Truth (The Zara Chronicles Book 2), page 1
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Monday, September 17
Tuesday, September 18
Wednesday, September 19
Thursday, September 20
Friday, September 21
Author's Note
More Books by Scarlett
Find Scarlett Online
Truth
The Zara Chronicles #2
Scarlett Haven
Copyright © 2018 Scarlett Haven
http://scarletthaven.net
All rights reserved.
Cover by Scarlett Haven
Edited by Janet at Dragonfly Editing
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Monday, September 17
First mission.
I look out the window of the plane, seeing Tokyo for the first time. It’s morning in Tokyo, so the sun is just starting to rise, and the city couldn’t be more beautiful. I’m excited to explore it with the guys.
Speaking of the guys, I look up and see them looking out the window, too. Dylan, who is sitting beside me, is leaned over so he can see out the window better.
I peek over to where Austin and Stefan are sitting and I see Austin watching me. I smile at him, thinking he has the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen. I can’t quite tell if they’re blue or green, but today they look clear blue.
Last, I look at Tristan and Cam. They aren’t looking out the window. Instead, they’re both sitting close to each other, talking quietly. Cam looks upset. Poor Tristan. I know what it’s like to be on the other end of Cam’s anger. I wonder what Tristan did to make Cam so upset.
The plane circles around the city once before we make our descent into the airport. I’m sad that our amazing view is gone, but I’m also excited to get off this plane. We’ve been on it far too long and I’m exhausted. I am not sure what we’re doing today, but I hope it involves a lot of naps. And maybe some food.
We land and only have to wait a few minutes before we can get off the plane. But before we can even gather our stuff, Zach Stone walks into the main cabin. I didn’t even realize there was a private area on this small plane.
“Your first assignment is starting now,” Zach says. “I’m going to need all of your phones.”
I hold onto my iPhone tighter, not liking the idea of parting with it.
He needs my phone?
“Why do you need our phones?” Cam asks.
“Hand them over,” Zach says, holding out his hands.
Everybody reluctantly hands over their phones. I wait until the very last before giving mine over. I haven’t been without a phone since I was ten years old. I feel naked without it. What if there is an emergency?
Zach puts all of our phones into a tote before he pulls something out of his pocket.
It’s a flip phone.
I didn’t realize they still made those. I can't remember the last time I've seen somebody with one.
“This is for emergencies. The only number you can dial is mine. There is no internet and no GPS,” he says, then holds it out. Tristan goes to grab it, but Zach yanks it back.
“Not you. You’re the computer guy, right? I’m sure you could find a way to get GPS on this and that is not allowed today.” He looks at me. “You take it.”
“She’s good with computers, too,” Tristan says, clearly upset that he is so cut off from technology.
“But she’ll follow the rules,” Zach says, looking at me. “Right?”
I grin.
He doesn’t know me very well. I actually am not one to follow rules, but I will follow this rule. I want to pass every single test that they give us.
“I hate following rules, but I won’t cheat,” I say, grabbing the phone. “I want to pass whatever test this is because of skill and not because I cheated.”
“Excellent,” he says, clearly pleased. “Your first task is to find the hotel we will be staying at. I suggest you start now, seeing as it is on the other side of the city.” He grabs a piece of paper from the bag. “Here is the name of the hotel and the address, both in Kanji and English.”
“How are we supposed to find it without a GPS?” Tristan asks.
I laugh. “Tristan, it’s called a map.”
“Exactly,” Zach says. “You’re students at Spy School and I assume you know how to use a map.”
I look at the boys... they all look between each other, shaking their heads.
“Oh, good grief. I can read a map,” I say.
Before I was allowed to take my driving test my dad made me learn how to read a map. He said it was important. On a trip to New York City, my dad made me the navigator, and by the end of the week-long trip, I was actually pretty good at it. After this, I’m going to have to call him and thank him.
All the boys look at me, their mouths hanging open. I turn back to Zach, who also seems pleasantly surprised.
“Here is some cash,” Zach says, holding out a small stack of money. “You guys are going to have to exchange it for Japanese yen.”
Dylan reaches for the money, which doesn’t surprise me. He’s had the most experience with traveling and he probably knows where to go to get money exchanged.
“Good luck,” Zach says.
He grabs the tote with our cellphones inside and walks off the plane. I allow myself a couple of seconds to mourn the loss of it. But, really, who would I talk to right now anyway? All my friends are here and I doubt any of my family is going to be calling me today.
“We should get started,” I say. “It’s going to be a long trip.”
Map class.
After getting our money exchanged, our first purchase is a map of Tokyo. I’m in charge of navigating us around the city. Now, we just have to figure out a mode of transportation. The boys are discussing our options and I feel a little left out. I mean, how can I not? They’ve been doing this for years. They’ve got their groove. And I’m new and I have to figure out exactly how I fit in.
