Little Spy | Peter Parker ✓

[38]

THE DOOR SWUNG AS INGA ARRIVED BACK TO THE OTHERWISE SILENT apartment, but I made no move to acknowledge her, nor did I plan on it. If she needed me, well, it wasn't as if I had anywhere to be. I would be right where I had been for a long while at that point; scribbling out vaguely written answers to broad problems that never seemed to have the right solution.

I was not a writer; of all the skills I had learned at the Red Room, writing was not one of them. It took me much longer to share the thoughts pushing at my mind in the form of a letter and make them sound both true and factual; there had to be some form of happy balance of fact and sensibility, and so far, I was failing on both levels.

My hand automatically adjusted to hide the smudging letter under the stacks of homework just before Inga walked in, leaving me to sit among the stacks of textbooks and somehow look more innocent than before. "Yes?"

"We're training now." She seemed impatient and slightly off like she was just hassled for something. What it was that was making her upset, I would never know, but that didn't stop the curiosity. "Hurry up."

She was lucky I was already prepared and wearing the workout attire she gave to me. I immediately rose and, tucking the letters and books away, followed her out into the empty room. It was, I mused, a miracle she had taken care of the noise, else the sounds would surely freak out any neighbours we head. While the building was only half full, there were still people who would surely worry. I didn't like our training, but I'd rather that then arrest warrants.

"This time," she said, tossing short waves of hair back off her face, "you're going to try, aren't you? I'm not eager in fighting a useless worm today, not like all those other times."

"I-"

"-let's see what little strength you have left in you, Freya Knight."

Her words struck a nerve I hadn't known existed in my body - or simply one I tried not to acknowledge - and a fury built in my veins. She had a point, as I hadn't tried last time, but the others times I knew I had put up a fight. My training had never been in vain, though she made it seem that way each and every time she spoke to me. I tried not to let her careless comment get to me, but it was getting harder and harder as I stood there, the only sounds coming from huffs of stale air and my heartbeat pounding louder and louder. It angered me to a degree I hadn't even known possible - it made me want to hurt her, not just win the battle. It made me feel almost...powerful.

Inga took her place a few feet away and began to watch me with a cool and calculating gaze. "Are you-"

She wouldn't finish her sentence, for in an instant I was lunging forward, taking control and knocking her to the ground with all my force. Not hesitating for a second, I threw punch after punch, rolling away with a newfound strength coursing through my bones. In an instant she had turned from a teacher to an enemy, leaving me hitting harder and faster than I ever had with her before. I wasn't sure where the stream of angry confidence came from, but it made me lose my care and gain a maniacal lust for watching her fall.

She didn't seem to take offence to this but instead seemed to relish it, grinning as we twisted and whirled on hardwood floors. She didn't throw any hits but blocked and spun away with a grace only exuded by a Russian spy. "Come on - you've got better than that, don't you?"

I flipped her arm off of mine and snarled. My leg flew out, sending her crashing to the floor, but leaving me winded and gasping when she sent a fist to my gut. I fell when she collided with me once more and Inga swooped in to seize her advantage. I still fought, but she had gotten control, and within minutes she was holding me to the ground, nails digging into bony wrists and a smile decorating red lips.