Hey

Ummm.



Hey guys, I see Lily went ahead and hacked in to tell you what was up.



There was the cliff and Alex, like the idiot he is, slipped over it. I grabbed his hand and was mostly holding him up. But then the log I was bracing my foot against slipped and we both went over.

Luckily, the cliff was a pretty small cliff.

Unluckily, there was a steep hill at the top.
And we rolled a good deal before we finally stopped.

And I sprained my ankle on the way down and so when I went to get up at the bottom of the hill, I blacked out from the unexpected pain.

Anyway, I guess Alex doesn't have a lot of experience in wilderness survival, because he just sat there. Probably would have been better to wake me back up somehow or if he tried and couldn't get me up, then he should have hiked back up to the cliff and gotten the attention of the group.

But he didn't.

By the time I came around, it was getting dark.

The hill would have been hard and I couldn't have got up the cliff at the end if I wanted to so we decided to start moving in the other direction,

Thanks to all Dad's training, I'd remembered to look at the maps before we came.

(We were supposed to be left, but we thought it was another one of Mr. Solomon's end of the year tests, so we thought that we were supposed to find our way back.)

So, more or less, I made a wrap for my foot, grabbed a stick and we started hoofing it toward diagonally across the woods toward the nearest town.

We traveled until it was too dark to see, made a little shelter off to one side )By made, I mean Alex carried sticks and I pointed. Ok, not really. He found material and I wove it into a small lean to.) and slept.

Got up, found food and water. Filled out canteens.  Moved out again.





We made it up onto the road and started walking  for the  town

Once we we're up on the road, walking was a little easier because the ground was flat. I also took a pain killer from my mini first aid kit and Alex was lending a hand. At first I didn't want to accept any help, but my foot,,,,ow.

We made it into town in the late afternoon and cleaned ourselves up a little bit. (We didn't want to attract too much attention to ourselves and therefore our schools)

Dad is always telling my brother and me that we need to make sure we carry money in our survival kits and I made a mini survival kit that I can keep in my pocket which, luckily had enough money to buy us lunch and rent one room in the local motel.

We hung around the dinner for the evening, eating our sandwich and drinking coffee. (They had free coffee refills)

Then we went by the motel and ummmm....we're too fairly young people.....getting ONE room.  (it was either two rooms and no food, or food and one room)

Luckily, we both look pretty mature, so we told the lady at the desk that we were married. (I know. The married couple is SO cliche, but we din't have a lot of time to think of another cover story ok?)

Anyway, the lady must have been pretty bored, because instead of just giving us a key and letting us go, she  started walking us to our room.


And I was pretending that my foot was fine, which is physically and mentally exhausting....and it HURTS.

I must have winced or something because Alex turned and tried to ask me if I was ok.
I said my foot hurt and I was just going to lean on his shoulder (that's something couples do, right?) but Alex just turned and picked me up, bridal style and started walking faster to catch up with the lady.

So we walked past her, opened the door, and went in. The Alex set me down and latched the door and...well, my foot was in a lot of pain and it was kind of swollen and he kind of set me down really fast....well.....I passed out from the pain.

I said I was fine, and asked him was time it was. Only a couple minutes had passed, which was good. I sat up (which hurt) and looked around the room for a phone. Alex saw me look and asked what I was looking for.
He said he'd already looked. There was no room phone, but there was a phone down in the lobby.

So then Alex took one of the spare blankets and half the pillows, made a bed on the couch (a couch, but not phone?) and we went to sleep.

We woke up, I called Gallagher and we ate our complimentary breakfast. By the time we were done...Joe Solomon and Grant were there and we went home.

Then they bundled me up to the nurse who set my foot,(turns out, it was broken.) and told me to stay in bed the next couple days. (I was also a little dehydrated and I hadn't eaten well the last couple days...)

Anyway, so I was in bed for a couple days. 

I started to get up and about with the use of crutches to go to class. 

I had to sit out P&E :(  but I started back into everything else, getting ready for finals. 

Because of my broken foot, I wasn't allowed to go to the end of year ball. Mr. Solomon said something like I'd already proved myself with covers and blah blah blah. 

