Chapter 2: Welcome to Hamilton Hill High School

Over the next two weeks I barely saw Bruce, which didn't bother me at all. We had formed an unspoken agreement to stay out of each others way. It wasn't that hard considering I was focused on finishing a summer's worth of homework, so I was doing that, or in the gym practicing my gymnastics and self-defense techniques. We only saw each other around dinner and that was only because we both happened to eat dinner at the same time. We were usually silent as we each prepared our respective meals.

"Do you have everything for school?" Bruce asked me the evening before school started. It took me a second to get over the shock of him actually starting a conversation.

"Um yeah. I'm pretty sure. I mean I'm a junior, so think I've got the school supply thing down." I was rambling. A very un-Jamie like thing for me. Unless I'm flustered.

"Know your schedule and when you need to be there?" He questioned. Was he like this when Dad was in school?

"Yup. The principal wants me there early to talk to me. Not to be rude, but why are you interested?" We had maintained a rather nice mutual silence since I came. Why ruin a good thing? Because honestly, the man still kind of scared me. I'm pretty sure he could give Batman a run for his money as scariest man in Gotham.

"Public transportation doesn't come this far out of town. I assume you can drive." Bruce said, focused on making his dinner.

"Well, legally I can. Whether or not I should is a different story." I was from New York. The need for me to have a car was zero. Our apartment was located close enough for me to walk everywhere or get to a subway station. Dad only owned a motorcycle. I took my driver's test in Anni's mom's car. Which was the last time I had actually driven a car.

"That bad?" Bruce asked, bemused. Wait. Was he...teasing me? This was turning out to be a weird evening. I decided to not be a twip and roll with it.

"I happen to be a good driver! I just haven't driven since last September." I admitted sheepishly. That was almost a year ago. Bruce gave me one of his analyzing looks.

"I'll have Terry come in the morning and take you then."

"The mysterious assistant Terry I have yet to meet?" I must've been feeling brave to respond so sarcastically.

"Yes." He stated, grabbed his plate and left the kitchen. Well, I guess the conversation was over.

So that's how I found myself riding a car with Terry McGinnis on the first day of school.

We were pretty quiet the whole way to school. I am definitely NOT a morning person. The whole way to school I was just trying to wake up. I finally snapped out of it when I heard Terry tell me what way the office was when we got to school. They seemed to be waiting for me, because Mr. Nakamura, the principal, was standing outside of his office and motioned me in right away.

Being connected to Bruce Wayne in New York meant very little when you go to prep school with celebrities' and politicians' kids. And it means absolutely nothing when you break a celebrity's kid's arm and you're facing expulsion.

"Have a seat Ms. Grayson. Let me be the first to welcome you to Hamilton Hill High. Now let's get right to it, shall we?" His tone gave off fake cheerfulness that made me uneasy. I sat down and noticed a file disk with my name on it. Apparently being Bruce Wayne's granddaughter meant nothing in Gotham either. This was "I'm keeping my eye on you" meeting.

"I'll be frank with you. You record file is a bit long," He showed me the file on his computer. All 64 pages. Most students have 20-25. Unless you're troubled. Like me.

"The board was very wary to grant you admission. They agreed for 2 reasons. Firstly, despite your rather disappointing behavioral record, your academic record is very impressive. One of the best this school has seen. Your grades and GPA rival our top students." He looked at me, slightly impressed. Grades were one thing I took pride in. I blame my Dad. He took my education very seriously. My very short temper just seemed to get in the way of me staying in a good school.

"Secondly, your Grandfather made a generous donation so the school could build our new mech lab. The board felt it would be rude to deny you after that."

So Bruce bribed the school with a fancy robotics lab so I could attend. And I thought he didn't like me. Maybe being his granddaughter did have its perks.

"There are some stipulations you must agree to while attending here though." Mr. Nakamura added. I knew it couldn't be that simple.

"You have a no tolerance policy. This is your one behavioral warning. Any misstep and you're expelled again. Do you understand?" he asked in a dark tone. All I did was nod. First day and I'm already on thin ice. Wonderful.

"Since you were admitted mostly because of your grades, you are expected to keep them as you did at Einstein Prep. And lastly, you are required to see our councilor, Dr. Billings, every 2 weeks. Any questions?"

"Uh, yes. Why do I have to get counseling? I mean, I live with Bruce Wayne, I'm pretty sure he would send me to a therapist if he thought I needed it." I wasn't really expecting that last stipulation.

"Are you seeing a therapist?"

"No, but I could if my family thought I needed it." Truth be told, I knew no one in my family would send me to a therapist. They were just as messed up as me. Bruce had an adoption obsession. 2 kids, plus one of his own, and now me. My Dad was always into his work. He was so set on solving a case most of the time he forgets to take care of his basic needs, like eating and sleeping. On top of that, I have no idea where or who my mother is. Dad never talks about her.

"Well until they do, the school is requiring you to see Dr. Billings. Now your student guide should be here by now. They have a similar schedule to your's and will show you around today. You are dismissed." He waved for me to leave. I got out of there as fast as I could. That man made me uneasy.

I exited Mr. Nakamura's office and was immediately greet by a girl with short pink hair and skin a little darker than mine.

"Hi. I'm Max, your student guide." She seemed nice.

"I'm Jamie."

"Nice to meet you. Now let's get to class." And that's how I met Maxine Gibson.

The morning seemed to drag on, with teachers doing the usual first day of class speech and leaving us to ourselves for most of the hour. I stuck by Max, seeing as I didn't know anyone else. Which was fine by me. Max was pretty shway and turns out, one of the smartest kids in school. Terry and Max were actually friends, so in Chemistry, we sat with him and a girl named Dana.

