My unexpected spy life

Do you ever think about how different your life would have been if you did something different? Yeah well, that’s what I’ve been asking myself when I woke up this morning thanks to the street event yesterday. This is what happened.

I was walking down my street as neighbours greeted me with a “Good morning”. A small smile escaping my lips is what they got in response as I sighed in exhaustion and as I made my way back to school. As I was about to cross the street, my eyes widened to the sight of a toddler crossing alone- with lightning speed I lunged towards her and scooped her up seconds before a car hit her. Breathing heavily with fear I looked around hoping to find her parents- only to hear an unfamiliar voice say “Yes, she passed the test”.

With confused eyes I felt cold metal in my arms… “What the?” I widened my eyes in shock, swallowing the lump that was caught in my throat. After realising the ‘toddler’ I was holding turned out to be a robot, I dropped it immediately. My eyes felt uncontrollably heavy as I dropped on the cold ground feeling my energy being drained as everything went black.

I woke up to a pungent odour that pierced through my nose. My head was buzzing with pain, rubbing my tired eyes I heard a voice in the distance, “I apologise we had to meet like this, Avery.” In the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a tall and slim lad who was standing with arms crossed at the corner of the room. He couldn’t have been older than 20 years, as he continued “I know you wouldn’t give me a chance to talk to you if I didn’t bring you here, would you?” He had these small oval-shaped blue eyes, tanned skin, plump lips, short black hair slicked to the side and a button nose that complimented his rectangular-shaped face.

Before I answered I was astonished at how elegant the room was- the matching stained-glass tables and lamps brought such colour to the room as light from above the glass ceiling reflected through them.

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind, “Where am I? How does he know me?” but one thing I was certain about was that I had to get out of there.

As a kid I thought of many possible scenarios and their solutions- you could say I was always expecting the unexpected.

“The name’s Ethan” he continued but before he could say anything else I used the remaining energy I had left to stand up and motion my hands towards him - the room got cold as the ice that shot through my hands rushed through the air at lightning speed trapping him in an ice cage. I sighed in relief, that is, until the ice completely shattered in seconds.

I stared in disbelief- this isn’t a scenario I thought of before. “Didn’t think you still had some magic in you, impressive miss.” “underestimating my power was his first mistake, I could have formed ice shards instead of the cage and injure him but I didn’t.” He laughed under his breath as he declared how his magic is draining people’s energy- draining mine to quickly weaken the ice. “I can’t beat him, he’s too strong and I’m barely standing as it is. In a world of magic, I never thought such magic existed- draining energy? It was unheard of- must be extremely rare.” Like a bird in a cage, I was trapped.

I searched all over the room for an exit but he was blocking the door, he immediately spoke “You have nothing to fear Avery, the reason you’re here is because you have been chosen to be part of our agency.” Standing up with hands on my knees in my tired state, I exhaled and replied “You got the wrong person Ethan. Let me go.”

He smirked as he replied “Oh do I? Avery Hills, sixteen years old, attends Saint Aria Secondary School, best friend whom you’ve known for 11 years is Jace. Oh, and you also get the highest grades at school. You’re such a shy kid, except when you’re with your friends you are so talkative I could swear you’re a different person” I glared with suspicious eyes- everything he said was on point.

“It was you who was on my street wasn’t it? How did you spot me?” I asked. “Well, your distinguishable features helped me, thin with fair skin, short height, round-shaped face, a small nose that compliments your gentle small hazel eyes but what would definitely give you away is your long wavy light brown coloured hair and small red-pigmented lips I’d have to say”.

“Also… what did you mean by “she passed the test”? That’s the last thing I heard before I passed out”. He raised his eyebrow, “It’s called the alone-situation test. Needed to see how you’d react, whether you would prevent a tragic car accident when no one is around to glorify you for your good deed- and to my expectations you didn’t disappoint.”

