chpter 007

I hate Algebra.

I mean, sure. I'm a spy working for a world wide organisation.
& yes, I may have to ditch school so that I could train for any of my missions like karate, tae kwan do, fencing - you name it.

& sometimes I even have to sit down with professors from colleges or just plain ol' brainiacs so that I could learn about that diabolical machine some whacko invented or about how things work.

Whatever. You get the picture.

But that does not mean I should enjoy Algebra.

I mean, it's just a bunch of math calculations. Was I ever going to use this in one of my missions?

No. No, I was not.

As we were dismissed, I tried to catch up with Chaz - the real Chaz, thank God - but to no avail. He was still ignoring me & even though he just got back to his proper body, he was still hanging out with Leia.

It was vomitous to see my ex-boyfriend hanging out with my ex-best friend.
I mean, seriously. I could just feel the breakfast coming up my throat.

There was another thing I could think of which was even more vomitous than seeing my arch nemesis dig her claws into my ex-boyfriend.

& that was the guy standing behind me, smirking.

Seriously. I still couldn't believe that he was the only one I had to hang out with - my now official 24/7 best friend, also on account that he's my co-worker/spy.

I also couldn't believe that he had the guts to smirk at me when he fainted in front of me.
Guess that proves something here?

"So... Chaz is still avoiding you, eh?" he said casually as he put his arms behind his head as if he was lying on the ground.
"Mm." I said & slammed my locker door.
"Well, why you still mad? I mean, he clearly broke up with you-"
"Because of you!" I said loudly & cleared my throat as I notied the suspicious looks I received from the pass-byers.

"Because of you!" I said again, only softer.

He looked at me with this amused face.
"He didn't even know it was me. & I was merely teaching you how to play golf." he whispered back.
"Well... Still!" I protested.

Just as we were heading towards the cafeteria, my watch began to flash like mad with this tiny beeping sound.
At the same time, Grant's Rolex went off too.

We glared at each other because we just knew that the Chief was watching & he just loves to break us up.
From the fights, I mean.

Not the, you know, couple-y break up like Chaz & I.
Because we're both diligent spies whose loyalties lie with the Organisation.

& also because we know how to kick butt & I'm pretty sure that if the Chief hadn't rung - or beep - us, we'd probably be having a fist fight by now.
& believe me, I'd win hands down.

Anyawy, we went to our respectful toilets (mine females' & him males'). I looked around to make sure that the coast was clear, flipped open a special tile & pressed the red button like you'd normally see Dee Dee pressing in Dexter's Laboratory.

& in a blink of an eye, I found myself plopped onto the comfy leather couch next to - ugh - Grant, across the Chief.

"So... What's up, Chief?" I said casually, trying to inch away from Grant & sat at the farthest end of the couch - which was something to say since the couch was a two-seater.

"Nothing is up, Agent Z27." the Chief growled.

Ooooh, I could already tell that it was bad. The Chief calls us by our agent code names when he's really not happy with us.
Which, you know, was fairly obvious with his growling & what not.

"You two have gone to numerous missions - many! Tons! Yet, you two still cannot get along. Really, partnership is just an equal with teamwork. Without teamwork, there's just you. & yes, we know that..."

I couldn't bear to listen to him. He just droned on & on about teamwork & all that. Technically, he's trying to say, "Stop this stupid feud, forgive each other & just do your mission already!"


"... And as a conclusion, I have come to decide that you two shall go through the Organization's survival training." the Chief said & sat back down in his big boss-like chair.
"Chief, at times, you're very funny. Now is one of those times." Grant chuckled.
"This is no joke, Agent ZX12. I am completely serious about this matter. You two shall go through the survival training to learn about the key importance that you two both lack of - teamwork."

For once, Grant's face didn't have that trademark smirk of his. It was the first time I saw just a blank expression on his face.
Seriously.

& I didn't even know what the heck was happening.
I mean, what's this about survival training? What is that?

"Dismissed." the Chief said with a wave of his hand & we were sent back to school.








"Hey, Grant! Grant!" I called out as he was walking back to his house or one of his many 'jobs'.
He turned around & said, "Yea? What?"
"What was that all about? I mean, you looked... Well, totally drained out or something." I said.
He gave me the familiar amused look & said, "You'd care?"

I felt my face going all hot - & it was an autumn day that day, I remember - for no apparent reason & said, "Still. What was that all about? What survival training? What, are we going to be stranded on an island filled with cannibals & surrounded by shark-infested waters?"
"Some imagination you've got there, Kathy." he smirked.

