The QPID Archives
Book two:
Boys?!
By
Kristi Bledsoe
Garrels Publishing
To my best friend who has never failed to encourage me in my dream of becoming a
writer. She’s a hero and a fighter. Her strength inspires me in everything I do.
The QPID Archives - Book Two: Boys?!
By Kristi Bledsoe
Copyright 2008 Kristi Doyle
Smashwords Edition
Visit the author’s website at either
This ebook is licensed for you personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Preview of Book Three andAbout The Author
“Absolutely not!” The ordinary executive was standing behind her ordinary desk in an ordinary office building of an ordinary city.
Her expression was anything but ordinary. She threw the folder to her desk and repeated her statement.
“Absolutely not!”
The man seated across from her did not flinch or waver in his stare.
“Why not?” he asked.
“She’s too young,” replied the woman.
The man spread his hands. “You approved her youth before.”
“But not for this!” She slapped her palm on the folder. “This assignment is much too difficult for a beginner.”
“She can do it.” He spoke softly.
The woman sat down and flipped open the folder. She held her breath as she glanced at a few papers, then exhaled sharply, puffing out her cheeks. She looked up at the man across from her.
“You are so sure then?” she asked.
“Yes. I believe she is the best one to do this assignment. She’ll get it done.”
The woman looked him straight in the eye and he could sense her strength. It was obvious why she was in charge. “You do realize the absolute importance and necessity of the success of this assignment?”
“I do.” He wanted to say more but bit his lip instead.
“Then I am holding you personally responsible if anything, and I mean anything, should go wrong. And you know what will happen if this assignment fails.”
He swallowed. He knew.
“I understand.” He rose from his seat. “It won’t fail.” The woman’s eyes narrowed but he lifted his chin and stood his ground. “She won’t fail.” He held out his hand for the folder. She straightened the papers within it and passed it to him.
“Thank you,” he said and left the office. He was confident because he believed he was right. He believed in his decision.
But most of all, he believed completely in Julie Hatcher.
Julie Hatcher knew she was in trouble. Every muscle was tense and her stomach felt like it was full of dancing butterflies. Her light brown hair was tightly bound under her riding helmet. Trying to concentrate, she resisted the urge to wipe away the sweat she could feel dripping down her freckled cheek. She had one last chance. The team was counting on her.
Everyone in the riding club except Julie had won at least one ribbon today. Now they were all hoping for a “Team Sweep.” Blaze stamped a hoof in response to Julie’s tension. She stroked the pony’s neck and murmured reassurances. Relax, she told herself. It’ll be my turn in the ring soon.
Julie reached up to tug at her jacket’s collar one more time, and then heard her number called. She took a deep breath and touched her heels to Blaze’s sides. They entered the arena and began with a good trot. But Blaze stepped over the first two cross-rails instead of jumping. After that, Julie had trouble holding Blaze to a trot. She finally gave in and let the horse canter, taking the final jumps fairly well.
“That’s that!” Julie muttered under her breath. Unless all the other entrants literally fell off their horses, Julie stood no chance. Much as she didn’t want to let her team down, today had not been her day.
There were two more entries after her round, and then the winners were selected. Sure enough, no ribbon for Julie.
Julie and Blaze left the ring while the winners did their victory laps. Her best friend Carrie Doyle hurried over.
“You’ll do better next time, Jule,” she said. “Blaze was just being stubborn.” She walked next to the horse, hand on Julie’s stirrup. “Actually, today wasn’t bad for your first time in jumping classes. My first time, the pony refused at half the jumps!”
Julie dismounted, hiding a smile at her friend’s attempt to cheer her up. Carrie neglected to mention her first jump competition had been five years ago, when she was seven years old.
“Senior Jump Class, fifteen minutes!”
“Oops! Gotta go warm up Charm. See you, Julie!” Carrie ran off, tail ends of ribbons, mostly blue, fluttering from her back pockets. Julie eyed the streamers and sighed. Why couldn’t she do as well as Carrie? Before the thought was complete, Julie knew the answer. Carrie lived and breathed horses. She’d ridden since she was five and her main desire was to have a career working with horses. Julie liked them well enough for a hobby, but not for a lifelong commitment. She had a different career in mind. The trouble was that she couldn’t tell anyone about it!
Julie removed the saddle and bridle from Blaze, trying to divert her thoughts from her secret job. But brushing the horse was easy and her mind wandered back to QPID, as it usually did.
