Gotham City;
September 13th;
08:00 EST
I really don't see the point of going to school. You sit in a couple of rooms for eight hours, learn about boring, unimportant stuff, then go home to do homework on boring, unimportant stuff. If they were going to waste my time, at least let me waste my time at home.
My own school, Gotham Academy, didn't actually start for another half hour, so I waited in a cafe down the street from it. I was far too antsy to wait at home; M'gann and Superboy had already left for school earlier that morning so I had no one to distract me as the minutes ticked closer and closer to my first day.
Scores of rich students with influential parents would be going to Gotham Academy this year. Among them was one Lea Rudd, a freshman who just moved to the states after living her whole life abroad. I had spent weeks with Batman perfecting the character and creating her life. Today was when all our planning was going to be put to the test.
I quietly sipped on my tea, my nose in a book, and my backpack right next to my feet. No one talked to me and no one bothered me, and I was perfectly okay with that.
To any bystander looking at the cafe, all they saw was a teenage girl with wide red glasses and strawberry blonde hair reading a book. They would see the long hair gathered in a bun instead of short, platinum blonde hair left free. Brown eyes instead of dark blue. Tanned skin instead of deathly pale. I was slightly uncomfortable with the new appearance, but I would grow into it.
I sat there for another twenty minutes, then got up, left a tip on the table, and started to walk to Gotham Academy. As always, dark clouds covered the Gotham sun but there was no forecast for rain, so I wasn't worried. It really wasn't that far of a walk anyways, just down the street a couple of blocks.
The people in dark business suits and dull pumps hurried by without a second glance at me, and I paid them the same consideration. This was the nice area of Gotham, so they weren't scared of being mugged or run over. They really should, though. From my experience, Gotham was highly unpredictable. A robot could steal your powers and use them to attack you.
I walked the last couple of blocks, then stopped to stare at the imposing building. When Amazo attacked, I didn't get a good look at Robin's school, but now that I had plenty of time, I took it all in.
It was three stories tall, built with architecture reminiscent of ages past. Like before, the words 'Gotham Academy' was displayed above the main doors, with decorative columns underneath. The hole in the wall from Amazo was all patched up, so the place looked even nicer than before. The grounds around the school were green and plain so as to not distract from the magnificence of the building.
Sighing, I climbed the school steps and found my way to the main courtyard. Several students were already there, dressed in the school uniform and talking to the friends they hadn't seen in a while. They looked neat and perfect, and my messy bun, choppy bangs, and the blazer tied around my waist made me look like a mess next to them. A few of them were already eyeing me with a faint look of disgust, but I ignored them and continued my way to my homeroom. Looks like I already had a great start to my school year.
When I got to the room in the science building, it was empty except for Dr. Elkton. He sat quietly at his desk in the front of the room, reading a newspaper. His desk was cluttered with science equipment, such as beakers and scales, and paperwork that had yet to be filled out. He wore a lab coat and nerd glasses with tape between the lenses to keep them together. His disheveled brown hair and untucked shirt told me he wasn't one to care about appearance. Maybe he and Lea would get along then.
Without a word, I chose a desk at the back of the room next to the window, where I would get the least amount of attention. I took out my book again, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and read while I waited for the bell to ring. At the sound of my backpack hitting the ground, Dr. Elkton looked up and seemed surprised that I was here already.
"Well, this is a first," Dr. Elkton commented, his voice laced with a faint Southern accent. He put his newspaper down and got up so he could study me while leaning against his desk. "Don't have any friends to mess around with? You still have a good ten minutes until the bell."
I glanced up at him, so as not to appear too rude. "I don't have any yet."
Ugh, my voice sounded weird without my French accent. I was trying to make it sound as American as possible since Lea had grown up in America and had only been living in Europe for five years. I'm not quite sure if it sounded believable or not.
"Ah, you're the new student. Lea, right?"
"Yes, sir."
For the first time in my life, someone actually smiled when I introduced myself. Most either gave me a look of disdain, tried to kill me, or kept a look of the utmost seriousness. It was a nice change.
"Well, Lea, welcome to Gotham Academy. Keep on top of your work and you'll love it here. If not, you might want to try Gotham North."
"Thank you, sir. I'll try my hardest to keep your advice." I gave him a small smile, adjusted my glasses, then returned to my book.
Much to my relief, Dr. Elkton didn't try to keep up a conversation with me. I tried, I really did, but I never was good with casual conversation. Anything to do with training or aliens or trolls was more my style, but I wouldn't get a chance to talk about that in school. I'd have to keep to the back and out of the way to appear at least a little normal.
Slowly but surely, students began to trickle into the room. They all chose their seats carefully, making sure they would have enough room for all their friends in the class. No one sat in the back corner next to the new girl, and I was fine with that. My goal was to get through this school year with good grades and nothing else.
That plan pretty much went out the window the moment a black-haired boy sat next to me. The grin on his face was familiar, but his crystal blue eyes, filled with a smug look I didn't like, were foreign.
"Haven't seen you around. You new?" he asked, a smirk on his face as he leaned over his desk towards me.
"No, I've just been invisible for years," I said sarcastically, then winced in regret. There goes my polite attitude.
To my relief, the boy laughed, like I was trying to be funny. Thank Merlin he had a weird sense of humor.