People call me 'Kat' & the adults just call me by my full name. I think he's the only guy who calls me 'Kathy', even though I've told him for a million times to just call me 'Kat'.

"Then what is survival training?" I said exasperatedly.

I was so busy bugging him about the survival training that I didn't realize that we were standing right in front of Moonbucks.
"Coffee?" he asked.








Like I've guessed the first time, he was on his way to one of his many odd jobs.
He was busy waiting on customers so I was just sitting by myself, next to the window, sipping my favorite Mocha latte.

That was when I caught sight of Chaz talking to a giggling Leia.
It seemed so odd that she was with Chaz & her fellow drones were not glued by her side, like I thought they were.

'Huh. Whatever. We broke up.' I thought to myself & kept sipping my latte, turning my back to the window.
So why did I feel like he stabbed me from the back?





"Okay, I've got a 10 minute break. So... What'd you wanna talk about?" he said as he casually slipped onto the chair across me.
"The survival training." I said through gritted teeth.

Yup, I was still in a bad mood at the time thanks to that unwanted vision. & also because he made it sound that I was the one who wanted to talk to him so urgently.
Could someone please take the guy off his mighty high horse?

"Bad mood, Kat. You were mild-tempered a few moments ago." he said, taken aback.
I looked down at my nails & said, "Sorry. Just saw... Something I didn't wanna see."

He looked around & said, "Chaz, eh?"
"Chaz." I nodded.

"Back to business." he cleared his throat. "Survival training. It's... Well, have you watched those 'Fear Factor' shows? Wait. Don't answer that. Your suggestion of cannibal-infested islands were a hint enough."
I laughed.

Well, the guy could be pretty okay when he puts his mind to it, I thought.

"Survival training... It's, well, something like that. Only not as extreme. I thought you were there since you were a kid? I mean, you still are, but-"
"Look, if you wanna be high & mighty, fine, be my guest. But when I'm being really nice here, you have no rights to be this high & mighty. Seriously!" I said, got up & stormed off.











'... Thought you were there since you were a kid? You still are.'
His words kept echoing in my had & it really didn't help with my blood pressure.

"I'm back!" I yelled as I unlocked the door to my house.
"Yea, I heard you, I heard you!" my brother said from the living room.

As usual, he was being the typical couch potato he was, flicking through the channels slumped on the couch.

Lately, I've been trying to persuade him to find for a job.
Yes, my brother, who's already in his early twenties, does not have a job. You're probably still wondering how we still could live in the beautiful mansion our parents left us - I mean, what, with all the bills to pay.

Nobody knows about this - except the Chief & I - but technically, I'm the one who pays for the bills.
My agent contract may have said I worked free-lance but the Chief managed to find out that my brother & I are orphans.

Which is seriously nice but I felt guilty for mooching off the Chief.
I mean hello?
Do heroes like, I don't know, Phoenix get paid for saving the world?

No. & I was stuck letting my boss pay for the electricity bills for the sake of living.
So, my brother should really find a job.

He was applying for accounts but ever since his late fiancee past away - she was strangled to death. The murderer's nowhere to be found - he just upped & left college & his true love, he was convinced, was the television.

"So... Any good jobs?" I said casually, trying to cool off from the Grant thing.
"Nope." he said as he watched a couple making out passionately.

Ew. My brother really needs to stop going through during the Women's Hour on HBO channel.

As I headed for the stairs, my brother called me.

"Yea?" I asked as I turned around.
"About that camp your school's having, well... Where are you guys going exactly?" he asked as he flipped through the letters & picked an odd-looking one out.
"Huh? School camp?" I said, dumb.

At the side, the stamp looked a little odd but I noticed that it was glazing the letters A. Z27.

"Oh, right. School camp!" I said, recovering. "Um, well... We're going to... Um... The Evergreen Reserve Park!"
"The Evergreens? Isn't that place filled with wildlife creatures? Like... Bears?"
"Um, well, yea! That's why we're going! To observe wildlife & appreciate it. To understand that we must stop the extinction of animals like these." I said.

Woah. Where did all those lies come from?

"Hm. Okay, you can go. You better get packing." he said & turned around, returning to his tv session.
"Um, Dave?" I asked.
"Mm?"
"When is the camp exactly? I, heh, kinda forgot. Things slip my mind sometimes." I said, thankfully not stammering.

