For my mother whose love of books shaped my life I miss you every day Mom
Preamble to Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent Life as an undercover agent can be stressful lonely and dangerous These rules were written by an agent-in-training to help guide you when you feel out of sorts They’re not meant to replace your Academy training Use Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent to remind yourself how to act in difficult situations Like Rule Number 15 says Be in control All the rules are important some more so than others depending on the situation The most important rule of all is Rule Number 3 Trust your instincts Unless your instincts are often wrong If that’s the case Number 29 is a good rule to keep in mind Anticipate surprises Also remember that Murphy is always correct and you’ll be fine Rule Number 17 Rule Number 12 will get you out of sticky situations Always have an escape plan Your country thanks you for your service While your name will never be known your actions reflect upon all of us secret agents for better or worse Sometimes you might feel a bit dreary toiling away in anonymity On the bright side no one will ever know if you make a mistake Unless you start a war Don’t start a war unless explicitly directed to by your commanding officer Then double-check to make sure he she is not being controlled by the enemy Rule Number 4 Trust no one and have a great day Compiled and written by Agent-in-Training Sunflower age ten
1 Live in a quiet and remote small town where everyone thinks they already know the real you Don’t give them a reason to change their minds Rule Number 1 from Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent The first hit on my window was tentative like maple leaves tapping against the glass during a gentle rain The second thud was harder The third sounded like someone had thrown a rock wrapped in a sock soft but with force Since it didn’t seem like the barrage was stopping anytime soon thunk and might actually crack the glass I dropped my book The Fulton Sisters Adventure Number 87 and got up from my bed Samantha and April Fulton would just have to stay stuck swirling around their mysterious wormhole until I got back to them I pushed the window open and a pinecone whizzed by me Who’s there I called as I looked through the branches of the old wild apple tree The gold and red leaves blocked part of the view of my backyard but movement on the left caught my attention Mabel what are you doing Stanley Brick stepped out from between two huge Douglas firs and dropped a pinecone What are you doing I said before I remembered exactly why he was using my window for target practice Recently Stanley had gotten tired of knocking on my front door since no one ever answered it It was hard to hear the knocking from my room and my parents weren’t home often so I’d suggested we try something new The signal You’re doing the signal He nodded And I’m supposed to give the counter-signal That was our plan Stanley picked up a different pinecone and tossed it from hand to hand as if testing it to see if it was ready to launch Sorry I was reading Adventure Number Eighty-Seven I said