"I'm Richard Greyson, but you can call me Dick."
I raised an eyebrow at him, not quite sure if I heard him right. "What, are you like a jerk or something?"
"Nah, but I've been told I'm annoying."
"I can see why."
The bell rang then and the chatter of the classroom died down. Dr. Elkton got up again and stood in front of his desk to survey the group of students. There were about twenty of us in all, so not a very large class, but still crowded in the small classroom.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Dr. Elkton. I'm the head of the science department here and I'll hopefully be teaching you physics in a few years."
The class replied in unison, "Good morning, Dr. Elkton," and I have never been more creeped out in my entire life. What the actual Merlin is wrong with these people? Did they brainwash them?
Dr. Elkton smiled like it was perfectly fine that his students were creepy. "Now, a few items of business. Administration wants you to sign the technology agreement form and confirm your emergency contacts."
He gathered some of the papers on his desk and started handing them out to each of us. Being the good students we were supposed to be, each of us took a pencil or pen from our bags and quickly filled out the forms so we could get it over with.
On my own emergency contact paper, I put down 'Mike and Alyssa Rudd,' the names of my 'parents.' They didn't even exist, but the papers and documents that Batman had forged looked, and even felt, real. It was actually impressive, though I wouldn't dare admit it in front of him. In the likely chance that I got in trouble and I had to attend a parent-teacher conference, Black Canary and Green Arrow had volunteered to play the part of my parents. I wasn't sure how I felt about that yet; maybe a little weirded out that they had volunteered so quickly, maybe a little worried that they had volunteered at all.
After everyone had finished, Dr. Elkton collected the papers and leaned against his desk again. "Who's ready for some get-to-know-you games?" he asked brightly, causing over half the class to groan. Seriously? Get-to-know-you games? How old did he think we were? 105?
Dick snickered behind his hand, far more eager to do this than everyone else. He reminded me of Robin, always happy to do what everyone else dreaded. Speaking of Robin, I wondered if he was just as miserable as me on the first day. Probably not. He seemed to like people way more than I did.
Dr. Elkton smiled like a lunatic at our misery. "Glad to see everyone so excited. Now, take these pieces of paper and write three facts about yourself. It can be anything, how many pets you have, your favorite subject. Once you're done, crumple it into a 'snowball', throw it into the recycling bin and I'll pass them back at random."
Once again, the doctor gathered papers from his desk and handed them out to all of us. They were blank this time, and many students got right to work on writing down their facts. I hesitated for a long time, staring down at my empty paper. What the Merlin was I supposed to write? I wasn't Lea, but I was supposed to know three facts about her. She wasn't even real.
Twirling my pencil in my fingers, I tried hard to come up with something that would be easy to remember so that I wouldn't later contradict it. Pets, maybe? Oh, a cat. A ragdoll cat. They're adorable. What else? Lea likes to… dance? It wouldn't be too hard to keep up that illusion, since I liked to dance myself. Alright, one more then.
Uhhhhhhhhhhh… wow, I never notice how boring of a human I am. With being a Character and a superhero, I didn't have any hobbies. I was far too busy to have any friends, and I certainly didn't have any super cool family members. All I had was my half fey heritage, my magic, a homicidal mother, a dead father, and a crazy aunt, but I couldn't exactly tell anyone about that, could I?
Ugh… this is ridiculous! Just come up with something, Fera! You're almost 200 years old, you should be able to come up with just one more, totally erroneous, fact.
...
Oh, French! I knew French! I can't believe I forgot about that… being under pressure really wasn't my forte.
After scrawling that fact down, I crumpled up my paper and tossed it into the recycling bin by the door. Much to my displeasure, I was the last one finished and they were all waiting for me. My face aflame, I sunk into my seat as low as possible.
I already had a feeling that today would not be my day.
Still smiling, Dr. Elkton picked up the bin and started handing the papers out to everyone at random.
"When you get a paper, unfold it, and get ready to read the facts to the class. Then together, we'll try and figure out who's who. Sound fun?"
His question was met with small sighs from everyone, but it wasn't like we had a choice. The doctor finished giving back the "snowballs" and I was quick to flatten out the piece of paper on my desk. The handwriting was neat and pretty, so there was a good chance it was a female. The words themselves were large and the spaces between them were small. Usually, that meant they were outgoing and somewhat intrusive. Not a good friend for me, then. I couldn't afford to have another nosy person like Robin in my life.
The facts themselves were pretty obscure for a big city private school. 'I've never left Connecticut,' 'I don't like chocolate,' and 'My favorite food is french fries.' Not a very interesting person, if you ask me.
"Psst, who'd you get?" Dick asked, leaning across the aisle to try to get a peek at my paper.
"Isn't the whole point of this activity not to know?"
"For everybody else, maybe, but I'm willing to bet you already know who it is. So, care to hazard a guess?"
"What makes you think I know who it is?"
"Just a hunch." He winked at me, and I guess some of his cocky attitude affected me. I glanced at the room of students, studying them. It was almost equal parts boy and girl, and a lot of them were talking to each other as Professor Elkton finished giving out snowballs. One of them stood out to me the most, though. A brunette chatting with a taller boy that had to have flunked a few grades to be in this classroom.
