The kids on stage all clasped hands and bowed. The applause echoed throughout the gym, doubling the sound. People ran up and congratulated the actors, while parents discussed the play amongst themselves.
"The girl who played the Cheshire cat was amazing," they whispered.
"Yes, she captured the character perfectly"
Yet the girl was oblivious to these statements. She didn't notice as someone handed her a bouquet of flowers and a rolled up poster. As she made her way to the locker room to get changed, she looked frantically over the crowd searching for someone. "They promised they would come," she thought. Then she heard a voice.
"Jade, over here!" It was her little sister. Jade grinned and ran over to her.
" Arty, so you and Mom made it?," she said. Her sister's face fell and Jade knew the answer to that question.
" Mom looked like she'd been crying, she said something came up," Artemis replied
This happens all the time Jade thought. " So how did you get here then ?"
"I walked," Arty said.
Jade was immediately concerned. A little girl walking through the streets of Gotham alone was one thing, but at night, well that was even worse. It just showed what kind of parents they had. " Promise me you'll never do that again, Arty. Let me get changed and then we can go home, okay."
"But we'll have to walk back, Jade."
"You'll be safe with me, I've had training." Gotham city thugs were nothing compared with their father. But her innocent little sister didn't know that yet.
When they got to the door of their apartment, muffled yelling could be heard from inside. Jade looked over her shoulder at Artemis, who was riding piggybacked. She looked tired but scared. Neither wanted to go inside and get into the middle of their parents argument, but if their father found out that they had not come back yet, the consequences would be even worse.
" Come on," Jade said, " We'll just have to go in the back way."
And with that she left the building and ran around the block to the back Of the apartment complex to the fire escape. With her little sister still on her back, she nimbly climbed up the rusty old fire escape to their floor. The window to the bedroom was about five feet from the edge of the fire escape. " Hold on tight Arty," she said. Then she grabbed onto the edge of the top of the window and in one leap swung them both inside the open window and into their bedroom.
She closed the bedroom door softly to block out the yelling and other noises coming from the kitchen. Then she helped her sister get ready for bed.
" You really are like a cat, Jade, the way you can do stuff like that." Artemis said as she changed into her pajamas, " You know Cheshire kinda sounds like a superhero name. If you ever became a superhero you could call yourself that" she yawned and flopped down onto her bed.
" I don't think the justice league takes ninjas, but you're right, that is a cool sounding name," Jade smiled.
" No, you'ld make a great superhero, sis."
"hmm, maybe someday," she murmured as she looked down at the poster that had somehow found its way into her jacket. On it was a picture of Alice standing under a tree. And in the shadows of the tree was the Cheshire cat. No, she thought, the Justice League wants Alices, not creeps who hide in the shadows. But there are always other options. Whatever it takes to get out of this place… She hung the poster on her wall and fell asleep to the sound of dishes being smashed and her parents fighting.