Chapter Seventy
...
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Thank you for attending Sky High's senior graduation. We congratulate each and every one of these students, and know that their contribution to the community and world will be spectacular. Their futures await and the sky's the limit!" Principal Powers said, applauding loudly.
The crowd of students and parents clapped along with her.
Principal Powers smiled as she waited for the applause to die down - every year, without fail, there were some students who were far too eager and overzealous in their applause, but she gave them leeway during graduation. Even if they were running five minutes behind schedule. She'd just skip the explanation of how senior graduation was done at Sky High: the parents would either already know, or they'd catch on quickly enough.
Adam: you need to see this
Jewel: is it important during graduation?
Adam: I'd wait if it wasn't.
Attached:
Ethan: it's the yearbook. How did you find it?
Adam: I was bored & wanted to see what it looked like, so I found the yearbook committee emails
Wendy: Will apparently has the Best Superpower
Zach: that's not even correct; he has two powers
Donny: Seriously, Ethan?
Zach: what's wrong?
Zach: ohhh. Can I just say I love private messaging?
Adam: ew. remind me to never look at your private chats
Ethan: that's why they're called private
Adam: dude, nothing is private
Jewel: most likely shine?! WHAT THE FUCK?
Warren: I got 'most likely to be a villain', surprise, surprise -_-
Layla: I'm most likely to be an eco-terrorist, apparently
Ethan: are you sure this is the final yearbook that went for publishing?
Adam: yep. It's the last email that Lisa & Ben sent to each other
Adam: someone in the yearbook committee found the email after Powers fired them
Adam: they must've sent it to the publisher without looking
Warren: anyone mind if I set the yearbooks on fire?
Grant: not at fucking all
Craig: what's yours?
Grant: it's not good
Donny: super fucking Jesus
Wendy: where are Ben and Lisa? I'm going to hit them with every lightning bolt I can make
Craig: oh
Craig: I'll kill them myself
Jewel: I can't see them; are they even here?
Zach frowned as he flicked through the PDF pages, trying to find Grant's senior quote and 'most likely' award. Stopping when he saw Grant's photo, his mouth dropped open when he read the award Lisa and Ben had given him: most likely to seduce a teenager.
It didn't even make sense; Grant was still a teenager, and besides, Gwen had dated Will when she was a senior and he was a freshman last year. No one had said or done anything about that four-year age difference, which was larger than Craig and Grant's two and a half years.
"Grant," Coach Boomer called, Grant ascending the stage to accept his certificate and yearbook, shaking Principal Powers' hand before turning to face the crowd.
"I will be attending the University of Maxville, doing a double major in Law and Science," Grant announced, the crowd clapping in response.
Continuing across the stage, Grant returned to his seat, dumping the yearbook on the floor.
Donny: Lisa & Ben are here; they've been seated with the citizens as part of their punishment
Wendy: shit. My aim's improved, but I'd probably get the citizens if I tried to hit them
Zach: that's a shitty punishment
Donny: I said part of their punishment; the other part is attending summer school with a focus on communications and anti-bullying workshops
Zach: still a shitty punishment
Jewel: don't worry, I've got an idea :)
Coach Boomer called out the next few students to accept their certificate and yearbook, and announce their plans: Hector (university); Ignatius (Hero); Igor (work); Jakub (Hero Support for Ignatius); Jennifer had to make up for Mad Science over summer school, so only left the stage with her yearbook; Jesus (gap year); Jewel.
Jewel smiled at the applause from the crowd, shook Principal Powers' hand, accepted her yearbook and certificate with a smile, making sure her parents took their photos. When that was done, Jewel stepped forward. "I will be working in the super community as Gemstone," she announced, turning around to de-robe and reveal her super suit.
Her super suit was white, skin-tight, and had diamond pieces cut out at her joints to allow for better arm and leg movement. A few more decorative diamond shapes were cut as well, accentuating her curves and diamond-like skin, and probably revealing enough to distract both heroes and villains.
Completing the outfit were a pair of white gloves, the material thick enough to stop her power from turning anyone or anything to a jewel by accident. To bypass the need for Jewel to take the gloves off every time she wanted to use her power, the gloves were sewn with thread that she'd turned to stone so she could remove the gloves whenever needed.
