Thank you to the one person who reviewed the last chapter:

To K9: Isn't that what a plot is supposed to do?

Now, to the story! Octavia begins to notice the signs of her identity...and how is the new vice principal connected to her? Do I even need to remind you to read and review?

Chapter 4: Introduced to A Mysterious Vice Principal

Octavia and Jordan were walking to school.

"Hey, happy birthday, Jordan," said Octavia. "I already have your present."

Octavia drew out a thick comic book. "Here ya go."

Jordan was obviously pleased. "Whoa! The Spider-man/Doctor Octopus Year One series? Cool! How'd you find this!"

"Bought it for myself," Octavia said glumly. "Mom caught me with it and went ballistic. She made me get rid of it. So let me borrow it sometime, will ya?"

But Jordan was once again deep in thought. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"It's Tuesday."

"So?"

"It's National Dental Week, remember?"

That wasn't the kind of thing Octavia noted on her planner, though she did recall seeing it on the bulletin. Still, she didn't understand what that had to do with her best friend's mood.

"So?"

"So this is the day when they're giving free dental exams in the cafeteria. My mom says I have to get one, because our regular dentist moved away and I haven't had a checkup in eight months."

Octavia didn't have to ask anything more. Jordan's fear of dentists was as well known to Octavia as her Doctor Octopus obsession. She tried to reassure her friend. "Look, Jordan, all the dentist is going to do is look in your mouth. And even if he finds anything, he can't do anything, he'll just send a note to your dad. That doesn't sound that bad, does it?"

Jordan's voice was still grim. "Then Daddy will take me to another dentist."

"Well, nothing's going to happen today, so don't worry about it now."

Jordan looked at her friend in despair. "You know how I feel about dentists, Ock! What if I panic in the cafeteria and freak out in front of everyone?"

"You won't."

"I might." Jordan said darkly. After a moment, she added, "Are you getting a checkup?"

"No."

"Why not, it's free," Jordan pointed out. "You don't even have to get a note from your parents."

"Because I've never had anything wrong with my teeth—wait a minute. I see where this is going. You want me to get a checkup I don't want and don't need, just so I can go there with you?"

"Yes!" Jordan wailed. "You're my best friend. I need you for emotional support!"

"Okay, okay," Octavia agreed. "But you owe me a favor."

"Name it."

"Help me get into my folder at school."

Jordan grinned. "I knew you'd come around."

"I'm desperate. I'm lucky if I pull a C out of this assignment."

"Come on, Ock," Jordan said. "You're the smartest girl in the school. You're good at everything. You'll come up with something."

"Like what?"

"You're really good at science. You're taking college courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. And you're always joking about how you're going to become a scientist and take over the world."

"Ha, ha," said Octavia. "Octavia Jones, infamous supervillian. Yeah right. Doubt I'll get ten pages out of some science stuff."

Octavia paused to reach into the back of her brown trench coat. "Damn, my back itches. It's been itching like crazy."

"Maybe it's the tags? Try taking the coat off," suggested Jordan.

Octavia took off the coat. She was wearing a sleeveless green shirt and jeans.

"Oh my gawd!" exclaimed Jordan.

"What?"

"I didn't know you had a birthmark."

"That's news to me," mumbled Octavia. "What does it look like?"

"Let's take a closer look." Jordan took a small makeup mirror from her backpack. She flipped it open, spilling half the powder out of it in the process.

"Whoa! I didn't know you got a tattoo!"

"What!" Octavia yelped. "I never got a tattoo. Mom and Dad would kill me!"

"It's not a regular birthmark, it has a shape! It looks just like a little octopus! Take the mirror and see!"

"Jordan, you see octopuses everywhere. It does not look like an octopus. It's just an ordinary birthmark." Octavia took the mirror and looked at her right shoulder blade.

But Jordan was right. That mark was definitely a little dark brown octopus. Octavia began rubbing it with her finger. It didn't hurt, but it didn't go away either.

"Holy crap," Octavia said. "I've never seen a birthmark shaped like an octopus before."

"That's nothing," said Jordan. "My third cousin James has a birthmark that looks like a strawberry."

It was easy holding up Octavia's end of the bargain. Those students who were having dental checkups were excused from second period classes. Sitting in a cafeteria with a very jittery Jordan Nicholas wasn't much fun, but it sure beat sitting through geography. Octavia began scratching her back. "God damn, my back itches."

"What if he takes out that drill and those needles? What if I start screaming and freaking out?" asked Jordan.

"Relax, why don't you?" asked Octavia. "Just close your eyes and visualize your lover Doctor Octopus holding you—with all six arms."

