"Scarlet Romanoff. Just the person I need around right now." Agent Hill sighed and sunk back down into her chair. She looked tired and stressed, but that wasn't unusual. It was unusual for her to not want me around. Normally I would just march into her office after a stressful class and we would talk about how much fun it is being part of the Avengers.
"Agent Hill are you okay?" I know I'm not the most sensitive person in the world, but if this stress involved the Avengers, I needed to know. Agent Hill just looked down at Sienna and I as we stood in front of her desk. While I was waiting for an answer I could see Sienna fiddling with her dagger. Hopefully she wasn't planning on assassinating the principal.
"I'm fine." Somehow she didn't sound convincing. Sienna looked up at Agent Hill every few minutes but she seemed otherwise occupied with her dagger. There was something about it that just didn't seem right.
"You don't seem fine. Tell me what's going on."
"This is adult business Scarlet. It would be best if you stayed out of it." Now that was rude. Why do adults always think that I'm not responsible enough to know important information? I have the exact same right as them to know.
"When do I ever stay out of other people's business? I like to cause trouble by doing so. Now what is the problem that is stressing you out!" The glass on the desk shook a little bit but I couldn't imagine my yelling being that loud.
"If only you weren't such a troublemaker," Agent Hill smiled. What was that supposed to mean. '
"I don't follow." My comment was kind of bland but it got the message through. I had no idea what Agent Hill was talking about which was highly unusual.
"You don't have to Scarlet. Now I believe that your friend here is new." The principal looked back at a Sienna who quickly slid her dagger into her pocket when she realised she was being watched. Sienna sat down at the desk and began to fill in her details. I can't believe that Agent Hill was ignoring the subject. What had I done wrong this time? It clearly had something to do with my constant mischief making. If it didn't Agent Hill wouldn't have brought up the fact that I was a troublemaker. Even though it is one hundred percent true.
I stood in the corner of the office and watched the two chat about school things that I really couldn't care about. The only thing I could think about was whatever Agent Hill was hiding. I was going to make it my business to find out what was going on. That would be my first priority. Now, how do you discover what someone's hiding? You spy on them of course! What a fun thing to do.
***
"I'm not sure this is legal." Nathaniel was all jittery and nervous. He was unsure about spying on a teacher. Apparently it could result in us getting expelled. The only one worrying about expulsion was Nathaniel. He had never even gotten a detention, let alone becoming expelled. Being a goody two shoes isn't really the best reputation for a ten year old boy anyway. This would fix that reputation right up.
"It's also not legal to bring a weapon to school but I do it." Sienna started waving her dagger around in the air so Nathaniel could get a clear view of it. Nathaniel just bent backwards to avoid getting whacked by it. Not that I could blame him for not wanting to get cut.
We were sitting out on the playground under the big oak tree. It was difficult to sit anywhere else because they don't let boys and girls into each other's rooms. I'm not entirely sure why but I think it has to do with the older kids. The middle school girls always seem to be hanging around the boys their age. I really don't understand how this school works.
"You nerds plotting something?" I turned to see the annoying James Stark standing behind us with his usual group of jerks. I hated how James always acted so cool. If anyone was the nerd it was him. He was so smart that he skipped year three and went straight to year four. If I remember anything my Mom told me about the Stark's, it is to avoid them. Apparently they are smart billionaires with big egos.
"I wouldn't call us nerds, Mr A plus. Just because your rich doesn't mean you own the place." I honestly regret standing in front of him, looking him in the eyes. Once again I felt short. I really hate the older kids. I watched as James whispered something to the two big kids next to him before eying me back.
"Watch your mouth assassin!" Next thing I knew the kids had hold of my arms and I was pinned up against a tree. No matter how much I struggled they still managed to hold me down. James called for some rope and a few pieces were passed over to him. Did he plan this whole thing? Now there were kids tying the rope around me and the tree so I was attached to it. They tied my waist, chest and forearms. I was glad that they ran out of rope before they could do my legs. That left me with one form of defence.
I looked around for Nathaniel and just like usual he had run off. What a great best friend I have. Sienna had either joined him or gotten lost in the fifth grade crowd. She was only as tall as me so that wouldn't have been too hard. The older boys let go of my arms and left me to dangle from the tree. Now my jacket would have bark all over it. If it got ripped I would let loose on James.