Lunch finally arrived and with it, came a bunch of questions aimed at me. I didn't really mind.

"So, Jamie, what brings you to Hill High?" Max asked. All three of them looked at me expectantly.

"Well, two things really. The biggest being that I got expelled from my prep school. For breaking a kid's arm." I'm not going to lie, telling people I got expelled made me feel pretty badass.

They just looked at me for a second.

"And the other thing?" Max asked.

"Bruce Wayne is my grandfather. He may or may not have bribed the school with the new mech lab to get them to let me come. Not that I mind, because robotics is my focus study." I laughed.

"I have to admit, I was really surprised when Mr. Wayne told me his granddaughter was moving in. I didn't know he even had a grandkid." Terry said.

"Tells you how close we are. Technically I'm his adopted granddaughter. He adopted my dad and Uncle Tim. My Uncle Damian is his true son, but he isn't even married. Legally, I'm one of three grandkids. My Uncle Tim and Aunt Stephanie have twin boys three years younger than me. But my family's history with Bruce is strained so no one really visits or talks to him." I shrugged, in a "what can you do" manner.

"That's so sad." Dana said.

"It doesn't seem to bother him. I've been here two weeks and I've barely seen him. He's kind of a recluse. Which makes me wonder, what exactly do you do for him? " I turned to Terry.

"You know, drive him places, run errands for him. Help him around his house and office." Terry's answer was clearly rehearsed. Bruce was the most stubbornly independent man I've ever met. I didn't believe for a second that Terry was there just to "help out." Bruce was in pretty good shape for his age and more than capable of doing everything Terry mentioned. Something else was going on, but I decided to wait until the drive home to bring it up.

The conversation turned to more mundane topics like classes for the rest of lunch.

I had to sit through an hour of torturous advanced English with Max and Dana before I finally got to go to robotics. I'll admit I was excited to see the new lab which was, let's face it, built for me. And I was not disappointed. The lab was on par with those at Wayne-Powers and FoxTecha. State of the art equipment just waiting for me to build something.

"Are you gonna go in or just stand there like a twip?" Max asked. I shook my head and went in. I turned around when Max didn't follow.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I have computer science. You're in here for the rest of the day, so you don't even need me. Have fun," Max waved as she walked away.

I looked around the lab and noticed that all the students were guys. I wasn't really surprised. The same thing happened in my last advanced robotics class. I sat down at a work table and hoped at least a less creepy guy would sit next to me. I definitely wasn't expecting another girl to.

"Can I sit here?" I looked up to see a blonde girl with glasses giving me a desperate look.

"Oh my god, yes!" I moved my books out of the way so she could sit.

"Hi. I'm Jamie." I introduced myself to her.

"I'm Sharon. I can't tell you how relieved that I'm not the only girl." She smiled in relief.

"I feel the same. We are so going to show these twips how its done." I told her with a smile.

Our teacher, Mr. Stauffer finished his first day speech in 10 minutes, leaving us to talk or mess with spare robot parts for almost the next 2 hours. Sharon and I decided to tinker while we talked.

I told her about my Dad and friends back home, how I was living with Bruce, and how I came to choose robotics as my focus. I told her about my dad's reluctance to send me away to live with Bruce. And their nonexistent relationship. She seemed shocked by that. It was always entertained me to see people's reaction to my dysfunctional family. If only they knew the half of it.

She told me about her parents and twin brothers. Her mom was a robotics engineer for Wayne-Powers and was the reason she was interested in robotics. She was a third generation "robotics geek" as she put it. Her brothers were both in med school to become doctors, so the pressure was on her to continue the robotic family tradition. I was so glad the only pressure Dad ever put on me was to not go into law enforcement.

The bell rang and we went our separate ways. I managed to find my way out of the school and to the car. It was locked and Terry had the starter card. So I sat on the hood and watched as other students left, just enjoying the lingering summer feeling.

"What are you doing?" Terry asked when he saw me sitting on the hood.

"Uh, waiting for you." I thought that was obvious.

"On the car that cost as much as a house!"

"Oh. Sorry?" I hopped off, knowing enough to not scratch the paint. I was more of a motorcycle person than a car person. I blame Dad.

We both got in and the first few minutes of the ride were quiet. I couldn't take it anymore so I decided to bring up something that had been bothering me all afternoon.

"So what do you really do for Bruce? Don't give me the same crap you tell everyone else. I actually know Bruce. And I know he is more than capable of doing the things you listed. Not to mention too stubborn to admit needing help." I looked at Terry skeptically. He sighed.

"I don't know how well you think you know Bruce, but he is old and does need help." Terry argued.

"Whatever. I'll figure it out eventually." I told him confidently.

"I highly doubt that."

"Daughter of a detective here. It has literally been ingrained into my basic mindset. I'll find out sooner or later. You can't hide it forever, McGinnis." I warned. He didn't seem worried by my threat.

"No you won't, because there's nothing for you to find, Grayson." He shot back. We spent the rest of the ride in tense silence. When we got into the manor, we went our separate ways. Me to my room to change for the gym and him to wherever him and Bruce usually disappeared to.

I knew they were hiding something. Anyone who knew Bruce for two minutes knew he didn't actually need assistance. He was too stubborn. I was on to them. I was determined to figure out what they were doing. At the time I didn't really think about what they could be hiding. All I knew was I wanted to find out, but I never expected to find Batman.

Hello my lovely readers! The story will start to pick up somewhat now that all the intro stuff is mostly out of the way. Jamie will be meeting Batman very soon.