Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

place inside the safety of the primary mansion." Senator
McHenry nodded as if this seemed like a good idea, not really understanding how good,
considering that a paparazzo with a telephoto lens might have some questions if
he ever caught a teenage girl practicing a perfect Forenstyl Flip on a
three-hundred-pound member of the maintenance staff.
    "Also,
as far as our most notable student of the moment is concerned, we will be
enforcing a strict no comment policy," Mom continued.
"Be prepared, ladies. People are going to want to hear how Macey is
coping." I glanced at the girl beside me, wondering the same thing.
"But they're not going to hear it from us."
    Gallagher
Girls keep secrets—that's what we do. And that mission had never felt so
personal.
    "And
perhaps the biggest change of all," Mom said slowly. I felt the room lean
closer. "This semester we will be welcoming a member of the McHenry's
security detail into this school for Macey's protection."
    I
can't swear to it or anything, but for a second her eyes locked on me.
"The security of Macey McHenry will not change what and how we learn. To
that end, let's welcome Agent Abigail Cameron, who will be responsible for Ms.
McHenry's security detail."
    The
room around me filled with noise and movement, but in my mind, things were
suddenly quiet and slow. A woman with long dark hair and gorgeous green eyes
had appeared at the back of the room.
    "As
it so happens, Agent Cameron is a graduate of the Gallagher Academy and
therefore uniquely qualified to give Macey the best protection possible."
    I
know, having aced my lip-reading midterm the previous semester, that the hall
was a chorus of "Wow, she's pretty"s and "Wait, who's
that?"s.
    I
know that every Gallagher Girl in the Grand Hall was looking at the woman
walking through the room, thinking, This is our sister. But not me. All I could do was
stare at her and whisper, "Aunt Abby?"
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    When
you've spent four years living with a certain British secret agent-in-training
who loves to practice spontaneous attacks and self-defense maneuvers when
you're brushing your teeth, it takes a lot to knock you off guard. So I like to
consider myself the kind of person who can keep a straight face during just
about anything. Or…well…almost anything.
    I
tried to remember the last time I'd seen my mother's sister—not since before
Mom left the CIA, not since before I started school here. Not since before…Dad.
And yet there she was, twenty feet away and walking closer.
    Her
hair was longer than I remembered, past her shoulders now. She was still thin
and athletic, but she seemed shorter somehow, and then, genius that I am, I
realized that maybe I was just taller.
    "Hey,
Cam," Bex whispered, jabbing me in the ribs, "isn't Cameron your
mom's maiden name?"
    "Yeah,"
I murmured as if it were just a big coincidence.
    I
studied her every move as she wove between the tables; she was the embodiment
of what every girl in the room wanted to be when she grew up.
    "She
seems sort of…familiar," Liz said, and I could almost hear her mind
working, gears turning, as if my aunt's face were a code she was trying to crack.
    Then
Abby winked at me, and, for Bex, the pieces fell into place. "No
way!" She was pointing between my aunt and my mother as if memorizing
every detail of their unmistakable family resemblance. "That's your
aunt—"
    "Shhh!"
I whispered, cutting her off. After all, Tina Walters was only a few feet away;
the McHenrys and Agent Hughes were at the front of the room; there were at
least a dozen reasons why this was not the best time to go through the entire
Cameron family tree, not the least of which was that I was already way more
notorious around there than any chameleon should rightfully be.
    My mother was the headmistresss.
    I'd
had an illegal (sort of) relationship with a normal boy who had crashed
(literally) my Covert Operations midterm last December.
    And
the last time several members of the student body