"Terry! Terry, wake up!" Mom yells. I roll out of bed, that slight taste of
iron in my mouth that you only get after a night of pounding and being
pounded. Mom stands in the doorway, fingers tapping against the frame
impatiently.
"It's 9 am! School will be over before you get there if you don't hurry up!
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
"I swear you must lead a double life, Terry. What does Mr. Wayne possibly need you to do that keeps you out until midnight?" Uh.. Think fast, McGinnis.
"Stuff, Mom." Brilliant.
I grab my books, grab my coat, and run out of the apartment. On the way the phone rings. I reach to answer it, nearly tripping down the stairs as I do.
"Yeah?"
"We have a problem." It's Max. And by we, she can only mean Batman.
"It's a little early in the morning for this."
"She knows who you are, Terry." I stop in my tracks. No one else knows. I know, Wayne knows, and Max knows. That's it. That's what I've been busting my butt to make sure it was. How the hell did anyone else find out?
"Who? Dana?" That might even make things a little easier. At least she wouldn't be able to accuse me of ignoring her anymore.
"No. The new girl."
"You're kidding me." I know the girl for all of 24 hours and she suddenly knows that I'm Batman? This, coupled with me never seeming to get rid of her, just adds to my frustration.
"I kid you not. I don't know how the hell she found out. All I know is that we were talking about Batman's latest stunt, and she walks up and says 'Remove the mask and all you have is someone like Terry McGinnis.' Lucky for you everyone laughed."
Was that supposed to make me feel better?
"I think she knows, Terry, and you have to do something about it." No problem. No problem at all. I should have sensed that those words weren't just the product of a girl's repetition. I hang up the phone, walk faster, and soon enough I'm at school at the break of 2nd period. Within a split second I see the girl, Meraviglia, at her locker. But apparently she's already upset someone else, because Nash is coming towards her. The black eye on his face makes him look even stupider than he already does, and it's obviously why he's upset. Can't possibly have a mark like that marring his lovely face. Or his spotless image.
This girl's got a natural gift for causing chaos.
"Before you attempt to beat me up, do you think you could wait until I've gotten my books out?" Lydia says calmly, not even turning around to acknowledge the enraged 200 pound jock behind her. Nelson slams her against the locker, and that's my cue to rush in.
"Leave her alone, Nash." He glares at me.
"Who's gonna make me, McGinnis? You?"
"No one's going to make you do anything. But if you don't, I might feel inclined to give you another black eye to match the one I've already given you." Lydia growls. Nash glances from me to her, weighing his chances of being able to get even with her, keep me at bay, and still get to class on time. Evidently they aren't that good, because he backs off and goes storming down the hall. And instead of the gratitude I expect, the gratitude that will put me in her favor, keep her in my debt, and keep my secret safe, Lydia glares at me and begins to walk away.
"How about a thank you?" I call out. She stops.
"How about a screw you?" This girl's enough to make you scream.
"I just helped you out! Next time I suppose you rather have me let him hit you!"
"You don't get it, do you McGinnis? I can take care of myself. I don't need you to come rushing in to save the day." Her words are getting increasingly themed towards Batman.
"An ally might be nice for you to have once in a while." She gives me an icy look and yanks me into an empty classroom with surprising strength.
"Look, I know who you are. And that's making you uncomfortable, isn't it?" Uncomfortable no.
Worried, stressed, blackmailed, yes.
"Well you don't have to do me any favors. I don't plan to tell anyone who you are." And I'm supposed to trust this girl I just met who doesn't seem to like me (which is fine because I don't think I like her) with the biggest and most important thing in my life?
I'm going to need a bit more insurance than that.
"To be honest, I don't know you, and I don't trust you. And I don't know that you're going to keep this secret or not." Lydia Meraviglia smirks.
"I guess you'll have to kill me then." She says, laughing. One second she's screaming at you for helping her, the next she's laughing at your concern over your secret.
"It's not funny."
"Since you seem like you have enough to worry about, don't waste your time worrying about this. I promise you I'll never tell anyone. Ever." Maybe it's time for a different approach. I stand as tall as I can. It'll be a bit harder without the suit, but I can try. "You're right. You won't." I try to sound as vicious as possible, to do in my own clumsy way what Wayne can do effortlessly. I give her a glare that could melt ice, standing as close to her as possible to try and scare her with proximity.
Lydia bursts out laughing again.
"McGinnis," She manages to say while giggling, "You don't have to threaten me either. I'm never going to tell anyone. No matter what you may do to me in future or what I may do to you, I won't tell."
I stand, speechless, completely out of weapons and pretty much at her mercy. She smiles at me one last time as the bell rings.
