Just then the door opened and Chris came in, holding a package of gummy bears and beaming at me. I heard Joel snicker from down the aisle. As Chris sat down, he offered them to me.
“Want some?” he asked.
I turned and smiled politely at him. “No, thanks. I’m full.” I felt Kira look at me, but by the time I glanced over, she was snuggled next to Joel with her head on his shoulder.
There was a small pang in my back, but I thought it away and tried to focus on the movie. I was tired of being insignificant. I wanted some power back. Or at least, whatever power I was willing to take.
(CODE PINK) SOS INTER-KITTEN COMMUNICATION
Dear Smitten Kittens,
This is a reminder that we are on high alert. You should not, in any way, try to contact the copy-Kitten without SOS approval. Even for emotional support.
Any Kitten found to be consorting with the enemy will face suspension.
If you have any questions, please use the Code Pink hotline at 555-0101. Do NOT make any communications on the SOS database or e-mail lines.
Keep smiling,
Leona ☺
CHAPTER THRITEEN
THE NEXT NIGHT THE SMITTEN KITTENS AND I were parked in the back lot of the school, working on a lead. The evening was getting dark, but the moon was full, giving us just enough light to see without night vision.
“Pass the Cheez Doodles,” Leona called to me from the backseat.
“Watch the upholstery,” Kira snapped at her as I passed along the bag. Kira had finally gotten her first car this summer after her mom won a disability settlement with the state. She was stoked.
Izzie sniffled from the backseat. My eyes weakened as I looked back at her. Since the movies, she’d been inconsolable. Apparently while we were there, Sam had returned all of her stuff to her grandparents’ house, including the mixed CD she’d made him. Worse than that, he wouldn’t take her calls or e-mails. “Hey,” I said. “You hanging in there?”
“I guess,” she murmured, staring out the back window. Poor thing hadn’t even had the strength to fix her hair today. It hung lifelessly under her black cap.
I glanced at Leona as she crunched on a Cheez Doodle, looking very sympathetic. “It’s going to be fine,” she said, reaching over the crackly bag to offer some snacks to Izzie. “Sam’s not seeing anyone else. He just needed a break.” Leona darted her eyes to mine, and I knew she didn’t believe it either.
“Pom-poms up,” Kira said, ducking down in the front seat. We all did the same, which was followed by a series of little patters—the sound of Cheez Doodles dumping on the floor mats. Kira growled next to me.
Leona had intercepted a Knockoff communication of a cheater request against Calvin Murdock. We’d been following him all night, including here, at his football practice. Until now, there had been no sign of a copy-Kitten. Obviously she was in over her head.
I peeked over the dash to see a girl walking in the distance, laughing and talking into her phone. I bent down and grabbed a pair of binoculars, then straightened and focused in on her face.
“No way,” I whispered.
“Who is it?” Kira said, looking sideways at me from behind her steering wheel. I dropped the binoculars and stared at her.
“It’s Chloe Ferril.” My heart was racing.
“Ew, so not in the mood to deal with her negativity,” Kira said, scrunching her nose.
“Told you,” Leona said, licking the orange cheese off her fingers.
“She’s not the copy-Kitten.” Kira snorted, glancing into the backseat.
“No? Then what is she doing here? Looking for the skank convention? Because I’m pretty sure they hold that over at your house.”
Kira snarled and reached back, as if to grab Leona’s black tank, but I held her back. “Ladies!” I whisper-yelled. “This is not the time, and it’s certainly not the place!” The escalation of in-squad violence was alarming. They definitely needed my leadership.
Izzie started crying into her hands and we all turned to look at her. “I hate when you guys fight,” she mumbled. “It makes me think of Sam.”
Leona rolled her eyes and leaned back into the seat and patted Izzie’s leg. “I’m sorry, Iz,” she said. “We’re done.”
We were quiet for a few minutes, staring out the windshield until the sound of Leona’s crunching began to fill the car again. Kira looked sideways at me.
“Is Leona right?” she whispered. “Do you really think Chloe’s the copy-Kitten?”