A pretty basic high school girl, but the wear on her uniform caught my attention. Not enough money to buy a new one, so chances are she didn't have enough to go out of state either, or she just didn't want to. Next to the other rich kids, she shouldn't have belonged, but she seemed to fit right in. She talked with them like it was nothing, so definitely outgoing. The other two facts I really couldn't tell on sight, but watching her turn down chocolate from a friend confirmed my suspicions.
"Her, in the front." I nodded my head towards her and Dick's smirk grew, as if he had come to the same conclusion.
"Carla Binkly? Sounds about right. She's also very proud about the no chocolate thing."
"Can't say I blame her."
"What, you don't like chocolate either?" He looked shocked, horrified even, but I just shrugged.
"Too rich, for my tastes. Unless it's hot chocolate with tons of cream."
"You're a madwoman."
I grinned evilly at him. "Oh, I know."
"Alright, class, quiet down. Let's figure out who these snowballs belong to." Dr. Elkton picked up a clipboard from his desk, the attendance sheet, I assumed. "And this gives me a perfect chance to take role before Allison has my head. Uh, Samantha Adams, why don't you go first?"
A small girl with blonde hair, situated front and center, raised her hand, then started reading her snowball aloud. "'My favorite color is green, I like wrestling, and my dad owns the biggest wrestling circuit in Gotham.'"
"Oh, that one's John Johnson. Got in a few bad matches, and now his head is as swollen as his ego,'" Dick whispered to me, and I couldn't fight back my snickers.
"His name is seriously John Johnson? Sounds like his parents got in a few bad matches."
While Dick and I tried our hardest to keep our laughter quiet, Dr. Elkton jumped to the next student after John Johnson's name was easily guessed by everyone else in the class. The next few facts were easy for Dick too, a girl named Naveah Bradon, who liked seafood and the color pink.
After going through a few of them, I noticed there was a widely common theme: 'I'm rich and stupid,' and Dick and I were quick to make fun of it. Dr. Elkton went through almost half the class before we finally got a hard one.
Naveah Bradon was the one to read it out, and her voice was nothing short of annoying. "'My highest grade is chemistry, I was born out of the country, and I'm related to the tallest living man on Earth.'"
Now, that one was strange, even for me. I glanced at Dick, but he was busy looking over his classmates. The analytical look in his eyes was shockingly familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I had seen them before.
"Brady, is that one yours?" One student called out, but the one named Brady shook his head.
"Daphne?"
"Not me. I suck at chem."
I leaned over to Dick, whose eyebrows were furrowed in vexation. "Any ideas?"
"I'm thinking Aria or Jackson. They're both good at chemistry, and Jackson's from Canada. I know Aria's family is from China, but I'm not sure if she was born there, but I don't even know who the tallest living man on Earth is." He sighed, frustrated, and leaned back in his chair with his arms folded.
World's tallest man, huh. I vaguely remembered something like that when I was in France a few weeks ago. Someone was talking about the Guinness World Records this year and mentioned him. But what was his name… Sam? No, that didn't sound right. Something that started with an S. Silas? Sean? Stefan? Sutton? Oh, Sultan! Sultan Kösen, eight feet three inches.
"It's Sultan Kösen. He's Turkish, I think."
"How do you know that?" Dick asked in disbelief but I just shrugged.
"I had a friend that was obsessed with world records. That's all he would ever talk about."
Wow, I am really good at lying. I should make a career out of it; I could be a politician.
"Anyone have any guesses?" Dr. Elkton asked after the debating went on for a little while longer. I nudged Dick with my foot and nodded my head upfront. He finally got what I was getting at and raised his hand.
"Richard?"
"Is it Aria Liao?"
A girl with long black hair and monolid eyes blushed and nodded her head shyly. Dick smirked triumphantly and held his fist out to me. I think it was a fist bump? I just went along with it and bumped my knuckle on his.
"Good job, Richard," Dr. Elkton congratulated. "Mia, I think you're next."
"'I have a ragdoll cat, I like to dance, and I can speak French,'" the brunette read aloud. Oh, that one was mine. I wonder how long it would take for them to get it.
"That one's you, isn't it?" Dick asked immediately, though he kept his voice low so nobody else would hear.
"Why would it be?"
"You're new to Gotham Academy, and I know for a fact that none of these kids in here are smart enough to learn French. Isn't it the hardest language to master?"
He was clever, I'll give him that. It really would be a waste of time to keep playing innocent at this point.
"No, I think English is a lot harder, no matter how many languages you learn before it."
"Before it? How many do you know?"
"French, Russian, German, and English."
"Let me guess, you lived in all of those countries?"
"Yep."
"Guesses, anyone?" Professor Elkton unknowingly interrupted. Everyone, but Dick, of course, looked stumped by my three facts, and I took a little pride in that. When Dick didn't raise his hand instantly, I gave him an odd look.
"Aren't you going to answer? You know who it is," I whispered to him.
"Yeah, but I want to see if anyone else gets it."
"Five bucks says they don't." I smirked, knowing that money was as good as mine.
"Five bucks says they do."
I rolled my eyes at him. "You put way too much faith in your classmates."
"At least I have faith in them," Dick muttered.
"What?"
"Nevermind."
I hadn't known Dick for long, barely even half an hour, but I'm pretty sure that was a weird thing to say; no matter who you are. On the other hand, I'm just really not socially adept and I could be reading the situation all wrong.
