the result, especially when she put on her black Linkin Park T-shirt and ripped jeans, and mussed her hair up so that it looked punky. But she wasn’t totally confident and she couldn’t help staring at herself every time she passed something reflective; as though the thousandth glance would reveal some miraculous truth not imparted by the previous nine-hundred and ninety-nine.
She was in a sore mood as she walked along a corridor towards the Pre-Training Briefing (PTB) classroom, because four lads had ganged up on her in the last lesson of the afternoon and spent the whole time taking the mickey out of her hair. It didn’t hurt her feelings, because they were the sort of idiots who would have made fun of anything she’d done, but they’d been in her face for the best part of an hour and it ended up severely getting on her nerves. The worst part was having to sit there with a tight grin taking whatever they threw at her, because she knew any sign that they were getting under her skin would only encourage them.
Lauren checked her watch as she passed through an open door into the PTB classroom and headed for a long table marked with a plastic sign saying Team D. Teams A–C, each five strong, were gathered noisily around some of the other tables. Team C was jointly led by James’ girlfriend Kerry and her best friend Gabrielle, while Team A was led by James’ best friend, Kyle.
Lauren sat down next to Bethany Parker. Bethany’s little brother, Jake, sat opposite and Dana ‘Cheesy’ Smith was at the other end of the table, as far from everyone else as she could get.
Jake was nine years old. He wouldn’t be able to enter basic training until he turned ten, but his education was already being geared towards becoming a CHERUB agent. On top of normal lessons, Jake had daily Karate and Judo sessions and was almost fluent in Spanish and French. Now he was set for his first taste of outdoor CHERUB training, as the most junior member of Team D.
Dana was a fourteen-year-old tomboy who’d been recruited to CHERUB from an Australian children’s home. She sat with her legs out straight and her arms folded over a filthy combat jacket. Dana had been a qualified CHERUB agent for four years, but while an imposing physique had taken her to numerous Karate trophies and three wins in CHERUB’s annual triathlon, her mission performance had been unspectacular and she still wore a grey shirt.
Lauren half-smiled as she grabbed a chair. ‘Hello Dana.’
‘Hello, boss,’ Dana sneered in her Australian accent, without bothering to change her No one likes me, I don’t care scowl.
Lauren had discovered that being one of the youngest navy shirts on campus was a mixed blessing. It was cool in a way, but it was awkward when she found herself outranking kids who were several years older.
‘Where’s your big bro?’ Dana asked, as Lauren dragged her chair up to the table.
‘James won’t make it to this briefing,’ Lauren said. ‘I’ll have to make notes for him. He should be back by eight o’clock.’
Jake butted in. ‘Your hair looks ridiculous.’
Lauren bunched a fist. ‘Not as ridiculous as your face will in a minute.’
Jake tutted contemptuously. ‘I’m so scared.’
Lauren looked at Bethany and shook her head. ‘Boys are such morons.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Bethany said, giving her brother a withering look.
The classroom went silent as CHERUB’s most ruthless training instructor stepped in. Mr Large was tailed by two of his assistants, Mr Pike and Mr Greaves. The two younger men perfectly fitted the CHERUB instructor mould: tall, fit, in their late twenties with the physiques of heavyweight boxers. Greaves and Pike were both ex-CHERUB agents who had pursued careers in elite military units after they’d retired.
Everyone was scared of Mr Large, but Lauren had more cause than most. Mr Large still held a monster grudge against her for knocking him into a muddy hole with a spade.
‘Silence you pigs,’ Mr Large yelled as he slammed the classroom door.
Bethany leaned over and whispered in Lauren’s ear. ‘His moustache has got bigger. It looks like he’s got a gerbil Sellotaped to his lip.’
Lauren was tickled by the image of Mr Large sticking a rodent to his face. She couldn’t help giggling and a second later Mr Large was screaming at her.
‘What’s so amusing, young lady?’
‘Nothing sir,’ Lauren said, grinding her teeth as she realised that attracting Mr Large’s attention was the absolute worst thing she