Emma pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the gated school she looked at me. Fixed my bangs with her fingers.

"You are going to be fine. They don't bite."

"I more afraid of the bullying."

"That will happen at every school."

"Its grade 9, I'm only twelve, they're all fourteen."

"You'll be fine, you're smart, you're beautiful, you're determined. If you were going to grade 8 this year, admit it you'd be bored."

"I guess."

"I'll pick you up on Friday night. Just get through it one week at time. You know boarding is the best option for you, otherwise you'd spend two hours a day in the car with me or your dad, and I think I'd go a bit nuts."

I nodded.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

"Well I'm dropping you off anyway, I need to get back and take Martha to her doctor's appointment."

She pulled away from the curb and into the school and drove me to the front door where numerous other parents were doing the same. I put my hand on the handle and stared at it for a few moments. Emma nudged my shoulder.

"See you in a week."

She leaned over and hugged me. I finally opened the door and went to the hatch back and opened it. I pulled my school bag over my shoulder and picked up my two suitcases. I closed the hatch back and waved at Emma as she drove away. Then I went inside. The best description of what I witnessed is ordered chaos. There were parents standing with their children, well teenagers and what I assume were instructors and dorm monitors directing people where they needed to go. I was apparently looking for Ms. Summers. I scanned the entryway for a few minutes before finding her. I put my bags down and dug the papers I was sent and filled out. They were slightly crumpled. Everyone else had them in manilla folders. She didn't even look up at me she just took the papers and leafed through them handed me a map. She pointed to the far west exit of the building. breaths. .

"Your dorm is that way."

I found myself following a row of girls were slightly older than me. I hadn't seen April or Jacob yet. I stopped at the outside of Lincoln Hall. My dorm. I saw people milling about inside. I put my suitcases down and took a few deep breaths. I felt a tap on my shoulder and nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Nervous much?"

I spun around and I was looking at Caitlin Luthor. I had chatted with her for quite a while at the Gotham City Museum Gala. We had quite a few things in common when it came to likes and dislikes.

"That is an understatement."

"What room are you in?"

I showed her my map.

"I got you. Come with me, I'll show you around."

I picked up my bags and followed her. The dorm was fairly big. Sixty rooms. Two girls to a room. She opened the door to my room for me and followed me inside there was already a girl in here. She was short. She was wearing large glasses. She had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. Her body and face would be best described as pudgy. She looked up from organizing her clothes in her drawers and glared at Caitlin.

"They'll let anyone in here. How much did your daddy have to bribe them this time?"

Caitlin made a face.

"Amber, this is Angela. I'd say more but I don't want to poison you against her. She'll do that herself. Hey Angela, didn't see you at either of the big Autumn Galas, too fat to fit in your dresses?"

"At least I wear dresses and not underwear with tissues stapled to it."

I looked between two wondering if they were going to start clawing at each other. I decided to try and defuse the situation.

"Thanks Caitlin."

"I'll see you later Amber, watch that she doesn't murder you in your sleep. It wouldn't be out of character for her family."

Caitlin winked at me then walked out of the room. Angela pushed her glasses up her nose and looked me up and down. Then promptly ignored me. I silently hoped showing up with Caitlin hadn't made her hate me. I barely knew Caitlin and the only reason she bothered with me is I rescued her. I started moving my clothes to my dresser and hanging my uniforms up. I put my laptop out on my desk and set up several pictures. I liked to think of them as my new memories. Once I was finished unpacking I laid on my bed and pulled out my tablet and opened the link access app for the Fortress's computer. I turned off voice and went with text interface and started learning more of the Kryptonian language.

She was standing over me while I lay on my bed. She was looking at me intently.

"You stay on your side I will stay on my side. I don't want to be your friend. I don't want to be your study partner. I don't even want you as a roommate, but I have no choice, I will complain if you bother me and I will get you kicked out. So, don't cross me."

I doubted the last part. I was pretty sure having a man who is trying to repay a debt to me he can never repay on the board would nix that. But I let her have her delusions.

"I understand."

"That's it? No snotty comeback, no threats that I don't know who you are?"

"No, stay on my side of the room, don't try to be your friend and don't annoy you. That seems pretty clear."

"Fine, good that we understand each other."

I shook my head and went back to studying Kryptonian. I got the feeling Angela wasn't good with people and probably didn't have many friends. I was not about to play social worker. I had my own shit to deal with. After about another half an hour of silence she showed up again by my bed.