“Hm…” I took out the camera with the extra-zoom lens and pushed in to focus. Chloe (not surprisingly) was dressed in a black, cleavage-busting goth dress with tons of makeup. She was still talking on her phone and—actually—stumbling like she might be intoxicated.
“Don’t think so,” I said. “She looks drunk.”
Just then Chloe rolled her ankle and fell onto a parked car, laughing as she pushed off the hood and looked around, pointing her finger at someone in the driver’s seat of the car.
“Classy,” Leona said from the backseat, sitting up.
“Can we just go?” Izzie asked in a low voice. “I want to drive by Sam’s. Kira, you promised on the way home we would.”
I shot a glance at Kira. She shouldn’t be condoning this sort of behavior.
“Tessa,” Leona called from the back. “Can you please get a handle on this? Kira is a worse influence on Izzie than…well, me.”
Kira gave Leona a dirty look in the rearview mirror, then she glared at me. “Don’t start, Tessa,” she said. “I’ve been busting my tail trying to weather this flood.”
“It’s storm.”
“Yeah,” Kira replied. “A shit storm.”
I stared back at her; her blonde hair (although still shiny) was starting to look worn. Her normally well-lined eyes looked naked from neglect. She was right. She had been working hard.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have been here for you sooner.”
At this, the tight lines around Kira’s mouth loosened, and she smiled. “I’m just glad you’re here now. And I can’t wait until you’re back on the squad. I want things to go back to normal.”
“This is sweet and all,” Leona said, leaning up between the seats and pointing out the windshield. “But we just missed something big.”
Both Kira and I turned to follow Leona’s chewed-off fingernail, which pointed toward the parked car. Just then the driver got out. She was talking to Chloe, and when I lifted my camera, I gasped when I saw her.
“Chicken of the Sea,” I murmured.
“Who is it?” Kira demanded, yanking the camera away from my face.
“It’s Mary.” I looked back at Leona.
Leona shook her head, twisting her face. “What the frig is she doing here? Last night she told us she was giving up on her anti-Tessa campaign and going back to Washington State.”
“No,” I said. “That’s where Aiden goes to school. Mary goes to college in California.”
“Not anymore,” Kira said offhandedly. “She transferred to Washington at the beginning of the year.” She lowered the camera and looked at me. “She didn’t tell you?”
“What? No. When did she—”
“Hey,” Izzie said, motioning toward the parking lot. “What kind of car does Aiden drive?”
“Jetta,” I answered, still staring at Kira.
“Oh.” Izzie clapped, sounding excited. “Then he’s here!”
I snapped my head toward the parking lot. And I saw it. It was definitely Aiden’s white Jetta passing by us. It slowed to a stop, just as Mary looked toward it and waved.
She said something to Christian’s sister and turned on her dark heels. I picked up the binoculars to watch. Her thick brown hair bounced off her shoulders, and her red dress fit her athletic frame perfectly. She crossed to Aiden’s car and leaned in the passenger window, talking to him. She laughed, glancing around the parking lot once. And then she got in.
“Did she just…” But Kira didn’t finish, bec
ause just then, they started driving away. From the back window, I saw her lean over.
And kiss him.
“It could be a tragic misunderstanding like the last time,” Kira said quietly as we drove the darkened streets of Redmond. “If there’s one thing we know about Aiden, it’s not to jump to conclusions.”
I nodded. My stomach was sick, but like I’d told Izzie, if you’re broken up, it doesn’t count as cheating. It just counts as sucky.
“Well, makes sense why she’s been trying to keep you off the squad. She obviously hates you.”
I gasped and put my cool hand over my forehead. This couldn’t be happening. Betraying me on a cheer level was completely different than betraying me on a boyfriend level. I mean, Mary started SOS! She should have better morals. “I wonder if they’re dating,” I murmured. “What if she’s his girlfriend?” The thought made me sick.
“I can see why she didn’t tell you she switched schools. Makes you wonder how many times they’ve met up at college,” Leona commented from the back.