(Alex got to go.) 

Anyway, he showed up in the hospital room all the time to talk to me while I was in there and we were friends again after. 

And guess what. 

When they left.....

I had a boyfriend. 

*squeal*

-K

Here's what I've Learned:

• The exercise was planned by Blackthorne Boys, with the permission of Joe Solomon. They wanted to practice their kidnapping skills, basically plus how to interrogate people based of what you know about them.
• It was only the Sophomores. 
• The boys planned most of it and decided to have it on Valentine's despite Joe and Grants suggestions to move it to a different day
• Still not talking to Alex, who seems to have recovered from his back pain from being flipped into a wall. He keeps trying to talk to me. But guess what? I don't care anymore!
• Four Sophomores Blackthorne boys were hospitalized with minor injures from P&E, and two from the Freshman year class. 
• All the girls seem pretty mad and some of the older boys glare at the sophomores every once and awhile. '

That aside, it was still an ok training session. It was pretty realistic, though it's normally longer. There was all the mental interrogation. It was kind of interesting.


You know, now that I know that it wasn't a group trying to kidnap us, and learn the secrets of our sisterhood!

(Still mad at Alex)

-K

Too Mad To Think Of A Clever Title

Ok:

• My hand hurts (The whole dislocation thing...) 
• It was only the Sophomores (But every single girl at the school is pretty mad) 
• I'm still mad at Alex (and basically every male in the building)
• The guy I bit was a Blackthorne Alumni. 
• My split lip was from the fight. It was split open again during interrogation because one of the guys hit me. Granted, I provoked him (I said something that wasn't very nice in Farsi) He is actually the only person I'm not extremely mad at. He showed up afterwards and looked so said, and brought me a box of chocolates. (I'm not saying I can be bribed with chocolate...but yeah.) He said we all did a really good job. 
• The way I wrote about it made it sound very unprofessional. I took out large gaps. Like the beginning. In the whole reading thing, there was all the try and be your friend etc. The way I wrote it make it look very sloppy. 
• Chef Louis totally made us all special cakes. He was also outraged that they would do this to us! And on Valentine's Day! We tried to explain it was still a pretty good plan, because we were all relaxed and everything. It was funny trying to calm him down while we were all made too. Anyway, we got lots of cake. 
• Most of the girls have recovered and are looking forward to venting at P&E on Blackthorne Boys. 

ALSO:
On a happier note: I will be posting my "About Me" Post next week.
To make it fun, my roommates will also be doing a guest post sometime this week or next. So, my roommates will also be answering a "About Me" Post. I think I'll just have them both answer the questions on my "About Me." Maybe in a different text color....I saw a blog do that earlier,


When you email in my questions, let me know which one you would prefer. Should Jess and Lily get their own "About Me" post this week or no?

-K

About Me! (January 2017)

So, last week I asked you for comments, and/or emails.
What do you want to know about me and my school?

Well, here goes;

Do You Play Any Musical Instruments? What About Your Roommates? 
Yes, actually. I play a viola, which is kind of like a violin, but a tiny bit bigger and with a bit deeper sound. (I also can play the violin). Lily doesn't play any instruments, though she is a huge fan of some random singer dude. Jess knows how to play the piano, but she doesn't play often, even though we have a piano here.


Favorite Movie? 
hmmmm. Man From UNCLE is one of my favorite SPY movies....I also like "old" movies (my grandma loves them) like Singing in the Rain, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Oh my gosh is that movie funny.

What Classes Are You Taking And What Is Your Least Favorite Subject? 

So many classes.
Here goes:
Languages: Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Polish, English, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, Farsi, Swahili, German, Latin, Hindi, and Korean,
Protection and Enforcement , Covert-Operations, Culture and Assimilation, Research and Development, Hacking and Cracking (Formal name: Computing) Driver's Ed, Countries of the World, History of Espionage, Advanced Chemistry, and Advanced Calculus. My least favorite classes? Advanced Calculus. Ugh. Math *Shudders*

What Is Your Fav. Class?!?!?!

Cov-ops. Duh. But I also like Culture and Assimilation, and P&E. I love anything spy related, and I love learning about new people. I also love learning how to kick their butts.