He tore his eyes away from the TV - which is a feat for him, I'd know - & looked at me.
"Uh, tomorrow, Kat." he said & continued with the TV-athon.



I didn't know what to pack for the survival training camp.
I mean, hello? I don't even know what there is to it.
So I decided to throw in a few jumpsuits, shorts, pajamas & one nice outfit, just in case.

I went downstairs & bought KFC for dinner, since Dave couldn't go out or anything.
It was amazing, I thought, that my brother can be so fit when he doesn't exercise alot & managed to finish a whole bucket of fried chicken, leaving me a piece.

Anyway, the next day, I looked for Grant since it was the first day of the survival training camp (which I still didn't know what it was).
My first stop was, of course, Moonbucks.

& yes, I found him behind the cashier, looking unusually tight.
I mean, he wasn't smiling, smirking or looking all 'cool'.
He actually looked... Well, stressed.

I walked up to the cashier & said, "I'd like one latte grande, please."
"sure," he said, turned around & went to the espresso machine.

I was so surprised. Normally, he'd annoy me outta my skull but today he actually...
Treated me like a normal being.

Or maybe... Ignoring me.
Like Chaz.

Great. Now I have two guys were mad at me.

When Grant came back with my espresso, I kept silent, hoping that my imaginary daggers which were shooting from my eyes get to stab him or something.

I couldn't take it anymore. As he turned around, I grabbed the cuff of his sleeve & whispered - a little too harshly - "Grant, what's up with you? Can't you just talk instead of acting so childish?"

He blinked at me & woke up from his trance.
"Huh? Oh, Kathy? Hey." he said, noticing me for the first time.

Which just made me even more annoyed.

"Seriously, Grant! What's up with you? You're spacing out." I said.
"Do you know what day it is today?" he asked me, pretending not to hear me.

You know, I bet he wasn't even pretending.

"Uh... That weird survival training camp thing?"
"yes. And do you know where the 'weird survival training camp thing' is?" he asked, his British accent growing stronger.
"Um.... No..." I said, wondering why he was getting so freaked out.

God, I didn't know he loathed me that much.

At that moment, both our watches began to flash like crazy.
& no, it was not the reflection of the morning sunlight.

"Well, you'll see..." he said mysteriously, his British accent evaporated & went back to his normal voice.

"You two shall be on this man-made island for three days, two nights. The aim of this survival training camp is to-"
"Work together." Grant & I chimed, cutting off Chief's long, looooong lecture.

"Very good. I can already see the two of you getting off well already." he said & with that, he got up the helicopter & flew off, leaving us on the island with our suitcases by our sides.

"So, this is why you're so spaced out just now." I said.

Who would've guessed that I'd be stranded on a man-made island with my co-agent?

He grunted.

We stared out at the wide ocean in front of us & squinted at the harsh sunlight.

"Well, I'm hungry. So... Lets get some food." he said & took two twigs, two thorns & two palm leaves.

"This is a fishing rod?" I said skeptically.
"Yes, Kathy. Whether you like it or not, this is our ticket from starvation." he said defensively.
"Hey! No need to get so touchy. It's just that I've never really liked fishing, let alone a DIY fishing rods."

I know it sounded mean but it's true.
I mean, you just take a glance at the fishing rods he made & you'd go, "Pffft."

He handed one to me & went to the seaside, on a big boulder.

I followed him & sat down next to him, swinging my legs back & forth.
"So... How do we do this?" I asked.

He smiled & swung his fishing rod over his head & tossed it into the sea.
Then, he just sat stonily.

"That's it?" I asked.

He kept quiet.

I shrugged the anger & irritant off & did whatever he did.

I managed to toss it in the sea & waited quietly like him.

It felt like eons had passed since we said a word. I decided that I should be the first one to make a move.
But as soon as I opened my mouth, I felt my fishing rod tug & I jumped up in excitement.

"I've got something!" I said.
He looked up sharply & looked at the fishing rod, which was nearly bending, as close to breaking, i swear.

"Must be big!" he said & jumped up to help me pull.

I swear, the excitement was so contagious.
I pulled & pulled but I could just feel the fishing rod about to break.

My hands got all sweaty & the fishing rod was slipping beneath my grip.
It was so close from dropping over the big boulder, nearly a cliff, I realised.

Suddenly, I felt someone's arms enveloping me, grabbing the fishing rod & pulling.

The sensation felt familiar, just like it did at the golf course.

Finally, we both tugged at the same time & I fell back, on top of him, the fishing rod a few inches away from my feet.

