Spy School: Zoe or Erica?

Distraught Minds

I was awoken by the clattering of a plate on my bedside table.

"Hello, Ben," Catherine whispered from beside me, "Time to wake up."

Time to wake up!? I thought, glancing at the clock. It's 4:23 AM in the freaking morning!

But on the outside, I just said "ok," and started eating my breakfast as quickly as my stomach could handle. The faster I got done with this, the faster I could be done with the mission and the faster I could get some sleep (which obviously, was the most important).

After Catherine exited my room, I clipped my handheld weapons to my waist and changed, brushed my teeth and my hair, and headed over to the main area where the rest of my friends were waiting.

I got a quick "hi" from Mike, Chip, and Jawa, but nothing from the girls. Not like I wanted anything from them anymore from what happened yesterday.

Erica was sitting by herself in the corner of the room, reading a newspaper. I doubt she was actually taking in the information though, considering the fact that she always was keeping an eye on her surroundings in case of an intruder.

And, of course, since I was bored and Zoe was giving me the evil eye from the other corner, I decided to go over and talk to the infamous Ice Queen.

"Hey," she said when I reached within reaching distance of her. "How's the little medal I gave you yesterday?"

"Nothing happened to it," I said, eyebrows raising in interest. "Did you bug it with some kind of technology?"

"You'll have to find that out yourself. For now, though, you'll be working with Zoe."

"Wha- wait, who assigned us together as a team for the mission?" I said, glancing over at Catherine, who was smiling deviously. I silently cursed all annoying moms.

"You two are assigned to decorate the grand hall to prepare for the banquet," Erica said, puffing up her chest. "I get the good mission: scan the surroundings of SPYDER's new hideout."

"You get the dangerous mission," I said. "Me and Zoe are safe. And that's what I care about."

"You don't care about my safety?" Erica said, patting my cheek. "Good boy, you've finally noticed how the fate of the CIA is more important than my life."

"Don't you say good boy to me!" I shouted back at Erica, who was already walking out the hall. "I'm not-"

"Sit!" she shouted back. "Stay!"

I rolled my eyes and walked back towards Mike and Jawa, to be stopped by a pair of hands from behind me that stopped my body from moving further.

"I said stay," Erica hissed from behind me, pulling me back to my original spot and grinning at my awed face. "That means you stay here until I say otherwise."

"I- you literally just teleported a hundred feet to behind me!" I said. "How is that even possible!?"

"I have my ways," Erica shouted from the end of the hallway 200 feet away. "And you'll never know them."

What!? I thought. First, she teleports behind me from a hundred feet away, then within two seconds she's all the way at the end of the hallway!? How-

I decided not to dwell on it. Erica is Erica, and Erica is superhuman. No questioning the facts.

In the meantime, I still had something more important to worry about: my partnership with Zoe on the mission. Most likely, the situation will be her pampering me with reasons I shouldn't fall for Erica. Then it would end up with me agreeing, then two days later, Zoe will be shouting at me again. That's the circle of life for me.