"No guesses at all?" Dr. Elkton asked with a hint of amusement and surprise in his voice. "Well then, would our mystery person like to reveal themselves?"
With a gloating smile towards Dick, I raised my hand and had the pleasure of watching everyone's faces go from downright confused to utterly shocked. Oh, that was satisfying. Something about tricking people really pleased my fey side. Maybe that's why I'm so good at lying.
"Well, I'm not too surprised," Elkton let out a cheerful laugh, "Everyone, this is our new student from Europe, Lea Rudd. It would certainly explain why you had so much trouble guessing. John, I think you're next."
"'I'm a mathlete, an acrobat, and my favorite movie is Monty Python and the Holy Grail,'" John Johnson read in a voice that sounded like a sports star who got hit in the hand by the ball a few times, which may not be too far from the truth.
"That one's soooo Dick," a dark-haired girl in the front laughed.
"Thought you were supposed to make this hard, nerd." John Johnson crumpled up the paper again and tossed it at Dick's head. I just stared at the piece of paper as it harmlessly bounced off my new friend's hand and onto his desk. Was that supposed to be… an attack? Dick didn't seem too bothered by it, so I didn't think so. Maybe that was just a high school tradition or something. It looked strange, but then again, humans were weird.
"Mr. Johnson, if you could please restrain yourself from throwing things at other pupil's heads in the future, it would be much appreciated," Dr. Elkton cut in, his voice sharp and steely as knives. From the tone of his voice and the hard look in his eyes, I surmised that chucking paper at people's hands wasn't, in fact, a human custom. Also, Dr. Elkton was terrifying when he was mad.
The entire class was quick to quiet down and wait for the rest of his instructions. Not one of them dared to draw attention to themselves, for fear of detention on the first day.
"I want to make one thing clear to all of you." Dr. Elkton, with his messy hair and crooked glasses, began pacing in front of his desk. It shouldn't have looked authoritative in any way, but I found myself listening carefully to his words. "While you are in my homeroom this year, I expect each and every one of to be respectful of one another, to be open to each other's opinions, and above all, be kind. I understand that high school is a very difficult time of life for many people, and the only way we can make that better is by doing our part to make sure everyone feels welcome."
The doctor's eyes landed on me and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. His dark eyes felt bore into my soul and I wasn't totally okay with that. I hoped he wasn't actually reading my soul, otherwise, that would lead to a really awkward conversation later.
As soon as he finished his brief lecture, Dr. Elkton's bright smile was back on his face. "Glad that we have that out of the way. Anyways, who's next? Allie?"
The rest of homeroom went by without a hitch. Dr. Elkton got to me and I was totally right by guessing Carla Brinly. Except no one knew that because it would be weird and creepy for the new girl to know everyone's life story. Dick read his aloud and it was a pretty easy guess; a guy named Guy Rosbottom, and yes, I'm being completely serious. I can't believe parents still call their children Guy these days. You'd think people would have grown out of that ridiculous name.
When the bell rang for the end of the period, I was sure the butterflies in my stomach would escape through my mouth at any moment. I had to get to my next class, which meant going through hordes of students in an unfamiliar building filled with unfamiliar rooms. Sure, I had mapped out my path to each class as soon as I got my hands on my schedule, but that wasn't the same as actually going to my class. Oh, I was so going to get lost; I could already feel it.
'Hey, where're you going next?" Robin asked, sidling up to me in the hallway as I tried desperately to remember the map I studied.
"Dr. Richardson for English II in room 320C." I showed him my printed schedule and he nodded his head to a different part of the school.
"All the humanities and languages are in the C Wing."
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." I hiked my bag higher on my shoulder and flattened out my skirt. People kept giving me weird looks since I wasn't wearing the uniform the same way as them, but I hadn't been dress coded yet, so they could shove it. "See you later."
After visiting my locker to dump my lunchbox and the textbooks I didn't need, I followed his directions to my English class and I realized getting to room 320C required a lot of stairs. It was all the way on the third floor, in the very corner of the building and as far as possible from my homeroom. Lovely.
Ugh… who invented stairs? They were almost as horrible as sand. Plentiful, dull, boring. And even worse, they led to somewhere high up, where I could fall to my death. If they were leading people to their doom, would it hurt to liven themselves up a bit? Add a bit of color, maybe some sparkles, lots of blue.
Unsurprisingly, I was the last one there and barely made it before the bell.
"Glad you sought it fit to join us," the teacher in charge of the class said rather snootily. He was a tall man with slicked-back hair and a stern face that was not at all pleased with how close I was cutting it.
I smiled sheepishly and sunk into the farthest seat from his desk. He already hated me and it was only the first day. Guess that says a lot about me.
"As it is the first day, I'll let it slide. Just this once." Dr. Richardson practically slammed the classroom door shut behind me. "But let me be clear, this classroom is going to be run like a well-oiled machine. Your assignments are to be turned in on time. Your body and mind are to be in this classroom on time. Everything you do will be on time. There will be no laziness, there will be no half-hearted work, there will be no distractions. You will work hard and win hard. Understood?"
Yeesh, this guy was hardcore. I nodded along anyway, trying not to inch further into his bad side. English had always been my favorite subject, ever since I had learned some years earlier, but I really hoped this doctor wouldn't make it rotten for me.