Zach: I helped design that! :)
Craig: I love you, dude
"I'd like to read my senior quote, if that's all right?" Jewel added, already opening the yearbook without waiting for Principal Powers' response.
Principal Powers smile thinned, but she didn't say anything. Not in front of a crowd this large, not in front of current and possibly future students. Even though they were now running ten minutes behind thanks to Mr. Boy's tearful clapping for every single sidekick.
"Diamonds are... Oh," Jewel stopped abruptly, her eyes widening.
Mindful of the cameras, Principal Powers only frowned a slight amount as she stepped forward. "Is everything all right, Jewel?"
"I just... I thought it had stopped," Jewel said, her lip trembling and her eyes filling with tears.
Frowning deeply now, Principal Powers took the offered yearbook and read the innocent quote. Then the award caught her eye and she looked up the page to see Grant's award, paling. "I apologise for this, Jewel. Please, be seated," she said, indicating to the stairs off the stage.
Jewel nodded, still looking upset, but returned to her seat. The rest of the seniors looked confused, while the ones who had already graduated started to flip through their yearbooks. Coach Boomer looked from Principal Powers to the next senior, wondering whether to call them forward or not.
Donny: nice performance.
Jewel: thanks; she obviously missed the part where I was in the Drama Club.
Principal Powers turned her attention to the crowd. "I apologise for the delay. It seems that there is a printing issue with the yearbook. Could the seniors who already have their book please pass it to the front? New ones will be printed and sent to all students. At no extra cost," she added, though those four words were difficult to utter.
The seniors with yearbooks had seen the awards and messages written on pages, and passed their books forward without protest, while those still waiting simply looked confused.
"Thank you for your understanding. Sonic Boom, please continue," Principal Powers said, setting Jewel's yearbook on her podium before returning to her place on the stage and smiling once more, nodding for Coach Boomer to continue calling the senior graduates.
Donny: Lisa and Ben are both freaking out & trying to find the last yearbook document
Adam: I'm gonna ruin their cell data and wifi connections; let 'em sweat
The rest of the graduation went by without incident, the crowd applauding as the seniors threw their caps into the air.
"Congratulations to all graduating students!" Principal Powers called.
She picked up Jewel's yearbook, turned into a comet and flew between the aisle separating the students and guests, stopping at the end of a row and calling a student's name. Principal Powers did the same thing three more times, the students somewhere between confused and worried. She smiled at the guests even as she led the students out, stopping to collect Lisa and Ben along the way.
Zach: what's going on?
Donny: she's going to find out what happened with the yearbook
Donny: Ben and Lisa might be expelled
Zach: yeah right, Powers wouldn't expel anyone
Warren: is she gone yet? I'm setting the yearbooks on fire before anyone tries to grab one
Adam: you're safe, she's not in the gym anymore
Warren didn't reply, but at the front of the stage, the three boxes of yearbooks started to smoke. A few people - both citizens and supers alike - screamed in surprise when the boxes burst completely into flames.
"Hey! Cool it, hothead!" Coach Boomer demanded as he walked over.
"It wasn't me," Warren deadpanned.
The bright flames disappeared a moment later, but the boxes and the yearbooks had all been destroyed, and there was nothing left but ash.
Coach Boomer sighed; school was over so he couldn't give Warren detention, and by the expression he'd seen on Principal Powers' face, he was positive that she would have done the same thing if she could. "Go, before I think of a punishment."
"Yes, Coach," Warren said, heading over to where his friends had gathered.
Layla smiled and took his hand, her skin hot against his.
"Well, after that, I don't think I'm up for prom," Grant muttered.
"The charity gala's on the same day; I'd prefer that myself," Jewel said, kissing his cheek.
"You didn't ask me to prom," Layla said to Warren, grinning when he rolled his eyes.
"After last year's Homecoming disaster, I didn't want to go. Besides, the charity gala's on, like Jewel said," he replied, shrugging.
"Don't worry, I'm not upset. But I will be inviting you to my prom. I want a hot date," she said, laughing when Warren groaned against her shoulder.
"Come on, kids. We need a million and one photos, then you can stand around gossiping," Nina called, waving them all over.
