The Agency: Crisis At Kadesh
The Agency is a series of young adult novels designed to foster and encourage an interest in history for young people. They are designed for children as young as ten, but can be read by adults as well. I strive to ensure that everything in them is as historically accurate as possible.
Chapter One
The Substitute
Cassidy’s alarm on her phone blared its usual rat-a-tat-tat. It was the machine gun of alarms.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Without opening her eyes she groped her nightstand for the phone. Her hand found, in order, three hair ties, a quarter, a broken pencil, a working pencil, her math textbook, and then the edge of her phone, which she promptly knocked off the nightstand and onto the floor.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
She heard the dull thud as it hit, briefly swinging on its charging cord before it pulled loose.
“Crap…” Cassidy said to herself.
The last thing she needed was her mom mad at her for cracking her screen. They’d have gotten a cover for it, but it was a bit too expensive. Instead, Cassidy’s mom had just warned her to be careful. In hindsight, glass and plastic were probably safer bets than the promise of a thirteen-year-old.
Cassidy opened her eyes and rolled over on her side so she could see over the edge of her bed. Her mat of unruly auburn hair temporarily blinded her, but she swept it aside with one hand and looked down. There, on the floor, was her phone, safe and sound, un-cracked and unbroken.
“Thank God,” Cassidy said.
She reached down and grabbed the phone. Its screen illuminated as she brought it up to her face. The picture of her and her mother from Colonial Williamsburg last summer flashed, as well as the time: 7:03 AM. Cassidy groaned. Time to face the day as her dad always said.
She sat up and kicked her legs over the side of her bed. She looked out towards the window which, as of yet, was still covered with its cheap blinds, drawn shut against the breaking dawn. Cassidy stood, stretched, and walked over to open them. It was not the most beautiful view in the history of the universe. Her window looked out over… well, nothing.
It opened directly onto the stone wall of the building next door. But, if she looked up at the right corner of the window she could usually make out how sunny it was. It was relatively early, but she saw nothing other than a brightening sky on what she hoped would be a warm spring day. It was early April, but this last winter had held on for dear life, the piles of snow outside their apartment building had only recently bid their final adieu.
Satisfied that she had an outfit that was both relatively clean and would work for weather in the fifties, Cassidy slipped on her sandals and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She walked across the short hall and clicked on the bathroom light to inspect the night’s damage.
She looked like a cat that had somehow made it through the dry cycle. Her thick auburn hair was little more than a mass on top of her head. She took one look at it and realized that today was not going to be a day for glamor. She opened the top cabinet drawer, took out one of her many hair ties and a brush, and got to work.
As she brushed she leaned in to have a look at the rest of her. No new pimples, that was good. But the old ones were still hanging out. Cassidy had never been pleased with her appearance. She was tall for her age, equal to almost all the boys in her class with the exception of her friend Jay who was already pushing six feet. She didn’t have braces and she guessed she had that going for her. Though that was really more of a cost thing than anything else - she would need them at some point.
She did have her father’s eyes though. Bright green. They were her favorite part of herself and one of the biggest reasons she was happy that she did not, at least not yet, have to wear glasses. She finished brushing and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
“There,” she said, “done. Definitely not going to win any beauty contests today, but hey, can’t win ‘em all.”
A few minutes later Cassidy walked into the kitchen wearing the same T-shirt and tights as Monday. Today was Thursday, so she hoped that no one would notice that this was a complete repeat outfit. She doubted anyone would. She wasn’t really popular or important enough at her school for anyone to care what she was wearing.
“Good morning, Cassie!” her mom said as Cassidy entered the kitchen.
Her mother already had her scrubs on for work. She worked at a nearby clinic as a physician’s assistant. The hours could be long and sometimes in the summer, she worked twelve-hour shifts to earn enough time off for the two of them to take a short vacation. Ultimately, they both always agreed, it was worth it.
“Hey, mom.”
“Sleep well?”
“Yeah, I could have slept a lot more.”
“You and me both, sister. Cereal ok?”
Her mother opened the refrigerator door and produced a carton of milk.
“Oh,” Cassidy said, “yeah that’s fine. I’m honestly not that hungry.”
Her mother frowned.
“Well, too bad. You need to eat something. It’s five hours until you get lunch and that’s too long to exist on good feelings alone.”
She opened the cabinet and produced a box of cereal which she slid across the table to Cassidy. Cassidy took the box, poured the cereal into one of the bowls from the dish drying rack by the sink, and went for the milk.
“I know,” Cassidy said.
