Spies of a Generation

twelve

"You have 2am cravings, too?" Ally asks as she enters the kitchen, seeing Sierra boiling two eggs.

"Yeah, but all I crave is eggs, applesauce, and fried fish," Sierra chuckles, smiling at her friend as she went to the fridge. "You still like cantaloupe?"

"Mmm, I liked it in my first trimester but now it's disgusting," she chuckles, grabbing a container of fresh pineapples. "We've switched to pineapples."

Sierra gapes and grins at her. "Oh my goodness, speaking of pineapples, you should've told me that when I first started craving I wouldn't know what I had a taste for. I was literally up all night looking for something sweet and sour. I tried pineapples, lemons with sugar, sour grapes, and nothing was satisfying."

Ally giggles and opens the top, plopping one in her month. "Me too! With the girls, and this one. For my first pregnancy, I ate a lot and I guess it was because there were two, so I tried almost everything. That made it easier to understand what I'm craving now, though."

"You know, you eating more fruits is actually more healthier for the baby," Sierra smiles, going over to the stove to turn it off. "I eat a bag of cherries or grapes everyday to make sure I'm on that track too."

"You never actually told us how the pregnancy effects your knowledge."

Sierra sighs and leans against the stove. "Well, studies show that 96% of humans use only 10% of their brain power. I use 28% of it, which is why I'm able to remember most facts and situations and look into things easier. But that wasn't just because i was born into intelligence; I had to work and gain those percentiles. I had to be on a healthy diet, I had to exercise to keep my body healthy, I even had to challenge myself on daily bases. But right now, I'm not able to keep that consistent balance of those."

Ally frowns and comes closer to her, rubbing her back. "I don't want to make you feel worse, but what happens if you can't get your percentile back? What happens if this is permanent?"

"I've thought about that," Sierra sighs, shaking her head. "My percentile has drop to 22%. A little more and I won't be considered a genius anymore. I'll just be considered smarter than the average being. The thing is, if I wanted that brain power back, it would take a hundred percent dedication and, with a child, there's no way I'm getting that back in even a five year mark."

"Where does that leave you on the team?"

"You've never seen a genius with a baby, right? This is probably why," she sighs, reaching over the counter and grabbing a spoon to take out her eggs. "I told Matt I felt like coming here would completely destroy me and I know it will. He says that's not true, but back at headquarters, I had a purpose and people needed me. I was put under stress and in very hard situations. It wasn't good for the baby, no, but it was good for me. Here, I get to put my feet up, talk with you and let out everything I'm feeling, and the worse problem I have is picking blue paint from yellow." Sierra sniffs, dropping her eggs in the bowl.

She wipes her eyes and Ally goes to the other counter to give her a paper towel, which Sierra gladly accepts. "I'm sorry. I'm losing myself. I'm losing my intelligence that made me. Everyone likes to joke about 'wow, Sierra doesn't know something' but it's not funny and no one realizes that. I only left headquarters for my baby. Had I not been pregnant, my almost murderer would've been caught. But I've came to the acceptance that when I left, I-I left a life behind there. I might be smarter than everyone in a local area, but I'm almost last in line of the geniuses I ranked above just a few months ago. And that's not good enough and they'll have to find another genius because I'm not gonna be her by the year's over."

Ally is embracing a crying Sierra by time she finishes speaking. There's nothing Ally can do to comfort her, because quite frankly, her spot on the team is being a genius but if she can't figure out who tried to kill her without a blink of an eye than some serious damage has been done.