Pickles or Pineapples? 
Is that even a bloody question? Pickles. I LOVE pickles. And pineapples make my face raw (unless I grill them) Wait. Is there some secret meaning behind this?
What Is Your Favorite Food? 
Pizza. Root Beer. McDonald's French Fries and Ice Cream (Eat them together) and Steak. Also Strawberry shakes, Waffles,  and,.....who am I kidding.....I LOVE ALL DA FOOD!
If You Can't Be A Spy, What Would You Want To Be? 
A vet. I think I would specialize in felines :)

Do You Wanna Kiss Alec? 
I'm not even going to answer that

Is It Weird Having A Book Written About The School You Go To? 
No. It's awesome. The best part is it's true. The best part is reading fan fiction and being like "They would totally do that" or EEEEEWWW! They would NEVER!

Besides Pinterest and Google+, What Other Social Media Are You On? 
I have a polyvore account....does that count? I really don't get on social media a lot. Plus I hate Facebook...

(MY POLYVORE AND PINTEREST!!!)

When Is Your Birthday?
October 18

Have You Ever Had A Boyfriend Before?
Nope. Wait, what do you mean before?

What Do You Do In Your Free Time? 
Free Time? What is that? JK
I do lots of things. I read, dance, do yoga, box, throw knives and cry over my ships. My beloved ships that are being slowly peeled apart.

Can You Shoot A Gun (Pew-Pew) 
Ummmmm. Yes. And I am a bloody good shot, thank you very much.

Aren't Jess And David Cute? 
YESSSSS! Would it be ok to make up a ship name for your bestie?

Favorite Disney Movie?
Avengers. JK. Hey, Marvel owns Disney!


I really don't know....Frozen? Mulan?
I do like The Hunchback Of Notre Dame a lot....Mary Poppins? The New Cinderella movie?
So many choices....

Favorite Teacher? 
 Joe Solomon or Abby Townsend.






---------

Ok. That's it! If you have questions, let me know and maybe I'll make another one of these some day! (Maybe a once a month thing? Every other month?)

-K

Awkward and Awesome: Being a Gallagher Girl

Awkward:

• The Gallagher Glare
• The secrets you have to keep from your hometown friends
• Homework
• Sometimes Mr. Fibs makes you be his assistant. *Muffled Scream*
• Sometimes living with all girls has its downsides. Like gossip. But there is NO backstabbing. No cruel petty drama. WE ARE SISTERS! Sisters sometimes fight...but we are strong. DO NOT MESS WITH US!
• Everyone in own thinks your a snobby brat...
• And you have to play along (This is kind of awesome though...) 

Awesome: 

• Cov-ops classes! YAY! It's so much fun! Sometimes its challenging, but hey, if you don't want a challenge why are you even going to GA? Plus they are taught by bloody legends!
• Getting that one move perfect
• You have the most awesome sisterhood ever! They will stand with you no matter what! (Just don't spoil TV shows, or you'll get it in P&E)
• Those awesome sleep overs that are a combination of dessert, drama, and hot spies. (Well not always spies...) 
• Running. 
• Everything 
• Anything that has to do with clandestine anything 

-K 

Jo Staff

Today was the first time since the boys arrived that we worked on our individual weapons in P&E.

It was nice to get some insight on my knife work. I have been practicing, I always do. It's so relaxing.

It was also the first time many of the girls had seen the boys' weapons.

Some people fell into little groups, working with similar weapons. Sometimes we would be paired up to try something like, Double Knives Vs Katana, you know. Just in case.

It's just our grade working in the barn right now. Once a month all the grades get together to practice. That's fun, because if you are one of the more skilled students ( I am) you get bumped up a grade. So I would get to fight with the Juniors.

The R/D students have to come to P&E classes, though after the Sophomore year they can decided to come every other practice. Which is kind of sad, because soon Lily won't be training with us. She already splits up every afternoon when Jess and I go to Cov-ops studies. *Sigh*

Anyway, I was watching Jess and David shooting longbows together over at the archery station, while I was taking a breather from fighting D'aja and her nunchucks (honestly girl. Calm down.)  when Ms. Hancock asked " Katherine? Are you ready for another round? I'm thinking of pairing you up against a Jo Staff. There is an interesting move I'd like to show you."