She took the milk and poured some into her bowl of off-brand-Cheerio-style something or other and waited for it to soften.
“Do you have to work late tonight?”
“Yeah,” her mom stretched as she said this, and Cassidy knew she was tired already.
“Probably only ‘till like eight though. You good to make yourself something for dinner? There are some cans of soup and a couple of other equally delicious options in the freezer.”
Her mother shot Cassidy a wry smile.
“No worries mom. I got this.”
She took a spoon full of cereal, judged that it had softened sufficiently so as to not injure her, and ate it.
“Speaking of you getting this,” her mother began, “you got that math test today, right?”
There was a pause as Cassidy stared down into her cereal. “Yes. Third period.”
“How are you feeling about it?”
“Pretty good. It’s algebra though. Not my best.”
“But you studied right?”
“Yes, mom. Yes, I studied. I went for extra help during lunch yesterday and Jay helped me some after school.”
Cassidy could feel herself starting to tear up. “Look, I’m trying as hard as I can alright.”
Her mother stopped packing her lunch and walked over to her, putting her arm around her. “I know Cassie, I know. I just want the best for you, you know that right?”
Cassidy nodded.
“And,” her mother continued, “if you do better in math then you can probably get into one of those magnate high schools. And you know you need math to-”
“Be successful in life,” Cassidy interrupted in a monotone voice. “To get into a good school. To become a doctor or a lawyer or,” now she dropped the voice, “or a Wall Street trader or become some other stupid thing that society cares about!”
She slammed her hand on the table and cereal spilled over the edge of the bowl. There was silence for a moment.
“Look, Cassie,” her mother began, “I don’t like it any more than you do. I know you like history and stories and all that but no one pays for that stuff anymore. I don’t even know what you’d do for a job.”
“I could be a teacher,” Cassidy looked up eagerly at her mother.
“You could,” her mother began slowly. “But then you’d have to live in a little apartment like this one.”
“I like our apartment.”
“In not the best part of town.”
“I like our neighborhood.”
“And you’d always be trying to just get by, sweetheart. I don’t want that for you. Plus,” she paused.
“Plus what?” Cassidy asked.
“Plus, people would always look down on you. People only care about professions now that make a lot of money. If you don’t make money nowadays, no one cares about you. Don’t you want to be respected?”
“Dad was.”
And now the room went completely silent. Cassidy could hear the soft whine of some kind of emergency vehicle passing outside. Her mother brushed at her eyes.
“I know,” her mother whispered.
She turned back to continue preparing her lunch. “I know.”
“And I could be too!”
“I know you could. You might. Might. But I don’t want might for you. I want for sure.”
“And I want to be FOR SURE happy!”
“But you’re never going to get that talking about people who have been dead for thousands of years! This isn’t a movie. This isn’t one of your dad’s Montana Jones films.”
“It’s Indiana Jones, mom. And I know those aren’t real.”
“Sorry. I just want the best for you. Can you just promise me that you’ll try your very best? This means a lot. You’ll be in high school next year and then everything counts.”
“I know mom. I will, promise. I want to do well too. But, when you suck at something it’s kinda hard to want to do it all the time.” Cassidy stood up and put her bowl into the sink. She walked over and picked up her backpack.
Her mother turned to her. “Oh, I know. Believe me.”
She walked over to Cassidy and kissed her on the forehead. “I know.”
Cassidy entered PS 317 exactly two minutes before the first bell. Never super early, she thought to herself, but never late. Cassidy hated being late. It was a character trait she had inherited from her mother. Her mother was never late. She always told Cassidy that being late was a sign of disrespect to those whose time you were wasting by making them wait.
Cassidy made her way to homeroom. She rounded the corner into the science hallway and made for Ms. Gray’s room. Ms. Gray was one of the eighth-grade science teachers and Cassidy’s homeroom teacher.
“Good morning Cassie!!!!” Ms. Gray said as she saw Cassidy approach.
Ms. Gray exuberantly welcomed her (and every student for that matter) to homeroom each and every day. Ms. Gray was one of the youngest teachers in the school and had only been there a year or two. As a result, she always dressed much more formally than some of the other teachers who had been around since Reagan was President. Today she was wearing a smart yellow skirt and a white dress shirt. She looked at Cassidy with that same warm smile that always brightened Cassidy’s day, no matter how many math tests she had.
“Morning, Ms. Gray. Looking good.”
“Why thank you Cassie. You know I appreciate it. Looking good yourself.”
“Thanks. But we both know I wore this same thing on Monday.”