He continued, “You see, I’ve been asked to be an undercover student at your school, observing you. Ever since you went into a fire saving a family of 3 last year, you’ve ended up on the news and caught our agency’s attention. Not everyone uses their power for the greater good, you know. Ever since then I’ve been asked to see whether you have the skills required: Intelligence involving logical thinking skills, athletic abilities, having immense courage despite your shy character while being aware you would be putting yourself in danger among others - you’ve shown them.”

“What are you trying to say?” I blurted out.

He hands me what looked like a business card and once I read it I uttered “spy agency? What?”. “Welcome aboard Avery” he said cheerfully.

It felt like the ground beneath me shook as I heard those words. “I’m dreaming right? This isn’t happening” I thought. “Hold on just a moment” I quickly said, “Doesn’t a spy need training? I can’t do this”

He assured “I’ll be there to guide you- I was your age when I began this spy life and I’ve saved many lives and stopped many wrong doings.” He continued explaining “I know this is a lot to take in but we need someone like you. You’re cautious and observant of those around you. Also, you’re quite extraordinary at handling your magic, aren’t you? I’ve seen you form all sorts of large ice sculptures and ice weapons when you thought you were alone at the skatepark at night- another impressive skill that would help you. I assure you that your safety is guaranteed, I’ll be there to help you during each mission.”

I was still so baffled at the situation I could barely think straight, “Me? A spy? Missions?? I’m just your everyday teenager”. I crossed my arms and uttered, “Oh yeah? How can I trust you? For all I know you could be lying”. “Fair enough, look for yourself” he exclaimed as the door behind him opened, revealing an enormous room filled with framed people- underneath them being engraved in cursive writing, “Caught by Ethan Campbell”. “Those are all delinquents. Recognize them?”, I started examining the frames- I recognised some of them from the internet, and he even showed me videos of him actually doing the act of catching them”.

“So” he announced, “What do you say, Avery?”

I mumbled “I… I’m not sure…what about school? Will this interfere with my personal life and studies?” In a surprised tone I slapped my forehead in realization, “Oh god school! I was supposed to be at school today! What time is it??”. Ethan laughed obnoxiously and said “Ah relax I called the principal’s office this morning and pretended to be your father, told them you’re sick. Also, you won’t have more than two missions a week which will most likely occur after school hours and they only last a couple of hours, depending on how long it takes us to find the wrongdoer, so don’t worry too much about that.”

“Just a few conditions if you decide to join” he pointed out. “Oh yeah? What are they? I replied. This guy literally whipped out the longest contract I’ve ever seen in my life it honestly left me stumped as my jaw dropped in disbelief, yet I laughed at the sight too.

He laughed at my reaction and explained “Ah relax, I’m not going to make you read all of this. This basically summarizes what is written. One, don’t tell anyone about your spy life as it’s a secret and it’s also for their own safety, we’ve had events where people close to spies got injured and sometimes killed if bad spies found out about them. Two, if you are ever alone and feel threatened report to me immediately and lastly do not trust anyone easily- during a mission always give a fake name if asked for it, you might never know who the person you’re talking to actually is”

“Alright. I can do that.” I reached for the contract and just before I was going to sign it I asked “hold on, I can stop anytime I want right?” He assured, “Don’t worry I’m not going to legally bind you to the company until your last breath without any hope of escaping. You can stop anytime you want if you can’t handle it. I’d understand”. And with that I signed the contract.

“Can I… go home now, please?” I asked wearily and he replied “Yes of course, you must be tired. I’ll talk in more detail regarding missions and how you’ll be informed about them tomorrow at 5pm. I’ll meet you in front of the skatepark downtown. Goodbye”, without warning he took out some sort of device and I immediately got teleported back to my room.

I fell on my bed and started thinking “what have I gotten myself into? I’m nervous yet excited at the same time thinking about being a spy? I’ll figure it out… tomorrow…”and with that I went out like a light

------Enjoying the story? Let me know what you think down below<3