Chapter Text
Should I go or should I stay?
Normally when one finds themselves overhearing a confession, the immediate reaction would be to leave. Fast. But that is kind of difficult to do when you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or rather, an air vent and a twelve-feet drop.
Suffices to say that I don’t really have a choice.
I almost let out a sigh, before remembering that I am in the presence of two Gallagher girls who may very well hear me and have the ability to either knock me out or make sure I forget anything I’ve heard. And even though I know that Gallagher Girls are not meant to use their skills on their sisters, I am not about to test fate to find out if this statement actually holds true.
So, I merely roll my eyes and berate myself over how I got into this situation.
It was after dinnertime, and I decided to indulge in my favourite pastime. There was a secret passageway, or what I thought was the entrance to a secret passageway, I found two years ago that I couldn’t access. There was an indented brick about 6-feet above the ground that I couldn’t reach (being eleven and barely pushing five-feet). I had forgotten about it until I overheard another Gallagher Girl mention a secret passageway along the East Wing corridor that her mother used to use. To my knowledge, that indented brick was the only abnormality along said corridor.
The passageway was small, even for a thirteen-year-old. It was a corridor that seemed to go on forever, and while that may be an exaggeration it didn’t feel like it when I had to shuffle along sideways in a passageway that was barely the width of my shoulders.
Just when the thought went through my mind to return, the corridor ended. And went up. Vertically upwards, that is. As I looked up, a sense of dread filled me which, at the time seemed rather misplaced. It’s not like I’ve never had to crawl through dusty passageways with more spiders than I could care to count. And as I ignored my gut feeling I just reminded myself of the number one rule I set myself when starting school: Gallagher girls are not quitters.
New number one rule for spy-in-training Cammie Morgan: never ignore your gut instinct. Because while I can say that this is not my first (and certainly won’t be my last) time crawling through air vents, it was the first time I have become an eavesdropper to a confession (and hopefully my last).
Now, that’s not to say that this is a completely uncommon occurrence (I’m talking about the confession). But this is real life, where the majority of people don’t experience extravagant public declarations of affection (I personally couldn’t imagine the second-hand embarrassment). There’s something about confessions that are extremely vulnerable and awkward and now I’m really starting to wonder whether it’s worth trying to find all the secret passageways in school. I could only hope that the vents don’t make a noise while staying absolutely frozen.
“-anna go out tomorrow?”
“Hmm, could do. Don’t think I’ve got too much of my code left to fix… Where are you thinking of going?”
“Errr, there’s a new ice rink in town and I remember you mentioning you’ve never gone ice skating before…”
“Wait, seriously?! Are Prith and Jess going?”
“Actually, I was hoping it could just be the two of us… like a date…”
Even when writing this, I feel awkward intervening. But I don’t think there are enough words to describe the sheer anticipation I felt at that moment (even with the several languages I can speak, albeit at a conversational level at best). I felt my heart stop beating, every muscle in my body tense, and a slight shiver going down my spine. If this is my response as an outsider, I can’t imagine how tense the person in the room was feeling.
My eyes were darting around the vent, wondering if there was a way to leave, as I could faintly hear a rushed explanation. Something about being friends, comfort, liking her for a while, before a flurry of sorry’s started.
“Yes.”
“Wait, what?”
I could hear someone shift, a laptop slam shut, and then- Was that…
“I’d love to go on a date with you.”
Silence… I’m convinced that the other girl isn’t breathing at this point when suddenly, “Oh thank God, you nearly gave me a heart attack. I mean, ehm, arghhh, I- did I really do that? Crap, I can’t stop smiling, ugh.”
“Cute. Let’s go.”
“Wait, where are you taking me?”
“Well, we’ve got to plan the rest of the day! We’re too indecisive and I refuse to spend two hours walking through Roseville just for us to go on a Maccies motive.”
“You know it’s gonna happen anyways…”
The voices trail off and I smile, hoping for the best and wishing them good luck.
extra:
“Yeah, don’t think you noticed, y’know with how nervous you were, but I’m pretty sure there was someone up in the vents”
“… Fuck me”