On the very last day of spy school, my plans for a normal uneventful summer were completely derailed by the delivery of two letters. The first was waiting in my room from when I returned from my final exam in self-preservation. I had already packed my belongings, hoping to make a quick exit from campus. The note was perched atop the pile of suitcases.

Benjamin—

Come see me at once,

The Principal

Up until that point I had been having a good day. To start with I felt positive about all my exams. I’d been working hard at the academy and had improved in all of my classes since the months I had arrived. I had jammed in my History of Espionage final aced Codes and Cryptography, squeaked through Basic Firearms and Weaponry ( I hadn’t scored any bulls-eyes like some of my fellow first-years, I at least hit the targets and not accidentally wounded myself.) I’d been most concerned about Intro to Self-Preservation which had always been my weakest class. I had managed to last for over an hour on the training ground against a dozen “enemy agents” armed with paintball guns while much of my class had been smeared by royal blue before five minutes were up. I figured that had to be good for at least an A-Minus. Now I was relived to be done with class for the summer. Although I would miss my friends from the Academy of Espionage, I was eager to head home, see my parents and have a decent home-cooked meal for the first time in months. Plus my thirteenth birthday was only a week away. I’d made plans to spend it with some old friends without anyone trying to kill or maim me. The note however suggested there was trouble ahead. I picked it up gingerly as though it was explosive. Frankly I would have preferred finding a bomb in my room. I knew how to handle a bomb. The principal on the other hand was far more unpredictable.