Constance J. Fudge High School,
Metroville,
USA, 8/12/1975, 8:45 am
Nick came out of the school building and sat down on the steps. He stretched his legs out and squinted into the winter-sun that was rising over the buildings on the opposite side of the road. The boy that had arrived just after himself, prompting Nick and his father to hide their new suits, appeared to be having a friendly discussion with his mother; he then shouldered a sports-bag and jogged along the path and up into the school.
He stopped and made a double take, turning and fixing his eyes onto Nick who stared back dolefully.
'You OK?' The boy asked. He was tall and fairly heavily built. Back in England he would have made an awe-inspiring rugby forward. 'Why're you sitting there? It's early but you can go to your registration class.'
'Sorry, I wouldn't know, I'm new.' Nick got up and shook the boys hand. 'I'm Nick Worthy.'
'Hey! I'm James O'Shannachan, but my friends just call me Jimbo, or just Jim.'
'Nice to meet you.'
'Same here, Nick.' Jim rubbed his chin. 'Hey, you ain't from around here are you? As in, not from anywhere near here?'
'No. My father and I have just moved in from the United Kingdom.'
Jim grinned. 'Oh, sweet! I went to across the pond once, ya'know. Just a short holiday to London.'
'What did you think of it?' Nick asked, genuinely interested.
'It was pretty cool, yeah. But I tell ya; the best bit was when these two British supers saved a bunch of people from a burning barge. I got one of the pair's autographs.' Jim whipped a small leather-bound book from his jacket and dropped his bag. 'Ah, here it is. I've got a picture of them too!'
Nick looked at the book. There was his signature on the right-hand page alongside a grainy picture of him and his dad standing on London Bridge. Electroboy was making bunny ears behind Stuntman's head. The left-hand page featured a better quality photo of a pretty heroine signed "Stratogirl".
Nick smiled inwardly and feigned ignorance. 'Electroboy, eh? I've heard of the other one, uh, Stuntman is his name I think.'
'Yeah! I missed him before he flew away, but this guy had to wait for a London taxi.' Jim laughed. 'Say, you look a bit like him…' He held up the book to compare Nick to the image inside. 'But – nah… you're far more muscular, no offence to Electroboy.'
'None taken.' Nick muttered.
'What was that?'
'Oh, nothing.' Nick checked himself. 'Just asking if you could show me around a little bit?'
'Heck, sure!' Jim replaced the book and picked up his bag. 'Do you know whose form you're in?'
'Hang on.' Nick pulled out a letter. 'Mrs. Magurndy's set.'
Jim got the door for Nick. 'Great! That's my set!'
'Looks like I found the right guy!' Nick laughed.
---
Jim gave Nick a brief tour of the building. It was vast and seemed to have more facilities in total than the old Grammar back home. By the time Jim finished, the corridors were already clogged with students grabbing their books and heading to registration.
Nick pointed somebody out in the crowd as he and his friend struggled to Mrs. Magurndy's room. 'Who's that?' He asked, his voice tense.
'Who?' Jim glanced in the direction indicated to him. 'Oh, that's Amy Hudson. She's really hot!'
'No, not her!' Nick frowned and pointed again. 'The other girl, with the dark hair.'
Jim snorted, though not in an entirely unfriendly fashion. 'Violet Parr?' He asked rhetorically. 'She's not my type, but I guess whatever turns you on, pal. 'Sides, I think she's already taken.'
Nick realised he'd been gawping and closed his mouth. 'I'd gladly go to hell and back for a girl like that, she's beautiful…'
Jim laughed. 'Come on, time for roll-call.'
---
Nick took a free desk at the back of the classroom, next to Jim, and waited for the room to fill up. Most arrived just prior to the bell, the rest being herded in by Mrs. Magurndy.
'OK, kids. Settle down.' She stood at the front of the classroom, a small, wizened figure. 'Before I take the register, I have a little matter to bring up; today, we have a new face amongst us.'
Numerous heads turned to look at Nick who just smiled nervously in return.
'Nicholas Worthy, would you please come to the front?'
