Back to School

Savannah had never experienced boredom until that day. Her superior had assigned her to an undercover mission at a school where several girls had gone missing, and the pressure from their wealthy parents was mounting. She had insisted on posing as a teacher, but her superior was resolute in his decision. He determined that pretending to be a student would be the better approach.

As she skimmed through the case profile, Savannah noticed a troubling pattern: the missing girls were all blonde, slim, and of average height. In response, she dyed her dark hair ash blonde and wore blue contact lenses. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but laugh. Why the hell does this school even require a uniform? she wondered. After a bit of research, she found that only about 20% of schools in the country had a uniform policy—and, much to her dismay, the one she had to attend was among them. She sighed as she put on the required attire: a white collared shirt paired with a gray and blue checkered skirt.

Savannah drove herself to the school in her BMW sports car, the engine purring smoothly as she made her way through the campus gates. The majority of the missing girls had been well-known, hailing from upper-class families, which made her feel like she was walking into a lion's den. As she stepped out of the car, she immediately drew the attention of her peers.

Damn, she thought, why hadn’t I been this confident before? She couldn’t help but wink and flash a smile at the geeky boy who was staring at her. His wide eyes reflected the curiosity—and perhaps a bit of envy—that everyone around her seemed to share. This kind of mission, though, was bittersweet. It brought back painful memories of her own high school days—when girls would stare at her with the same look of disdain, as if they were itching to pull her ponytail and wipe that cheeky smile off her face.

Now, she was the one who stood out, but for all the wrong reasons.

geeky science teacher introduced Savannah to the class, and she casually took a seat in the front row. As she adjusted herself, she noticed the gazes of several men lingering on her bare legs. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she realized that, despite her boredom, she was actually enjoying the attention. But that was over an hour ago, and now, the allure of their stares had faded. She wasn’t paying attention to the lesson anymore; she was simply bored out of her mind.

One advantage of returning to school as an undercover agent was that she already knew the material. Savannah had never been at the top of the class, but she had always been diligent and a hardworking student. Her grades were consistently above average, and her teachers had always respected her for her commitment. Of course, no one knew her true identity—not even the school director. Her credentials and background had been meticulously prepared by the agency to ensure she blended in perfectly.

When she glanced at her class schedule and saw that her next subject was music, a deep sigh escaped her lips. Music had always been her weakest subject, from the very beginning of her school days. She couldn’t even identify a musical note, and she had once been utterly confused when the judges at a singing contest criticized a contestant for a "flat" note, even though the singer sounded fine to her. Her frustration with music had always been a sore spot.

As the class progressed, Wyatt, a boy sitting to her right, started flirting with her. Savannah initially wanted to tell him to back off, but she quickly realized that, as part of her mission, she needed to build connections and gather information. Flirting with him could work to her advantage. With that in mind, she played along, batting her lashes and agreeing to meet him for lunch in the cafeteria.

Just as they were exchanging smiles, the door to the classroom opened, and the teacher’s voice cut through the chatter. “Finish flirting and get ready for a pre-test,” he said with a dry tone, clearing his throat. Savannah didn’t think much of it until she recognized the voice. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She turned slowly and locked eyes with none other than her husband. His expression was a mixture of surprise and irritation as he frowned at her. His gaze briefly flicked down to her legs before returning to her face. He didn’t say a word. Instead, he simply handed her a paper.

Savannah’s heart raced, the sudden tension in the air palpable. The man she had tried so hard to escape from was now standing in front of her, pretending to be just another teacher in a classroom full of students.

What was Theo doing here? Savannah’s mind raced, struggling to make sense of the situation. She couldn’t understand why he was standing in front of her as if this wasn’t some cruel twist of fate. “Why isn’t there a multiple-choice option here so I can at least guess my way through this test?” she silently muttered to herself.

“Time’s up,” Theo said firmly, collecting the papers from each student. Savannah let out a heavy sigh of frustration. She hadn’t written a single thing on the test except for her name. For now, she was known as Jennifer Jones, a name that her classmates and teachers recognized, but one that was entirely fabricated.

When Theo read her name, he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. It had been two weeks since their last, brief encounter at the hospital. Savannah had tried to push him out of her mind, but seeing him here now, it felt like a blow to her carefully constructed image. The cool, aloof persona she had worked so hard to create now seemed like a distant memory, shattered by his presence. Because of him, she felt like a bimbo with nothing inside her head.

“Miss Jennifer Jones, where did your name come from?” Theo asked, his voice tinged with amusement. “I’ve heard of plenty of musically inclined celebrities named Jennifer.”

His words were met with laughter from her classmates, and several of the girls in the class flipped their hair and shot flirtatious smiles at Theo. Savannah could feel the heat rise in her cheeks, a mixture of irritation and embarrassment. She tried to remain composed, but she hated the way Theo effortlessly commanded attention, making her look foolish in the process.