"I'm going to take roll, and you will say here when your name is called. Understood?"
He started the roll, and so began his class. Mostly, he lectured us about his expectations and how we were to act in class. Every once in a while, he would throw in tidbits about himself, like how he used to be in the army and used their funding to attend college and get a doctorate in English. He had a wife and two children and said the word "understood" a lot. He's worked at Gotham Academy for almost ten years now, teaching English and coaching the boy's wrestling team.
All in all, he didn't sound too bad of a guy, just extremely strict and scary. Maybe it would give me practice for facing Batman. He still made me want to pee my pants whenever I saw him, even after he did something so nice like getting me into Gotham Academy.
Soon enough, the class was over, and so was his loud voice. If I met this man out on the street, I would have never guessed he was an English major. Maybe a yelling major, though.
Next up was chemistry, and the only reason I found the classroom was because it was right next to my homeroom. It was on the other side of the school, so I changed my pace to a speed walk to make it on time.
As expected, I was the last person there. It wasn't too much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that Dick was in this class too. Chem was a sophomore-level class, and since I had flown through biology the year before, I had to take harder science this year, but what was he doing here?
"Isn't this a sophomore-level class? What are you doing here?" I asked him as I put my bag down and sat in the tall and surprisingly empty seat next to him. The room was situated like a typical high school lab; two-person standing desks with tall chairs for students to sit in, chemistry equipment on top of the desk, a whiteboard up front, and an eye washing station next to the door.
"I could ask you the same thing." He smirked, which I automatically rolled my eyes at.
"I finished biology last year. It was pretty easy."
"Same here, but I don't think this class will be as painless."
The bell rang and our teacher finally arrived. I think her name was Dr. Emmel, but I think Dr. Perfume would have fit better. The smell coming off her wasn't necessarily unpleasant, just terribly strong and eye-watering. She was a nicely dressed lady, if we were in the sixties. She wore a tie-dyed shirt, bell-bottom jeans, and old tennis shoes under her lab coat, but she smelled like she had bathed in a vat of perfume.
"Oh my Merlin," I coughed quietly, trying to wave the fumes away from my face. Dick seemed to be having trouble breathing as well, but at least no one in the class was allergic to perfume. It would not have gone well. "Someone needs to open a vent in here."
"Hello, class," Dr. Emmel said in a flowery, sickly-sweet voice, "I am Dr. Emmel, your chemistry teacher for the year. I want this classroom to be a safe, laid-back place for everyone, so feel free to ask as many questions as you want and be prepared to find the answer!"
Dr. Emmel flourished her hand with every word she spoke and the look on her face could only be described as pure wonder. It was the same look M'gann had whenever I brewed potions. Oh, what I would give to be brewing potions instead of being stuck in this perfumed classroom.
"This will be the place where science and wonderings meet! Where the soul, body, and mind become one! And we will start… with yoga."
Wait, was she serious? I mean, I love yoga, but in a science classroom?
Dick and I exchanged a dubious look, but we didn't have time to comment on her behavior. "Up, up, up! No chairs in this classroom! Move the desks, move the desks; we need room to move."
Hesitantly, the students in the class got up and started carefully pushing desks and chairs to the corner of the room. Dr. Emmel handed out a mat to each of us and we rolled them out where our seats used to be.
"Now, we'll start with some simple poses, since the ladies are hindered by skirts today. In the future, we will be changing into PE uniforms on yoga day. We will begin with tadasana, the mountain pose." Dr. Emmel turned on her stereo and the sound of babbling creek rang out. She stood in the center of her mat, hands at her side, head held high, and feet placed evenly apart. "Align the crown of your head with your spine, your spine with your legs, and your legs with your feet. Breathe in, and breathe out. Breathe in, and breathe out. Breathe in and hold, hold, hold, then breathe out. Let's repeat two more times. Breathe in and hold, hold, hold, then breathe out. Breathe in and hold, hold, hold, then breathe out."
This lady was insane, but at least her voice was calming. I could feel my muscles relax with each breath I took and I remembered how much I loved yoga. I can't believe how long it's been since I did it; being part of the Team really took up a lot of my time. That and hiding in my room.
"Now reach your hands up, up, up into urdhva hastasana. Stretch and breathe in, and in, and in, and then release. Lower your hands and lie on your belly on the mat." Dr. Emmel slowly sat down and then laid on her belly and the rest of us followed her example. "Alright, now place your hands under your chest and slowly push upwards. Stretch out your spine and breathe in. One, two, three, release."
The rest of the class period was spent doing simple yoga poses, like warrior one and two. Most girls had worn shorts under their skirts, myself included, but those that didn't step off to the side while Dr. Emmel finished her lesson.
Once we were finished, Dr. Emmel had us sanitize and roll up our mats and place the desks and chairs back to their original position.
"That wasn't too bad," I commented to Dick. We were back in our seats again, all stretched out and relaxed.
"Yeah, but I don't think anyone else liked it." He nodded his head at the grumpy and disgruntled faces of our classmates. A few of them were even openly glaring at Dr. Emmel, but the scientist didn't seem to notice at all. She was off in her own world, staring into the distance, and I was seriously worried about her mental health.