He got up slowly, every instinct telling him not to move, but his body powerless to resist the teacher's order. He felt dozens of eyes boring into his back, and just before reaching the front he whipped around and most of the class jumped – a few girls giggled. Jim just gave him a big thumbs up.
Mrs. Magurndy had to look up to Nick, and had a warm smile that reminded Nick of his grandfather, Edward.
'Hello, Nicholas. Would you like to perhaps say a few things about yourself to the class?' It was phrased as a question, but Nick knew it was in fact a command.
He coughed into his fist and addressed the waiting crowd. 'Well, um, I like to be called Nick, I guess, but my teacher's used to call me just by my surname. I come from England, but we had to move here because of my dad's work. He's an engineer at Mirage Industries.' Nick scratched his head thoughtfully. 'Uh, I like disco music and classical stuff, but I'll listen to anything really. I love science, and tinkering with mechanical things… so, yup, that's me I guess.'
Mrs. Magurndy smiled. 'Thank you, Nick.' She turned to her pupils. 'Are there any questions for Nick?'
A girl with blonde hair and dark brown eyes put her hand up. She spoke with lisp, and Nick recognised her as Amy Hudson. 'Do you play a musical instrument?'
'No, I take – took – singing lessons back in England.'
'What's with the gloves?' Asked a small redhead boy in the front row. He seemed innocent enough so Nick took it in his stride.
'It was a horrific barbecue accident three years ago. I need to keep what's left of my skin covered.' He drew nearer to the boy, causing his eyes to widen, and moved to take a glove off. 'Wanna see?'
The boy groaned and sharply looked away, prompting laughs from those around him.
'So, glove-boy?' Sneered a voice from Nick's left. 'What's it like being a Limey?'
The class was rendered silent and Nick scowled at the person from which the comment came.
'Mr. Rydinger!' Shouted Mrs. Magurndy in a weak, yet firm, voice. 'I really don't think that was appropriate comment at this time!'
A hulking young man in the seat behind whooped. 'You go, Tony!'
'That is enough! Both of you will stay behind after registration! Tony, this is not how you normally behave, I hope you just got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. As for you, Mr. Kennedy, one more outburst like that and I'll send you to the principal, again.' Mrs. Magurndy took her seat. Tony seemed taken aback, and was reading the scribing on his desk. 'Thank you, Nick, you may return to your seat.'
Nick kept his gaze fixed on Rydinger on the way back to his place and clenched his fist. Tony shivered as shocking sensation ran up and down his spine.
'OK, now that's settled, I can start making sure you're present.' She opened a folder and took out a biro from within its pages. 'Audrey, Leonard…'
---
'Don't worry too much about Tony, he's been twitchy recently.' Said Jim as he and Nick forged a path to their first lesson, physics.
'What's been eating him, then?' Asked Nick.
'Nothing, apparently that's the problem.' Replied Jim with a queer grin. The innuendo was tangible.
They pushed open the doors into the lab and took seats at the front. Nick gasped; he had never seen so much scientific equipment before in his life. It was beautiful.
'All right, set, please take your places. We have a busy lesson ahead of us.' Nick was surprised to hear the tutor's thick German accent. When the man turned around, holding a new notebook, Nick was staring into the eyes of a carbon copy of Albert Einstein at thirty. 'Good morning, class. Ach, so… you must be Nick, Chris' son.' He put the book and a small silver card down onto the lab bench. 'This for your father, he will know what to do with it.'
Nick read the card, embossed on it was "CLOCKSTOPPER – Clearance Level Six" and a telephone number. He pocketed the card with one movement and got out a pen, opening the notebook at the first page.
'OK, now that the new physicist has his stationary we can begin. Last time, we were on the structure of atoms…'
---
There was a short ten-minute break after physics. The lesson had lasted two hours, and during that time Nick was sure he had made himself Dr. Dekker's new pet. Thankfully, Tony wasn't there to make anything of it. Instead, he noticed the thin, raven-haired girl from earlier sitting across the way at a smaller bench with two other girls. When he wasn't writing or watching a demonstration, Nick secretively watched her.
