The Assessment
Should I finish this 25k+ words contained story??? I kinda already have maybe, but reassurance is always nice:
Gabriel always feels like he’s coming home when he arrives back on the island. The large estate plopped right down on a lush green hill, trees surrounding the complex, with a vast expanse where they’ve hosted welcome parties and various night events over the last two years attended by alumni and those high up in the Crooked Network alike. He still doesn’t know if he’s necessarily used to Crookhaven, but it has become a refuge of sorts. It's somewhere he’s accepted despite his parentage, a stark contrast to how he grew up scrounging for food money with his gran.
Ade pats his back excitedly, apparently eager to be back for the new year. After last year, they could use some normalcy again—or at least, what normalcy a bunch of teenagers learning how to be crooks could have. He’s already started hearing rumblings about needing to perform well in upcoming trials, where different Crook organizations a part of the Crooked Network recruit students right out of Crookhaven. Where they could recruit him.
And Gabriel may be a little excited for other reasons, considering that after two months and only a few letters (he still doesn’t have a phone after two years of Ade and Ede pestering him), this’ll be the first time he’s seen Penelope after everything they left again before summer.
He just hopes they’re still on the same page…
“Have you heard the rumors?” Jia pops up from behind them, making them all turn in gentle surprise.
“What rumors?” Ede questions with trepidation.
Ade smiles, surprising Jia with an embrace that she attempts to deny she appreciates with the scowl that takes over her face, though she still manages to pat Ade on the side as he pulls away.
“Juicy ones, I hope,” Ade adds. “Did Lulu and Warren finally hook up? Does Whisper have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?” Ade hops on his toes eagerly. “Don’t keep us in suspense, Jia.”
“This year’s assignment,” Jia says strictly, shooting Ade a glare. “Supposedly, they’re gonna have us apply our skills in the real world.”
“A real-world assessment,” Ede repeats, gulping at the thought.
Gabriel adjusts his crooked tie, worn a little looser than Ede’s fairly straight one, and scoffs. “Like they want a bunch of us out in London pickpocketing criminals or something?”
“Apparently, they plan a heist every few years. We just so happen to be in the midst of one of those cycles,” Jia answers.
“I hope it’s not London,” Ade comments, hopping in place in anticipation. “I’d rather go somewhere exotic, like France. Oh, or Portugal.”
“I'm unsure I would necessarily consider France exotic,” Ede remarks back to his twin.
Ade stares at his brother incredulously. “As if you’ve ever been out of London. Where would you consider exotic, then?”
Ede starts to ponder the question as they meander into the main building. Gabriel catches only a fraction of the argument between the twins, smiling absently, almost ready to agree with Ede’s suggestion of Ibiza—
“Avery.”
His head whips straight, brown eyes meeting brown. Penelope stands in her crisp uniform, her crossover tie perfect and her skirt flawlessly ironed. Dark brown hair cascades over her shoulder in waves as she stares back at him from across the grand hallway. He can’t help the small uptick of his mouth, or how his body buzzes just that little bit more at actually seeing her rather than just the thought of her.
“Oh, brother,” Jia murmurs.
Gabriel’s gaze only shoots to Jia for a fleeting moment before training right back on Penelope. Letters just aren’t enough.
“Lockett,” Ade calls out with a smile, heading toward the headmaster’s daughter as if they’re the best of friends. Gabriel guesses that after last year, when she basically saved Ede from having a panic attack in Maravel’s maze, the younger twin sees her that way. “How’s my favorite Legacy?”
Gabriel moves after Ade, contemplating if a simple "Hi" is a perfectly reasonable greeting after two months apart. Penelope looks slightly shocked as Ade pulls her into an embrace, though she seems to take it better than Jia did.
“Fine.”
It’s short, sweet, and so Penelope. Never needing too many words to get her point across. Ede swoops in after his brother, giving Penelope a quick hug as some silent understanding passes between the two of them.