"Don't let it ruin your day, McGinnis. Just forget I even know about it." That should be easy considering that I barely remember her name.
"It's 9 am! School will be over before you get there if you don't hurry up!
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
"I swear you must lead a double life, Terry. What does Mr. Wayne possibly need you to do that keeps you out until midnight?" Uh.. Think fast, McGinnis.
"Stuff, Mom." Brilliant.
I grab my books, grab my coat, and run out of the apartment. On the way the phone rings. I reach to answer it, nearly tripping down the stairs as I do.
"Yeah?"
"We have a problem." It's Max. And by we, she can only mean Batman.
"It's a little early in the morning for this."
"She knows who you are, Terry." I stop in my tracks. No one else knows. I know, Wayne knows, and Max knows. That's it. That's what I've been busting my butt to make sure it was. How the hell did anyone else find out?
"Who? Dana?" That might even make things a little easier. At least she wouldn't be able to accuse me of ignoring her anymore.
"No. The new girl."
"You're kidding me." I know the girl for all of 24 hours and she suddenly knows that I'm Batman? This, coupled with me never seeming to get rid of her, just adds to my frustration.
"I kid you not. I don't know how the hell she found out. All I know is that we were talking about Batman's latest stunt, and she walks up and says 'Remove the mask and all you have is someone like Terry McGinnis.' Lucky for you everyone laughed."
Was that supposed to make me feel better?
"I think she knows, Terry, and you have to do something about it." No problem. No problem at all. I should have sensed that those words weren't just the product of a girl's repetition. I hang up the phone, walk faster, and soon enough I'm at school at the break of 2nd period. Within a split second I see the girl, Meraviglia, at her locker. But apparently she's already upset someone else, because Nash is coming towards her. The black eye on his face makes him look even stupider than he already does, and it's obviously why he's upset. Can't possibly have a mark like that marring his lovely face. Or his spotless image.
This girl's got a natural gift for causing chaos.
"Before you attempt to beat me up, do you think you could wait until I've gotten my books out?" Lydia says calmly, not even turning around to acknowledge the enraged 200 pound jock behind her. Nelson slams her against the locker, and that's my cue to rush in.
"Leave her alone, Nash." He glares at me.
"Who's gonna make me, McGinnis? You?"
"No one's going to make you do anything. But if you don't, I might feel inclined to give you another black eye to match the one I've already given you." Lydia growls. Nash glances from me to her, weighing his chances of being able to get even with her, keep me at bay, and still get to class on time. Evidently they aren't that good, because he backs off and goes storming down the hall. And instead of the gratitude I expect, the gratitude that will put me in her favor, keep her in my debt, and keep my secret safe, Lydia glares at me and begins to walk away.
"How about a thank you?" I call out. She stops.
"How about a screw you?" This girl's enough to make you scream.
"I just helped you out! Next time I suppose you rather have me let him hit you!"
"You don't get it, do you McGinnis? I can take care of myself. I don't need you to come rushing in to save the day." Her words are getting increasingly themed towards Batman.
"An ally might be nice for you to have once in a while." She gives me an icy look and yanks me into an empty classroom with surprising strength.
"Look, I know who you are. And that's making you uncomfortable, isn't it?" Uncomfortable no.
Worried, stressed, blackmailed, yes.
"Well you don't have to do me any favors. I don't plan to tell anyone who you are." And I'm supposed to trust this girl I just met who doesn't seem to like me (which is fine because I don't think I like her) with the biggest and most important thing in my life?
I'm going to need a bit more insurance than that.
"To be honest, I don't know you, and I don't trust you. And I don't know that you're going to keep this secret or not." Lydia Meraviglia smirks.
"I guess you'll have to kill me then." She says, laughing. One second she's screaming at you for helping her, the next she's laughing at your concern over your secret.
"It's not funny."
"Since you seem like you have enough to worry about, don't waste your time worrying about this. I promise you I'll never tell anyone. Ever." Maybe it's time for a different approach. I stand as tall as I can. It'll be a bit harder without the suit, but I can try. "You're right. You won't." I try to sound as vicious as possible, to do in my own clumsy way what Wayne can do effortlessly. I give her a glare that could melt ice, standing as close to her as possible to try and scare her with proximity.
Lydia bursts out laughing again.
"McGinnis," She manages to say while giggling, "You don't have to threaten me either. I'm never going to tell anyone. No matter what you may do to me in future or what I may do to you, I won't tell."
I stand, speechless, completely out of weapons and pretty much at her mercy. She smiles at me one last time as the bell rings.
"Don't let it ruin your day, McGinnis. Just forget I even know about it." That should be easy considering that I barely remember her name.