Spy School: Operation Golden Hawk

Chapter 15

Hello again. I have literally nothing to say except the obvious answer to the trivia question; BERICA. The only other answer I will accept is Zike. Possibally Calexander, but it is berica. Enjoy chapter 15!

Mike's POV

All of us had taken an internal beating after Ben's death, but Erica had been the worst. Nobody had seen her out of her room since we got the news that the arm DNA matched. We all basically knew that it almost guaranteed Ben's death, and Erica kept blaming herself. We kept trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that there was nothing she could have done without her dying as well. She still wouldn't talk to anyone though, except for Catherine. The only things that we knew about Erica came from her. Apparently Erica hadn't changed clothes, showered, put on makeup, brushed her teeth, or done her hair since Ben death. The only thing that could be compared to how she was feeling was when everyone thought that Joshua had died. 

We (me, Zoe, Jawa, Chip, Alexander, Catherine and Cyrus) were trying to plan Ben's funeral. Nobody had really come up with anything, and we all agreed that someone needed to get Erica out of her room because she was the best at planning things. I decided that  I needed to get her because while Catherine was the only person that she would listen to, I was the one that really knew how she was feeling because I knew Ben the best and the longest. The walk to her room felt as long as the walk from New York to San Francisco would have felt. When I arrived, I hesitated before knocking. "Who is it?" I heard Erica say between sobs. "It's Mike." I replied, and she instantly said "Go away." I sighed, knowing it wouldn't have been easy. "Erica, you can't hide in your room forever. I knew Ben a lot better and longer than you did, and this was no picnic for me either. But I realized that the world wasn't going to stop for one person. We need you Erica, and you need us. So please, let me in." I finished, and I heard a muffled "Fine."

When I entered, I instantaneously found a difference. There were things all over the ground, and there was a thin layer of dust on everything. The last time I had seen her room (also the first time I had seen it), everything had been spotlessly clean. Erica might have been an even bigger mess. Her hair was long, tangled, and in front of her face. She wasn't wearing a shirt, and her bra was soaked from tears. Her bed was unmade and the sheets were thrown everywhere, and her throw pillows were on the floor and all of them had a damp spot in the center. There was a cardboard cutout of Ben leaning up against the wall, and the teapot was behind it without its top. The room seemed very out of place, especially knowing that it was Erica's.

"Mike, you wanted to talk to me?" Erica said as I closed the door. "Yeah. We are trying to plan Ben's funeral," she burst out into a whole knew wave of tears "and we need your help. None of us are coming up with any good ideas, and Ben spent the most time with you over the past month or so." I said. She continued crying into a throw pillow, and said, "Mike, how are you all together. I mean, you said it yourself; you knew Ben much longer than the rest of us did. So how are you coping with this?" She asked me, and I didn't really know what to say. "I don't know, I just keep thinking that he is just on some sort of mission until everybody else has recovered." I got out, and sat down with my arm around her. "Come on Erica. We need you, and by the looks of it you need us. We can help each other." I said, and she sniffled. "The only person I need right now is Ben." She said, and I stood up and I pulled her up. "Erica, come on. Don't mourn his death, at least not by yourself. He was a great guy, but you can't do anything just by sitting here." I told her, and she lightly kissed my cheek. "Thanks Mike." She forced a smile on her face. "Any time. It's what friends are for, right?" I returned her smile, and we went to the others. 

Erica had a lot of good ideas, as well as the rest of us. Erica being there just kick started our thought process. Time was inching by slowly, but at the same time it was a blur and I couldn't remember anything. We were having 2 separate funerals, one for spies and one for the general public, mostly his family and a few of his outside friends. We heard that Jessica Shang was flying in from China, learning the news from Gods know where. The everyone from the school was invited to the one where we celebrated his spying accomplishments, and we were holding that one first. Erica, Zoe and me would talk during that one, and we set out to write our speeches. My was pretty old-fashioned, talking about him being a great friend and stuff. I really wasn't in the mood to write a eulogy for my best friend's funeral, but I managed to write somewhere over 500 words. I put it to the side of my desk and fell asleep. 

tImE sKiP

Erica's POV

It was the day of the funeral that the school would attend. I had a lot of trouble writing my eulogy, because there were so many things that I wanted to say but I had a maximum of 2500 words. It was outside, where we usually played capture the flag. I tried to stay in the back towards the school where no one would notice me, but I was one of the most affected people by his death so people wanted to talk to me. In the end, I went back to my old self and told people that if they didn't leave me alone, I would cram their eyes in their ears. That got rid of the crowd pretty quickly. I made my way to the front, and sat down in my seat. Mike and Mom were on either side of me, talking quietly with their love. I just sat back and tried to distract myself from the funeral itself, but I couldn't and I felt tears in my eyes. I just sat there crying to myself. I felt Mom put her arm around me.

When it was my turn to give my eulogy, I stopped the flow of tears that was coming. I was giving the first one, Mike second and then Zoe. When I got to the podium, my eyes went blurry. I had memorized it though, so I didn't even need the paper. "First of all, if any one wants to say anything before I start, you are welcome to." I looked around the audience, and someone in the back raised their hand. "Yeah I'd like to say something." A familiar voice said. It took me a second to place it, but when I figured it out I knew it couldn't be. Before I could do anything, I swayed and dropped to the ground.

Who is it? Who is it? Any guesses? Happy Father's day by the way, to anyone that actually is a father. A little poll because I am wondering; do you guys pronounce Zoe like Zo or Zo-e? I just feel like I am the only person that thinks it is Zo. Anyway, peace!