The Pick-Up Line

CAMMIE

"Is that the sun coming up... or is that just you lighting up my world?" Zach Goode says to me as he slides onto the couch across from me.

I look up from my notebook, where I was doodling the CIA logo. "Excuse me?"

It really shouldn't have been that surprising. Every day since I turned sixteen, Zach had tried to use a different technique of getting me to go out with him. First, it had been straight off asking. Then it had been sexual implications. And now, well, it was pick-up lines.

"Did you seriously just use a pick-up line on me?" I ask, almost incredulous. He nods, perfectly normal. I roll my eyes. Any other girl might say he was helpless, but this was Zach Goode. He was the guy Tina and Eva, the pickiest about guys, lusted over. He was the kind of guy who can trip into a pile of crap and still look dignified.

Under any other circumstances, I would give in. Except, on my sixteenth birthday, I saw Zach and his best buddy Grant laughing and slapping hands and doing boyish things, and then he came over and talked to me. It was so, so, obviously a dare. A bet. Who Can Get In Chameleon's Pants First? Catchy.

I stuff my notebook into my bag and then swing my bag over my shoulder.

"As charming as you are, Goode," I say. "I must go get ready for dinner."

He smirks, but I can't do anything about it. Instead, I go upstairs to the girls' dorms, wishing I had slapped that smirk right off his face.

I open the door to Room 2, my room. Inside, my best friend Bex is buttoning up a white blouse. Not government-issued, but we have free dress for dinner. "Hullo, Cammie." She greets. I give her a nod.

"Someone's pissed." She calculates. I shake my head. "Then say something."

"Hello, Bex. I'm starving."

"Aw, what happened? Zach leave you a dozen roses again? Because honestly, that's so sweet," Bex muses.

I shoot her a look and flop down on my bed. She thinks the whole Zach thing is funny, and every so often, cute. Then her facial expression changes to teasing. "Just don't break his nose again in P&E."

"One time, Bex. It was one freaking time." I argue as I pull my hair into a ponytail and put on jeans. "And anyways, all he got was more attention. And this is spy school, you shouldn't get a broken bone just because someone punched you. Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

I'm rambling, but Bex is used to it, so she tunes me out until I stop talking.

"Well maybe you can say yes one time, Cammie. Just one freaking time," She replies smoothly.

Damn her and her use of words against me. But I let it slide and slip on a t-shirt. "Did I mention I was starving?"

"Once or twice," Bex responds. "Let's go to dinner."

-

"Hey, beautiful," Zach calls as I pass him to get to my seat. "That's your name, right?"

I bow my head and ignore him, and everyone else is watching us.

"Gosh, Cammie," Liz says, her brown eyes huge. "Just say yes once!"

I'm starting to feel a case of déjà vu.

"I know, right?" Macey snorts, poking her mashed potatoes.

"No. That's what he wants." I say defiantly.

"That's the point," Bex argues back.

I roll my eyes.

"Cameron," Mr. Smith huffs as he walks by me. He pauses for a second and then puts a hand on my shoulder."Your mother needs you." I look at my friends, but they just shrug. These meetings with my mother are normal.

I follow Smith to the doors, and once again, as I pass Zach, he calls out.

"Do you have a map? Because I'm lost in your eyes."

"Inappropriate, Mr. Goode."

I shoot him a victorious look, but he smirks and returns to eating. One day, I am going to slap that smirk off his face. It's going to be my New Year's resolution.

-

"Cammie!" My mother cries as she sees me. She barrels into me and hugs me tightly. She's crying.

I realizeno, too late, that this isn't normal at all.

"Mom! Mom, what happened?" I ask, supporting her. But she just keeps crying, so I stand there, clueless. I look around the room, which is full of faculty, for an answer. Finally, Solomon steps up.

"Cameron," He begins, and I recognize the tone immediately. "Your father-"

"No."

"He was coming back from Korea... The plane-"

My heart starts to break. My eyes are hot. My nose feels prickly.

"No."

"It crashed." Solomon says bluntly.

"Cameron, we've tried to contact everyone, but no one can find his body." Smith says.

"So...So, you can't even find his body?" I whisper. No. No, no, no. No, no, no, no! The waterworks are coming. I hold them in the best I can. "Was it on land or water?"

"Water."

I almost laugh. He did like water more than land, preferred boats to cars. I don't say anything else; just stand there with my mother hugging me, the staff staring at me, the atmosphere somber.

-

I'm in my favorite hideout, the old hidden parlor, just bawling my eyes out, deep in thought.

My Dad. Died. At first, I try hard not to think about it. But that's kind of impossible, so after a while, I let my mind wander.

The door opens, but I don't turn my head.

"Hey." I turn, finally, after a few moments of silence.

Zach opens his mouth to say something when I look at him, probably about to say some sarcastic remark about my face that I'll beat him up for later.

"Don't," I say, before he gets a word out. "Not in the mood."

He closes his mouth and looks straight at me.

"What did you think I was going to say?" He asks.

I sniff. "You know, the usual, 'If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together.'"

He continues staring. "I was actually going to ask you if you were okay," He says quietly.

"I'm fine." Lie. Such a huge, huge lie, that nobody would ever, ever buy it.

He sits down and folds his legs gracefully. Did I just say that? I did. "No, you aren't. You go to your mom's and when you come back you're all quiet and broody, stomping through every puddle you can find. Then you disappear. And here we are."

"Wow, you're great at putting two and two together, you know that? I… just got a bad grade on a test, and my mom yelled at me. Like moms do." I improvised.