“Why fix what’s not broken?” She gave Cassidy the same warm smile again.
“True. Good point.”
“I wish you would wear your hair down more often though, Cassie. It’s so pretty.”
“Pretty hard to comb through you mean.”
Ms. Gray laughed. “I get you there. You could always walk my path.” Ms. Gray brushed at the edges of her short-cropped blond hair.
“I suppose,” Cassidy said. “But then people would start comparing us and I’m not that pretty.”
Ms. Gray blushed. “Awwww… Thank you, Cassie, but don’t say that. You are lovely just the way you are.”
With that, the bell rang and the two of them continued into the room. Cassidy walked to the lab table that was her homeroom seat.
She shared the table with Samantha Young. Cassidy and Samantha got along well. They weren’t friends and Samantha, a major track athlete had a completely different group of friends. But still, they could always at least exchange some pleasantries.
“Hey,” Samantha said. “How are you?”
“Oh fine,” said Cassidy sitting down. “Be better when it’s the weekend.”
“For sure. Plans?”
“Not yet. I don’t remember if my mom has to work or not. You?”
“Track team is supposed to have an early meet if it doesn’t rain too much. Or snow. It’s early so this one doesn’t count for anything yet. I wouldn’t be shocked if they canceled it.”
“Hope they don’t for your sake. You’re going to break the school record for the hundred-meter at some point this season. We all know it.”
Samantha smiled. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen!” started Ms. Gray. “Morning announcements. Let’s see.”
She looked down at her tablet. “No birthdays today. Looks like chicken sandwiches for lunch. Or, whatever they are claiming is a chicken sandwich.” There was a murmur of laughter at that comment. “Everyone in algebra has a test today. And, it looks like Mr. Miller is out sick so they’ll be a sub for those of you who have him for history.”
Cassidy groaned. She liked Mr. Miller and history was her favorite subject. He had been friends with her father and the two of them got along really well. She was really looking forward to history today with her math test looming on the horizon. She wondered if it was a bad omen.
“Alright,” continued Ms. Gray, “those are all the announcements I have so if you need help with anything science-ish let me know. Otherwise, I know a lot of you have that math test today so it would not hurt to spend a little extra time studying.”
Cassidy could not help but notice that Ms. Gray looked directly at her as she said that last part. Ms. Gray knew that Cassidy struggled with math, even though she was a pretty good science student - so long as it wasn’t physics, which Cassidy hated as a science subject, feeling it was just math in disguise.
With that, Cassidy took her algebra textbook out of her backpack and opened it to the review section.
Cassidy slumped down into a chair at the cafeteria table, her tray of chicken sandwich-ish before her plus her government-regulated serving of fruits and vegetables. She just sat and stared into open space.
“Hey, sassy Cassie! You home?” A voice called from her left, snapping her out of her dream-like state.
“Huh. Oh, hey Jay.”
She scooted her tray over a little bit to make room.
Jay Thompson was Cassidy’s closest friend at school. At least closest not historical or literary friend from a book or movie. She had plenty of those friends, but Jay was the only one who existed in the real world.
Jay and Cassidy had known each other since they were in kindergarten. Jay’s dad had been good friends with Cassidy’s dad since Jay’s dad was an Assistant Professor of Education at one of the local community colleges. Plus, Jay’s mom was a nurse so their mothers got along really well. Cassidy would have dinner at the Thompson residence on the weekends if her mother was working late.
Her friendship with Jay, though, was a bit of an anomaly. Jay was tall and athletic. And super smart. He was good at every single subject. He shared his mother’s intense, deep mahogany eyes and his father’s booming laugh. Everyone loved him. Cassidy was always grateful he stayed her friend, even though at times it seemed they had less and less in common.
They had history though. Jay’s dad was as much into the past as he was into his son’s future. He taught all the aspiring history and social studies teachers - that was how Mr. Thompson knew Cassidy’s father. Sometimes, when Cassidy went over to Jay’s for dinner, she would spend the whole time talking to his father about something they learned in history class, much to Jay’s chagrin.
“So…” Jay broke in, “how did it go?”
Cassidy’s shoulders slumped. “How do you think it went? Terrible. Like always.”
“Oh come on, Cass. She hasn’t even graded them yet. Don’t fail yourself before the teacher even has a chance to.”
“Oh fair enough, I suppose I should give the executioner her chance. I won’t go all Cleopatra quite yet.”
“How did she kill herself again?”
“Snake. An Asp, if you must know.”
“Yikes,” Jay said as he opened his lunch. “I hate snakes.”
