The Assassin - a Denied Spies Novel Book 1

Ava

The day went on forever. First I showed him around the school then I took him to his first class - which sadly was mine too - and to top it off, I had to do all the talking. For some reason the dude went mute. Thankfully break came and I managed to win fifteen minutes of peace.

I left Leon alone with the boys and kept my distance but I still kept an eye on Tina - just in case. It was the end of break that was the hard part. The boys took Leon away with them and I should have been glad but I was to watch out for him. So I went the same way as them, being careful to keep my distance. The boys separated a few at a time, going to their classes, but one boy kept walking with Leon. A boy I'd never seen him before.

They kept walking to the very top floor, past our class, onto the roof - I thought I was the only person that knew about that - and over to the edge. I stood quietly at the window, ready to pounce when I heard mumbling. They were talking but I couldn't hear properly so I climbed out the window and hid behind a small group of trees and listened.

"I don't know if she's ready yet! I haven't been here long enough! I know she can fight but that's it!  And anyway why are you here? You're meant to be training your sister, Kate!" exclaimed Leon. I crept nearer, being careful not to be heard.

"Hey, I need a break; Kate's a pain in the neck! And I'm here to make sure you're doing your job! OK!" said the stranger.

"No! It's not OK! I was told I would have one week, not two hours!" Leon said furiously.

"Well too bad! You're going to be checked on constantly! Who knows what you'll do if she isn't ready!?" the stranger yelled.

"This is what this is all about!? You think that I'll hand her over to the bad guys!? Just because they have my dad doesn't mean I'm going to hand over maybe one of the best spies there will ever be!" Leon barked. The stranger rested his hand on Leon's shoulder and whispered something into his ear. I didn't hear what he said but it sounded like "That's not it."

"I don't think that but I can't say others don't." the stranger said his voice low and sad. "I think you'll get too close." He said smirking but Leon just glared at him. The stranger started speaking again "Let's get you back to the stairs..."

I darted back to the stairs before they noticed me, missing the rest of what the stranger said. I ran down two flights of stairs and pretended to be looking for Leon. It wasn't long before he was a few steps above me.

"There you are! Hurry up, we're missing science. I can't miss science again, at least not this week." I said grabbing his arm and pulling him to class. I looked up for the other boy but he was nowhere to be seen. It was like he just vanished into thin air.

What is going on? First the conversation with Mr Rite -or whoever he is- and now this!

Finally we made it to class missing only 20 minutes of the lesson. "Hey, Ms. Sorry we're late but the new kid got lost and I had to go find him under the head's orders," I said as I walked into the classroom.

"Are you sure that you weren't just late and saw him and thought he'd make a good excuse?" the teacher, Mrs Alderson asked.

"No, I've to be his guide out of punishment, sucks I know."

"Now that makes sense. I'll double check on that though, just go take a seat and I'll find one for... sorry what's your name?" she asked Leon who looked blankly at her.

"Oh yeah, he's decided to be difficult and doesn't talk to teachers. His name Leon Evans or something like and he's a real pain in my ass," I answered for him as I made my way to my seat at the back of the classroom.

"Ava, that's not very nice, for that he can sit next to you and continue to be a pain in your butt," Mrs Alderson retorted.

"Can I never catch a break?" I mumbled to myself luckily unheard by the teacher.

Mrs Alderson quickly welcomed the new boy while I copied what was on the board. Leon collected a blue paper folder and two jotters - one large and the other small - before he took the seat next to me. I rubbed my face. Why me?

"OK class, today we will be doing an experiment on starch. Everything you need is at the back of the class and the instructions will be on the smart-board. And yes Tina, you will be working in pairs." Mrs Alderson said carrying on the lesson.

"Miss, who will Leon's partner, be?" Tina asked praying it was her. Mrs Alderson just looked at her like she was an idiot. That's what I love about Mrs Alderson - you act stupid, you get treated like you're stupid.

"Leon will be working with Ava, the person he sits next to, just like you'll be working with John, because he sits next to you." Tina nodded and went to help John get the equipment. Without a word I went and got all the stuff for the experiment before Leon could ask me - not that he would, he doesn't seem to talk much.

I had all the equipment set up and ready when I realised I forgot the iodine solution so I had to go on the hunt. Just as I stood up Leon opened his mouth to say something and everyone held in their breaths as if they were going under the Clyde tunnel. I walked away but couldn't help but laugh. I got the iodine solution and started on the experiment.

The experiment was going fine, boring, but fine. I had the iodine solution between me and Leon so we could both use it, - it wasn't such a good idea - the people behind us; Jack and Paul were carrying on and trying to get Leon's attention. They got what they wanted.

Leon turned around and he knocked the iodine solution off the table. I saw it fall and with my free hand I caught it in mid-air. Leon looked at me with an impressed look on his face but I just shrugged it off and got on with my work. We finished our experiment and wrote the results in our jotters before quickly tiding up.

The bell rang and everyone made their way to their next class. I was waiting at the door for Leon when Mr Smyth came in the classroom. He asked to see Leon and gave me a note to leave class early to take him to the cafeteria for lunch; aka the shop for decent food.

So off I went to English - I wish Mr Smyth just let me tag along. It's better than reading a poem and answering questions that are as easy as drawing. That's why I treat English as art; I do the questions then spend the rest of the time drawing.