A/N: Okay, so so so so sorry it took so long, but family came to visit and we went to New York for the weekend. :) Thanks so much for the reviews, though, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gallagher Girls series. The magnificent Ally Carter gets that credit.
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"Cammie, what are you doing?" Liz Sutton asked as she walked into our room. I was pacing the room, practically wearing out the carpet that she herself had already worn out enough. Bex and Macey sat in one corner playing a calm game of cards, but looking rather uninterested in their game. "What did I miss?"
"CoveOps assignment," Macey said indifferently and Liz gave a confused look.
"I don't get it? How did I miss that if I don't take the class?" Sometimes, for a genius, Liz can be rather, well, dumb. But I think that's just her naïveté talking.
"Well, we met someone," Bex said, and she started to be more like the regular Bex, excited about everything espionage-related.
"Who?" Liz asked, side-glancing at me and I fell into my pillows and screamed.
"We think she's related to Zach somehow, but we're not sure," Macey explained as she got up and bounced on the end of my bed.
"We'd go figure it out, but Cammie decided she just wanted to pace," Bex explained, and I could practically see her rolling her eyes as she said it.
"What if we're wrong? I mean, I'm sure Goode is a very common last name," I said, almost desperately trying to make it a possibility, but a good spy knows when clues match up – like they did with this.
"But she was taught in a non-traditional environment and tailed us for hours without us realizing – there's only one way that makes sense," Macey explained, a smug tone in her voice and I knew she was smirking.
"Blackthorne," Liz whispered, an excited pitch evident in her voice. I sat up and sighed, looking at my best friends and roommates.
"Okay, so the Blackthorne boys," I started.
"Specifically Zach," Bex threw in suggestively and I glared at her.
"Have trailed us before, but we never knew it," I continued, standing up and sitting at my desk.
"He even got you to lead him to the rendezvous point," Macey reminded me and I rolled my eyes.
"And Blackthorne is a boys only school," I said, pointing out the obvious.
"So if this girl was taught there, it would definitely not be a traditional environment," Liz mumbled, and we all knew that she wasn't trying to point out the obvious, but thinking aloud to herself.
"It only makes sense that way, Cam," Bex said excitedly, standing up.
"And, I mean, it's not like that means he'll be back, and you never know if he did send his "sister" to spy on him or not," Macey explained and I felt myself lean towards the whole "the-new-girl-isn't-too-bad" mindset that my friends seem to have fallen in. I shifted my feet and Liz came up to me, putting a hand on my arm.
"There's only one way to find out, Cammie," she whispered and I nodded, standing up. Bex gave me a huge grin as the four of us headed for the one place I had hoped I didn't have to go to – my mother's office.
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As headmistress of the Gallagher Academy of Exceptional Young Women, my mom knows a lot of things. She knows the students and teachers' backgrounds and most of the secrets of the school – which meant that she would know exactly where "Ms. Goode" came from and why she was here and all that. So, my friends and I strode towards her office, but I stopped right at her door.
"What is it, Cam?" Bex asked and I could hear the impatience in her voice. She really wanted to know.
"Should I knock first?" I mumbled and Macey rolled her eyes.
"Just do whatever and get it over with, Morgan," Macey told me bluntly and I nodded. So I lifted my hand, knocked five times, just like I always did when entering any room I suspected my mother to be in, and opened the door. I never waited for her permission to enter her office in previous visits, so I figured today shouldn't be any different.
But the sight of the familiar dark purple attire and jean mini-skirt told me maybe I should have, at least this time.
"Cameron," Mom said, her voice unemotional, but I knew she wasn't happy right now.
"Oh hi there," the girl said cheerfully, her bright green eyes twinkling a little. I wondered – had I ever seen Zach's green eyes twinkle? Did they ever look like that?
"Oh hi," Liz whispered unsurely. Being the only one who hadn't seen "Ms. Goode" before, she was the one in the most shock at the sight of her.
"I don't think you've met our new student, Cameron," Mom said, standing up from her chair. As she did so, the girl in purple stood too, and took a few steps towards us. "Allison, please meet Cammie, Bex, Macey, and Liz," she said in her best "headmistress" voice, pointing to each of us as she said our names. "Girls, I'd like you to meet Allison – best known as Allie," she finished, giving Allison a gentle nudge towards us.
"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you four," Allie said professionally, but she did look sincerely happy to meet us. "I've heard many stories about you," she added and her tone turned slightly mischievous.
The question "From your brother?" seemed to hang between the four of us, just waiting to be asked, but we all kept our cool and didn't ask it.
"Well, you should get going, Allie. I think that's really it for now," Mom said, turning to Allie as if we weren't here. "If you have any questions, just ask me or Mr. Solomon," Mom told the brunette and she nodded. "Girls, Allie will be in your grade level, so I expect the four of you to help her out if she ever needs any help, alright?" She looked at us expectantly, and it's almost like we had all lost our voices since we simply nodded our heads. Mom ushered us out of her office and the five of us stood in the hallway, studying one another.
"What was that?" Macey asked, looking thoroughly confused.
"I mean, she looked like a Gallagher girl, she dresses like a Gallagher girl, she even acts like a Gallagher girl, but she's definitely not a Gallagher girl," Liz replied logically.
"Honestly, she seemed kind of like a female version of Zach to me," Bex told us, shrugging.
"Do you think he raised her?!?" Macey cried out, her mind jumping to theories with little to no evidence.
"Do you think they're twins?" Bex asked, looking around us.
"No way, they look too alike. Maybe she's younger than him," Liz replied matter-of-factly.
"But then she'd be a sophomore, wouldn't she?" Bex asked curiously.
"Well, she's got the eleventh-grade-level, maybe age-wise she is a sophomore," Macey pointed out.
"I don't think Gallagher works like that," Liz told her and Bex nodded slowly.
"Maybe we can listen in," Bex said, standing up. She was followed by the others, but I stood up and turned around. "Cam, where are you going?" she asked, hissing as she tried to whisper and be angry at the same time.
"Come on," I said, gesturing for them to follow me. I had used my "let's-find-a-quieter-place-to-talk" voice, so the three of them followed wordlessly.
We had a lot of talking to do, and I didn't think it was appropriate that we talk in the middle of the hallways of an acclaimed espionage school. As we walked by I could hear Tina Waters mumbling with Anna Fetterman.
"I heard she was Zach Goode's daughter!" Tina whispered excitedly.
"How is that possible? That would mean he would've gotten some chick pregnant when he was a baby!" Anna replied and I rolled my eyes. Seriously? Zach's daughter was much more far-fetched than the theories my own friends made up. Then again, Tina was the daughter of a gossip columnist. I guess it makes sense she'd attack all the "possible" theories.
"True; maybe she's a clone-gone-bad!" Tina answered excitedly and Macey scoffed. We rounded a corner until we finally reached my favourite secret tunnel. I let everyone in before closing behind them.
"So, boss, what's the mission?" Liz asked, like a good little soldier, the others watching me intensely, and I smiled, glad to have some great friends.
"Okay, this is what we'll do..." I started, pulling out a composition notebook and a pen from behind a block and opened it up to the first page. Mission: Obtain Information on The Subject. Time to get down to business.
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A/N: Hope you guys liked it :) I know there isn't much information given out in this one. It's more of a filler chapter, I guess you could call it. Hope it was still alright.
- Kalie