“Oh, ok Indy.” Cassidy smiled.
“Ha,” Jay laughed, “knew I could get you.”
A broad smile flashed across his face - it was the smile that everyone loved him for.
“Besides,” he continued, “it’s one test, Cass. One test in one class.”
“Tell that to my mom. I’m on the edge between a B and a C in algebra. If I bombed that test I’m screwed. And my mom wants me to apply to magnet schools for the fall. I’ll never get in with a C or lower in math.”
“That’s not true. I know a guy-”
“Oh please, don’t. Everyone knows ‘a guy.’ I wish this guy had a name by the way.”
Jay smiled again. “Fair enough. I get you. Faulty evidence as my dad would say.”
“I can almost hear him now.”
“Well, cheer up. We’ve got history last period.”
“Yeah, but Miller’s out sick. We’ll probably just watch a video or read something that I’ve either already read or would have read on my own anyway.”
“Man,” said Jay, taking a bite out of his sandwich, “just not your day I guess.”
“Guess not,” Cassidy said and pushed back her tray.
A man in a sleek, black suit and narrow tie nodded to Cassidy as she entered her history class for last period. For a moment, she was certain he had winked at her behind his thick, black-rimmed glasses. Cassidy looked perplexed, but entered nonetheless and found her way next to Jay in the middle of the room.
“Is that our sub?” she asked, leaning over her desk.
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Jay. “Didn’t realize school was recruiting from the cast of Men In Black.”
“I know right?!? I gotta say, he’s a much better dresser than Miller.”
“And a heck of a lot better than our normal subs. Those guys usually look like they were literally just grabbed off the street and forced into the job. Like, literally. Remember our math sub last week?”
Cassidy suppressed a laugh. “Yeah, old tracksuit suit mc’neon. That was fun.”
Jay broke into laughter, “Hey, at least you're not his wife.”
“God, I hope no one has THAT job,” said Cassidy, laughing and sitting down as the bell rang.
The classroom door shut and the man Cassidy assumed was their substitute walked to the front of the class. She guessed he was in his late thirties or early forties. He had short black hair that was graying at the temples. He had a very angular face and was immaculately clean-shaven. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses that looked too old for him. They looked like something that a much older man, someone in their mid to late sixties, should be wearing.
He scanned the room. Then his eyes fell upon Cassidy and Jay. Cassidy couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw the slightest murmur of a smile at the corner of his mouth. Then, in an instant, it vanished, replaced by the stone gaze he otherwise had held since entering the room.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am Mr. Sung. I will be your substitute teacher for the day,” he said with a clearly noticeable British accent.
“Oh my God,” mouthed Cassidy to Jay.
“Greatest. Day. Of. My. Life.” He mouthed back.
“As you are no doubt aware Mr. Miller has quite taken ill.” Cassidy glanced over and, with every word, Jay seemed more and more awestruck. “Thus, I have been retained for the purposes of providing you with substitute instruction.”
“Huh?” said Dylan Merkle, one of the least interested and enthusiastic students of all time, from the back of the room.
“Pardon,” Sung continued, “I am your substitute teacher.”
“Ah. Got it,” said Dylan, slumping down further into his chair.
“As your substitute, it is, generally, my duty to provide you with some form of instruction.”
The class shifted uneasily, everyone had just assumed there would be a video.
“However, today I come with a great opportunity.”
Cassidy and Jay glanced at each other as he continued. “As you know, in just the span of a few short months you will begin your high school careers. For many of you, that means applying to one of the many magnet schools in the city.” Cassidy looked down at her desk, as though she needed that reminder right now. “Some of you may or may not be aware that some of those schools require examinations for admittance.”
Cassidy was well-aware. And well-aware she would not be getting into any of those schools.
“I come here today from one such institution,” Sung said and began to pace back and forth in front of the room, staring off into the middle distance as he spoke. “The test you may now take-”
“What?!?!” Dylan suddenly shot up in his chair. “A test, bro? But you’re a sub. Aren’t we going to watch a video or something?”
“Relax, young man,” Sung continued, “This examination is purely optional and will not impact your academic prospects whatsoever.”
“Huh?” said Dylan.
“Your grades idiot,” said Regina, one of the brightest students in the class.
She or Jay were likely to have the highest GPA out of anyone in the entire grade.
“You don’t have to take it,” Regina said. “Not that it could possibly drive YOUR grades any lower.”
“Shut up,” said Dylan.
“Enough,” Sung stopped pacing and stared at the two. They immediately silenced.