So I turned around and there was Alec with a giant stick.
"K" I said, elegantly, I fixed my pony tail, took a sip of water and stepped onto one of the training mats.
"Ok, Katherine, Alec. I want you to just start, and fight instinctively... Then we'll work on different moves later. "

We both nodded. I could see other students stopping their work to watch. Ms Hancock noticed too and told them to go back to work, but they started watching again as soon as she turned her back.

Ms Hancock looked back and forth, making sure we were both ready.

Alec stood at one end of the mat, relaxed, holding his Jo staff. I stood at the other end, arms crossed, weight leaned on one leg.

Alec shifted uncomfortably. "Does Kat have a weapon or is she fighting me hand to staff" he asked Ms Hancock.

I realized he hadn't seen my daggers, which I kept sheathed in each boot, and smirked. "I'll be fine!" I said. "Let us begin"

He shrugged and swung and experimental blow at me from the side. He was trying to figure out how I was going to fight. I ducked under it, dropping into a crouch. In one fluid movement, Alec changed direction and swung a blow from above.  Quick as a cat (pun intended)  I  pulled my daggers out of my boots and formed them into a X above my head, bracing myself for the blow just as it hit.

He was very surprised for a moment and in the moment, I stood, moving the Jo Staff to one side and kicked out at his gut in a sidekick.

He dodged back and pulled his Jo Staff with him.

He took another step back and nodded once.

"Interesting" He quipped.

Then he sprang back into the fight and we fought, daggers and staff flashing back and forth, quick as light.

I felt myself getting tired. I could see he was slowly too, but not as quickly as I was.

One of the daggers slipped from my sweaty hand. Drat.

I decided on a last ditch effort move. I ducked under his Jo Staff, switching from leaning back from out of the staff's reach, slide under his legs, jumped up.

He was tried too and it took him longer to react. He started to spin around, but I was already behind him with my daggers at his throat.

"Time" Ms Hancock called. I took the daggers from his throat and stepped back. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants and held it out to me. "You surprised me" I wiped mine off and shook his hands.
"It won't work twice. Good fight, by the way."

Everyone went back to work, and Alec and I sat on one of the mats and listened to Ms. Hancock while we cooled down. When we did start up again, we just worked together, learning the moves in slow motion, and ingraining them into our memory.

Do you want to know what a Jo Staff is?

This:

-K

I'm fine

I wore long sleeve that covered my hand this morning to hide my raw knuckles. 

Luckily, my friends are a little...distracted...by the boys. 

The only one who noticed was Alec. Bloody Alec. 

Why is he always around embarrassing me. I hate it when people see me when I'm low. When I'm sad, crying, sick etc. 

I. bloody. hate. it.

Anyway, I walked down with my friends, and got in line for waffles. I love waffles. 

I was fine carrying my plate of waffles, but as I was walking over to the tables, I shifted the hand I was holding my coffee mug in. 

The hot mug touched my hand and I gasped. 

And released the mug.

Then Alec caught it. 

I kept my eyes down as I muttered "Thank you". I don't know what would have been worse,  Alec having to catch my mug, or it shattering onto the ground and making everyone look. Maybe then they would have noticed what a mess I am right now. I took a deep breathe and looked up. 

I forced a perfect smile. "Thank You" I said, a little louder this time and reached out my hand for the mug. Which of course showed my hand. Dang it. 

He gave me a look with his sad deep brown eyes, but he said in a normal voice "No. That's fine. I'll get it." 

I saw Jess and Lily sitting with David and Pitt. I don't mean just at the same table. 

I mean the two boys and the girls were sitting in the four person spot that the three of us normally sat at. 

What? Seriously? It's been one day!

I must have snorted or something. 

You Ok? Alec asked

I flashed him a smile that could fool Natasha Romanoff. 

"What? No I'm fine" 

"Kat..." He said

"I'm fine!" I growled through my now not so realistic smile

I walked straight and true to the table and slid into a seat.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" I asked in a peppy voice, ignoring Alec as he slid into the seat beside  me.