Only a few months ago, Julie had discovered her mother was working for a secret organization named QPID, a company that set up people to meet for a variety of reasons. When she had confronted her mother, Julie had been offered a chance to become an agent for QPID. First she’d helped her mother with an assignment, and then she was given her own. Her mother was assigned as Julie’s mentor to help her over any rough spots. Julie had successfully completed the assignment of introducing two girls. A new friendship was created, which also helped prevent a kidnapping. Even though the assignment had been difficult and the secrecy had almost ruined her friendship with Carrie, Julie had enjoyed the work. In fact, she expected a second assignment any day now. She couldn’t wait!
Another announcement from the loudspeaker for Carrie’s class jolted Julie out of her thoughts. She shook her head, angry with herself for letting thoughts of QPID sidetrack her again. She closed Blaze’s stall, quickly put away the brush, and hurried to the ring to cheer on her best friend.
Carrie’s mother gave Julie a ride home. She walked in the front door and yelled, “I’m home!”
“Okay,” her mother, Annette, answered. “I’m in the living room.”
Julie went upstairs to her room. She hung up her riding jacket in the closet, relieved to be in more comfortable clothes. As she went back downstairs, she noticed how quiet the house was. Her mother was watching television while flipping through catalogs. Sticky notes marked likely purchases.
“How was the show, Jule?” she asked.
Julie sighed as she leaned over the back of the couch. “No ribbons, although I did place ninth in the Hunter class. I guess I’m not cut out for firsts.”
“Don’t worry, Julie.” Her mother patted her arm. “You have plenty of other talents.” She grinned at Julie, eyes twinkling. Julie grinned back.
“Where is everybody?”
“Dad and Stuart are at basketball practice until five.” She turned up the television volume and resumed her perusal of the catalogs. Julie glanced at the television and saw her mother’s favorite home decorating show starting. She’d be busy for an hour.
Perfect.
Julie crossed her fingers as she headed for the family computer in the little office nook. Maybe QPID had finally posted her new assignment. As she passed through the kitchen, she grabbed a glass of milk and a bowl of pretzels. Her fingers tapped impatiently on the mouse pad as the computer warmed up.
Julie typed in the address for the secret web site. “Make sure to put in the dashes,” she mumbled. “Q dash P dash I dash D dot com.” Using her special password, she logged herself in.
A message popped up. “Hello, JewelTwo. Here is your new assignment. Good luck!”
“Yes!” said Julie. She took a sip of milk and settled herself to read. Lots of information began to scroll across the screen about two new clients.
The first was a boy named Joe McDonald who went to Julie’s school. He was a seventh-grader, like her, though Julie didn’t know him. Joe played trumpet in Band and took Spanish as his other elective. The picture showed he had blue eyes and light hair.
Julie recognized the other name right away. Steve Dempsey was a star baseball player in the eighth grade. Julie nodded as his picture popped up, the dark skin and tightly curled hair easily recognized. Steve was well known not only for sports, but also as captain of last year’s winning debate team. Julie hadn’t met him but heard he was friendly and outgoing.
Continuing to read, Julie noticed that Steve had just finished the soccer season with the school team and was preparing for basketball. When she compared the information of both of her clients, Julie found no common activities between the boys. Exactly like her first assignment. She heaved a sigh. Well, if there was common ground there would be no need for her and QPID. Besides, on this assignment she was determined to take her time and do everything correctly, no matter how long it took.
Julie was about to click for more details about Joe when the computer beeped and the screen flickered. By itself, the information scrolled past rapidly while a puzzled Julie watched. At the end of the page were large flashing letters: “TIME LIMIT!”
Julie’s jaw dropped. A time limit? Her mother had said she could take her time with all the assignments. She shook off her surprise and reached for the keyboard. But before she could touch a key, the flashing stopped and, with another beep, the computer displayed a final sentence.
“This assignment must be completed by the first day of December.”
One month! That’s all? And why? What could be so important that a time limit was necessary? A chill ran down her back as she remembered her first assignment. Susan might have been kidnapped if she hadn’t been friends with Tammy. Julie shook her head. She’d better get started.
Forty-five minutes and a snack refill later, Julie felt she’d scanned every detail about Joe at least twice. Her head felt stuffed and her eyes were beginning to cross from staring at the screen. Should she take a short break or quit for the day? Her mother’s show was nearly over and her father and brother would be home soon. But the time limit kept popping up in her mind. She couldn’t quit now!
Suddenly she had an idea. She’d print out all the details about Steve and study them in her room after dinner. Pleased with this solution, she looked for a print page option on the QPID screen but found none. She tried the “Print Screen” button on the keyboard, but all she got was a rude noise from the computer.
“Why can’t I print anything?” Julie muttered, frustrated. Another rude noise and the screen showed a little man shaking a finger at her.
“No printing allowed,” came the squeaky voice. Julie’s eyebrows shot up, but before she could respond, she heard her mother turn off the television. She quickly logged off and shut down the computer.