“The young lady’s translation is, however, accurate. If you do not wish to take the test, you need not. That being said, evidently, according to state law, I cannot release you. So, if you choose not to take the test, please sit in silence. You may read or prepare for your courses tomorrow.”
“Can I lay down and sleep on the floor?” asked Dylan.
Regina face-palmed.
“I don’t know young man, is this kindergarten?” asked Sung with a sarcastic smile.
Regina smirked. Dylan blushed. Cassidy and Jay looked intrigued. Both wanted to go to magnet schools. Maybe, this was a chance after all. Jay raised his hand.
“Yes, young man?”
“Sir, can I ask what the test is about?”
“Certainly,” began Sung, “it is a historical examination.”
Cassidy shot up. Did he say history? She could do history.
“Specifically,” Sung continued, “if you must know, New Kingdom Egypt.”
There was absolute silence. Regina looked aghast, they hadn’t studied that since sixth grade.
“Now,” finished Sung, grabbing a stack of papers, “would those who wish to take the examination please raise their hands?”
Ultimately, only three kids took the test.
Jay winked at Cassidy as he raised his hand and muttered, “Wanna bet on it?” under his breath.
“You’re on. Pizza?” Cassidy responded as she raised hers.
“Nah, I want Chinese tonight,” Jay winked again.
“For sure,” Cassidy said in a low voice, “I’d love YOU to buy me dinner.” She winked back.
Sung gave them both packets and moved to the front to give Regina hers. Cassidy knew she didn’t like history that much, but Regina had never found a test she couldn’t master and she certainly wasn’t going to let Jay outpace her if she could help it.
Cassidy looked down at the packet. Oddly, there was not a place for her name. She looked at Jay who caught her gaze, but only shrugged.
She opened the packet. It appeared to be multiple choice. The first series of questions were really easy and Cassidy heard as both Regina and Jay turned over to the second page ahead of her. It was little kid stuff. Like: what was the ruler of ancient Egypt called? A pharaoh duh, thought Cassidy and circled C.
Jay turned to page three and kept going. Regina looked up in dismay, it was getting harder for her. Cassidy finished the second page and turned to the third. It was more multiple-choice, but the questions were harder now. You had to know the names of different pharaohs and sometimes the Greeks and even the Romans who came after Egypt’s sun had set as an independent kingdom. Cassidy was catching up on Jay now who had slowed. She remembered recently watching a documentary on ancient Egypt on a Saturday night - yes, she thought, her social life was truly Kardashian level. But, now it was helping her. She rolled through ten questions on the Ptolemies as she watched Jay slow to a crawl and Regina put both hands to her temples.
With about ten minutes left of class Cassidy had reached the final page of the test and it was entirely about New Kingdom Egypt. New Kingdom Egypt was tough. Cassidy remembered that it was the period of the Egyptian Empire and that it was relatively brief. But, that was about it. It had nothing to do with the pyramids. If it had anything to do with the Sphinx we didn’t know about it. Still, Cassidy was moving through the questions with enough time to finish. She glanced over at Jay who, in spite of slowing down, was only a few questions behind her.
Then, she came to the second to last question. She looked at the options. And she froze. The question was straight forward: Whom did Ramesses the Great fight against at the Battle of Kadesh? She knew the answer, it had been in the documentary and she was pretty sure she had talked about it with Jay’s dad fairly recently. The answer was the Hittite Kingdom, which no longer exists. The only thing was, that wasn’t one of the answers. The answers were: (A) The Greeks, (B) The Romans, (C) The Nubians, and, (D) The Babylonians. None of those were right.
Cassidy furrowed her brow. She double-checked. Yup, same answers and none of them correct. She looked at the clock: there were only a few minutes left.
Then, she looked forward and noticed that Sung was staring at her. As she looked at him he did not look away. His hands were folded over his desk and his eyes were locked on her. She looked down at her page again, decided, and wrote the correct answer before circling it. She finished the final question, which was an easy one about Cleopatra, and pushed the packet forward.
Then she looked at Jay. He looked confused. He kept glancing at the clock and down at his page. Cassidy looked forward: Sung was looking at Jay now.
Suddenly, Jay stood up. He grabbed the packet and strode forward. There was only about a minute left. Jay said something to Sung in a hushed voice. Sung pointed down at the page. Jay said something else. Suddenly, Sung nodded and held out his hand. Jay looked briefly confused but handed him the packet nonetheless just as the bell began to ring.
The Agency: Crisis at Kadesh is available on Amazon in both Kindle and print versions.