Erika Bell

**Erika Bell** is a major character in Season 1 of Ward University. She is portrayed by starring cast member Zarii Arri and debuts in the series premiere, Freshmen.

Following the footsteps of her older brother Jasper Bell, Erika enrolls at Ward University exactly a year after him - in the hope of being reunited with him and finally being able to follow her dream of being a professional dancer. But once she sets foot in Del Sol Valley, reality hits her in the face like a brick wall: maybe life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and there's probably a reason why her brother has gone MIA since leaving their childhood home.

In season 1, Erika's arc is mainly focused on navigating the thin line that separates adolescence from adulthood, and becoming her own person when she's suddenly cut off from every supportive figure she's ever known - her parents and her older brother. This is not to say she has to take the journey alone: accompanying her are her wise roommate, Fatima Antar, her classmates, and a charming if chaotic aspiring filmmaker named Raja Banerjee.

## Early Life

Erika was born and raised in Brindleton Bay. The second child of Rufus and Nora Bell, Erika grew up under the protective wing of her older brother, Jasper Bell, who she always saw as an example to follow and as her own personal hero. This sentiment was exacerbated by their parents, who always put Jasper and his artistic talents on a pedestal, while paying Erika little to no mind.

In episode 7 of Season 1, Harvest Fest Heist, Erika recalls a vacation she took with her family in Sulani when she was a kid. The small incident she describes, no matter how seemingly irrelevant, was a huge milestone in her development as a child, that further corroborated her conviction that she would be lost without her brother.

> We found this beautiful waterfall. And we would play in the water, and we were so happy, but then… you wanted to know what was on the other side. You were always like that, always wanting to know what was next. I was too scared to come with you, and when I saw you disappear behind the water, I… I just froze. As I waited for you to emerge, I had this horrible thought in my head that I would never see you again. I was so relieved when you came back. And that's how I feel right now. It's like I'm waiting for you to come back through that waterfall all over again.
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## Throughout the Series

* Season 1
* Season 2

Episode 1: Freshmen

The first time Erika appears in the series, she's seen having dinner with her parents the night before leaving for Ward University. During dinner, Erika's parents comment on Venessa Jeong's recent murder - which they just heard about on the news - and hope Erika will be able to take care of herself in a place as dangerous as Del Sol Valley. Nora Bell is especially worried, considering how much her older son, Jasper Bell, has changed since moving there and meeting Ryan Flint. Rufus Bell, on the other hand, doesn't think it's a big deal that Jasper distanced himself from his family, and comments that he's probably just busy - as "artists always are". Later that evening, Erika sends Jasper a text reminding him that she'll arrive at Ward University the following day, and telling him that she can't wait to see him.

As soon as she arrives at school, Erika starts looking for her brother, but doesn't have much luck. Holly Reynolds suggests she talk to Ryan Flint, but when Erika reaches Ryan's room she is blinded by his charm and handsomeness. Ryan informs Erika that Jasper is not living at the dorms, which is news to Erika. He then tells her she'll probably meet Jasper at the freshman party, before casually slamming the door in her face.

Soon after, Erika finds her own room and meets her roommate, Fatima Antar, to whom she immediately starts ranting about her current situation: Fatima is confused, but also amused and intrigued by Erika's ramblings about her "missing brother," so she offers to accompany her to that evening's party.

Pretty soon after joining the party, Erika and Fatima run into Jasper, and Fatima decides to give the siblings some space. Erika immediately tries to question Jasper about him living off-campus while receiving money from their parents to pay for on-campus housing, but Jasper avoids giving her any straight answers and convinces her to let loose and party with him for the night.

Episode 2: What Are You Doing Here?

The day before classes start, Fatima Antar makes a video to introduce her roommate - Erika - to her followers. Erika is very excited to appear in Fatima's video and to have already found a friend.

On the first day of classes, Erika is seen participating in Eva Drawn's first lesson of the year. She then joins Fatima for lunch and introduces her to her classmates Kaci Reign and Raymond Stainfield. Fatima, who is currently working on an assignment and has already had an unfortunate encounter with Raymond in the previous episode, is not too happy to be disturbed at the moment, but manages to be friendly enough. Erika comments on the fact that she's happy to have people to talk to, especially considering the fact that her own brother Jasper Bell isn't doing so at the moment. Soon after, Erika receives a phone call from Rufus Bell. When Erika tries to tell her father about what's going on with her, she is interrupted by her parents' demands for information about her brother instead. Erika lies and tells her parents that Jasper showed her around the school, introduced her to his friends and went out with her for ice cream. After the phone call, Fatima immediately figures out that Erika wasn't honest with her parents, and Erika justifies herself saying that she didn't want to hurt them: Jasper's always been their favourite child, and Erika claims to be okay with that - in fact, she understands it, as she also thinks very highly of him. Erika comments that it feels wrong to be "so far away from him now", even when they're "in the same room".

Some time later, when Erika arrives in Professor Drawn's class, Kaci and Raymond angrily comment on the fact that some actresses joined the dance class to steal their roles in the Christmas musical. The actresses - namely Candy Ward, Lori Caberera, Drusilla Clemonte, and Mei Ji - hear them and decide to talk back, threatening Kaci to snitch on her with Judith Ward. Raymond then advises Kaci to let go, and Ryan Flint enters the room soon after. Erika is seen looking longingly towards him.

During a montage, Erika is seen staring at her brother from a distance, but lacking the courage to approach him.

Nearing the end of the episode, Erika is seen hanging out with her large group of new friends in the quad. Tia Frost - whom Erika met through Cleo Harper - comments on Erika staring at Jasper, thinking she might have a crush on him, but Erika quickly specifies that he is her brother. Tia then tells Erika about Jasper being her best friend at Ward University right until the moment he started hanging out with Ryan and Gideon Jones. She knows where Jasper's living at the moment, and offers to accompany Erika there to see what her brother's been up to for herself.

Episode 3: The Auditions Begin

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## Personality

Erika is a very positive, albeit naive, young woman. She has a tendency to see the best in people, which makes her easy to deceive and manipulate - this is very clearly shown in episode 4, Flashbacks, where she falls for Lori Caberera's words and truly believes she means to help her win Ryan Flint's heart, despite her friends' and Charlie Zimmer's warnings. Of course, her kind and favorable attitude also has positive repercussions, and it's the reason why Erika finds herself surrounded by a large group of friends almost immediately after arriving at Ward University.

A hopeless romantic and a bit of a child at heart, Erika walks through life with zeal and passion, pouring her heart and soul into every endeavour and never turning away the chance to prove herself in the face of adversity: she has an innate talent for being herself despite her insecurities, which she forces herself to overcome in more than one occasion. All Erika ever needs to bounce back from a bad situation is a good cry and the company of her friends, so her moments of despair, however dramatic and theatrical, never last very long.

Some of the events during the course of Season 1 do manage to bring out Erika's bad side. It turns out that, on occasion, Erika has a tendency to take her anger and/or frustration out on people close to her. This is a direct consequence of her lack of experience in "real world" matters: her mostly happy and sheltered childhood left her unable to properly process and understand negative and/or complex emotions.

## Relationships

* Jasper Bell
* Raja Banerjee
* Fatima Antar

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## Notes and Trivia

* Erika is a Sagittarius.
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