My mind wandered back to Zaphire. She was amazing. Maybe it was curiosity, as I had never felt these feelings for a girl before. It had knocked me sideways. I needed to figure this out, but there was no chance to explore or even talk about it with her. Maybe after the mission we could have a chance, but then I wanted to go back to mum, Kas and my friends too. It was going to be a hard decision and I had to stop myself thinking about it. It wasn't going to help my concentration if I kept worrying about the future.
I glanced over at the clock and to my horror I saw I only had five minutes to get ready! I had enjoyed the soak a little too much! I quickly threw on some clothes and went out to report to Zack, dripping wet hair, no socks and my top inside out. For the first time in ages a little smile broke through on his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
“Well, it looks like you have to visit the cafe looking like a drowned cat, Miss Mankuzay. Work on your time management!”
Typical of Zack, making me bear the consequences of my actions in the most humiliating way. He was waiting for a reply so I hurriedly did.
“Yes Sir, I'm sorry Sir.”
It became easier to address him like that. It almost rolled out of my mouth now and it didn't feel so awkward. I was looking forward to calling him by his name again, though. I missed the supportive and fun side of Zack plus the ease with which we used to get along. I hoped it would return. He seemed to be okay with Sam though, so it must be possible.
Off we went to the cafe and had some food, me looking wet and dishevelled, eliciting a few giggles on the way. However, Zack made sure people went on with their business quickly, no one dared to make any comments. I admired the authority he emanated so naturally. He only had to look a certain way and people would respond. I wanted to find out why people showed him so much respect at such a young age. I was curious to find out how he so quickly earned his reputation of being such an excellent coach. Though I could hazard a guess by the way he was training me, that sort of respect usually came with a lot more experience. Then I remembered Markus' words to my mother telling her how he had saved someone's life, so it was no wonder people were in awe of him.
Time couldn't go fast enough as I was dying to get back to our room, away from the staring eyes. Luckily, Zack wasn't hanging about either and after we finished our food we made our way back, but a young girl called Maisie came up with a note for Zack. She hardly dared make eye contact, but Zack made time to have a little chat with her. She turned out to be Ned's sister and was obviously thrilled with Zack's attention. She can't have been more than thirteen and not very good at cloaking her feelings yet. Zack ignored it and treated her kindly then thanked her for the note she passed him. I was about to ask what the note was about, but narrowly remembered I was to ask for permission to talk first. I couldn't stop my curiosity so I did.
“Yes, you may speak Eliza." Zack said surprisingly.
“I was just wondering what the note was about, Sir?" I tried.
He took a breath and waited a second before answering.
“Markus wants to see us tomorrow afternoon, which is a bit sooner than I would have liked, but so be it.”
“Why didn't he just text you or email? A note is a bit old school isn't it?" I wondered out loud. But Zack gave nothing away. He just nodded and said Markus would have his reasons.
“When we get back to our room you are to do two hours of revision and then it's early bed today. You need to have a good night sleep tonight." he said, changing the subject.
I kept forgetting about my impending exams. Didn't look like I would be able to do them until after the mission anyway, which was just as well as I hadn't done nearly enough revision for any of my subjects. School felt like a life time away, even though it had only been a couple of weeks. It didn't seem important any more, but I knew Zack wouldn't have any of that. I was predicted A grades and he was damn well going to make sure I would do my revision. So, when we got back I reluctantly got my Biology books out and immersed myself in the subject I had always loved studying.
CHAPTER 32
Markus wanted to see us tomorrow and that didn't bode well. I had hoped for a few days more. Fuck. I'd better get a plan together tonight. Luckily Eliza was studying so I could concentrate on it, without having to discipline Eliza all the time.
It wasn't going to be easy to orchestrate a meet between Rick and Eliza. The man was artful in concealing his daily routine, and it had taken the team a few weeks of hard work to figure it out. At first glance it looked like he had no routine, but if you looked beyond the surface he definitely had one. It was just not easy to discover as he was clever enough to have injected some randomness in his daily routines. Our team had found a certain pattern though and with patience we would be able to arrange a