After dinner and homework, Julie retreated to her room for private reflection. Her second QPID assignment was proving to be as full of surprises as the first one. Tomorrow was Sunday so she could research Steve and be ready to go Monday morning. Time limit? No problem!
“Hey, Lazybones.” Hands shook Julie roughly. She opened her eyes and saw Stuart waving her clock in front of her face.
“Only fifteen minutes ‘til the bus comes.”
Julie rolled out of bed and struggled into school clothes, irritated with herself for sleeping in. She had intended to get up early this morning to do QPID research since yesterday had been busier than expected. It had completely slipped her mind that Sunday had been her turn to help with outdoor chores. The entire morning had been spent mowing the lawn and working in the yard helping her father. Stuart had spent all that time doing laundry and cleaning with their mother. Afterward, they’d all gone bowling and out to dinner. It wasn’t until her head hit the pillow that Julie realized she hadn’t had a chance to go online.
Exhausted, Julie had fallen asleep right after she’d vowed to hit the computer first thing in the morning. Instead she barely made the bus. She supposed she would start with what she knew about Joe and see where that led. Researching Steve would have to wait.
Carrie wasn’t on the bus this morning. Maybe she missed the bus, thought Julie. Hope she’s not sick. But thoughts of Carrie faded as Julie began to formulate a plan for her new QPID assignment. Her study of Joe had shown that he had no classes near her own so there was little chance of “bumping into him.” Before or after school was not very likely either so she had to settle on lunchtime. Julie had learned from QPID that Joe was often on the basketball courts during lunch recess. Today she’d investigate and maybe talk to him tomorrow. The planned reconnaissance, however, would take some serious fast-talking with her friends.
“Hey, Jule!”
She turned at the call. “Hey, Carrie. Miss the bus?”
“Yeah, the entire family overslept. Can you believe that?” Her voice lowered as they approached their first class. “Glad I’m not late or Mr. Vallance-the-Pirate would have a new victim!”
Julie smothered a giggle. Mr. Vallance was their history teacher and had a reputation for singling out any student that caught his notice. As she sat down, she remembered how much he had picked on her last month when thoughts of QPID had distracted her. That’s not going to happen to me again, she promised herself.
Julie was proud of the fact that she got through three more classes without letting her mind wander toward her clients. With her first assignment, she’d had difficulty separating her regular life from her QPID life. Julie figured her focus was better this time because she had a solid, flawless plan of action. Investigate, meet, and then talk to Joe. What could go wrong?
She waited for Carrie’s usual question after eating lunch.
“What do you want to do?”
“Let’s see,” replied Julie. “We went to the library twice last week and study group on Thursday. How about walking out to the baseball or soccer fields?” The basketball courts happened to be in the middle.
Carrie shrugged. “Okay.”
Julie hid a smug smile. I’m getting pretty good at this, she thought.
“Where’re you guys going?” Julie and Carrie turned around.
“Hey, Brenna,” said Carrie. “Just taking a walk. Wanna come?”
“Sure, but I’m waiting for Tracey and Jen.” Brenna looked back, her ponytail as usual barely missing Julie. “There they are!”
Brenna waved the girls over and the group of friends ambled along, chattering about their day. Julie had only half an ear for the conversation as she began to people-watch.
There were the cheer girls, going over some new dance. Julie smiled as she spotted her former client, Tammy, in charge. Over by a picnic table was a group of boys discussing something that involved engines to guess by the revving sounds they made. Another bunch of guys was hanging out by the drinking fountains. Julie had no idea what they could be talking about, but the wild hand gestures and arm waving suggested something exciting.
Wait a minute, thought Julie. This might not be as easy as I thought.
As they approached the courts, her old nervousness kicked in again. The first assignment had set her heart pounding along with sweaty palms and dry mouth, and her clients had been girls! What would she talk about with a boy, especially one she didn’t know? Sports? Cars? Video games?
Julie realized she wasn’t ready to talk to Joe. Not even close. But at that moment, she caught sight of him shooting baskets with two other guys. He looks exactly like his picture, she thought. He was lanky with sandy blond hair cut short in the back and slightly longer on top. He looked up and her mouth went even drier and those pesky butterflies began their battle in her stomach. All she could think about was that she had no idea what to say to a boy. And that his eyes were a very unusual shade of blue.
Julie felt her shoulder being tapped. “Huh?” she said.
“I asked you what your English assignment was,” said Brenna.
“Oh. Um…”
“What’re you looking at?” asked Carrie. She squinted toward the courts. “Or who?”
“Nothing, nobody. Just thinking.” About how glad I am that I decided to investigate first.