Daisy, also getting a checkup, burst into loud laughter.

"Shut up, both of you. I never made fun of you when you were crushing on Daniel Radcliffe that time, Daisy."

The dentist was a nice man who allowed Octavia to sit by Jordan's side during her checkup. Jordan's eyes were squeezed shut, as if she was on the verge of screaming. But she survived the exam; the only bad moment was when he made some ominous remarks about Jordan needing to see an orthodontist.

The three went out into the hall. "Hey look!" exclaimed Daisy, pointing to the notice on the hall bulletin board. "'Faculty meeting, 3:45, media center.'"

The other two took notice of the significance of this. "Bingo," said Jordan. "Operation Autobiography is now in progress. I'll meet all three of you at my locker after school."

Jordan's stomach did flip-flops when it came to dentists and had butterflies when it came to tentacled mad scientists, but Jordan was a true, loyal, and (almost) fearless friend. Octavia knew she wouldn't bail out on her. At 3:45, the three were in the principal's office.

"Okay, Daisy, you're the lookout in case anyone comes. If that happens, start fake coughing to let us know. Ock and I are heading to the folders," Jordan directed.

As Jordan had predicted, the door was unlocked. "I can't believe they just leave it open like this," Octavia said. "Geez! My back itches all up and down my spine."

"It's not like there's anything valuable in here," offered Jordan.

"Except to me," she said.

"Of course. Here it is—Big Brother's secret stockpile of student information."

It was too easy. Octavia opened the drawer labeled H-K. She flipped through the folders. "Jackson; Jameson; Jerome; Jokson; Jones, Annabel; Jones, Octavia…that's mine!"

Octavia drew out the folder labeled "Jones, Octavia M." But it wasn't like the others, stuffed with papers.

"Jordan…it's empty!"

"What! Impossible!"

"See for yourself."

"Shit! If you scrape your knee, they put a note in there. Why the hell would yours be empty?"

"Maybe they're transferring the information to computer," Octavia offered lamely.

"You're smarter than that. Why would they start with you, instead of in alphabetical order?"

There was a sudden bout of coughing from Daisy's direction. But her warning was too late. A sharp voice spoke from behind them.

"What are you doing?"

The girls froze. Then they turned around.

Octavia didn't recognize the man in front of her. He was tall, slender, with neatly combed black hair, and he wore a suit. He repeated his question. "What are you doing?"

"Uh…we were looking for something," Jordan said.

The man stepped towards them. It had been drilled into Octavia from diapers that perverts didn't always look like "dirty old men" in raincoats.

"If you step any closer, I'm going to scream," Octavia warned, still clutching the folder. The man ignored her and took the folder from her hand. He looked at her, looked at the folder, and replaced it in the file cabinet.

"I know what you want to do, Octavia Jones," he whispered. You want to find information about your biological family. But be careful. You may not want to know where you came from."

Then a small woman with steel gray hair entered the office. "Mr. Carlyle," she began, then stopped. "What are you girls doing here?"

Octavia went pale. Principal Holmes was always intimidating, but with the frown she had now, she was downright scary. Jordan was thinking she'd rather face off against the whole Sinister Six than Dr. Holmes.

"Octavia Jones and Jordan Nicholas were looking in the lost and found box," Mr. Carlyle said. "They were looking for…what was it, a watch?"

"Y-yes," Octavia said. "My watch."

"And did you find your watch, Octavia?" asked Dr. Holmes.

"No."

"You should be more careful of your possessions, young lady. Now get home."

"Yes, Dr. Holmes, I will," said Octavia. Then she and Jordan began backing out of the office, then walking fast, then running.

They didn't stop running until they got to the Jones house, where they collapsed on the ground in hysterical giggles.

"I thought I'd die!" Jordan exclaimed. "Did you freak when you saw that man?"

"My heart practically stopped," agreed Octavia. "And when Dr. Holmes entered the room, I didn't know whether I should be glad or double-freaked."

"Who was he, anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I remember…it was in the bulletin! Mr. Carlyle, the new assistant principal!"

"And to think you told the assistant principal that you were going to scream if he came any closer!" Jordan laughed.

"Hey, I didn't know! He could have been a pervert looking for girls to kidnap!"

Jordan stopped giggling. "But he covered for us…that's weird, covering for the students. Wonder why he did it—that just makes no sense."

"I don't know and I don't care," said Octavia. Because there were other things that made even less sense.

What was with that octopus-shaped birthmark about?

Why was her folder empty?

Where was she going to get information for her biography?

And what was Mr. Carlyle's strange remark about?