by C. S Luis
“Well, I'm nothing like her,” I softly said.
“No, you’re not,” Dr. Black said, which surprised me. I felt a little insulted.
15
Dr. John Black
“I know what I am. You don’t have to be rude,” she was quick to say.
“I’m not,” I gazed at her puzzled. “You are far more beautiful than her. Your mother must have been very beautiful too if she looked anything like you,” I said as she suddenly blushed, realizing her mistake. She looked embarrassed, slightly lowering her gaze from me. She seemed speechless. It appeared she didn’t think much of herself until I had said something to her.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” she bashfully said while turning away. “Thank you for the…uh…” She uttered, lifting the framed photograph and then hurrying out.
Had I upset her again? I didn’t even know how. What had I said to insult her this time? I rose, confused, and tried calling her back, but she disappeared before I could.
“Miss Belle?” And just like that, she was gone.
16
Claudia Belle
Later that same day, after lunch but before I hurried to Michael’s class, Alex caught up to me in the hallway. My schedule had changed slightly. I didn’t notice her until she was walking alongside me and began to speak.
“Hey,” Alex softly whispered.
“Hey,” I answered back, and there was a brief silence between us as we moved through the crowded halls of Milton.
“Have you talked to the others?” I asked her.
“Nope,” she merely said while tugging at her school bag.
“You?” Alex asked me.
“Not yet,”
“So, what are you gonna do?” I asked, referring to the fact that they had stormed out of the cafeteria and left her alone with no intention of returning.
“Do about what?” She replied with laughter. “Do you think it matters what they say or the fact that they’re not talking to me? I could care less. Fuck them!”
“So, you’re not going to the party?” I asked her. She turned and gave me a huge smile.
“Are you kidding me? Of course I’m going. Who else is going to give you a ride?”
I smiled back. “I can already see the look on Tina’s face,” I added as we hurried through the crowded hallways.
“Me too,” she said. We stopped by my locker.
A handsome guy with blond hair came to the locker next to mine and it was the first time I had ever noticed him since coming to Milton. It was odd that I hadn’t. And now that I had, I couldn't stop staring at his beautiful blue eyes as he smiled back at me from behind the locker door. I couldn’t help noticing a camera strap dangling from the side of his shoulder, while at the other end was a camera sitting in the palm of his right hand.
“Photography.” he suddenly said, catching me eyeing the camera in his hands as he retrieved a small black bag from the inside of the locker and put a lens inside it.
“I’m taking photography.” he said again, in a very shy manner. I tried smiling but couldn’t help but blush and bashfully hide behind the locker door.
God, he was handsome. I bit my lips as he grinned warmly again, and Alex’s words were long forgotten at his second glance.
“Hi, I’m Jimmy Reinhart.” he politely offered.
I blushed yet again, “Oh, I'm Claudia—” I began to say until he said, “I know,” catching me off guard and making me look down in embarrassment. Of course he did, I thought. Who didn’t know me?
“Hi Jimmy,” Alex suddenly said, coming between us, “Can you excuse us? Thanks…” she rudely interrupted. Jimmy tried looking over her shoulder towards me as I did too.
She slammed the locker and grabbed my arm, leading me away from the handsome Jimmy.
“See ya”—I heard Jimmy’s voice whisper slowly as we left him behind.
I saw Jimmy moving away, disappearing down the opposite direction of the hallway but caught him looking back once or twice before he was lost in the crowd.
“Anyways, what happened with you know who?” Alex again asked, aching for details; ignoring the very fact she had just possibly ruined my chances of getting to know a very interesting guy. I was reluctant at first, although unable to make sense of it myself but knew right away who she was talking about.
Had my grandfather’s death made me a magnet for everyone’s sympathy? It was disgusting, and still, having all that attention made me feel important. I wondered whether I had longed for that all this time. Still, Dr. Black’s kindness and concern worried me. Maybe it was because I wanted to hate him but couldn’t find any real reason to. There was just something too perfect about him, and it was disgusting and disturbing. I didn’t know why.
“Come on, what did he say?” Alex pleaded.
“Who?” I said stupidly, walking down the hallway with her stumbling behind. From the other side of the hall, we caught sight of the other three: Tina, Sean, and Ruben.
Tina motioned me to their group. Even Sean and Ruben invited me to join them. I waved them away and made a motion of being tardy, and they continued on without stopping, but they were obviously disappointed that I was with Alex and not them.
“You could have gone,” Alex suddenly said, still hurrying to stay by my side.
“I didn’t want to. Besides, they’re kind of odd,” I revealed.
“Sister, that is the understatement of the century,” Alex exclaimed laughing. “Especially that Tina, but don’t let her know I told you that. Not that it really matters now. They’re never gonna talk to me anyway. I can understand if you don’t want to either since they’re still friends with you.”
“You’re my friend too,” I said as we walked up the staircase to the second floor and stopped near the window overlooking the library.
“So, you never told me what Dr. Black said to you,” Alex asked again. My class was just around the corner when we walked into the hallway, stopping right outside.
“Well?” Alex insisted, jabbing an elbow into my side.