The sound of the bell ringing brought our teacher back to Earth and she smiled at all of us as we got up to leave. "Have a good day and see you tomorrow. We'll be starting Unit One with matter and its phases."
As soon as they left the classroom, almost every one of our classmates had something to say about yoga chemistry. What a bunch of delicate flowers; they couldn't handle a small, unexpected lesson.
"What do you have next?" Dick asked, trying to take a secret peek at the schedule I was holding. I rolled my eyes and showed him the paper, pointing at my third period.
"World History with Professor Sakamoto."
"I have American History next. I think they're right next to each other."
"But that's in the C wing. It's on the other side of the school. I literally just came from there right before chem," I groaned, shoving my schedule back into my backpack.
"Well, looks like you're going back. Come on, don't want to be late."
I heaved a sigh but followed him to the C wing. I actually sort of knew where I was going, but Dick looked like he had been this way thousands of times before. And he probably had. Gotham Academy had grades six through twelve, so this would be his fourth year here.
Dick's classroom was a few doors down from mine so I waved goodbye to him and hurried to my classroom right before the bell rang. I let out a sigh of relief as I sat my butt in a chair as far away as possible from the teacher's desk. Professor Sakamoto wasn't even in the class yet, and we had to wait another couple of minutes for him to show up.
When he did show up, you could definitely tell he was a history professor. With his man bun, beard, blazer, and elbow patches, he fit the part perfectly. It was almost like it was on purpose.
"Good morning, class, and welcome to World History!" He spread his arms wide like he was presenting the newest, cutting edge technology, but most of us remained unimpressed. "Huh, I was expecting more of a reaction."
Unfazed by the lack of life in his students, Professor Sakamoto moved to the front of the room and wrote his name on the board. "I'm Professor Sakamoto. S-A-K-A-M-O-T-O. It's okay if you get it wrong. I've been working here for three years and my boss still spells it incorrectly!" There was no round of laughter from anyone, but he seemed to be expecting one. "That was a joke. You can laugh."
A few kids let out weak, completely fake laughs.
"Oh, geez, you guys are like zombies. I can't teach a class of zombies; you'll eat my brain. How about we watch funny cat videos?"
Before any of us got over our shock to reply, Professor Sakamoto jumped into his rolling office chair, logged onto his computer, and turned on the projector. Within minutes, we were watching funny cat videos. I tried incredibly hard not to, but I couldn't help but burst out laughing as soon as the first one played through. I couldn't help it; heights and funny cat videos were my weakness.
Biting my lip, I struggled to stifle my laughter, but Professor Sakamoto played another one and I laughed out loud again. Barely anyone else found it as funny as I did, and it was the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. My face heated up like a candle and I attempted to evaporate into the air. Needless to say, it didn't work and I was left with my embarrassment.
But to be fair, it was a cucumber vs cat video and those are practically the backbone of society.
The entire period, we watched cat videos, and it made me wish I actually had a cat. I wonder if Batman would let me keep one in the Cave. I'll have to ask.
Anyway, the bell rang way sooner than I wanted it to and everyone was quick to bolt out of that room. Mostly because lunch was next, and the cafeteria was right below us. We had been smelling lunch all morning, and it smelled really good. It was sloppy joes and tater-tots, and if that wasn't the most American food to serve at lunch, I didn't know what was.
As I eagerly trotted down the stairs for lunch, Dick caught up to me. There was a redhead girl with him that I, unsurprisingly, didn't know.
"Lea, this is Barbara Gordon. She has the same lunch period as us," Dick introduced. I have her an awkward wave, not quite sure what to do. Was I supposed to say something? Shake her hand?
Barbara narrowed her eyes at me and I had the impression that she didn't like me. At all. What did I do this time?! I've never even met her before. Do I just have one of those very unlikable faces?
Instead of glaring back like I really wanted to, I surveyed the lunchroom. There were quite a few empty tables left since we were some of the first to arrive. As I followed Dick and Barabara's example and got in the lunch line, I locked eyes with someone ahead of us. Someone who shouldn't be here.
I noticed the faint glow first, the tell-tale sign of a fey. A half-fey, to be more exact. And a half-fey that I knew, but what the Merlin was he doing here?
It was Chase Turnleaf, son of Lady Aspinwind and brother to an old friend. I wasn't expecting him to be here, of all places. He was supposed to be at Ever After School, safe, and so were the two people with him. Lena LaMarelle, inventor of the M3, and Rory Landon, the girl who's supposed to defeat my mother. And they were out in the open, like idiots.
Chase and his friends were in eighth grade, I think. They were the ones to have a quick trip to the Arctic this summer, which nearly cost the Director her credibility. The Snow Queen was looking for them, hunting them as she hunted me. They didn't even make an effort to disguise themselves.
Chase and I stared at each other for another minute. He could see my fey glow as well, but he didn't recognize my face with my glamour on. But he did notice the blue jewel on my necklace. His face lit up in recognition, knowing it was a glamour focus. He said something to Rory and Lena, then stepped out of line.
"Hey, uh, I'm going to go use the WC real quick," I said distractedly, already following Chase to a less crowded hallway.
"The what?" Dick asked.
"Uh, restroom in American. See you later."
