CHAPTER X
The following day, I went to school planning my first real outing as Superman. I walked up to Jimmy a few minutes before our classes started, and he asked me, "What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking I should get the justice those guys wanted," I said, "I need to find out what happened to their friend." "What if he just did it to himself?" said Jimmy. "Meaning…?" I said. Jimmy sighed and said, "Well, what if the rumors aren't true? What if this football player is clean?" I took a few seconds to respond, eventually saying, "I…don't want to believe that. I don't want these guys to throw their lives away for something made up." "You'll have to accept it if it is the case," said Jimmy, "You know that, right?" I sighed, answering, "I know. I just don't want to." "You're not finished, are you?" asked Jimmy. "No," I said, "I…want to ask your help." "With what?" asked Jimmy. "You're sure," I said, surprised, "You want to be involved in this." "Yeah," said Jimmy, "If you really are going on some kind of goose chase, you'll need support." "Thanks, Jimmy," I said. "So, what is it you want me to help with?" asked Jimmy. I said, "I need some kind of photo documentation, if this guy really is involved in something." "I'll have my camera ready when you are," said Jimmy. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "You're a good friend, Jimmy." "So are you," said Jimmy, "I have to reciprocate." I smiled, and as the bell rung, I walked past Jimmy to my class.
After I left, Paige ran up to Jimmy, saying, "I'm late, so…I just really wanted to thank you for encouraging me the other day. My mom made you these." She held up a platter of brownies. Jimmy said, "Thank you, Paige." As he was taking the platter, his hand accidentally touched Paige's. She drew back, and Jimmy had to catch the platter. "The brownies are saved," he said, relieved. He looked at Paige, who was now fiddling with her messy hair. Jimmy said, "It must be hard." "Yeah," she said, "It's…different, around guys now…anyway, I'm sorry about dropping that." "No, it's fine," said Jimmy, "I understand." He smiled reassuringly, and Paige smiled back. Jimmy nodded and turned, walking to his class. Paige kept smiling as her brother walked up to her, leading her to her class. At lunch, I walked up to Jimmy, seeing the platter. I pointed at it and said, "Who's that from?" "Paige," said Jimmy, "Of all people." "You guys are going to have a beautiful relationship, I tell you," I said. "I don't know about that," said Jimmy, "She seems…reclusive now, at least around men. I don't think that'll help." "You'll earn her trust if I know you at all, Jimmy," I said. "We'll have to wait and see," said Jimmy. We got our food and walked over to our table, sitting. A few minutes later, I started to absentmindedly fiddle with my necklace, playing around with the engraved crystal on the end. Jimmy stopped chewing his fourth brownie, saying, "A logo." "A what now?" I said, confused. Jimmy got really focused, saying, "A logo. I said we needed a logo on your shirt for the Superman costume." He pointed emphatically at my logo, continuing, "That! That has to be the logo!" I stared at the symbol, thinking about Jimmy's idea.
I sighed and said, "My parents will find out the minute I show up on the news." "Then maybe if your parents have been hiding something, it'll come to light." "Or they'll go nuts over this and demand I stop," I said. Jimmy shrugged and said, "Either way, if you're going to do this, you need a logo. Every superhero has a logo." "None of those are real people," I said, "There are no superheroes in real life right now! I'd look stupid with a logo!" "Well, remember the old warriors of the ancient world," said Jimmy, "They had logos on their shields. And they were awesome." "Fair point," I said, "But still…what would it even mean?" "Well, obviously, it'd stand for Superman," said Jimmy, "Like I've said before, it looks like an S. And a cool S, at that." I nodded grudgingly, saying, "Yeah, sure, but it's got to have some…deeper meaning, you know? Like, if it is some kind of alien thing, then it has to mean something beyond a simple S." Jimmy stared at it, saying, "Do you have any idea what it could mean, then?" I said, "Pfft, heck no. I don't have the faintest. None." Jimmy furrowed his brow, sticking out his lower jaw in deep thought. Eventually, he snapped his fingers and said, "Hey. If you are from some alien planet, just because you don't remember, doesn't mean you can't." I said, "How does that make any sense?" "Well, you know, for most people, it's like life starts when you're, what, three, right?" said Jimmy. I nodded slowly. Jimmy rubbed his hands together excitedly. I looked at him and said suspiciously, "What are you formulating?" "Something very cool," said Jimmy. I sighed, gesturing for him to continue.
He grinned, saying, "Well, the memories before you turned three are still there. You just can't access them as easily." "And how would we 'access' them?" I asked. Jimmy said, "Well, there's hypnosis, but that usually requires you to speak, so that might end up a little weird. I think a better track to use would be rattling off different words until something clicks." "You want to start now?" I asked. "We could," said Jimmy, shrugging, "Don't know if it would be the best, though." "Let's do it," I said. "You serious?" asked Jimmy. I nodded emphatically. Jimmy said, "Okay, uh…fire." I shook my head. Jimmy sighed and said, "Mmmm….power? Love? Patience? Muscles?" I had been just shaking my head up until Jimmy said 'muscles', at which time I said, "What? Muscles? How does that make any sense?" "Look, I don't have a pre-prepared list, okay?" said Jimmy, indignant, "You'll have to take what you can get right now." I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine. Continue." Jimmy tapped his fingers on the surface of the table for a few seconds. He began, "Regality? Humorous? Intelligence?" All these didn't connect, and each time, with each shake of my head, my frustration grew. Jimmy kept saying words that had no discernible connection to each other. Soon, he said, "Hope?" Suddenly, for reasons unknown to me, I suddenly heard a faint, "Just remember hope." "Dad?" I whispered. "What?" said Jimmy, surprised, "Did that one actually work?" I grinned widely, saying, "I think it did!" Jimmy and I performed a bro high five, and he said very loudly, "HOPE!" Unbeknownst to Jimmy, a girl named Hope was passing behind him.