As I kicked my legs around like a lunatic, I saw James start to approach the tree. There was a crowd behind him and kids seemed to be joining every second. James stood right in front of me, or at least as close as he could without getting kicked. I couldn't even reach him when I pointed my toes.
"Shame I have to do this to such a pretty girl." James only spoke quietly, but smoothly. It took me a while to process what he said. Then I realised that he had just complimented me. That was completely unexpected. He hates me, but he is a Stark. All Stark's do is flirt. I was looking at the Stark boy when I saw a green figure lingering behind him. There was only one green person I knew. I tried not to smile or give away the fact that my friend was near. It is actually really hard to avoid staring at someone who is green. Not that that's a bad thing.
"You know what Stark, I have something to tell you. If you want to know come closer." I'm so glad that James fell for my lie. He took two steps closer and then I kicked him right in the stomach. James fell to the floor and I saw Sienna run and leap onto him. He was about to get up but Sienna punched him right in the cheek. A few kids laughed while others looked away. I don't understand why you would have to look away from something this funny. James grabbed hold of Sienna's collar and threw her across the ground. She may have been strong but it was impossible for her to hold her ground. Sienna got up almost instantly but Stark was ready to fight. He kneed her in the stomach and sent Sienna crashing into a little group of girls. They all ignored her and backed away from the injured girl. Stupid older girls. Sienna sat on the ground and waited for James to come closer before she swung her leg and knocked him over by surprise. She stood up and stepped onto his back. Sienna finally had the jerk pinned down on the ground.
"Scarlet catch." Sienna tossed me her dagger and a few kids gasped. I needed to get loose somehow. Thankfully I have always had good reflexes and I caught the daggers handle. I did manage to cut the tips of a few fingers on the blade but nothing serious. The rope was near my elbow and I bent my forearms enough so I could cut my chest free. I could now breathe properly, how nice. I moved my wrist back enough to cut my right arm loose which made cutting my left arm loose a lot easier. Unfortunately the stomach rope wasn't very tight and I slid down the trunk a little. I quickly chopped the rope that was keeping me attached to the tree. As soon as I cut it I dropped to the ground with a thud. At least I was free of rope.
I had been paying so much attention to cutting myself free that I hadn't realised that Sienna was trying to take on the two bigger kids that had pinned me against the tree. James was being tended to by some of the girls around him which almost made me barf. He couldn't be that badly injured. Probably just a few scrapes and bruises.
In an effort to help Sienna I lunged for one of the kids and forgot I had a dagger in my hand. When he saw me he immediately surrendered and backed away. No one wants to fight a girl with a dagger. Sienna kicked the other boy in the chest and then swung him down onto the ground. She was like some kind of super ninja.
"Nice fighting partner." We stood in between the two big idiots and triumphantly high fived. What a day it has been. While the two of us smiled about knocking some kids out, the crowd eventually started to leave. They weren't very impressed now that the violence had stopped.
"You know I didn't picture you as a fighter Scarlet." Sienna put her arm around me and I couldn't help but feel happy. For once in my life I actually had a friend that understood me and enjoys causing mischief. Hopefully one day we could actually fight along side each other for real. Except the chances of that are very low. "But I'm glad you are. I thought that there would be no one like me on earth, but I was wrong." Sienna made a good point. How many people come to school thinking they would meet someone like them. Especially when you are the daughter of a highly trained warrior.
"I'm glad I met you Sienna. Your not like anyone else I've met." We stood around the others, ignoring the fact that we were cut and bruised. It was nice and calm until I heard chatter and a teachers voice. Agent Dunn was standing in the crowd with my best friend beside her. What had Nathaniel done? When I saw her I dropped the dagger that I had been previously holding. It made no noise as it dropped and hopefully Agent Dunn hadn't seen me holding it.
"You two to the principals office. Everyone else either back away or head straight for the nurses office." Agent Dunn grabbed onto our arms and started to drag us along with her. She was holding onto one of my bruises and her tight grip was making it hurt. Sienna was trying her best to walk along the ground but Agent Dunn seemed to be lifting us up a little. Hopefully Nathaniel would find Sienna's dagger and return it to her. For now we just had to survive an interrogation.