I didn't wait for him to say anything else, picking up my pace to reach Chase. The hallway was empty when I finally got there, though, and I looked around for him. There was no one-
Something shoved me against the wall from behind, pinning my arms to my back so I couldn't fight back.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?" my assailant interrogated, putting pressure on my arm so I would want to talk.
"Son of a- Chase Turnleaf, it's me! You idiot, it's me!" Even with the glamour on, my voice sounded the same. At the sound of it, Chase let me go and backed up a step.
"Fera?" he asked quietly. I pushed myself away from the wall and faced the eighth-grader. He looked almost the same as when I had last seen him; shaggy golden hair, big blue eyes. The only difference was that he was older now; twelve instead of five. I can't believe it's already been seven years since I last saw him.
"Yeah. Thanks for the hello, by the way." I rubbed my sore shoulder that he had pinned behind my back. "Really appreciate it."
"What are you doing here?" Chase hissed, his surprise gone.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"
"I'm going to school."
"Well, I can see that," I rolled my eyes, "But what are all three of you doing here?"
"We have to go to school somewhere," Chase snapped back. Looks like he hadn't changed that much.
"But you chose Gotham? Really?"
"Hey, you're here too. What happened to Boston and living with Christina and Eric?"
I glanced around the hallway, making sure it was still clear. "You know the Snow Queen's free. I can't continue living with them. It would put them and their children in too much danger."
"They're Characters, Fera, they can handle themselves," Chase reasoned, but I shook my head.
"I'm not going to lose them like you lost Cal," I mumbled, avoiding his eyes. But I could still see the pained look that crossed his face, and then a look of understanding.
"Okay, I get it. But why Gotham? I thought you hated Connecticut."
"Exceptions were made." I thought back to when Batman had suggested I go to school in Gotham. You can't exactly say no to the Dark Knight; he was far too terrifying. Even now, he scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. "You guys shouldn't be here. Rory has an Unwritten, just like the Snow Queen. She's looking for you three as we speak. You need to stay hidden."
"Please, we'll be fine. Rory and I are the best fighters at EAS, and Lena's the greatest inventor of all time. Wait." Chase paused, looking at me with suspicious eyes. "How do you know about Rory's Tale? We just found out about it two months-"
A series of screams coming from the lunchroom interrupted his interrogation. I sighed. "Give me two minutes to deal with this. Maybe five. I'll be right back."
I started running back towards the cafeteria, taking off my glamour pendant along the way. My short blonde hair took the place of Lea's bun, her skin turned paler, and her eyes shifted into a dark blue color. The Gotham Academy uniform disappeared as well, my halter top uniform appearing instead. I almost tripped when my Converse changed into high-heeled boots, but I managed to stabilize myself.
I wasn't the only thing to change; the once pristine, sparkling cafeteria was now covered in… mustard? And relish and hopefully ketchup. Tables were overturned and students cowered under the few that hadn't been meddled with. In the center of the mess was a man with a pickle hat. He was holding two guns shaped like ketchup and mustard bottles, and to top off his ridiculousness, he was wearing white underwear over a tight, blue, full-body suit.
"What the Merlin?" I skidded to a stop behind one of the overturned tables, staring at my bizarre adversary. And bizarre was putting it nicely.
"Aha! So you have come to challenge the Condiment King!" The man with the whitie-tighties propped his foot up on a chair and puffed out his chest. "I will warn you, it is not an easy task!"
Before I could say anything insulting back, the sound of a grappling hook being shot off caught our attention. Soon, Robin dropped down from above right next to me. I should have expected he'd show up; this was his school, after all.
"Is this guy for real?" I asked, nodding my head towards the seriously messed up guy.
Robin sighed. "Yeah."
I let out a loud, unabashed laugh. "You guys fight him? Really? You and Batsy? I can't believe it! Oh my Merlin, I have to take a picture of this. Hold on." I fished out my phone from one of my belt pockets and snapped a picture, laughing uncontrollably the whole time.
Robin gave me a sour look, his demeanor so unlike usual. "Are you done yet, Olivia?"
My eyes sparkled as he started up our old game; life had been so hectic lately, I almost forgot about it. "As soon as I send this to the Team, Roger. Oh, Artemis is going to love this."
"Hey, Rory, don't send that!" Robin tried to grab the phone out of my hand but I jumped out of his reach.
"Too late, Brent!"
"Are you children finished?" the Condiment King interjected, looking awfully impatient for a guy that thought it would be cool to wear underwear on top of his clothes.
"Finished with you, perhaps." I put my phone away and eyed the way Condiment King was standing. He was off-balance with his foot on the chair like that. One could easily knock him down with a small force. "I'm thinking a 718. What about you, Zane?"
Robin inspected the Condiment King as well, judging my decision. Finally, he smirked.
"Sounds perfect, Lily." He took the lead, sprinting at Condiment King. I followed behind, watching as the weirdo criminal pointed one of his condiment guns at the two of us. Only a few paces away from the condiment lover, Robin stopped and turned, cupping his hands into a step for me. I used it and he launched me into the air.
Condiment King didn't even see it coming. I kicked him in the face with the force of a Superman punch and he was knocked out without much of a fight. I knew he wouldn't be much of a problem. The lunch room was a mess, though, and it would take them a few days to clean everything up. Hopefully, that meant no school tomorrow.