“I don’t know what he wants. It’s weird. He said he wants to be friends,” I said to her while rolling my eyes.
“Friends?” She grinned and winked.
“I know what you’re gonna say. And no. I think he really respects my grandfather.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Who knows? And by the way, he heard you in the cafeteria.”
“Heard what?” Alex asked.
“Heard you calling me Pocahontas,” I angrily said.
“Oh, no shit! He did? Oh man, did he tell you that?” Alex said laughing and putting her hand over her mouth. She was recalling the moment now as she stopped and thought about it.
“He must have. He brought it up. He called me Pocahontas; he said he could see it,” I told her.
“I fucking told you. So, did you tell him he was your John Smith?”
“Ha-ha. No!” I angrily replied, but I blushed at her words.
“Well, what happened? What did he say?” Alex pressed me for more details.
“I don’t know; it got a bit weird, and he started speaking to me in Spanish,” I said, wrinkling a brow back at her.
“Fuck, no shit! That is strange. Is he any good?” She humored, and I rolled my eyes again.
“Very good,” I said.
“So, then?” She asked.
“I thought for a moment he was insulting me, but it turned out I was wrong. I felt stupid and just got out of there after I realized he was only being nice,” I said.
“Well, what did he say?” Alex continued.
I took a deep breath. “Nothing.”
“Oh, come on. What did that asshole say to get you so pissed off? Besides calling you Pocahontas?”
“He said I was beautiful, alright?” I blushed.
“What? And you’re pissed over that?” Alex asked.
“No. I thought he was trying to insult me. It’s only after that I realized he wasn’t. But I mean seriously, he was obviously just being nice to the poor girl who had lost
her parents. He didn’t have to go there.”
“Are you serious, girl? You haven’t noticed it yet,”
“Noticed what?” I stubbornly asked.
“You’re fucking beautiful!” Alex yelled.
“Then why did he call me that?” I’ve always seen it as a cruel joke, an insult being called Pocahontas.
“It was a fucking compliment! He was complimenting you. Didn’t you see the movies? Pocahontas is always this beautiful Native American girl with long, dark hair and dark eyes; she’s always a beautiful woman. That’s what he was saying. That’s what everyone is saying when they say it to you. Don’t take it as an insult; it’s meant as a compliment.”
I didn’t believe her, but then it made some sense. Okay, I really screwed up there. And I had known it; that’s why I raced out of there when I realized it. I felt embarrassed from his kind words. I was bad at taking compliments, I guess. I felt like an idiot. I was just too embarrassed to face him after realizing it. So I ran.
“I know I messed up on that one,” I whispered, feeling my face still burning with embarrassment.
“Exactly,” Alex said. “So, what are you going to do now?”
“Probably bury my face in the sand,” I uttered. “God, I feel like an idiot.”
“Or maybe.” She grinned.
“No,” I said, and Alex smiled.
“I’m just kidding,” she said. “Well, if he wants a friend, I can be the best one he’s ever had.” She then started laughing. Above us, the bell rang again, and I could see Michael inside setting up his lesson. Michael had finally returned to his normal duties as an English teacher. I think he’d really missed it.
“Hey, how about I pick you up at your place for school? We can drive to school together?” Alex suggested, and I smiled. I guessed it would be alright, but I was not thinking about it. I honestly didn’t want to say no.
“Sure, why not? Now you’d better get going before you’re late to class,” I said to Alex.
“Class?” She uttered. “I’ve got more important things to do. I’ll see you around.” And she waved, darting away in the other direction before the second bell rang.
17
Dr. John Black
I stood looking out the window and watching the traffic. The office still sat in utter chaos: pictures and framed certificates were among the many things in a box next to my desk. I had not finished unpacking since my arrival, but one mere box was all that was left. I had made some progress, but for now, I thought of nothing else but Miss Belle.
I could think of nothing else. I pounced angrily to my desk. What’s wrong with me? It was not merely the idea of her looking like a woman I desired but there was something unnatural about my attraction. Was that an attraction, or something inhuman that pounced at the core of my being and at the center of my soul? I didn’t even understand it. In fact, I wanted to forget it and put it out of my mind.
Concentrate. My mind was saying but I found it far harder than I thought.
Nothing had prepared me for her.
I laughed, glaring at the remaining box on my desk with uttered disinterest.
Why did I dare defy what I had to do? Define the very idea of whom I was and what I had to do as an agent of the ADA. Why now?
It was obviously her that had moved the desks and caused the lights to flicker. There was no denying it at all. It only puzzled me more noticing that other principals had tried to hide it. It was as if they knew she could do these things. And I was certain they were protecting her.
She needs to be protected, I mumbled.
Protected, John? Since when does John Slater protect anyone?
True. A small chuckle left my lips.
It was time to talk to the boss; get hold of yourself.
I came around my desk, moving the box off the table and onto the chair next to it. I opened the laptop, clicking on a file I had composed of her, of all the facts I’d gathered.
Concentrate.
I deleted the file.
The screen on the laptop came alive as a window opened in front of me; a blond-haired figure appeared, wearing dark square-framed glasses and a white clean suit, underneath a black shirt with a flashy red tie.
