mom always starts her lectures with me being too honest for my own good. whenever i grow a backbone and talk back that how she does expect me to lie when it's against the moral, she steamrolls me by saying that it's a white lie. what the heck does that even mean? how am i to know if it's there colours for lying?

should i now expect for green or blue lie? or god forbid—pink lie?

no, lord, have mercy.

my point is for instance, when i—ehem—accidentally told her of my first visit to detention during middle school, she kinda flipped out. come on; was it wrong of me to find it stupid how some prick of a teacher couldn't even wait to get my butt in trouble? no one could resist this bootie, i tell ya.

that's just me talking to myself, sorry. moving on—

my first day at sky high doesn't start out too well, and with the lack of background info on all these superhumanity shit, it gets only worse. for one: the subjects aren't exactly kids-friendly (have you seen the guns they're working on?!), two: they kill each other for sport (i pretty sure my eyes didn't lie when i saw the pit of shiny razors in the gym) and three: they have an alien for a teacher (that's a huge head, bub)

why, why does my power has to manifest when i'm in the peak of my graduation? not that this place isn't cool but it's too much for me to handle!

despite being a senior, i am to be escorted with the freshmen to the gym (while avoiding the suspicious pit at the same time) for 'power placement'. whatever it is, it is some sort of fantastic chaste system, enabling the instructors to judge the worth of every kid's power while at the same humiliating them!

or maybe that's just me being bitter for being placed in sidekick track.

i don't care whether it's called the hero support or the loser club or whatever bollocks, people should know that i don't do sidekick. there's a reason why aaron calls me queen control.

since it's the start of a new semester, everyone is busy greeting their friends after the long summer holiday, which ultimately leaves me feeling like a sitting duck in this unfamiliar setting. determined to at least fish a new friend, i plant on the most phoniest, friendliest smile, the instant i barge into the cafeteria.

i am not the friendliest person on earth but they don't know that. yet.

sensing eyes on me, i look up to be greeted with a group of color-coded kids, who have been eyeing me in curiosity. they all look pretty nice, save for the leather-wearing jacket guy and the black-haired girl who look too bored to care. still, another girl of the group gestures to one empty spot on the said table, smiling somewhat encouragingly, as if inviting me to sit with them.

i was about to sit with them.

only to backtrack and do the most yellowest thing as i sit with a less 'happening' group of one girl and two boys. if i am to pay any attention, i would've noticed a noticeable hush descends over the student body when i take a sit there.

"who the hell are you?" demands one of the boys, the portly one with a snapback cap. he intends to intimidate me, but all i can see is how he looks a bit disturbed by my more-than-slasher-smile.

why am i smiling like a lunatic? well, it was dad's brilliant advice to get people to like me. and i don't even know why i listen to him, when he can't even find his socks to save a life!

"are you constipated?" asks the girl sitting across from me, leaning forward with narrowed, glittery eyes. she looks like an alpha bitch, but really, the three of them look like the kind of crowd i would never associate myself with, but you know what they say: YOLO.

"no, and to answer to your question—i point my spoon to the snapback boy—i just transfer here today. i won't exactly expect you to know me either, bud."

"i meant your name, new girl." the boy frowns.

i smile, already feeling the love. "chyna lakewood."

there is a short pause before the last occupant, the thinner boy with windswept hair, speaks with arched eyebrows. "an asian girl named chyna…" then the two boys guffaw, slapping the table in laughter. In spite of their equally intimidating aura, they look nothing like each other.

i smile a bit, flushing despite myself. i don't really care; i still love my name.

the girl rolls her eyes, as if thinking how stupid boys can be before looking at me again. i don't like the look in her eyes, as she seems to regard me with condescendence. "so, hero or sidekick?"

"sorry?"

she blows a stray of curly hair away in frustration. "if you're sitting with us, you have to show your worth, girl. so which is it?"

they all look at me in expectation. for reasons unknown, i feel the need to make a jump into the nearest window at the unwanted attention. i gulp. now I regret not taking the nice girl's invitation.