"So, no half-hearted attempts to help the poor little fat girl?"

I looked away from my tablet and up at her.

"Look Angela, if you want to be a lonely, friendless whatever, you go right ahead. If you want to try to be friends and make our dorm room a little warmer and inviting, I'm okay with that too. The power is in your hands."

She fixed her glasses and crossed her arms.

"What is your deal?"

"My deal?"

"Why are you so nonchalant about this situation?"

"What situation?"

"Being stuck with me as roommate?"

"I did not know it was a situation I needed to be concerned about."

"I'm the least popular girl here and you don't seem to care."

"That's because I don't."

She looked surprised.

"The pictures of you at the last high society event sure looked like you cared."

"I don't."

"Must be nice to have parents so rich they can afford to have you wearing twenty million dollars with of diamonds to a random party."

I locked my tablet, closed my eyes an rubbed the bridge of my nose. I sat up and I gently put it on my desk. She had retreated to her side of the room now.

"Angela, you're trying really hard to find things to dislike me for."

"Well…I…"

"I have no idea what Caitlin was going on about. Truly I don't care. Her issues with you are her issues. If you want to hate me because of whatever you go right ahead I'm sure you can find lots of ways to resent me. I'm way past done trying to make people like me."

She blinked at me.

"You don't know who I am?"

This was probably my ADHD setting in. I was hyper-focused on learning Kryptonian and she was getting in the way of that. So, I probably sounded very exasperated.

"No Angela, I have no idea who you are."

"Angela Sterling?"

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? Nice last name?"

"Sterling Investments?"

"Just tell me whatever you are trying to say so I can go back to my studying please."

"My mother is accused of killing my grandfather in his sleep?"

"I am truly sorry for your loss."

"That's all?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

I was not quite following her train of thought. I must be honest I was confused at what she was trying to prove or disprove. Frankly, she seemed a bit nuts at that point. She blinked at me.

"Am I supposed to hate you or something because you mom was accused of killing someone?"

"I…"

"If you want to treat people like crap just do it honestly. Don't hide behind your mom. Feel free to preemptively hate me, I don't care whatever makes you feel better. If you try hard enough you can make sure we'll never be friends then I won't have a chance to betray you later when something you have no control over makes your family look bad."

I rolled my eyes, I was done with the conversation and picked up my tablet and went back to studying Kryptonian. She approached me again after several minutes. I guess when I was laying down, I wasn't intimidating or something.

"What are you working on, classes haven't started?"

"A very dead language I want to learn, it is brutally punishing, and a lot harder when someone keeps interrupting me."

"Why?"

I locked my tablet. And put it down again.

"Because I want to Angela."

She pointed at one of my black and white pictures.

"Who is this?"

"My Great Grandparents and my Grandmother and Great Uncle."

She pointed at a picture from my trip to Gotham.

"And who is this?"

"That is my sister and I at Wayne Manor."

"And who are these people?"

"Those are my parents with my sisters and I."

She picked up another picture, Heather had taken it and printed it. It was me in a tank grease covered pink tank top and jeans wiping my forehead with my arm. A wrench in my hand and a baseball hat flipped backwards standing beside the Dodge Challenger. Edna had her arm over my shoulders. Just before I left for school, we had have moved it to the middle of the barn to start restoring it. It was slow going. I hadn't even realized Heather was taking the picture.

"Is that a barn?"

"Yes. That's my grandma and I."

"Why are you covered in grease?"

"Because I was working on an old car. Why do you think?"

She put the picture down and picked up the second to last one, it was also black and white. It was of Clark, and Diana. With their arms wrapped around each other and they were kissing in front of a fountain. I had found it when I was helping Edna clean out Clark's things from his old room. I'm not even sure why I kept it or brought it with me. I had thought about giving it to Diana. I probably should.

"This is your great uncle."

"Yes, and his fiancé. Central Park in Metropolis."

"They looked really happy."

"I thought so too, that's why I kept it."

"Are you close with him?"

"No, he died long before I was born."

She picked up the last one and it was a picture Jacob, April and I had taken at the Gala.

"That's Jacob Faloni. You're friends with him?"

"Yes, he's one of my best friends. And the girl is April, she's my best friend."

She put the picture down. And looked at them for a few more minutes.

"For someone who doesn't want to be my friend you're sure curious about me."

"That's because you're a mystery. I don't know who you are. You show up at the Gala in Gotham suddenly and then you're here, but I have never seen you at any other high society events."