“Operation search and retrieve has begun, sir. I have now infiltrated and taken up the role as principal,” I simply said to the figure.
“Excellent. Maintain radio silence until the subject has been located. And only then, reestablish radio communication to arrange the retrievable. Understood?” The Man in White said from the other end.
“Are we still sure of its present location, sir?” I didn’t want to consider the idea of staying any longer in this place.
And regarding Project X, if it was among these people, I prayed to find it first before it found me. We had never been formally introduced, but Project X and I had been acquainted at one time.
“Failure is not an option. Search and retrieve; you have your orders,” The Man in White said. He hadn’t said a damn thing about the file on Claudia Belle, nor had he sent it. He wasn’t even going to mention it. It seemed he wanted me to. Bastard. He was laughing at me, wasn’t he?
“Why didn’t you tell me about the girl?” I immediately asked, and he was neither surprised nor pleased by my question. It was a naughty thing for him to have kept something as important as this from me.
What can be said about The Man in White? He was hard to read. He calmly curved a lip; his expression seemed to regard me, and he looked delighted, but I couldn’t tell for sure.
“The girl?” He asked, grinning. He didn’t seem to know what I meant. I was surprised to hear that tone in his voice for the first time.
You must report. You must.
“You didn’t know about her?” I merely asked, glaring over at him, feeling puzzled and curious. I couldn’t tell anything from his facial expression. He always kept everything close to his chest.
“How is that possible?”
“I didn’t find it necessary.” He replied.
Is that why Bryce hadn’t said anything about her to me? Then he didn’t know what she was capable of doing. Or she would have been my first priority.
“You didn’t?” Was he serious?
“As far as I know, she’s irrelevant,” he then said. I liked to think he said that when he had no answer for me.
“Irrelevant my ass; she’s Dr. Edwards’ granddaughter, and you’re trying to tell me The Company has no record of her? Bullshit!” I angrily said; he was patient, and his glassy stare made me refrain from my anger and calm down.
Bryce typed from the other end of the screen, and a file appeared immediately before us:
Family dies in a tragic car accident. Mr. Nicholas Belle and Isabella Belle perished while on a drive late Friday night. It appears Mr. Belle, a CEO businessman for a large financial firm, lost control of the car and was hit by a passing truck. The two were killed on impact.
It’s unknown whether their daughter was among the fatality; authorities are not disclosing any information at this time on the whereabouts of young Claudia Belle, a student at Portland High School.
“Congratulations, now you know more than the police, and as much as I know,” Bryce said, grinning. Her picture appeared on the screen, and the smile on his face spread. So, Nicholas Belle was her father, I thought.
“Who is she?” I asked. If he knew, he wasn’t talking, and The Man in White had his reasons; though, it was hard to see what they were. But at this point, they appeared to be irrelevant, as he had stated. Perhaps he was trying to torture me.
“No one. It’s irrelevant to your mission,” he said, the curved lip took the shape of a firm line.
“But then again, that’s not entirely true I suppose. She’s your type down to the last detail, is she not?” He added, and his eyes were now brightly mocking me. Was he laughing at me? His words stung like a bad taste. That wasn’t the problem. It’s what I sensed when I was near her. And I couldn’t possibly tell him.
He knew what I liked
; he knew my preferences in women. It wasn’t easy hiding it from him, my obvious desire to possess someone like her. I was very readable right about now, and I hated it.
“Why didn’t you tell me about her? Why?” I snarled. He knew what I would say; he knew me well, and it sickened me to think that perhaps he had given me this assignment because he wanted to see me in despair.
But perhaps I shouldn’t have lost it as I did. If I was trying to hide the fact that her appearance did not bother me then I had failed to do so. It was what I couldn’t see that was making me uneasy around her and nothing else, especially not the idea of how alike a woman I desire she appeared to be.
There was no explanation for my queer emotions, but right now, they seemed to be obvious to him. I was fixated by the fact that she was my type. At least those were his conclusions.
“Stop!” Bryce angrily hissed. “This is your mission, remember that. That’s what’s important and nothing else and most certainly not her.”
“She is important! She’s Dr. Edwards’ granddaughter; that does not make her irrelevant. You owe me an explanation!” I snarled. I couldn’t work out what angered me most; the idea I hadn’t gotten all the facts about my assignment or the fact that I couldn’t understand my uneasiness and queer devotion to her, or my disregard for procedure. Or even why I felt compelled not to tell my boss the truth about my find. That she was a minder, a female Minder! Someone he so eagerly would want to get his greedy little hands on.
“I owe you nothing. She’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned,” he calmly said, glaring at me. “The fact that she’s Dr. Edwards’ granddaughter is of very little interest to me. Far from your queer attraction, she’s of no importance.” He cruelly said once more. There was a small pause as he took a breath.
“Now that we have cleared the air, you will proceed with the mission,” he so calmly instructed.
“But,” I tried to say, fighting the urge to continue my lecture upon his cruel motives, whatever they were— because there were motives The Man in White was never without a cruel motive.