I spun around to face her, and her eyes widened behind her glasses.
“Um…which I’m sure was never.”
Good gravy. This was the new worst night of my life. My heart felt completely trampled, doused, and lit on fire. I rubbed my eyes with my thumbs. I’d need to see the hairdresser tomorrow. And the manicurist, the aromatherapist, and, lastly, the barista at Starbucks. Oh, yes. It would be a full-day self-help extravaganza.
There was a sniffle from the back (Izzie) and it struck me: I wasn’t the only Kitten with a broken heart. It was selfish of me to think of myself at a time like this, when we were on a mission. No, if anything, we’d just found the perfect suspect. “Stop the car, K,” I said. “We have to get back to the assignment.”
Kira looked over at me, impressed. “Really?”
“Yes. I let us down once, but I refuse to do it again. Aiden has obviously moved on, and maybe it’s time that I do too.” I was trying to sound brave, but my own words were making my chest ache. “Listen, right now the Smitten Kittens are in disarray. I’ve lost Aiden, Izzie’s lost Sam. Leona—”
She coughed from the back, letting me know that the Marco story was still top secret.
I nodded, flashing her an apologetic glance. “The point is, we all have problems, and to solve them is going to take true commitment. But with a copy-Kitten out there trashing our name and meddling in our lives, we’ll never get the focus we need.” I stared at the girls, trying to see if they were all on board. Izzie and Leona smiled at me encouragingly while Kira stared out the windshield, continuing to drive.
“It’s time the squad unites,” I said. “I’ll date Chris—do whatever you want. But I want back on the squad. And Kira, you’re the captain. You can overrule any vote.” I straightened my back as Kira’s mouth opened; she looked a little surprised.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure you’re ready for it, Tess.”
I reset my jaw. “Are you saying that you won’t let me on the squad?”
“Of course she’s not saying that,” Leona announced from the back. “We need your leadership, Tess.”
“Excuse me,” Kira said, looking at her in the mirror. “I’m the captain, and I make the decisions.”
I considered telling Kira about my conversation with Principal Pelli, but no matter how unreasonable she was being, I couldn’t hurt her like that. She wanted to be captain so badly.
“Think about it,” I said, turning to Kira. “For now, take me home. I need to devise a new plan. I have a main suspect, and I know she’s going to slip up.” (Being around Aiden sometimes caused lapses in judgment.) “And when she does, I want to be the one busting her!” Because this mission had just become very personal.
Leona laughed. “You’re going all badass on us, Tess.”
“It’s BA. And I haven’t even begun to catfight,“ I said seriously.
“Well,” Izzie began, “is it Chloe or Mary?”
I narrowed my eyes, replaying the night in the bookstore when Chloe touched Aiden and then the horrific scene of Mary kissing him. Then I closed my eyes. “I don’t know. But I’ll find out.” Then turned to Kira. “Now drive.”
Kira gritted her teeth and shook her head. “Whatever you say, Tessa.”
I watched her, unsure where the animosity was coming from, because if there was one thing I knew, it was that Smitten Kittens didn’t hold animosity toward each other.
But then again, maybe she didn’t consider me a Smitten Kitten anymore.
When I got home, my mother was in the kitchen, sitting at the table clipping coupons out of a magazine. She looked surprised to see me when I walked in. It might have been my head-to-toe black spy wear.
“Hey, honey,” she said suspiciously. “Where are you coming from?”
I sighed and dropped my keys on the granite of the kitchen counter with a clank before sitting down next to her at the table. “I’ve had a bad night,” I said.
“Oh, no. How bad?”
I looked up to see my mother’s eyes wide with concern. Her graying hair was pulled tight in a low bun at the nape of her neck.
“Mom,” I said, feeling my lower lip begin to quiver. “Aiden’s dating another girl.” And with that, I promptly fell apart.
“Shh…” my mother soothed, reaching over to brush back my hair as I laid my head on the cloth of the kitchen table. “Are you sure?”
