The cafeteria bustled as kids walked around, carrying trays and laughing with friends. Lee, Jaff, and Rai huddled in a corner, watching for Aydeen and trying not to be seen.
“Where do you think he is? He was in Chemistry,” Rai said. Lee nodded, a frown on his lips. Rai peeked around the wall, trying to look out into the corridors.
“He’s not out there!” she said. She whirled back around towards Lee and Jaff. They all looked confused. In anger, Rai pulled out her sandwich and ripped a piece off. There was an intensity in her eyes that intimidated even Lee and Jaff.
“Calm down,” Jaff cautioned her, “or else people will know we’re here!” Rai sighed and rolled her eyes but slowed her chewing slightly. Lee smiled tentatively at her, laying one hand on her shoulder. Slowing her breathing down, Rai finished her lunch. As the bell rang, she crumpled the brown paper bag into a ball and gave it to Lee, who tossed it into the garbage can, a perfect shot. As the threesome emerged, a big muscled senior came up to them- or rather, up to Lee.
“Hey, Bro. Have you ever considered basketball? ‘Cause we could use you on the team.” Lee looked at the boy, mildly surprised.
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. Also, your friend,” he indicated Jaff, “could do stats. He’d be really helpful.” Lee and Jaff looked at each other and then nodded their consent.
“I’ll come to the practice and cheer you on, Lee,” Rai smiled. “I’m sure you’ll be great!” The senior looked Rai over as if just noticing she was there. She smiled at him and he nodded in approval before walking away. Lee turned to her, grinning,
“Looks like you’ve got yourself another fan, Rai.” Rai laughed, swatting his arm teasingly.
“I will never replace you,” she murmured. Lee smiled back. Then, the three teens split, each going a different way to their next class.
All during Algebra II, Rai looked this way and that, wondering where Aydeen was. It was strange that he was not at school. The fact that he had been in class right before lunch but was not at lunch made her nerves come back. As Mr. Hanover taught about fancy equations, Rai’s attention wandered.
She remembered her childhood, when her parents had died; the horrible screams, her just seven. Then she remembered the government saving her and introducing her to two other little kids, both gone through the same things, and telling her that they were her family now. She remembered becoming so close and the joy of becoming a secret agent. She remembered when she first developed her crush on Lee, when she was eleven. Her musings continued, her mind in a rush as she thought of her past. The memories would have continued flowing, but at that moment, someone said sharply,
“Miss Loyd, are you going to join us for class today?” Rai sat up straight with a start, her face turning bright red.
“Oh, yes sir, I’m so sorry!” She clenched her hands nervously.
“Good, because I have asked you the same question ten times already. I think that this lack of attention needs a warning. If it happens again, you will be punished.”
“Yes, Mr. Hanover. I’m sorry,” Rai replied breathlessly. She tried to calm the fierce blushing that was spreading across her face.
“Good,” Mr. Hanover turned back to the board, his marker touching the whiteboard. Rai breathed a sigh of relief, and the attention of the class drifted away from her. The minute the last student turned back to the board, Rai started thinking about Aydeen again.
At basketball practice the next day, Rai sat in the stands, her eyes glued to Lee’s perfect shots, his perfect form. Again and again, he got past the defense and made the lay-ups. The senior who had recruited him, who Rai found out was named Kendan, was amazed, referring to Lee as the basketball team’s saving grace.
“Good one there, Barton!” he called as Lee shot a perfect three-pointer. As Lee grabbed his ball, Rai gave him a thumbs-up from the stands. He grinned back at her, and Kendan shot him a glance.
“Your girlfriend?” he asked.
“Nah, we’re just friends,” Lee lied. Rai didn’t want anyone to know that she and her boyfriend lived in the same house. They had never done anything; they weren’t stupid, but people could assume things sometimes. Kendan accepted Lee’s response and continued to instruct the team on how to run the different plays that they had to practice. Lee kept at it, his hard work paying off. Kendan cheered him on, a devoted leader on the team. Rai couldn’t help but notice that every few seconds, Kendan shot a glance up at her in the bleachers. He seemed to think she was cute- Rai had noticed several boys look at her that way over the past few days. She wasn’t sure she really liked the attention; after all, the boys barely knew her, and so it was obvious they just thought she was pretty.
When the practice was over, Lee, Jaff, and Rai walked out, acting like they would be walking to different houses, when really they were just going separate routes to the same rendezvous point where a government agent would pick them up and drive them back to the old farmhouse. They all slid into the car, Jaff sitting shotgun and Lee and Rai in the back, hands intertwined. Rai rested her head on Lee’s shoulder, her eyes drifting closed. Lee, though sweaty, enveloped her in his arms, whispering in her ear,
“I’m so proud of you!” Rai smiled, her eyes still closed.
“Thanks, Lee.” He rubbed circles into her forearm as they turned off the main road and started going down the gravelly driveway of the farmhouse. Jaff started a conversation with the government agent in the front seat about their accomplishments.
“Rai’s attracted Aydeen already,” he said. “Soon, he might ask her out and the plan will keep moving forward. Hopefully, this will work well and fast.” Rai interjected,
“But do things ever go as planned?”
“Well, usually no-”
“Exactly.” With that, Rai settled back down in Lee’s lap. The government agent chuckled under his breath. For the first time he spoke in more than a rough whisper.
“Oh, Rai, I know it’s challenging. This is what government agents have to go through.” He was silent for a moment, waiting for a response, and then Lee said,
“Guys, she’s fallen asleep.”