I rolled as I hit the ground, barely avoiding the falling body of Condiment King. To my dismay, I landed in the biggest condiment mess in the whole lunchroom, and when I looked down at my outfit, I let out a cry of distress.
"Rose? Are you hurt?" Robin ran towards me, but only saw my mess of a uniform.
"No, my clothes! They're ruined!" I groaned, cringing at the smell. Ew, note to self, never combine ketchup, mustard, and relish. It smelled awful.
Now it was Robin's turn to laugh and mine to be sour. "If you can survive a building collapsing on you, I think you can survive this." Once he was finished with his cackling, Robin looked over our new prize and took out a pair of handcuffs to put around Condiment King's hands. "Come on, Penny, let's take this guy to Arkham."
Still pouting about my clothes, I helped Robin carry the unconscious man out of the cafeteria. Our fellow students stared at us the whole time, peeking their heads out of their hiding places and whispering to each other. I caught a few snippets of conversation, like 'witch of Boston' and 'what is she doing here, with Robin?' Really, a villain just attacked their school and the only thing they want to do is gossip?
The police were already waiting outside by the time our thirteen-year-old selves finally got the heavy body out of the building. See, this is why I need a personal troll to do my bidding.
"Good work, Robin and, uhhhh…" the young police captain turned his eyes on me and I could already tell he was having a hard time not laughing at the ketchup and mustard that covered me. The entire police force was trying to hide their giggles, but none of them were really good at it.
I folded my arms and glared at all of them. "It's Arctica, captain."
"Right, of course," he cleared his throat, "We'll take Condiment King into custody and make sure he's returned to his cell in Arkham Asylum."
"And make sure to close the door this time," I growled under my breath. Robin snickered, reminding me of how much I missed that laugh.
What? Missed his laugh? Where did that even come from? Snap out of it, Arctica, you don't have time to catch feelings.
The police captain's face reddened as he nodded curtly to us, then took the Condiment King away. I turned my attention back on my outfit. There was no way any of this was coming out with normal methods; I could probably use a spell, though. But not until I got home to the Cave tonight. They better close school for the rest of the day, or I'm revolting.
"We should get back before the teacher's start counting heads, Amy," Robin suggested. Seeing that I was still frowning at my condiment coating, playfully shoved me. "Don't worry about it; they'll cancel school for sure."
"You better be right, Ron," I grumbled. With his signature smirk on his face, Robin disappeared so he could change into his civilian identity. I didn't bother following him to get a glimpse of who he really was; I liked our guessing game, and I might not be ready to finish it just yet.
I retreated to my own secret spot to put my glamor charm back on. My superhero uniform morphed into my school one, my hair grew longer, my skin grew darker, and my eyes went back to a light brown. The ketchup and mustard still covered me head to foot, however, and I smelled like an over-sauced corn dog.
"This is humiliating," I muttered as I snuck back to the cafeteria so I could blend in more. To my relief, a lot of other kids had been given the hotdog special by Condiment King, so I didn't look all that odd.
Chase found me as soon as I got back and the first thing he did was burst into a fit of laughter. I impatiently waited for him to stop, tapping my food on the floor and glaring at him.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, it's just," Chase laughed again, clutching his stomach, "Oh, this is priceless."
"I'm glad you enjoy my misery." I sighed and tried to wipe some of the mess off of my skirt. It didn't work. "You should go find Rory and Lena and see if they're all right. Tell them about me, if you want to, but I would appreciate it if you kept my real identity a secret."
"You superhero types and your secrets," Chase rolled his eyes.
"Uh, we're not the only ones keeping secrets, Mr. Secret Half-Fey," I shot back at him.
"Touché."
"Students, please report to your homeroom so we may ensure your safety. Students, please report to your homeroom so we may ensure your safety," the loudspeakers blared out. Chase and I winced as the sound hit our sensitive ears. They didn't need to be that loud.
"Ouch," Chase grumbled, covering his ears.
"No kidding. I should go. See you later?" I started walking away and Chase started to walk the other way.
"Yeah, you still haven't answered my questions!" He shouted.
I rolled my eyes and went to go find my locker so I could grab my backpack before heading back to Dr. Elkton's classroom.
Dick met up with me along the way, and his uniform was annoyingly pristine. "Yeesh, what happened to you?"
"Condiment King happened," I sighed, holding my backpack away from me so I wouldn't get condiments on it either.
"Here, I can carry that," Dick offered, taking my bag from me.
"Thanks."
Dr. Elkton was waiting outside his class, counting our heads as we entered the room. He took the roll to make sure everyone was there and gave us a rundown on the situation.
School was to be canceled for the next two days while the villain attack was cleaned up. To my surprise, everyone was super calm about being attacked by a crazy person. Did it seriously happen that often?
After Elkton took the time to explain, the voice came over the loudspeaker again and we were dismissed. Dick carried my backpack until we got outside, where I took it from him.
"Guess I'll see you on Thursday," Dick said as he waved at a limo that was driving towards the school. Wow, people in this school were really loaded.
"How are you guys so chill with this?" I asked, looking around at the students and parents that were walking around and acting like everything was normal while the police questioned them and investigated the crime scene.
"It happens a lot," Dick shrugged. I suppose that was a sufficient enough answer, so I waved goodbye to him and started on my way to the nearest Zeta teleporter. As first days go, I'd say that was pretty disastrous.