“We can just get a cab,” Austin says.
“Except none of us speak Japanese,” Dylan says. “And there is no way we’re going to find a random cab driver who can speak English.”
“Too bad I don’t have my phone, we could just use Google Translate,” Tristan says.
“We could just point to the address on the paper,” Cam says.
There is a slight lull in conversation while they consider what Cam said, so I figure that now is as good of a time as any to give my input.
“I think we should just take the train,” I say. “It’s probably good if we figure out how to use the subway system here anyway, since we will be here all week. Plus, we can get one of those passes so we can take unlimited trips. Who knows if Zach is going to give us more money and we don’t want to run out before the week is over because we spent it all on cab fare.”
They all look at me, not saying anything, and then they turn to each other. I wish I could read their expressions, because none of them say a word for a solid ten seconds.
What if they hate my idea and are trying to think of a way to shoot me down nicely? Is it stupid to suggest the train?
“She has a point,” Stefan says. “Yes, the cab is an easy answer, but we’ve been at Spy School long enough to know that easy isn’t always best.”
“My mom would get mad if I used the emergency credit card just because we ran out of cash,” Austin says.
“Not to mention they would dock our grade if we ran out of money,” Dylan says.
“Then it’s settled. We will take the train,” Cam says, making the decision final. “Good call, Zara. We owe you.”
I smile at their approval. I want to impress them. I mean, if I’m just letting them call all the shots, then what is the point of me being here? Why would they want somebody on their team who doesn’t contribute?
The boys all turn to start walking, I’m assuming towards the subway station.
“Um, boys,” I say.
They all stop to look at me.
“It’s this way,” I say, pointing at the sign we were just standing by.
“This is what we get for putting off that map class,” Tristan says. “We’re being punished.”
“Map class?” I ask, as we walk towards the station.
“There is a class, it only lasts a couple of weeks, but they go into detail on how to read a map,” Tristan says. “We keep putting it off because we thought it was a pointless class. As long as I have access to a phone, we have GPS.”
“Ah,” I say. “But you shouldn’t completely rely on technology. You should always be prepared.”
“We are taking the class when we get back,” Cam says. “Except Zara. She doesn’t need it.”
“I could always use a refresher,” I say. Really, I just want to be in all the classes they are.
As the six of us walk to the station, the boys remain mostly quiet and I’m wondering what they’re thinking. I’m honestly kind of scared about this trip. I know they said they want me to be a part of their team, but what if I do something that makes them not like me anymore? The last thing I want to do is make them mad at me. I also hope they're not just going along with my subway idea to spare my feelings.
“Are you okay?” Stefan asks.
I’m not surprised he’s the one who noticed I’m having some negative
“I’m fine,” I say, forcing myself to smile for him.
He doesn’t push the issue, even though I can tell he wants to. I’m glad he doesn’t, though. We just walk side by side, the others behind us.
When we get to the subway station, I’m pleased to find that the computer where you buy tickets has English instructions as well, so that makes it easier for us. We purchase our tickets for the week and then we read the signs, trying to figure out which train to take. After about five minutes, we get onto the train and start heading to the hotel.
“Zach is going to be pleasantly surprised when we show up in less than an hour,” I say.
“All thanks to you, Zara,” Cam says. “We’re lucky you know how to read a map.”
“Too bad I couldn’t read the subway signs or we could’ve gotten on sooner,” I say.
“Excuse me,” a boy says. “Are you Americans?”
“Yes,” I answer. “Well, some of us.” I point to Cam. “He’s from the UK.” Then I point to Stefan. “And he’s from New Zealand.”
“Very nice,” he says. “How long will you be in town?”
I hear a noise from behind me, so I turn around to see all five guys are glaring at the guy. I raise an eyebrow at them before turning back around. What is up with the guys? “Only a week. We’re here for a school assignment.”
“What district are you staying in?” he asks. “Maybe I will see you guys around.”
I tell him the district where our hotel is, seeing no danger in that. The guy seems really nice and I doubt I’ll see him again considering how big Tokyo is.
“We’re headed there now,” I say.
“You’re going in the wrong direction,” he says.
“Seriously?” I ask, pulling the subway map out.
He points at the map, explaining the way the subway system works. It’s actually quite simple to follow and I feel like a complete idiot for not seeing it before, though in my defense, the English on the map is really small.
“Just get off at the next stop and get on this train,” he says, pointing at the map.
“Thank you so much,” I say, feeling like an idiot. I should’ve known it was the wrong subway. If I had been paying more attention, I would have.
“No problem,” he says, and then bows to me.
I bow back to be polite, but it feels odd to do so. I walk closer to the guys.
“We are going the wrong way,” I say. “So, we have to get off at the next stop.”
