Spy School Christmas Cheer

Depression

DECEMBER 22

I had gifts for everyone but Erica. Ordinarily, I would have gotten her some spy equipment like a new weapon, or a rare selection of poisons and antidotes, but it didn't seem like enough. If it had been any of my other friends, I would have figured out some way to bring them on an amazing vacation or something like that, but Erica had once said that Disney World was a third-world hell hole full of unhealthy food and germy little kids. I sat on my sofa bed, thinking hard.

"Ben?" I heard a voice and turned to see Mike peeping his head through the trap door. "Come on down! We're making cookies! And Erica is being nice! She's helping instead of calling cookies empty carbs and unnecessary stomach aches." I stood and followed Mike down to the first floor of the Hale house. I knew I should spend as much time with Erica as I could. 

"What's wrong with you?" Mike asked me as we descended the stairs. 

"Nothing. Just, thinking." I replied, then pasted on a happy face as we entered the kitchen. 

"Hey, Ben!" Jawa said, beckoning Mike and me over to where he and Chip were battling a large lump of cookie dough into rolling out. 

"Need some help?" I asked, joining them and tearing off a hunk of cookie dough. 

"Yeah." Chip grimaced as his dough accidentally tore in two. "the girls assigned us guys to the hard parts, while they get to cut out the cookies." he shot a glare of mock anger at Zoe, who through a small gingerbread man at him teasingly. I finally managed to roll out my dough and passed it to Erica. As I did our hands touched, causing her to look up and meet my eyes. I felt my face flushing, and could see she was fighting hard not to. 

"Thanks." she mumbled, taking the dough and cutting out little tree shapes. It was funny to see Erica acting so much like a normal teenage girl instead of her usual icy self. I watched as she lifted up her cookie cutter and the dough stayed inside, then began shaking it wildly until the unbaked cookie flew out of it and splatted against the wall. All my friends burst into laughter, including Erica. Nobody noticed me not joining in, nobody questioned how weird Erica was acting, and nobody seemed to notice the glimmer of pain I saw in her diamond eyes when she turned to me.