At the Academy
the best-looking guy in the room- “There! There! Look at that troop of giraffes!”
- “That’s for drinking only.”
- rubbed it over Joan’s arms and legs
- we used to be friends a long time ago
Tune in next time part 163 Click Here for Earlier Installments
At the academy, Jason had been a terrible student. He was usually the best-looking guy in the room (unless I was there and it was a tie) and he got by on his looks. But now, here he was throwing code phrases at me. What could it mean?
“There! There! Look at that troop of giraffes!” was my cautious reply. I was curious to see whether he had the whole phrasebook memorized, or just the one message that had no sibilants to trigger his lisp.
Relief washed over my twin’s face. He jerked his head toward a backpack hanging on the coat tree, bobbing his eyebrows meaningfully.
I stepped back out of the tunnel with an extra swivel in my hips to keep Kelly distracted, and opened the pack. Sure enough it held the flask Jason’s code phrase had promised. Could he possibly be in on the plan with Heinrich and Svetlana? My skimpy outfit had no pockets, so I tucked the flask into my waistband.
With a nod of appreciation, I sashayed back to the tunnel and hurried on. There were occasional signs of wild fishermen, but nothing fresh. I breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated on following the map on my palm.
When I reached the door that marked the end of my subterranean journey, I pressed my ear against it. I was hoping to hear Tessa, but I was disappointed.
I slid the panel open and crept into the room while its sole inhabitant was distracted at the mirror, applying mascara. She was dressed like Aphrodite.
“Hello, Joan,” I said. “It’th me, Jathon.”
Joan narrowly avoided poking herself in the eye with her mascara wand as she jumped to her feet. “You fool! You know you shouldn’t be here!”
I shrugged and pulled the flask from my waistband, poured some of the liquid into my hand. When Joan saw, her eyes got wide. She spluttered, “That’s for drinking only.”
I put the flask down and looked at the pale green liquid in my palm, then rubbed it over Joan’s arms and legs while she stared at me.
“You’re not Jason!” she said. “But I know who you are. We used to be friends a long time ago, at the academy. Your name is–”
The room’s other door crashed open and Jenkins barreled in, yelling, “Step 5, motherfuckers!”
bonus points for using them in order