"Speaking of gossip, I've created an app to access all of the microphones. I've already downloaded it to your phones for you. Just remember to use headphones," Adam added.
"I need to buy a new pair," Layla admitted.
"What happened to them?"
"Burst into flames," she replied.
"It wasn't me," Warren said when their friends looked to him.
"All right, Grant. Just a photo with you and your certificate first," Peggy, his mother called.
"Jewel, I'll get a few of you while Grant's getting his taken," Morgan, her father said.
"Why do we need photos? We're not graduating," Zach said.
"You look nice, and I don't have any nice photos of you and Heidi yet," Anita said.
"We took photos at Heidi's birthday party," Zach said.
"You were pulling faces in every photo. I checked," Richard said.
Zach sighed and pulled Heidi over, draping himself over her shoulders. "How's this?" he asked, smiling brightly.
"Better than photo forty-two," Richard said, shrugging and taking a photo.
While everyone was getting their photos taken, Adam slipped his earbuds in and listened to Principal Powers reprimand the yearbook committee.
"... complete waste of the school's resources and time! There are four of you, and not one of you thought to actually read the document before sending it to be published?!"
"We... we thought it was the final document."
"So you've said. And I don't even want to know why the only two students who were fired from the yearbook committee were the only ones who actually worked on the yearbook! What on earth were the rest of you doing?!"
There was a moment of confused silence.
"Do you, uh, actually want an answer?" one student asked timidly.
"You said you don't want to know, then asked the question," another added, confused.
Principal Powers made an undignified sound that could have translated to 'must not throttle students', the sound wheezing off as she forced herself to concentrate on her breathing. "None of you are allowed on future yearbook committees. Any committees, in fact! Now leave, and return to the graduation," she snapped.
There was a rush of sound as the students hurried to leave.
"Ben, Lisa, come in."
"We didn't know they'd used that file, Principal Powers. It wasn't meant for anyone else besides us!" Lisa said as soon as she was in the office.
Principal Powers sighed. "After talking with the rest of the yearbook committee, I believe you."
Ben and Lisa sighed in relief.
"However, that's not to say that what you did was wrong. This is distasteful, disrespectful, and not what I want Sky High graduates to be known for."
"We... we won't do anything like that again, Principal Powers! Honest. We've learnt our lesson. Haven't we, Ben?" Lisa asked.
"Yes. Yes, definitely. Won't say - or write - a thing about them. Or anyone else," Ben added.
Sighing again, Principal Powers flipped through the yearbook. "Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to believe either of you about this. Some of these accusations - and don't say that they're a joke, because we all know that this isn't funny - are destructive. At this point, I'm not even sure if the summer school will help."
"It will!" Lisa protested.
"Adam? Are you going to join in the photo?" Frieda asked, smiling at him.
"It's the first time Warren's agreed to a photo in years," Nina said with a laugh. "I mean, he's sort of trapped in the middle of everyone, but it still counts!"
Adam looked over to where his friends were, grinning when he saw that Warren was caught in the middle of the large group. "Yeah, I'll get in on that," he said, jogging over to them.
"Take your hand off my ass or I will roast you in the next three seconds," Warren snapped.
"Sorry."
"My bad."
"Oops."
"How many hands were on your ass?" Layla asked with a laugh.
"Smile!" Nina called, taking several photos in quick succession since she didn't know how long it would be before Warren agreed to a photo opportunity again.
"Don't worry, dear; I've been taking photos for the past three minutes," Frieda said, patting her hand.
"Super Jesus. Principal Powers expelled them," Adam hissed.
"What?!"
"What's going on?" Heidi asked in confusion.
With all of the children looking at Adam for some reason, the photo opportunity was obviously over. Nina and Frieda compared their photos with Anita and Richard, while Victor rocked the twins in their stroller, looking at their phones to see the photos as well. Morgan and Ruby, Jewel's parents, compared their photos as well, swapping numbers so they could send the photos to each other. Grant's mother, Peggy, grabbled through her handbag before finding what she was looking for. Smiling at her son, Peggy handed the notebook and a pen over to him.
Grant frowned at the notebook. "What's it for?"