“You two are so gushy.”
Amira’s voice appears behind him. Gabriel turns to see Amira shooting Ede and Ade a look that feels playful in nature, but Gabriel knows she and Penelope still aren’t on the best of terms. The third degree she's giving the twins isn't necessarily a good sign; both girls just tolerating each other because they happen to hang around the same people. Gabriel sometimes thinks it’s only because of him, really. But that would make him conceited, so he lets the thought go as quickly as it floats through his head.
Ade smiles. “Mad you’re last?” He playfully goes in to pick her up in a bear hug, much to Amira’s feigned disgust.
Gabriel smiles, but the need to swivel back around to Penelope is too strong. As Ade playfully whips Amira back and forth in his arms, Gabriel turns and hesitates for a moment… should he even?
He decides yes.
Pulling Penelope in under his right arm, her arms wrap loosely around his middle in return. He catches the quick glance Jia shoots them, but she just as quickly ignores them, focusing instead on Ade pestering Amira with questions about her summer.
Gabriel lets Penelope go gently, and she glances back up at him.
“Got my last letter?”
“Yeah.” His mouth upturns again. “Thanks for the advice. It really helped.”
“Figured you could use some encouragement. Can’t have you getting cold feet thinking you don’t belong here.”
Gabriel loves and hates the warmth that blooms from her saying those words with such a glint in her eye. It's something he’s still shocked by, worlds away from her feelings when he first arrived at Crookhaven two years ago, and worlds away from how he initially saw himself belonging, too. He fits in somewhere considered unconventional, and he wouldn’t have it any other way now.
“Good to be back.”
“After last year?” Penelope responds. “Fresh start.”
“Fresh start,” he repeats.
His parents are still lingering in the back of his mind, demanding he pay them hundreds of thousands of pounds. How he’ll manage that, he doesn't quite know. To be blackmailed by your own parents because they’re mad you didn’t join them a second time... that’s a layer of complicated even he doesn’t want to peel back.
“Attention!” Mr. Valesquez’s voice cuts through the chatter of the hall.
All eyes are trained on the staff standing at the top landing of the staircase at the end of the hall: Jericho, Sisman, Whisper, Khan, and Palombo. Headmaster Caspian Lockett stands right in the middle, a smirk playing on his face as he surveils all the returning students and a few new faces. Penelope stands straighter at the sight of her father, stepping forward toward the staircase with everyone else. Gabriel stops next to her, staring up at their elders.
“Good morning, crooklings,” Miss Jericho calls out with a genuine smile. “Hope you all settled in well for your first night.”
Most actually arrived yesterday and have already unpacked. Gabriel had extended his time with his gran by one more day to ensure the woman had everything she needed for his time away, making sure all the bills for their apartment were paid at least until he returned during Crooxeat. Because of that, his stuff had been thrown into the room he shares with the twins as fast as humanly possible this morning, right before he hobbled into his uniform to be on time.
“Welcome to those of you joining us for the first time,” Miss Jericho continues, scanning the new faces, “and those of you back again for another year of training. It’s good to have you back.”
Gabriel glances briefly down at Penelope, who’s already side-eying him with minuscule amusement.
“As we start the year, we acknowledge there are some rumblings of the Nameless—”
Murmurs immediately break through the room, and Gabriel’s face tightens.
“Please,” Sisman calls out, his voice booming over the noise. “Listen up. We won’t be repeating ourselves, ya hear?” The head gardener and master boobytrapper nods back toward Miss Jericho.
“We’ve heard the rumors, and there is nothing to be concerned about,” Miss Jericho continues. “The island is secure, and we have patrols everywhere. The rumors are just that. They are designed to make you anxious, and there is no reason to be.”
That doesn’t stop the air in the room from tightening, making the space feel almost claustrophobic. Penelope shifts next to him, her arm brushing against his side. She knows about the note he got. She knows that if he does not pay up by the deadline, the Nameless will retaliate, and Crookhaven will be right in their crosshairs. The rumors, in this case, are entirely true.