Stuart was on the computer when Julie got home, so she went upstairs to start her homework. But she couldn’t concentrate on her English assignment because her mind kept drifting to the problem of talking to boys. How could she research that? She knew a lot of boys at school but didn’t hang out with any. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d had a real conversation with a boy. So, what excuse could she use to talk to Joe now without her friends becoming suspicious?
Julie had finally finished her reading assignment when she heard her father, Jake Hatcher.
“Stuart, I’m home,” he called. “Get off the computer and get your shoes on. Basketball practice starts in fifteen minutes!”
Inspiration flashed into Julie’s head. Her brother! Here was a boy that she could closely observe and even talk to. Her mind began to race as her father came upstairs and popped his head into her room.
“Hi, Julie. How was school?”
“Fine. Just finished my English homework.”
“Great job.” Her father turned to go.
“Hey, Dad?”
His head reappeared in the doorway. “Yeah, Jule?”
“Can I come with you and Stuart to basketball practice?” She held her breath.
Her father ran his hand through his hair like he always did when thinking. “Sure, I suppose,” he said. Stuart walked by, shoes in hand and looked at Julie like she had grown an extra nose. Julie tried to look nonchalant as she shrugged.
“I’m supposed to do research on teamwork. I thought I could watch to see how practices help teams work together.” Or something like that, she thought.
“Oh, okay then, why not,” her father said. Stuart’s frown deepened, but he went downstairs without comment. Julie grabbed a notepad and pencil and went to get her shoes on.
Julie tossed her paper and pencil on her desk with a sigh. What a waste of a night! The only thing she had learned about boys was how they practiced basketball. No discussions of cars or video games. In fact, she learned more watching a group of guys in the bleachers playing some card-trading game. Next time she would watch the audience instead. But the next practice wasn’t until Friday so, meanwhile, she’d try something else.
She started with QPID information on Steve. Not much help there. All she had about him were facts like where he lived, his classes and hobbies. Again, nothing in common with her or Joe. Since he was an eighth grader, his lockers were upstairs as were most of his classes. No chance that he would run into Joe or Julie that way. Steve played on all the sports teams, but Joe only played basketball at recess. And the Debate Team that Steve was on didn’t get together until January!
Other observations around the school didn’t help either. Wednesday and Thursday were taken with what Julie thought of as “boy-watching.” Julie couldn’t really get much information by simply watching the groups of boys. She needed to hear what they were saying. But then she would have to get closer, maybe even talk to them. And, well, that was the problem in the first place! How could she walk up to a boy, or even a group of boys that she didn’t know? Back to Stuart’s basketball practice, I guess, she thought.
But after Friday’s practice, Julie wasn’t much wiser. She’d only seen three groups of boys; the card-playing bunch, three brothers discussing their favorite sport teams, and four boys about Stuart’s age complaining about a teacher. Were these discussions typical? And even if they were, it didn’t help her. She couldn’t simply go up to Joe or Steve and start asking about stuff like sports or teachers. She had to meet them first. In fact, the only boy she knew well enough was her brother. Julie sighed. She had to figure out a way to approach one of her clients by Monday morning. One week out of four was already gone.
Julie leaned in Stuart’s doorway and watched him carefully placing the Lego blocks.
“Hey, Stu.”
“What?” Stuart didn’t look up from his project.
“Whatcha building?”
“Nothing.”
“Looks like a castle.”
“Whatever.”
Julie shifted her weight to the other foot and crossed her arms. Maybe talking to Stuart isn’t the best way to go, she thought.
She tried again. “How’s school? Do you like your fifth grade teacher?” she asked.
Stuart finally looked at Julie and snorted. “Fine.”
“Meet any new friends?”
Stuart threw down the Legos he was holding and stood to face Julie.
“Look, Julie, I don’t know why you’re going all ‘big sister’ on me, but cut it out!”
Julie uncrossed her arms and took a step back, surprised at his vehemence. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
“C’mon. Going to practices? Asking me about my day and my friends? You’re crossing into major weirdness, even for you.”
“I had that report to do and besides, I like watching you play.” Strangely enough Julie realized she meant it. Watching Stuart practice had given her a better appreciation of basketball and how hard Stuart worked at it.
“I can’t keep you from going to games, but in case you haven’t noticed,” Stuart clenched his fists, “you’re the only older sister, or brother, at practice. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Well! Excuse me for being interested,” she said, throwing her hands in the air.
“I liked it better when you ignored me.”
“Fine. You got it.” She stomped back to her room and slammed the door.
“A whole week, gone! And I haven’t even figured out how to talk to a boy, much less get Joe and Steve to meet!” she said. She flopped on the bed. All she had done was alienate her brother and learn a little bit about basketball.