stay here in the dorms and attend training classes every morning. Each usually runs about forty minutes. There are only six classes you'll start taking now, we'll add more as your progress. The six are: weaponry defense, martial arts, camouflage, disguises, codes, and, oh I always forget the last one." He slapped his forehead gently, "that's right, there are only five classes. So, here's your schedule, your dorm room is on there too. I don't think you have a roommate, but don't quote me on that. That's about it. Any questions?"

I stared at this guy with my mouth open. Was he serious? Did he really think I'd just walk in here and willingly become a spy?

"Yeah, just one: how do I get out of here? I don't want to be a spy. I want to go home to Harry and Tyler. Things are so confusing and I need answers that I don't want." I felt like crying, but I figured out a long time ago that tears got you nowhere.

"Honey, no one wants to be a spy. It's a living hell. Most retire completely insane. Others are lucky to pass on while on a mission. I think your caretaker was one of the few that haven't lost their marbles. Her and your old principal, yes she was also an ex-spy. People usually get forced into this business because of who they know. Or if they did something extraordinary."

I took a deep breath, "So what you're saying is that since I've been surrounded by spies my whole life...it was inevitable that I too would become one?"

"Basically."

Great. I was doomed to be a sneaky, conniving, spy since birth.

Mr. Rogers explained how the school worked and told me that everything would be fine. And for some reason I actually believed him.

As I was exiting the "principals" office I bumped into someone. They were holding a folder with papers in them, and as we made contact, all the paper fell. Nice.

"Oh I'm so sorry," I began picking them up and handing them to the person. Although one of them caught my eye. It had my name written across the top, but it didn't say Robin, it said Treakle. Why does everyone here keep calling me that? Underneath my name had the name "Jareth Anakin," then the words "Mission Failed." What's all this crap? What does this Jareth Anakin have to do with me?

Before I had a chance to read more about myself and Jareth, the paper was snatched up and the person walked away mumbling something about newbie's. I love how welcoming everyone here is.

............................................................

VOTE & COMMENTS..?