(Erica's POV) Spy School Goes to Trial

Chapter 2 - Picnic

60 mph
Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.
May 29
1310 hours

I tried to conceal my movements, so that, to anyone observing, we would just look like two teenagers cramped in the back of a minivan. Although, I was pretty sure I saw my mother glance back at us through the rear-view mirror. I hadn't told her anything about my feelings for Ben, or that I had hinted to Ben I wanted to start a relationship with him. Which meant she already knew, of course. She was definitely suspicious of us.

I thought the world of my mother. She was an amazing spy, and I knew I could always count on her. No matter what. Still, she was my mother and a spy, which didn't leave much room for privacy.

I knew she liked Ben. Of course, she had been impressed with his intelligence, but also that he seemed really loyal to our family. When the Croatoan threatened us, Ben and my mother teamed up with Mike to find a letter from President George Washington that was the only evidence of the Croatoan's existence. They were attacked and separated. When she found him again, he was caught by Zoe, Chip Schacter, and Jawa O'Shea. They were sort of my friends, but mostly Ben's. My mother overheard Chip and Jawa help Ben escape, but when he asked them to help me, they refused. I hate to admit it, but it hurt to hear that.  It did confirm how rare Ben was in this business.

I enjoyed sitting next to him in quiet comfort, so it was disappointing arriving at the park a little more quickly than I would have liked. Mother and I had selected the park with an eye for safety more than anything. We studied the surrounding area, plotting escape routes and fallback routes, in case we were attacked. It may seem like overkill, but it's always best to be prepared. We even reviewed terrain maps of the park to find the optimal picnic spot that gave us the best viewing spot.

My father didn't stop soon enough and we hit the barrier at the front of the parking spot. He acted like this was a perfectly normal method of parking and hopped out of the car. Everyone else rushed to get out the back. I think they were excited for a boring day of being normal. I felt myself frown in spite of myself when I saw Trixie and Mike walk off, holding hands. I was actually mostly upset that they left us to carry and setup everything, but Ben saw my reaction and interpreted as me not liking them holding hands. I think he was going to ask me to walk with him. To my surprise, I was disappointed he hadn't. I would have gone with him. I'm getting soft, I thought to myself, and decided I should do sprints later to make up for it.

I carried the blankets and a chair for my mother, and we went up to our preselected spot. My mother still needed a cane to support her walking. Ben grabbed the basket of food my Mother and Trixie had prepared for us. My father had the hairbrained idea that he would setup a freestanding hammock to lie in. I was certain that it was going to end in some sort of disaster.

As we laid all the food out to eat, Ben looked more and more excited at the spread. I didn't know what that meant, but I hoped he didn't expect me to do anything like that. He was just going to get a basket full of energy bars at best. Personally, I just saw a lot of carbs. I settled next to the fruit, since that seemed to be the healthiest choice out of what my mother packed, and started to scan the park. I wasn't just looking to see where my sister and Mike had gone, but I also wanted to make sure that we weren't being spied on. Maybe I was also trying to ignore ben, who seemed to be hovering around the blanket. It was all so awkward having my mother there.

"Please sit down, Benjamin. Enjoy yourself," my mother suggested, and indicated the blanket right next to me.

What was she playing at, I asked myself, and could feel my shoulders tense, which seemed to make Ben confused as his eyes darted back and forth. I was tense because I wanted him to sit next to me, but I didn't want him to sit next to me with my mother a few feet away. I know that this was causing some problems for us, or, at least, it was getting confusing for him. I knew that it was my fault, but I didn't know what to do. But, the last thing I ever expected him to do was to throw a grape at me.