I turned around & saw a flustered-looking Grant.
& I wasn't any better.

I looked down & jumped up & gaped at the size of the fish.
It was as big as my arm.

I couldn't believe that I caught it.

"I can't believe that I caught it!" I said, jumping up & down.
I turned around for Grant's expression & all he did was smile.











"Mmm... This fish's great! Where did you learn to cook like this?" I said, hoping that I wouldn't reek of fish after the meal.
"My dad." he said quietly.
"Oh."

Good job, Kat. Didn't you remember?
He has no family.

"So... British, huh?" I smirked.
He smiled back.
"Yup, mom's British, dad's from good ol' America. I was in custody of mom's." he said, not bothering to cover his British accent anymore.
"Why can't you just let people know that you are one? British, I mean."
"Well... Then I'd be the odd one out. I just want to fit in."
"You're doing a pretty good job, with all the females swooning around."

He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Hey, I'm just saying."

& it was like that till the rest of the night.

We went back into our respective tents, giving a nod as a goodnight instead.





The next day, I checked on Grant.
He wasn't in his tent.

Panic started to boil inside of me.
Don't ask me why, I didn't know why.

Well, okay, actually I do.
We were just friends.

Friends, capische?

Before I ran everywhere, including the jungle, I told myself to calm down.
It wasn't as if he wa scaptured by hooligans living in said jungle seeing as the Chief had clearly emphasised that the island was deserted.

So, I thought to myself, where would Grant be right now before daylight had struck?

& it came to me.

I ran to the boulder. The one where it was overlooking the sea, the blue, blue sea.

I was right. He was sitting there, looking far, far away, even farther than from our planet to Pluto, I was beginning to suspect.

"Hey." I said.
"Hey." he said.
"Mind if I...?"
"Yea, sure." he said.

I didn't know why that I felt a little tingle up my spine when I heard his British accent clearer than ever.
Maybe I'm just not used to it yet?

We were sitting there in silence - the good silence. Not the awkward kind - staring out at the sun, wondering & thinking.

"Do you still love Chaz?" he asked, not looking at me but at his shoes.
I gaped at him.

Seriously. We were enjoying the serenity of it all on a deserted island, stuck with him & surprisingly, not arguing.
Yet, he had to bring up that topic.

That topic?

I kept silent because a million questions were rushing in the inside of my head.

Why was he asking this? Why now? & if anything, why was it his business? Why wouldn't he look me in the eye? Why...

But he just took it the wrong way.
He just took a good look at me & glanced back down at the sole of his shoe.

"I take that as a yes." he said.
I looked at him incredulously.

Yet, the incredulousness inside of me melted away as soon I looked at his face.
It was so... I don't know how to describe it.

His hair was covering his eyes due to the lack of hair gel, which looked better than his normally spikey head.
Why did I had the urge to push his hair away from his eye?

But his lips were set in a straight line, as if he was pressing it together.
He looked so... Vulnerable.

He didn't look at all like the Grant I was expecting.
For once, he looked... Incredibly exposed the world, unarmed.

"I'm not in love with Chaz! I never was!" I sad hotly.
"I don't believe that. Eversince you broke up with him, you had been sulking as if it was the end of the world!" he shot back.
"Well, that's what normal people do, Grant. They get angry at their exes for hooking up with their ex-best friends! God!" I said.

"Look, if you're just going to be all weird on me, I'll leave. Get your own space. Whatever." I said, cutting him off as soon as he had opened his mouth.

i stood up quickly.
Too quickly.

It was either because I had tripped on my apparently untied shoelaces or that I was the mere edge of a cliff-like boulder, beneath me probably a gazillion sharp rocks shaped by the harsh waves of the ocean.

I nearly fell of it. The edge of the boulder, I mean.

If it wasn't for Grant, who had snaked his arm behind mine & me grabbing onto him for my dear life, I would've been crushed by the sharp rocks & the ferocious waves.

We looked at each other.
Finally, his eyes were looking into mine.

It was so blue - usually, it would've been the colour of crystal. Light crystal blue.
But at that moment, it was a darker shade.

So dark that it was a marine blue.

"Grant." I breathed.

We stayed like that for what seemed like forever.
We could've eventually be doing something else, such as hugging tightly, or me crying because I was nearly about to die, or even, I don't know...

Kiss?

Pfft. Haha, what a laugh.

We could've been doing any of those things if the Chief didn't come back in his helicopter & told us that the survival camp had been a success through his big megaphone.

& that was it.