"You're crying because of that?" Zach asks.

"Yeah. I'm pretty emotional," I deadpan. "It's that time of month again."

He studies me for a long time before he speaks. "You don't have to lie to me about your dad, you know," He whispers. "You can trust me."

My heart stops.

How does he know?

"How...How the hell...who told you-" I sputter.

He points to himself. "Spy."

He starts to walk out, but then he turns back. "Oh, and just to get a smile on your face; Have I ever told you your eyes sparkle like the night sky?" He's reading his hand as he says it, then he ducks out.

I wait a few seconds, and then I let out a tiny giggle.

ZACH

It's been a few weeks after the hidden parlor thing, but I have given up. All she does now is mourn, sit around, mourn, and cry. You wouldn't guess just by looking at her, but if you watch her carefully, you'll see she sometimes puts her head in her hands and shakes a bit.

I have given up.

The words are strange in my mind. One year of chasing, and I'm done. But I know what to do. When people need space, you give them space. So here I am, giving her space.

But she must think I've just given up, or something. All girls do. They never really think a boy truly likes them. It's part of the crazy psychology of girls. So of course, I am surprised when she marches straight up to me two and a half weeks later and demands I tell her something.

"How do you know?"

I'm eating lunch, and food is drugs for the brain, so it takes a hazy moment to register what she means. When I do, I put down my sandwich. "Um, maybe now's not the best time, Cammie."

"I want to know, Zach, and I swear, if I have to take Dr. Fibs' Truth Gas and replace your oxygen with it, I will. How do you know?" She demands, slamming her plate down. The whole table is looking at me, and I have several witty comebacks on my tongue.

I use none of them, however, and get up. "Can we talk about this in private?" I ask quietly.

She stares at me. "Fine. Five minutes."

I walk out of the Dining Hall, waiting for her to follow.

Once outside and in the parlor, I turn to face her. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are ablaze, but otherwise, she's perfectly normal.

"Five minutes." She says. "Four fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven..."

I hate going to a school for geniuses.

"Okay," I begin. "First of all, no hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, or harmful contact of any kind."

"Fifty-two... Fine."

"And no profanity or derogatory comments." I add. Verbal is almost as bad as physical.

"Forty-seven."

"My dad was on the same plane."

She stops counting, her eyes widening. "Oh my God."

I nod. "And my mom."

"I'm... so sorry."

I sit down, cross legged, and put my elbows on my knees and knuckles under chin.

"You didn't even tell me." Cammie says. "Or hint at it."

"Well, I'm a spy," I deadpan. "I can lie pretty well."

We sit for a few minutes, her standing, me sitting. Then she checks her watch. "You're lucky, Goode. There's four seconds to spare."

The roles reverse; she exits, and I laugh.

CAMMIE

"You're hopeless," Bex says. "I can't believe you."

"Sh, sh," Macey interrupts. "Let her mull the idea over."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT CAMMIE!" Liz whisper-screeched.

I look up. "Was it something about my vocabulary that made it so scandalous?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"No! Yes! You said, quote, 'You didn't even tell me'. You're sad that he didn't tell you. You like him! It's so, so, painfully obvious." Liz continues. I lower my head.

"No, I don't."

"We heard you. We can play it back." Bex reminds me.

I hate having smart spy friends who bug you when you're not looking.

"You know what I can't believe? That you bugged me." I say. "That's cruelty."

"You should ask him out. Town's tomorrow." Liz says dreamily. Macey rolls her eyes.

"Okay, let her be."

"Thank you, Macey."

"We would need to import better eyeliner. When's the next Town Day?"

I groan and slump forward.

"Three weeks." Bex says. "Have I told you you're hopeless? So very, very hopeless?"

"Once or twice." I grumble.

-

3 Weeks Later

Almost Town Day

"This is stupid." I mutter, knowing Liz and Bex can both hear me.

"This is cute," Liz gushes. "I am sooo glad I completed the video camera in time."

"I hate you. So, so, so, truly and irrevocably much." I say.

"We love you too, honey," Macey calls.

"Do I really have to do this?" I ask again.

"Yes. It's like a teen movie. Teen movies are cool. So yes, yes you do." Liz says.

I sigh. "And if I don't?"

"We'll deal with you." Bex warns.

I cringe. "Okay, okay, fine. But this probably isn't going to work, and I'll get all embarrassed, and it'll backfire-"

"Your negativity is ruining my Zen." Macey snaps. "Now go, before I run out of patience." So pushy.

I reach where Zach is sitting and take a deep breath.

ZACH

I'm studying for a test when she comes to me.

"Is that the sun coming up... or is that just you lighting up my world?" She asks weakly. Faintly, I hear coos of "Awww" and "That's so cute!" and I realize she's bugged.

"You're-"

"Bugged, I know." She mutters. She flicks her silver earring. "My friends are completely mental."

"Wow."

"Well, since we're on the subject," she continues. "You're being videotaped by my necklace and a lie detector is attached to the heel of my shoe."

"Your friends are thorough."

"My friends have boundary issues."

I shrug and shake my head. "I guess you'd rather keep your head on your shoulders than your privacy, right?" She nods.

There's a pause, then I say: "So, what was that first thing you said?"

She blinks quickly, rapidly. "Oh, nothing. It was just something stupid-"

"Town's tomorrow."

She blushes. "God, will you just be quiet?" She mutters, and then looks me straight in the eye. "There's a new...What? A new James Bond opening." She stumbles over her words as she strains to hear whatever the other end is saying.

I close my textbook.

"It's a date," we say together, laughing.