"For you to get your farewell messages. You don't have a yearbook anymore, so this will be nice. You could stick them into the new yearbook when it arrives," Peggy suggested.
"Oh, that's a good idea. Thanks, Mum," Grant said, hugging her briefly before heading to his classmates and handing the pen and notebook over. "Autographs only, people. I don't want any fake 'have a great summer' messages," he called out, the seniors laughing as they signed the notebook.
"They're really expelled?" Warren asked incredulously.
"I didn't think Principal Powers would expel anyone," Layla admitted, knowing just how much money Sky High would be losing with their two tuitions.
"Bullying's bad for business," Ethan pointed out. "Besides, we have siblings - or nephews - and they don't. There's a higher chance of us sending our family to Sky High if we're assured that they won't be bullied."
"Heidi's application is already in and if Principal Powers saw the news program with Craig and Cara, she'd know that his nephews can both shift," Zach added, grinning when Ethan kissed his cheek.
"Lisa and Ben's parents have been called in; Lisa's being sent to a boarding school, while Ben's parents are discussing moving overseas. It's the only way he'll be able to gain work as a super thanks to the List," Adam said.
"Tell me what's going on," Heidi hissed, tugging on Zach's sleeve.
Zach glanced around and signed a brief explanation of the things that Ben and Lisa had written in the yearbook.
Heidi clenched her jaw and looked around the gym. "Where?" she snapped fiercely.
"They're coming back with their parents shortly," Adam replied, signing the words for her.
Heidi smiled and turned her attention to the gym entrance.
"Just remember to level out the shock. Try level two first," Adam said.
Heidi muttered under her breath, but nodded.
Zach frowned at them. "What are you talking about?"
Adam grinned. "Remember that game I made for Heidi's phone? It's a way for her to practice her powers without killing people. Well, not accidentally, at least."
"That's why you were asking all those questions about the brain," Ethan said. "Could I see the app, Heidi?" he asked, signing to her.
Heidi nodded and handed her phone over.
The app that Adam had designed had different levels to test Heidi's control over electricity. The lower levels of the game were tests using the string fairy lights with different light intensity, different colours, and combinations of the two. The harder levels had an image of a brain with the different functions labelled. Heidi's task was to redirect enough power through the phone to make the appropriate function light up. The phone had a different sort of electricity than people, obviously, but it allowed Heidi to get used to the varied areas of the brain to cause pain, pleasure, or affect a person's senses or glands. Her latest game was set to the pituitary gland, which she'd tried three times and still couldn't light up individually due to the tiny size.
"This is a really great idea, Adam," Ethan said, handing the phone back to Heidi.
"Thanks. Heids has suggested some improvements, so I'm working on version two," Adam said.
Heidi smiled brightly and thanked him in ASL. Her smile faded and her expression grew stern as she looked over to the entrance where Ben and Lisa were returning with their parents and Principal Powers. Lisa's eyes were red and puffy, while Ben was pale and looking queasy.
"Make 'em hurt, lil sis," Adam murmured, looking over to where his best friend was hugging Grant firmly, Jewel looking murderous even as she tried to provide comfort to both of them.
Heidi concentrated on Ben and Lisa, her lips moving silently as she worked her power across the distance, affecting the electrical pulses in their bodies in two different ways. In a matter of seconds, Lisa started sobbing loudly and Ben was retching on the gym floor. Their actions drew the attention of most present, Nurse Spex hurrying over to guide them outside again while Mr. Boy organised a janitor to clean the mess.
Zach moved to stand in front of his sister to keep her out of sight. Anita looked over anyway, raising an eyebrow at them. Heidi shrugged, not innocent, but not caring if she was caught. They deserved more than this. Anita couldn't reprimand her, not after knowing what had been published about the children, and not after seeing what had been written in the yearbook. Adam had sent a copy to Frieda at her insistence, who had then sent it to the rest of the adults.
"Mr. Damsale, a word, if you don't mind?" Principal Powers asked.
"Of course, Principal Powers," Ethan replied, following her to the side.
"I understand that this is very last minute and you may have plans over summer, but I was wondering if you would agree to fix the yearbook? There were some childish and unpleasant remarks made against certain people within the school. Obviously, you understand that I cannot allow the seniors to have something so degrading as a memento of their time here. The photos and various student additions to the yearbook are fine, it's just the awards that need to be fixed."