The heavy tension in his jaw is noticeable, especially when he catches Caspian Lockett’s gaze. It’s almost as if the man already knows. Penelope wouldn’t tell her father… would she?
Caspian glances back at the crowd and steps forward, his hand braced on Miss Jericho's shoulder, gently stopping her from continuing.
“Let us get back to why we are all here,” Caspian says, his commanding voice instantly silencing the room. “To learn, and to gain the skills needed to be the best Crooks you can be. To give back to society by being those with integrity and goodness, bringing down those who seek to do harm.”
When Caspian Lockett talks, people listen.
“Now, I think something we can announce to you is the event of the year, which we like to call... The Assessment.”
Murmurs break out again, but these bring a sharp turn, an air of excitement that even Gabriel is intrigued by. Jia was right, and she looks mighty proud of herself standing next to him. Gabriel smiles.
Caspian has a distinct glint in his eye as he continues. “The Assessment will test your skills not only as an individual, but as a crew. A heist where you plan, you execute, and you show off your specialty as crooks in training. A competition where the prize is bragging rights... and a cash prize of one hundred thousand pounds.”
Gabriel snaps flatly upright at that. One hundred thousand pounds. That would be a massive, life-saving help in getting his parents the money they demanded. A gentle tug at his blazer makes him look down, finding Penelope silently communicating with her eyes. They’re on the same page. There’s no other option but to win that. None at all.
“Your training this year will prepare you for the heist, and you won’t know where or what you will be doing until it starts, keeping things entirely fair.”
Excited whispers ripple through the hall.
“Study well, Crooklings. And have a wonderful year.”
People clap, some hooting in excitement, while Gabriel just stares for a moment or two longer as the Crookhaven staff convene among themselves up on the landing.
“So, I was right.”
Gabriel’s brows furrow momentarily as he regards his friends, who are already huddling into their own tight circle, before he fully processes Jia’s jubilation.
“Well, now we need to start a pot on where this assessment is going to take place,” Ade says. “I’ll put my money on Portugal.”
“I’d go for Turkey.” Amira bites in.
“Eh,” Ede doesn't look convinced about that one. “I would want to go somewhere warmer—”
“Like?” Ade presses.
“Like... Turks and Caicos.”
“I’ll put my money on that one.” Villette appears out of nowhere behind Ede, making the shorter twin jump.
“Villette.” Ade laughs awkwardly, his eyes darting around the rest of them. “You’re back.”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Villette says, her face a perfect blank mask. “Put me down for Turks and Caicos.”
“You can’t do that,” Ede responds timidly.
“Why not?” Villette asks.
“Rules don’t say she can’t,” Amira intervenes. “Just that if it is, you split the pool.”
Ede looks conflicted. “I don’t want to split it—”
“Too late, bro,” Ade chuckles through his teeth, patting his brother on the back in jest. “Even if you win, you lose. I’d say get used to it, but I’m pretty sure you already are.”
Ede sneers at his twin. “So are you.”
Gabriel smiles at the banter.
“Lockett?” Amira prompts, acknowledging Penelope.
“Cairo.”
“Good guess, good guess.” Ade nods in appreciation. “Gabester? What’ll it be?”
“Anywhere other than London.” The majority of them nod in understanding. It's not like Gabriel has ever really been far from England, so anywhere else would be just fine by him.
“Gotta pick a specific destination,” Amira corrects, even though she seems to agree with the sentiment.
“Monte Carlo,” he shrugs.
"I'll go with Tokyo." Jia chimes in.
“Ooo,” Ade nods with a smile. “I like that one. Good pick, Ja-Jia. Now, cash. Twenty pounds each?”
Ade glances around as everyone nods or shrugs. Gabriel realizes that if he manages to win the crew's betting pool, at least that’d be about one hundred and forty pounds to kickstart the pot for the Nameless.