At break, Jim had excused himself to go and talk with Amy Hudson, and so Nick amused himself by leaning against a red brick wall watching the other kids enjoying their short stretch of freedom.
Scanning from left to right, he spotted Violet Parr up against a classroom building. She appeared to be studying her reflection in a window. Reaching up, she pulled a purple hair-band from her black locks, letting them fall over the right side of her face. Nick noticed that her hair shimmered blue as the light hit it.
She turned away from the window and started striding to the doors back into school. Nick made his move, sprinting across the yard to where she had just been.
'Excuse me.' He said, stooping to pick up the hair-band from the muddy puddle in which it had been dropped. 'You lost this.'
Violet slowly turned to face him, not that she actually looked at his face. 'Leave it.' She drawled with a faint sob. 'I don't want it anymore.'
Nick finished wiping the grime from it and slipped it into a coat pocket. 'Righto. Well, I've still got it if you ever want it back. May I ask why you don't need it any more?'
Violet shot a look at him with her uncovered eye, and then sat on a bench. She was glad of somebody to talk to, and this British lad seemed a good listener. 'My boyfriend – former boyfriend – liked me with my hair back. I don't care what he thinks anymore… jerk.' She stopped abruptly and her tone darkened. 'What am I telling you this for, anyway? All boys want one thing and one thing only! To get into girl's underwear!'
Nick shook his head and sat down next to her, taking the hair-band from his coat. 'That's really not fair…'
'I think it's perfectly fair!' She whinnied, striking Nick sharply on the wrist. He let the band slip from his fingers and it tumbled to the ground. Nick didn't bend to get it; instead he retracted his hand in a defensive gesture. It had the right effect, calming Violet down. 'Oh, I hurt you…' She reached for his hand but he kept it at a distance. 'I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling too good at the moment.'
'So I can see.' Responded Nick, picking up the hair-band for the second time. He rubbed a thumb over its smooth surface. 'You probably don't care, but for the record I think you look really good with your hair back. You have a very pretty face, and it's a shame to cover it up.'
Violet gave a sobbing laugh, and a tear rolled down her delicate cheek. 'You're sweet, but I-' She took out a tissue and blew her nose. 'I just need to be left alone.' She looked at her feet. 'What's your name, by the way?'
'I'm Nick.' He answered. Violet repeated the name under her breath. 'I can see you're upset, but will you at least tell me who got you like this?'
'It was Tony Rydin-' She started, but was cut off by the sound of the hair-band snapping in Nick's grip.
'Rydinger!' He stated, dropping the plastic pieces as he got to his feet. Violet thought about protesting, but a morbid curiosity kept her quiet.
Tony was laughing and joking with a group of his chums, one of which was the big ape Kennedy. Nick walked purposefully up behind Tony and tapped him on the shoulder. As he twisted to see what it was, Nick extended his fist like lightning into Tony's jaw. He fell onto his backside and started pumping his legs against the gravel to try and gain ground. Nick took another step so he was looking directly down at Tony.
'What the heck was that for? I think you broke something.' He yelped before spitting out a tooth and a glob of blood.
Nick sounded as massive and threatening as he could, difficult when you're resisting the urge to laugh out loud. 'You know full well what I did that for, boyo! Dumping Violet because you couldn't get her undressed is something I find offensive! The next time you pull any nasty trick on any of my… friends, you'll lose more than one tooth. Am I clear?'
Kennedy stepped up to defend Tony's prone body, but Nick assumed a combat stance, hands suspended ready to defend or attack, and the brute backed off. Nick wouldn't give ground to hardened criminals; this lackey didn't scare him.
Tony stammered from the ground. 'Y- you're c- crystal clear… You won't h- have any more trouble… I'm s- sorry.'
'That's more like it, sir.' Nick grabbed the lapels of Tony's jacket and pulled him to his feet, then turned to walk back to where Violet was waiting. She watched him get half-way then darted for the entrance. Nick noticed that she was in the process of tying her hair back with a bobble.
He smirked. 'I think I'm going to enjoy America.'