eighteen months earlier.
Hou look so grown up,?James sniffled happily. Congratulations ?It so proud of you.?
i missed you,?Lauren sniffed back.
Laurene mood evaporated when she saw the dirty brown marks James had smeared over her uniform.
Aor gode sake,?she gasped, as she backed away. Lhere have you been? What happened to your hair??
Le and Jake had a race on the way over here,?James explained. it got a bit out of hand.?
Ind I won,?Jake interrupted.
Rolling in the mud with an eight-year-old,?Lauren sneered, as she smudged a tear off her cheek. That sounds about your level ?We had to wait five hours when we changed planes at Toronto airport. I got you a present in the gift shop.?
Lauren pulled a brown paper bag out of her jacket and handed it to James. He opened it up, revealing a fleece hat with yellow and blue tassels dangling off either end.
Cheers,?James grinned, as he stretched it over his muddy hair. ite in Arsenal away colours.?
Bethany had bought an identical hat for Jake and the two boys headed back towards the main building, hats on, listening to their sisters rabbiting about stuff that had happened during training.
*
James wasnt sure if his teachers would let him off the rest of the daye lessons to hang out with Lauren. He got around this thorny issue by not bothering to ask. He decided if he got pulled up, het act emotional about Laurene return and get off with a few punishment laps at worst.
Lauren had been allocated one of the newly converted rooms on the eighth floor, where the old mission preparation suites had been. She wouldnt let James cross the threshold until het washed his hair and put on clean uniform.
The layout was the same as the room James had two floors below. There was a double bed, ensuite bathroom, laptop, mini fridge, microwave and a little lounge area by the door with a two-seat sofa, where you could watch TV or play video games.
James was a bit jealous: het inherited his room from another kid, whereas everything in Laurene room was spanking new. The rooms at the front of the building also had sliding glass doors and balconies that overlooked gardens, rather than the windows overlooking the muddy football pitches you got at the back.
It took three round trips in an electric golf buggy to bring Laurene stuff over from her old room in the junior building, followed by a dozen rides carrying boxes up to the eighth floor in the lift. It was lunchtime by the time James and Lauren were through.
Lauren hobbled down to the storeroom on the fourth floor and got a ton of junk food to stock up her fridge: drinks, snacks and chocolate. She also grabbed two Snickers ice creams and two microwave burritos out of the freezer for their lunch.
The microwave meals were supposed to be for kids whot arrived back from a mission, or training, after the canteen closed in the evening. James would have preferred the proper food being served downstairs, but Lauren wanted to zap something in her new microwave.
When theyt finished the burritos, James and Lauren opened the balcony doors to let out the stink and sprawled out next to each other on the double bed, too stuffed to bother getting on with the unpacking.
Lan,?Lauren said, rubbing her tummy and doing a little burp. It least Ite got a week off before I have to restart lessons. It so whacked after training, It gonna sleep till noon every day, then steam in the bath all afternoon, reading books and stuffing my face.?
Tounds good to me,?James smirked. it only gonna be around for a couple more days. It off on some mission in America. I tried to get you on it, but John Jones didnt sound keen. He thinks youte too inexperienced.?
Lhate the mission all about??Lauren asked.
Before James got to answer, he had a mental jolt. Oh shit e he gasped. Lohne gonna kill me.?
Lauren sat up anxiously. Lhy? What have you done??
ite like, a massive, important mission and I was supposed to give him my final decision about going on it this morning.?
James dived off Laurene bed, grabbed her telephone and dialled John Jones?extension. It got picked up straight away.
Lames,?John said tersely. Lhere have you been? Ite been to your room, Ite been round all your teachers, Ite been asking all your friends if theyte seen you and Ite even left messages on your mobile.?
it really sorry,?James grovelled. Ly mobilee flat and the mission totally went out of my