I laughed.

"So, you don't know who I am?"

"No, I don't. I know you're Amber Morris and you're supposedly Bruce Wayne's Granddaughter."

"I am his adopted Granddaughter."

"What?"

I opened my tablet and closed the Fortress-link app. And searched for the video of me rescuing the sheriff and Caitlin. I offered it to Angela.

"This is who I am."

Angela watched it and then tapped a few follow up links that had showed up in the search engine. Her eyes getting wider and wider. She handed it back to me it was a picture of me walking back to the Sheriff's SUV with Caitlin in my arms with the tornado flaming car behind me and my hair whipping in the wind. It honestly looked like something out of a cheesy action movie. She sat down on her bed and stared at me. I locked my tablet and looked at her.

"You're not the only one with their name in the news. I have a feeling I'm going to be as popular as your average homeless person at this school. I'm an orphan and everyone can find that out with a thirty second search."

"So those are all your adoptive relatives?"

I shook my head and walked over to the desk and picked up the picture of Clark and Diana.

"This is my real grandfather."

I showed her the picture of Edna and I.

"This is my Great Aunt Edna. But to stop my sister from getting confused I just call her Grandma."

I touched the glass of the picture frame tracing Edna's form before putting it down.

"How did you get into this school then?"

"Caitlin's dad. He seems to think he has to repay me for saving his daughter. I didn't apply here; I didn't even know the school existed. I sure as hell didn't want to come here."

I shrugged.

"This is the best high school in the country."

"And I am no where near smart enough to be here. There you go that's the whole truth, mystery solved. Can I go back to my thing now?"

"One more question. Are those contacts?"

"No these are my real eyes."

"Freaky."

"Thanks for pointing that out."

I picked up my tablet and went back to work studying Kryptonian.

"I meant to say, they are cool."

She seemed to have gotten enough out of me and left me be. I was engrossed with Level 1. The computer was treating me like I was a six-year-old Kryptonian now. I felt a tug on my bare foot. I looked up and it was April.

"You're such a nerd."

"Guilty."

"What room are you in?"

"I'm four doors down."

"What's your roommate like?"

"She's cool, she's Scottish, her accent is awesome. What's yours like?"

"She's weird she told me she didn't want to be friends and to stay on my side of the room. Then interrogated me for like an hour."

"Oh, you brought pictures!"

"Yes. I thought it would help me not freak about not being at home."

"So, supper?"

"What time is it?"

"Like 5:30, I texted you five times."

"Sorry I was distracted and wow I've been here for eight hours? No wonder I'm starving. I thought I was just feeling like stress eating."

I pulled on my runners and went downstairs, the dining area was full of girls already. I saw Angela sitting alone. I know I should have just let her be, but I did feel bad for her. A girl with blonde hair was waving at April. We picked up our food and I started walking towards Angela. April stopped me.

"Where you're going? Let's sit there."

She pointed to some empty seats by the blonde girl. I motioned to Angela. April shrugged and motioned for the blonde to join us and she did. We sat down around Angela who looked a bit intimidated. April smiled and motioned to the Blonde girl.

"This is Drew, Drew this is my best friend Amber."

"Oh wow, you're the girl with no fear."

"Ya, that's me."

"April this is Angela, Angela this is April."

Angela gave a small nod. I tried the food. It was actually good. I was expecting hospital food that looked pretty. Drew kept glancing at me shyly. I smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, I've just met someone who was famous before."

"Its okay I'm used to it."

Angela was quiet throughout out the meal, but she also didn't rush away. Drew was pretty fun to chat with, and April, well she was April. Angela, April and Drew had all headed back to there dorms I however had gone back for seconds because well I hadn't eaten all day and a growing super-powered girl needed food. I had just finished dropping off my tray and dishes and was turning to go when I found my path towards the exit blocked. It was by three older girls. One of them had their arms crossed. They looked to be Caitlin's age. Grade eleven's probably I was already taller than them. Not that it seemed to intimidate them at all. The leader of the trio a blonde girl who looked like she hadn't been told 'no' enough as a child was fuming. The other two just seemed to be flunkies. The leader shoved me, or tried to, it did not exactly go as she planned. I wasn't expecting the shove so basically nothing happened. Her face got red she looked like a tomato with a blonde wig. Watching her frustration was sort of amusing. I probably should have just let her knock me down would have made my life easier later on, but I was a teenager, and frankly forward thinking is not a teenager's strength. She tried again, and again. I finally, very politely I might add asked her:

"What are you doing?"

