Spy School: Zoe or Erica?

Always Expect the Unexpected

With a defiant shout, Erica launched herself straight at the pummeling obstacle...

And grabbed onto it, managing a grip as if she had spider-man skills. She was hugging the pendulum and holding on for dear life.

Then, when the pendulum swung at a specific angle, Erica launched herself at the next pendulum and held on with American Ninja Warrior worthy grip. 

This continued for the next few pendulums, and she swung from one to another like Tarzan in the jungle. For each one, she managed to grab ahold of it at a nearly impossible angle and grip on, going from one to another with superhuman skills.

Mike sighed behind me then chucked a buck at my face, temporarily flashing George Washington's nostrils into my pupil. I flinched at snagged the bill in midair, shoving it into my pocket and grinning.

"She hasn't even completed the obstacle yet," I said, smiling. 

"At the looks of it, she managed to break the odds. I can bet you another dollar that she finishes. Heck, I could bet my life savings." Mike said, pointing at Erica, who was on the last pendulum. 

Swiftly, she swung her legs up from behind and flew towards the end platform. Doing a backflip in midair, she landed perfectly in a Spider-Man position with finesse, not even a drop of sweat on her face.

Coach looked at her and nodded as if this wasn't impressive at all. It made sense since he had been coaching Erica for a while now, and he was pretty used to these amazing feats of athleticism. Something like this wasn't unusual for her to coach.

Squinting at the coach, I could see him quickly scribble an A+ on Erica's box. I sighed. Everyone else would be failing, while Erica can easily outdo them. It seemed unfair, but that was the point of being a spy. A spy's life was brutally unfair, this being a clear example.

Erica strode back to the line, deftly avoiding any high-five attempts or fist bumps. She shoved her way up to me and slipped something in my pocket. 

"Good luck," she muttered, then disappeared in the crowd.

It suddenly occurred to me that it was my turn to face the obstacle. 

And without help, I would most likely fail. There goes my grade. Ppft. Like it was even good in the first place.

Slipping my hand in my pocket, I inspected the thing that Erica had given me. Curiosity took over me, and I pulled it out. 

From the looks of it, it was a small, white sphere. It could fit for a paintball, but it was a little too small for that. Maybe more like a BB.

It stuck to my hand, kind of like gum. It was clinging to my palm like holding on for dear life.

Coach, who was getting impatient at this point, shouted pointedly and waved his hand towards the obstacle. I slowly crept forward, almost muting the words of encouragement from Zoe and Mike.

Quickly, I ran towards the first pendulum. I almost slipped but managed to keep my balance from falling into the muddy water. Before I knew it, a second one came by. 

I managed to avoid the first three before slipping. My feet went out from under me whilst running from the third pendulum, and I landed flat on my stomach. Fortunately, I was still on the course and hadn't fallen off. After a brief mental calculation, I concluded the odds of this happening were thinner than a sheet of ice.

A thought suddenly struck me. Before I had mentioned this obstacle to be like a slip 'n slide. And here I was, flat on my belly, in the perfect position to slide.

I pushed myself forward and slid perfectly towards the end of the course. The pendulums were perfectly placed so that there was a small distance between the bottom of them and the floor, so I could slide through perfectly without being hit off.

Gleefully, I reached the end and belly-flopped into the platform. This didn't annoy me, because I had just aced my final grade and outsmarted the teacher.

Coach, on the other hand, was furious. 

"Contrabanded!" he was saying, face red. "Unorderly!"

"I did what you told me to do," I said smugly, striding past him. "Quote, 'Make it to the end while avoiding the obstacles.' You never specified that we had to do it on any specific way."

Walking over to the exit, I glanced back to see my grade. It was a shining A plus. 

I smiled. Ben Ripley has struck again.