"I was planning on working over summer, Principal Powers. I'll have to discuss it with my employer, if you don't mind?" Ethan asked, fixing his glasses.
"Oh. Of course. I'll give you some privacy to make your call," she said, stepping back.
"That won't be necessary, Principal Powers," Ethan said, waving Honey over to them.
"Is everything all right, Ethan?" Honey asked curiously, looking between him and Principal Powers.
"Principal Powers has requested my assistance to finalise the yearbook over the summer break, but I'm starting my paid internship with Labyrinth next week. Both are a lot of responsibility, and I would hate to start either job without giving it my all."
"Oh, that's completely understandable. I'm sure Sarah wouldn't mind if you brought the yearbook along and we worked on it together. We could have a look at the layout and might even be able to make some improvements. If that's all right with you, of course, Principal Powers?" Honey added.
Thinking about it for a moment - the cost of reprinting and posting the yearbooks would already be sky high - Principal Powers nodded. "That would be fine. I am trusting you with this, Ethan. Don't disappoint me."
"Of course. Thank you, Principal Powers."
"Go on, Ethan. I'll discuss the bill with Principal Powers," Honey said, smiling as Ethan headed back to his friends.
"Bill?" Principal Powers echoed, surprised.
"Of course. You might get free labour from your students, but Labyrinth is a business. As Sarah's on holiday, I've been given the ability to negotiate on her behalf," Honey replied, grinning outright now.
Shit.
...
Principal Powers took the stage almost fifteen minutes later, not as shellshocked as she'd expected. The price was steep, but it was still cheaper than starting from scratch with an editing company. A percentage of the payment she'd agreed to would go to Ethan as he would be attributed as the main editor of the yearbook, so Principal Powers could add it as part of Sky High's tax.
Looking out over the crowd who were eating finger sandwiches and drinking punch, and hopefully full and sated that they wouldn't trample each other with her next announcement.
"Good afternoon, everyone. As per Sky High's tradition, the exams have already been graded by super markers, and the students' final grades will now be released. Mr. Boy, if you will," Principal Powers said with a nod.
Mr. Boy smiled brightly and wheeled out a large board, the wheels smooth against the gym floor. With a flourish, he pulled off the coloured paper to reveal the final grades and students' positions in their groups. Ignoring any sense of lining up or going in groups, all of the students from freshmen to seniors rushed towards Mr. Boy and the board. Mr. Boy's eyes widened and he jumped up high to avoid being crushed by the mob. He swung along the rail until he could drop back down to the ground without crushing anyone.
As the students looked at their final scores, Principal Powers and Coach Boomer opened the box of printed report cards that were sitting behind the podium. With Mr. Boy's assistance, they went through the crowd of students and handed them their report cards. There were the usual expressions of relief, surprise, some grief and annoyance, but most were smiling and pleased with their final grades.
"Ha! I knew I'd beat you! By a B-plus, too! Take that, Takahashi!"
Eric frowned at Zach's victorious crow, obviously confused. "Uh. Congratulations?"
Zach grinned. "Thanks. Oh, thanks, Mr. Boy. Did you see my final grades?" he added, taking his offered report card.
"Yes, I did. I'm very proud of you. I'm very proud of all of you for being the best hero support you could be," Mr. Boy said, his voice wavering as he tried not to cry.
"Thanks, Mr. Boy. You're a pretty good teacher, y'know?" Zach said, grinning. "Oh, hey, Eth! Look at this!" he called, heading over to his boyfriend.
Mr. Boy pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his tears. It was one of the few times one of his students had said he was a good teacher.
"There you are, hippie. How'd you go?" Warren asked, snagging Layla by the waist.
She smiled up at him broadly. "Tied first with Adam; Craig came third after Larry. How did you go? Did Wendy knock you off the top spot?"
Warren grinned and shook his head. "She almost did. I got first, Wendy's second by three points. She even beat Donny. I think she's having a heart attack over it."
"Oh, there's Magenta. I'll be right back," Layla said, rising up to kiss his lips firmly.