“Did you have to flirt with the guy?” Cam asks.
He thought I was flirting with the guy?
“I wasn’t flirting, I was being polite. He’s the one who told me we were going the wrong way, so be nice,” I say.
The train comes to a stop and we get off at the stop. Stefan almost doesn’t make it before the doors close. They're very serious about their schedule.
“I never realized getting off a subway could be so aggressive,” he says.
“It’s definitely crowded,” Austin says.
“This is the train we need,” I say, pointing at the sign. “It’ll arrive in five minutes. Which means it will have taken us an hour and a half to get there. Is that bad?”
“Nah,” Cam says. “One time, in New York City, it took us five hours to get from one side of the city to the other. But we got really, really lost.”
“One would think after that experience you’d learn to read a map,” I say.
“We’re not as smart as you,” Dylan says.
Having a couple of minutes to kill, I turn and look at the guys. “Did you really think that boy was flirting with me?”
“Yes.” The answer echoes through all the guys.
“Come on,” I say. “I’m never going to see that boy again. He lives in Japan for goodness sakes. Besides, he was just being friendly. There is no need to be jealous.”
I really don’t understand boys.
“Exactly,” Cam says. “You won’t be seeing him again. So, there was no need to flirt back and get his hopes up.”
“I didn’t...” I let out a breath and shake my head. “Camden Miller, you clearly need a lesson on how to flirt, because that was not flirting. Not even close.”
The boys all laugh and I look at them, feeling like I missed something.
“What?” I ask.
“There is a class on flirting at Spy School,” Austin says.
“And, let me guess, you guys haven’t taken it yet,” I say.
“On the contrary, we took it freshman year,” Stefan says. “I was fourteen and thought it would help me get a girlfriend. I'm pretty sure all the freshmen had the same idea.”
I don’t know why, but the thought of Stefan getting a girlfriend makes me feel jealous. I have no right to feel that way, though. We’re just friends. All the guys are just my friends.
“Did it work?” I ask, almost afraid of what his answer would be. “Did you get a girlfriend?”
“By the time I finished the class, I realized I didn’t like any of the girls at Spy School like that,” he says.
I hate how relieved I feel by his answer.
“Should I take that class?” I ask.
“No.” Once again, the answer echoes through the train station and people turn to look at us. My face grows warm and I suddenly feel awkward with everybody looking our way.
“Zara, you don’t need that class,” Tristan says. “You are beautiful. You should make the guy do all the wooing.”
Beautiful?
“Why do I get the feeling you guys are going to make sure I’m single until I’m thirty?” I ask.
The guys laugh.
I don’t.
Separated.
When we arrive at the hotel, Zach is sitting in the lobby working on his laptop. He looks surprised to see us, but sets his computer down and walks over.
“I thought it would take you longer,” he says. “I only arrived, myself, a couple of minutes ago.”
“We would’ve been here sooner, but I’m an idiot who took us the wrong way on the subway,” I say.
“Without you, we wouldn’t have even taken the subway,” Cam says, then looks at Zach. “She’s good. Smart.”
Zach looks pleased. “I have room keys for everybody.” He pulls cards from his pockets. “Boys, you will be on the twenty-ninth floor. You have joining rooms. Zara, you’ll be on the thirtieth floor.”
“Why isn’t she by us?” Dylan asks.
“Because she is a girl,” Zach says. “And she doesn’t need to be close to a bunch of teenaged boys. I remember what it was like to be your age, and I won’t let you anywhere near her in a hotel room.”
“No offense,” I say, “but I don’t need your help saying no. I just met them a week ago, what do you think is going to happen? They’re my friends. Besides, they’re all respectable. Nothing is going to happen.”
“Still, nothing can happen from different floors,” Zach says. “The decision is final.”
“She’s going to be on our team. You know she isn’t going to be staying on different floors when we go on missions,” Cam says.
“And you will be older then,” Zach says. “That’s different.”
“Why do you care?” I ask. “I mean, no offense, but what does it matter if something did happen? I’m in their dorm rooms all the time with them at Spy School. Who is to say something hasn't already happened?”
Zach’s face is, literally, red.
Eh, maybe I shouldn’t have said that last part.
“Nothing has happened,” I say, deciding I should clarify. “I haven’t even kissed a boy. I'm just saying, it's my decision.”
The five boys all looked shocked.
Zach looks... relieved, which is a little confusing.
“Zach, I umm... I was actually hoping I could talk to you,” I say.
But he ignores me. “Everybody meet here in one hour. Here are your phones. Your things are already in your rooms. I suggest that you all dress comfortably, because the day is far from over.”
I look at my phone and see that it’s 3 am in Switzerland right now, but 10 am here. No wonder I’m so exhausted. I make my way over to the elevator with the guys. Zach doesn’t join us, for which I am grateful.