Then I listened to their happy babble and tuned out a little, smiling and eating my waffles. 

But the strawberries didn't taste as good today and my coffee tasted bitter. 

P&E Wasn't much better

I sparred with Alec today. We practiced our moves, which were pretty simple today. Luckily, I normally fight with my legs. 

"Kat" Alec said, as he dodged a blow "you can hold back if you want. It's ok if your..." 

He was distracted while he talked and I switched from leg sweeps and high kicks to a good punch in the face. Then I drove him back with a flurry of blows. I tripped him as he walked backwards. 

I leaned over him as he lay on his back  and said "I am a Gallagher Girl. I. Do. Not. Back. OFF"

I held out my hand and smiled my fake smile that everyone but he and I thought was real. 

"Go again?" I said

"Yeah" He nodded and stood up. We started sparring again and he got in a surprise blow. It was actually a pretty cools move. He swept my legs out form under me, pinned my arm behind my back and knelt at the same time, forcing me to one knee on the ground, my arm twisted behind me. I knew how to get out of this position, but I was seething that he had gotten me into it. 

He smirked at me and said "You could try" and before I could twist out of my position, he let he go.

Sadly, then the P&E lesson was over  before I got a chance to kick him again. 

"I'm fine!" I hissed as I gathered by gym bag from it's spot by the wall. 

"It's just a bloody knuckle. You don't have to be so bloody concerned!" 

And I turned and stared at him. He just looked back with those concerned brown eyes. I felt myself loosing this starring contest, so I rolled my eye, pretending to be annoyed, and  ran to catch up with my friends. 

-K

I'm A Mess

I guess you really want to hear about how the day went. Well, even the girls who are a little boy crazy ....well, we're Gallagher Girls. We're kind of...competitive. 

I've never seen such intense P&E  workouts. 

Maybe some of these girl think they look cuter if they're kicking someones butt. 

Maybe they just don't want to be shown up by some boy

I trained the same as I always do. I worked hard, but only hard enough to learn the move. Then I trained hard later that afternoon, when everyone else was busy.

We may be supposed to work with these boys, but there is no reason to show them more then I have to. 

Never give out free information.

But at the same time, I didn't let anyone take me down. I worked as hard as I needed to. I haven't sparred with any boys today. And the Culture and Assimilation class wasn't on anything to embarrassing.  That was nice of Madame D. 

I'm kind of exhausted. I still miss my parents. I don't know when they're are coming back. I miss them. I thought it would be better with everyone there. 

It isn't. The sun was going down and everyone was inside by the fire studying or watching TV. I snuck out to the barn and began to box. I worked and worked until I got into a flow, tears flowing freely down my face. I only broke out of my trance when my knuckles began to bleed. I dropped and began to do push ups until my stomach felt sick. 

I sat for a minute, breathing heavily. I was planning to go run in the woods, along the path. The dark didn't bother me. I opened the door and saw the rain pouring down. 

"To run or not to run?" I asked, my voice cracking. "I can't come in soaking wet, but I feel like a could use a run in the rain." 

"You don't look like you need to go out in the rain." Alec drawled from his spot in the loft. He was sitting with his back against the wall. A book lay across his lap. 

At times today, I was glad I had gotten Alec. Or Alec had gotten me. Whatever. 

But right now I was spitting mad. This was MY TIME. I clearly wanted to be alone. Why can't he let me be? 

I could have said something witty. Or cutting. Or things that would have made Madame D  (and Liz and my Mom ) wash my mouth out with soap. But instead I fixed him with an evil glare. I stared at him. He looked down, calmly meeting my eyes. 

I turned on my heel and fled. I walked stiffly out the door, but as soon as I was out of sight and hearing I ran. I ran back to the house, snuck up the back stairs to my room and turned on the bath water. Only then, with the  bathroom door locked, did I stop and look in the mirror. 

Mascara ran down my tear lined face, and my  knuckles knuckles bleeding over my clenched hands. 

I'm a mess.


I felt a little better once I had taken a hot bath. But I wasn't at peace with myself when I fell asleep that night.