"i'm a natural born linguist." my mouth opens before i can do anything.

i swear i can hear my mom saying 'i told you so' in the midst of silence. i again feel out of place, looking down at my untouched lunch. i feel my heart drop when the three of them move away, as if the mere thought of being in the same place as a sidekick sickens them.

anger bubbles inside me but i force myself to keep it hidden.

a stripe-clothed arm suddenly invades my eyesight. i gasp in shock at the impossible length of the thinner boy's arm as he reaches for my bottle of juice. i flinch at the cold touch of his skin on my cheek as he retracts back his arm, not even paying attention to the stolen beverage.

my eyes travel curiously from the length of his arm to meet his glimmering ones, looking neither patronizing nor mocking. keeping his eyes on me, he takes a sip before following after his friends.

…

you'd think that after the not-so-impressive first impression, i'd learn my lesson and try to keep a low-profile, but for some incomprehensible reasons, i can't even do the simplest thing. is it because guys tend to give off a more easygoing and accepting vibe than girls? who knows but what thing for sure is that i'd like to be friends with him.

"so how's your day?"

i turn the other way around to block out the excited voice of my brother, who i suspect, can't wait to talk about his great, first day at sky high. Unlike me, who is a late bloomer, aaron is since born—gifted with the power of teleportation. thus earning him a place in the hero track as a freshman.

"man, mr. boomer is so scary. i don't know what's the dude's deal is! you should know since he practically lashed out at you during power placement!"

there it is again. i do not need to remember the first hand embarrassment at being forced to perform in front of other freshmen. let's just say that coach boomer and i had a good scream at each other—following with him blowing me off the platform for questioning him.

"can you believe that there's a barrier not allowing me from teleporting out of school? jeez! they really thought it all out!"

i squeeze the pillow tighter, drowning his babble as i start to feel the exhaustion. dinner is a few hours away, so a nap doesn't sound too bad.

"and the weirdest of all, there's a sidekick who is actually stupid enough to sit with a couple of heroes at lunch today. you know, she actually looks like you! imagine how funny it's going to be if her parents find out about this!"

i jump him, promptly grabbing his neck before he can teleport his ass away. he even has the decency to look afraid at my threatening glare.

"do that, and see how this girl will drown you in your sleep."

"alright! at least that got your attention. jeez…" he makes to smooth his shirt, from where i have grabbed him. "anyway, what were you thinking, sitting with them? didn't i tell you anything at all?"

i deadpan. "the meaning of your words doesn't match the glee on your face."

"that's because i can't wait to see how you would react if i tell you something interesting about them." he plops down at the feet of my canopied bed.

i eye him suspiciously. he only smiles wider.

"well, like you may have guessed, they're all heroes. and evil one at that."

"why?"

"remember last year? royal pain attempted take-over of sky high? come on, it's one of the reasons why mum is reluctant to enroll us there!"

bless my brother for not remembering that i had no interest to know such a thing, when i had my former school to worry about.

"yeah, so they were her minions. after the stronghold thwarted the mastermind's plan, they were arrested and sent to community service, being minors and all the shit," aaron gestures wildly, as if finding the sentence unfair. "lo and behold, the villains return, binding their time to exact their revenge in sky high once again—OW!"

i slap his head, disgusted by his deep, narrator's voice. "since when do you gossip like a girl?"

aaron pouts, rubbing the abused spot. "speaking of gossiping, the girl you were with is penny. she can duplicate herself."

"bitch."

"i won't disagree to that. she's not actually nice to us either. and then we have the bullies: the dynamic duo, the double trouble, lash and speed! you already saw what lash can do and last but not least, speed…well his name pretty much explained itself."

"let me guess, he runs fast."

he nods.

i sigh heavily as i sink back down my sheets. great, i basically just handed myself on a silver platter to the potential villains.

…

i wonder what'll we have for dinner? takeout again?