"You…you.."

Her friends were snickering at her, which seemed to make things worse. She finally found her words.

"Angela Sterling is untouchable. Someone should have told you that. No one eats with her, no one talks to her."

I'm not sure if you've realized it by now, but I have a bit of a temper. Also, I don't like people bossing me around. And lastly, I really don't like snotty, stuck up, b-words. I probably should have handled it differently. Live and learn right?

"I have no idea who you think you are or for what reason you think your opinion matters and I don't care. I will be friends with who I want, I will sit with who I want and if you touch me again, I'm going to throw you into that garbage bin over there. Maybe I'll even get expelled for it, two for the price of one. So, go ahead, try and shove me again shorty. I dare you."

I caught site of Caitlin who looked to be caught between absolute shock, giddiness with a bit of fear thrown in. Blondie's mouth dropped open and her friends were looking at each other. I decided to make my exit while she was trying to figure out what just happened. I realized there were about twenty sets of eyes following me and silence in the dining hall. I started to suspect the depth of my error at that moment. I had just insulted a queen on her own turf. Her name was Constance, and she was anything but forgiving. My life would have probably been a lot more difficult if not for the fact I was already quasi-friends with Caitlin and several other she had introduced me to at the Gala.

The month that followed was punishing to say the least. Not only was I dealing with learning things a grade level above where I left off, so I was playing a lot of catch up. I had also basically started a war with Constance, and she was relentless. Angela had heard what I had said from someone who after seeing me stand up to Constance, had the courage to rekindle a friendship with her. She became a much better and friendlier roommate after that. April and Drew took my side and Caitlin, and her crowd were pretty much neutral on the whole thing.

Three things happened to bring the war to its conclusion. The first was because of my superpowers, and unlike Clark Kent, I had no parent to tell me no. I was an amazing athlete, so I crushed it on the field hockey field, tennis court, soccer field, and cross country. Basically, I was a star athlete, and no one questioned it because I still went for my jogs every morning for at least forty-five minutes, rain or shine. The second was, and this shocked me, I received an invitation to a girls only secret society, The Order of the Black Rose. I'm not sure who invited me, it was by anonymous ballet, three votes you're in. Constance wasn't in it and had no idea it existed. I had a whole new support network. The last one is the one that bothered me.

Over the month Constance's attacks went from trying to ruin me socially to more physical. She tried to keep up with me in a battle of wits but she fell short, so I kept embarrassing her in front of, well everyone. I still did not really care, because other then the sports, I really wasn't wanting to be at the school. I missed my family. Basically, nothing she did was working because I didn't care, and when she did force me to respond I embarrassed her. There were still a few things she could do, like go after April, or my family. She hadn't thus far. I think because April scared her more then I did. She had tried once but after April whispered something in her ear she went pale and walked away.

It was October the third and I was reading my tablet while walking back to my dorm room from class and she got in front of me. We were by the railing over the entrance way, it was about a thirty-foot drop. She cornered me against the railing and was trying to grab my tablet. I was resistant to this idea because I had my interface to the Fortress open. So, I twisted her hands off.

"Get your own! Or did your parents spend too much on your chest and nose to afford one?"

This is my ADHD talking, as it usually was. When I have time to think and process, I can make good choices. But because of ADHD I really don't have that set of brakes in my brain that normal people do. If I did when she tried to grab my shirt I would have just stood there and let her shove me, but no, I just moved out of the way. I mean I can run faster then the speed of sound dodging a crazy power-tripping blonde girl who was a normal, if slightly deranged human was easy. But then she went over the railing.

I hated her, but that was no reason to want her to break her neck because she fell thirty feet so I caught her ankle. Her skirt was completely over her chest and we all got to see more of her underclothes then we wanted too. She was screaming and kicking her feet. You might not believe me but no part of me was tempted to drop her. I quickly pulled her up and a dorm mother who had witnessed the whole event helped get her over the railing. Constance had wet herself. Yes, she peed herself right there in front of fifty girls and one dorm mother because this happened just after classes and we were all getting back to the dorm. Not only that because she was upside down it went up her nose and on her face. That was it, that was the end of Constance's one-sided war with me. Peeing on ones face as a teenage girl is really hard to come back from socially. She despised me for the rest of her time at Excelsior, but she had lost all her social power. Now she was golden shower girl. And it never went away.