She turned and said, "Yes?" "Oh, sorry, I wasn't…talking about you," said Jimmy awkwardly. Hope raised her left eyebrow and turned, walking off. Everyone else who'd heard Jimmy's exclamation and also turned went back to eating lunch. Jimmy said, "Got a little too excited, I guess." "I think you're right," I said, laughing. Jimmy said, "But, seriously, hope! That's like, the best meaning for a superhero logo!" "All right," I said, "So do you think we should make it today, or what?" "Well, we have to figure out where to keep it," said Jimmy, "I mean, your parents seeing Superman on the news is one thing, but some random person finding your costume…" I nodded, saying, "Makes sense. What about in my locker?" "Maybe," said Jimmy, "Unless someone decides Clark Kent's locker is worth pillaging." "Yeah, that'll happen anytime soon," I said. "There's still a risk," said Jimmy, "Keep thinking. What about…your barn?" "How?" I asked. Jimmy said, "Well…we could make some loose floorboards we could remove anytime we need it, dig a hole, and if you have any boxes…" He trailed off, waiting for my input. I said, "Well, that'll really only work as long as my parents don't realize who Superman is. And we both know how unlikely that'll be." "Well, for however long they don't see the logo, it'll be okay," said Jimmy, "I mean, they haven't seen that jump of yours, right?" "Not that I'm aware of," I said. The bell rang, and as we got up, Jimmy said, "We'll have to discuss this further. See you later." "Bye," I said. I walked to my class, worrying about what my parents would think.
Later, I helped my dad out working the general store for the last few hours before it closed. About an hour before closing, I was cleaning the counter, and my dad said, "Hey, Clark, we just ran out of aspirin. I'm going to restock those shelves. Work the register, will you?" I nodded, continuing to clean the counter but looking out for any customers. I heard the door chime, and I said, "Welcome to the Kent's general store." I saw that she was probably in her early forties, with bright blond hair. She immediately walked over to our small selection of wine, picking up a large bottle. She brought it over to the register, and I asked, "Long work day?" "Oh, yes," she said, "I love your wines, by the way. Where do you get them?" "My dad's got a cousin in Italy," I said, "Runs his own wine business." "Well, he certainly runs it well," she said. Something on her shirt suddenly caught my eye. It was a chrome name tag. I pointed at it, saying, "Hey, are you Paige's mom?" She nodded, saying, "Yes." "How-how're things going with her, you know, with…everything?" I asked, surprised. She sighed, saying, "I wish I could say something good. She's just…pulling away. I mean, after all that's happened, I don't know how it's going to be." "Just…encourage her," I said, "At the very least." She smiled weakly and said, "Thank you." "Oh, by the way," I said, "Paige was able to get those brownies you made to Jimmy. I'm glad that you and Paige both appreciate his words." Paige's mom furrowed her brow, saying, "I-I didn't make any brownies. I mean, I was going to, but I just haven't found the time." "Is that so?" I said. I smirked. "What is it?" asked Paige's mom. "I think…your daughter is in love with Jimmy Olsen," I said, chuckling. My chuckling grew to jubilant laughter, saying, "This is really good." Paige's mom also began laughing, and after we both finished, she paid, thanked me for everything, and walked out, seemingly much happier.
I smiled, clapped once loudly, and said, "Jimmy, you did it. You did it, bro." My dad walked up, saying, "What were you laughing about? You sounded about as crazy as Howlin' Mad Murdock." "Or as happy as Hannibal Smith on the jazz," I said, returning my dad's A-Team reference. My dad leaned on the counter, saying, "Seriously, what's got you so loud?" "It's Jimmy," I said, "Remember that girl I told you about? The one that called him a ginger?" My dad nodded, saying, "Oh, yes. What about her, then?" I grinned and said, "I think she wants to get with my best friend." My dad smiled, saying, "Wouldn't that be something?" "More than just 'something'," I said happily. "This calls for celebration," said my dad, "What say after we close up, we go and grab a Coke?" "Sounds good to me," I said. For the rest of the hour, whatever other person showed up was greeted by a merry cashier. The realization that Paige and Jimmy might just get together after all lifted my spirits considerably. After we closed up, my dad and I headed to a soda shop just down the road. We bought two Coca-Colas, both glass. "Ah, this brings me back," said my dad, "Ten years old, reading a comic book and drinking some nice, authentic Coke." "Thanks for this, Dad," I said, "I think I'll keep this bottle." "May as well," said my dad. "You know, I think I'll call Jimmy," I said. "Go on," said my dad, "It's not every day your best friend gets this kind of news." I nodded, getting out my phone. "Hey, Jimmy," I said, "I got some news. I think Paige has the same feelings for you that you have for her." I took a sip of my soda as I heard Jimmy whooping for joy over the phone.