Smokescreen

9

Erica walked, her pace slightly stilted by the brace on her left ankle. Stares followed her as she made her way to the principal's office. She marveled at how small most of them looked, wondering how she had gotten so old so quickly. The youngest of them all were half her size, but she remembered that at their age, she had been able to take on fully grown men.

"I'd like to know Benjamin Ripley's dorm number. I have details that I would like to inform him of." That was true, but her curiosity guided her somewhere else. Ben had been avoiding her. Cornering him in the one place that he might be vulnerable would be a good idea. It'd been nearly a week since she was discharged from the medical wing, and just over a month since she'd been rescued, and, yet, she had only seen Ben, who was supposed to be overseeing her case, a handful of times.

"I-I'm afraid that's classified, A-agent Hale." The principal squeaked. Erica scoffed, unsure as to why she was so fixated on this. She resisted the urge to reach for her weapon, to treat the man who had done nothing, like a villain. Maybe that was his mistake. It was hers, certainly. They both stood by, and did nothing as a boy broke down under the burden of the world that he was unjustly given, like Atlas holding the sky.

"Do I look like I care about that?" Erica leaned over the desk, striking an imposing figure for only a moment before her muscles tried to give out on her. She sighed, running her hand over her face. Erica was tired, exhausted of the continuous fight, the continuous escape from death and enemies; she longed for the respite that was promised but never given. It always seemed within her reach until it was snatched away from her.

The principal shakily reached into his desk and opened a file after shuffling through plenty. His hand extended, like God in the creation of Adam, giving her the information she seeked. Erica was unsure if she'd ever understand him. Maybe part of her did. The principal was one of them once, wasn't he? He knew the longing of validation, the need to prove that you could do it that so many of them experience. The principal was the target of the ire of many students for things he couldn't control, just like they were.

"Thank you." Her eyes softened slightly, snatching the manila folder hungrily and walking away to devour the information inside. The door closed behind her, but she paid it no heed. The people passing assumed her snub of their greetings was that of arrogance, like they had for years. They saw the beautiful woman with the legacy she held, and sneered behind her back. She, above all, had had to prove her worth more than most of them. People saw how beautiful, and how aware she was of her own brilliance, and took it as arrogance when she was just confident, and knew her own worth, her own strength beyond looks.

Erica had been hurting long before Ben had come along. She hid it behind a shield of ice, wary of the people who wanted to appraise the connections that she could give them. She envied Ben back then. His family was normal. He had the chance at a normal life. She had to remind everyone of her prowess to prove that she was still there, that she was still surviving. She thought he was insane when he decided to stay. Why would you choose a life of misery, always running, when you could have the comfort of a home and a family? Not that Erica ever had that.

Alexander had made steps throughout the years, for which she had Ben to thank, but she couldn't let him in. She remembered the many days spent, waiting at the door of her grandfather's house, staring out of the small peephole of the innocent yellow house in the suburbs of the capital, watching and praying. He was always late, strolling through the door to find Erica in tears, wondering if her father was ever coming home- if he loved her. Alexander was cavalier about it too, telling her that worrying was silly and he would always coming back. But her mom left, and Alexander didn't always come back.

Erica had been exposed to death by a young age. One of her first memories was being held hostage and being forced to watch her grandmother- Natalia Hale, a former spy herself- being tortured and eventually killed for information. Cyrus Hale, a grieving widower, paranoid of losing more family, took it upon himself to train his granddaughter to defend herself. But the experience and the training had left scars on Erica. So Erica gave Ben the same gift that her grandfather gave to her- the knowledge of how to protect yourself in the world of sharks.

She knocked on the familiar dorm room that she hadn't visited in years. The light oak wood door was thin- too thin to be truly protective- and she hoped that Ben had the sense to put other precautions in his room. The handle turned, so she stepped back slightly, her hand aloft and her heart beating. It sunk to her stomach when the door opened because of the sight she saw inside.

"Hello?" A voice said, stuttering slightly. It was high, innocent, not yet exposed to the horrors of espionage. She looked down to see a small boy, only about one and a half meters, maybe just a bit more. She inhaled a breath at his brown eyes that betrayed vulnerability and surprise, reminded of someone she had seen long ago.

"I'm looking for Ben Ripley?" She phrased it as a question, realising that her information had been false as she examined the trifles that were littered around the room. It was open, the windows unobscured by curtains or metal shields. In all honesty, it still contained the slightly impersonal aura of a person still uncomfortable with their surroundings. She looked back at the kid, who continued to stare up at her with a gaping mouth.

"Y-You're Erica Hale." He squeaked. She nodded, quirking an eyebrow. The boy realised himself, nervously wringing his hands. Erica blinked, her memory betraying her and straying to the image of a young boy who she had been the saviour of, long ago.

"Agent Ripley?" Erica Hale questioned again, her expression betraying her interest. The boy twisted his lips, crossing his left leg behind his right to rub his ankle. He slowly shook his head.

"This has been my room since the beginning of the year. Are you asking about the guy that the older kids told me to stay away from?"

Her heart dropped.