Undercover Lover (Finished)

Part 13

   I get up, last nights events flooding back into my head.  I groan as I remember how I cried and hugged pukey and it wasn't even on camera. All of that effort of bonding and the success I made last night has effectively gone to waste now because the moderators at HQ won't even know about it. I get up to see that the Fran and Tam are both still asleep. I glance at the clock and realise that it's only 5:30 am. Is there really any point in going back to sleep though? I mean I'll only have to be awake again in another hour or so. Instead of sleeping I grab my notebook in which I have been writing information about the mission in, which to my disappointment is still very scarce. The only way I can even hope to be more successful in this endeavour is to hope that when I get pukey to open up a bit more then he'll spill. That's assuming that he knows what his fathers up to, which I'm hoping her does. And of course this is all based upon me being able to actually befriend him, which is hardly fair because people skills was my weakest area by a mile in the exams. I stare at the book, trying my best to think of something, anything, which will enable me to understand the aim of my mission. I groan and lean my head back, flicking through all of the things that Luke has mentioned during my time with him. That's when it hits me, empire, pairings, surely the school could be classed as an empire? And if these pairings are really that important in the upper class society, then giving information about them would be extremely seedy. I jump out of the bed, doing a small happy dance, my entire being filled with some form of joy. I jot down this idea in my note book, sure that this is what Harry's clue meant. So by helping pukey reach the top pair then maybe I can find out more about the event and see where the information is being leaked, and what information is actually being leaked. 

   I hear Tam's alarm go off, it must be 6:30 then. "Tam, turn that damn thing off." Fran groans, rolling over in her bed and shoving her pillow on her head. Tam, on the other hand, springs out of bed with a smile on her face. She really is a morning person. She looks at me, a little shocked, "You're up early." 

"Yeah, couldn't sleep last night." I admit sheepishly, yawning as I do. 

"And I can't sleep now." Fran mumbles, sitting up and glaring at Tam. 

"Stop being grouchy Fran, you have physics first thing, be happy." 

"Lucky you, I have etiquette and fine dining." I mumble, annoyed at this. 

"Ha, you're right, could be worse I could have it as bad as you."

"Hey! Etiquette and Fine Dining is amazing, we're going to have so much fun." Tam says, her eyes going all bright, as if she genuinely enjoys this torturous timetable.

"Uh huh. Sure it is, just like culture and cuisine?" I ask sarcastically, although Tam doesn't seem to understand the concept of sarcasm because she starts to gush about how much she loves that class. I glance at Fran who merely shrugs and gets up to use the bathroom. I hear a sharp rap on the door and silently thank any form of God that there is because Tam stops abruptly, frowning at the door. "Who calls for people this early?" she asks, glancing at the clock and seeing that it's 6:50. "I mean, we haven't even gotten dressed yet." she continues, acting very aggravated. 

"Don't worry Tam, I'll get it." I reply with a smile, unsure of why it's such an issue.

"No Sandra, you're not even changed. You haven't got any make up on, you haven't even brushed your teeth yet!" she squeals, as if it's some sort of scandal. I scoff at this and shake my head.

"It's fine Tam, I'm sure it'll be ok-" I start, before being interrupted by another knock on the door, though this one sounds less urgent and more embarrassed as it's slower and has less of a rhythm. 

"I can come back later if you girls aren't ready." I hear pukey saying anxiously behind the door. My attention perks at this, assessing why he'd be here this early. This is definitely something to do with last night, there's no way he'd be so nervous if this was about pairings. I grab my hair slides and the brooch, putting them on as I open the door to see him standing there looking a little awkward. It's the first time I've really seen him being awkward and self conscious, and to be honest it's quite the change. "Can I see you outside for two secs?" he asks me quietly. I nod at this and step out of the room, closing the door quietly. 

"What's up?" I ask, leaning on the door, my volume barely above a whisper. I don't want to alert anyone in the other rooms that I'm out here, especially that I'm out here with Luke because if Harriet got news of this early morning visit then I can't imagine that she'd take it so well. 

"I just wanted to see if you were ok after last night." he says, his voice at a normal volume, making me cringe internally. 

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." I reply.

"And Cassie?" he whispers, as I screw my eyes shut. 

"Yeah?"

"If you ever need to talk about-"

"It's ok pukey, you don't have to get all emotional here. I'm good to deal with things, you just caught me at a weak point." I reply, looking him dead in the eyes as I say it. He sighs and shakes his head at this.

"That's what worries me in all honesty."

"What do you mean by that?" 

"You're so secretive, like you really have something to hide, and I just want you to know that no matter who you've met that made you like this, or the experiences that you had that made you like this, there's someone willing to listen." he whispers sincerely. I squint at him, I'm secretive, geez it's not good that he's sussed that out. 

"Thanks pukey, that means a lot to me." I whisper, smiling at his genuineness. It's quite sweet of him to say that, I mean he could have just ignored what happened last night but he didn't. He came to check up on me in the morning, a sure sign that he regards me as a friend. Which means I am most definitely progressing towards my goal. 

"You sure you're good though?" he asks me one last time.

"One hundred percent." I reply, before my phone starts to ring. I groan when I see that it's Harry. I can tell that pukey's looking at my screen.

"Harry?" he asks me curiously, undoubtedly remembering the conversation we had by the tree a few days ago. I sigh and nod.

"Sorry I really have to take this, can we catch up after class?" 

"Or during class, etiquette and fine dining doesn't really set anyone's world on fire." he grumbles, and I laugh at this.

"Unless you're Tam." I reply, before answering the phone. He chuckles at this before walking off. "Hey Harry." 

"You're in trouble Sandra." he says, sounding grave, causing my heart to drop.

"What, why?"

"Clearly something of significance happened last night, and the moderators want to know why you didn't have your camera and microphone with you." he says, sounding annoyed. I bite my lip and try to calm my breaths… they wouldn't fail me for that, would they?