“I saw him with her tonight,” I said, my voice choked off from the tears. “I saw them kiss.”
My mother tsked, and I felt her rest her cheek on mine. “It’ll be okay, sweetie.”
“It won’t,” I said. “He was with Mary Rudick.”
“Your ex-captain?” My mother straightened up and took me by the chin, helping me do the same. “But that’s against Smitten Kitten rules!” Her normally pale skin had grown a little pink in the cheeks.
I nodded. “I know. My own cheermate betrayed me. She’s even been telling the squad not to let me rejoin.”
“She can’t do that!”
I started tearing up again. Right then, I couldn’t even be angry; I was just so hurt by Aiden. “I love him, Mom. And he doesn’t love me anymore.”
My mother shook her head. “I’m sure that’s not true, Tessa.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re a wonderful, beautiful girl. Aiden’s in college. Maybe he needs some time. Maybe he needs to figure out some things about himself right now.”
I sniffled, trying to decide if my mother was just trying to make me feel better or if she really thought Aiden still loved me. “I’m going to a party,” I said weakly. “The squad wants me to give Chris Townsend a chance.”
My mother smiled. “He’s a very nice boy. Cute, too.”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
My mother reached out, putting her hand over mine on the table. “Why don’t you give it a try? Honey, if you and Aiden are right for each other, he’ll come back. And if not…” She furrowed her brow and didn’t finish her sentence. But that was okay; I didn’t really want her to.
“I’ll try,” I said, twitching my nose. “Thanks, Mom.” I leaned over to give her a hug, holding back my tears. I was glad she was here tonight to comfort me. I knew the Smitten Kittens couldn’t do it right now, with all the mess we were in. And with Izzie’s trouble, I hardly felt right asking.
“It’s going to be okay,” my mother whispered in my ear as she held me.
I closed my eyes, leaning into her shoulder. Right now, I really needed to hear that.
ASSIGNMENT 1
7:00 A.M., SEPTEMBER 19
The operative waited patiently behind the blue Waste Management Dumpster. It smelled like rotten banana peels and sweat socks over there, but it was the best place from which to view the high school’s music room. Riley played bass in the band, and the operative had discovered that he and Megan had begun meeting there before school to talk. Or maybe more.
As a figure walked into the classroom, the operative crouched down,
her black boots squishing in the sludge that was leaking from under the Dumpster. She crinkled her nose and took out her video camera to begin recording.
It was Riley. His navy blue T-shirt looked wrinkled, and she was almost positive that it didn’t match the track pants he was wearing. She wondered about the sudden change in his appearance.
Megan appeared. She came running in the room, her straight hair trailing behind her like a blonde ribbon.
From outside, the operative couldn’t hear what they were saying, and she hadn’t had enough time to plant a recorder. No. She’d have to use her lip-reading ability again. She was proud of the progress, really. Those online courses were very thorough.
Megan was talking, her arms flailing around her as she did. She looked upset. The operative narrowed her eyes and readjusted her feet in the sludge. She moved her lips along with Megan’s.
“Riley, it’s over. I don’t care. Jenn is going to find out! Yes—you know I do! Look, with this rumor about SOS going around, I can’t risk it!”
Right then, Megan’s lips began to tremble, making it hard for the operative to translate her words. Instead she pondered her next move.
If Megan cut off the relationship, Jenn would never find out about the almost affair with her best friend and boyfriend. That wouldn’t do.
The operative stood, her blood pumping as she walked closer to the window, not even trying to stay hidden anymore. But the subjects weren’t looking at her; they were staring at each other, looking heartbroken.
“Aw…” the operative muttered bitterly. “Maybe next time you don’t mess with an attached guy.” Once at the window, the operative leaned against it, running her fingers quietly down the glass as she recorded them.
Riley reached over, taking Megan’s hands as she cried, looking at the floor. He was murmuring something, something that looked like “I love you.”
Megan tilted her head toward Riley—her mascara smudged under her eyes, causing her makeup to become a monster-movie disaster. She said something, but the operative couldn’t read it. But she could guess.