Warren heard a camera click over the noise of the students, and pulled away from Layla to glare over at his mother. Nina grinned back at him and waved cheekily.
Layla laughed and headed over to Magenta, who was looking around for Will. She stopped looking when she saw Layla and smiled, waving her over.
"How did you go, Magenta?" Layla asked.
Magenta smiled even broader. "I went up three places! I got seventh out of the sidekicks."
"Wow, that's amazing! Congratulations," Layla said, hugging her.
"Thanks. How about you?"
"I managed to tie for first place."
"Whoa. Holy... Congrats, Layla. That's... wow," Magenta said, looking shellshocked.
"I've been studying my butt off, so I'm really happy about it," Layla admitted, smiling. Her smile fell. "Have you seen Will's score?"
Magenta shook her head. "I lost him in the crowd. Was it bad?" she asked anxiously.
"Well, he's gone up to tenth place. But that's only because Ben and Lisa's scores were blacked out," Layla added with a conspiratorial whisper. "You went up by three spots on your own merit, Magenta."
"I did? Yeah. I did," Magenta agreed, nodding.
"Oh, and by the way, I love your new hairdo," Layla said with a bright smile.
"Really?" she said, tugging at one of her highlighted locks of hair.
Mrs. Stronghold - Josie - had taken her out for another girls day out and Magenta had ended up in a hairdresser's chair, being told that she'd be a brand new woman by the end of the day. After the spa day at Spa Retreat, Magenta was wary of those words. At the end of that day, she'd ended up with hives and her everything had been sore for a full week.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to argue with Jetstream, and Magenta had gone home without purple streaks in her hair, but rather highlights to help break up the black hair. (She thought that's what the purple had done.) As she'd dropped her off, Josie had said that her buns were cute. Magenta knew that she meant 'cute but not suitable for Airborne's hero support', so she'd started wearing it down or in a ponytail instead. Magenta looked in the mirror and saw a brand new woman, though she still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that.
"Yeah! I mean, it kinda looks like a shorter version of Jetstream's hair, but it suits you. Oh, there's Warren, I'd better go see how he went. Text me and we'll catch up over the break, okay?" Layla said, hugging her once more before leaving.
"There you are, Maj! I got tenth out of the whole class," Will said, grinning at her. "What was your final grade? Oh, did you get your report card yet?"
"I got seventh. Mr. Boy gave me my report card, but I haven't looked at it yet. It's sort of a family tradition to look at it together."
"Oh, I thought we could compare them now?" Will suggested.
"My parents are right there, Will. Why don't we compare them together with them?" Magenta suggested, offering him a smile.
"Well. Yeah. It wouldn't be us then, would it? It'd be everyone."
Someone had brought party blowers and was blowing them loudly. Magenta grabbed Will's hand and tugged him along with her, pretending she hadn't heard him.
"There you are, querida. We lost you in that crowd," Mr. Yolanda said with a warm smile.
"I got my report card, Mama, Papa. Will, why don't you get your parents? I'll wait for you," Magenta added, kissing his cheek.
Somewhat mollified, Will nodded and flew upwards, looking around for his parents. Most of the gym saw him flying up into the air, but he ignored the surprised gasps from the citizen parents. Josie flew herself and Steve up to where Will was, landing down beside the Yolandas.
"Magenta opens her report card with her parents. I thought you'd like to do the same," Will said to his parents.
"That sounds nice, Will," Josie said, brushing some hair back off his forehead. "Oh, where did you come in the student listing?" she added, looking over to the board, still surrounded by students.
"Tenth," Will said proudly.
"Top ten? That's my boy!" Steve said, crushing him in a hug.
"Ready, Will?" Magenta asked, smiling.
"Oh, right. Yeah," Will said, opening his report card to show his parents.
Magenta did the same, Mr. and Mrs. Yolanda reading the report and teachers' comments.
"We're very proud of you, querida."
Josie pursed her lips at the grades and comments Will had received. Neither the grades nor the comments were great, certainly not what was expected of one of the great Stronghold Three. Still, she couldn't reprimand Will in front of everyone. If they couldn't be the greatest family of superheroes the world has ever seen, then they would be the greatest family the world has ever seen. That meant maintaining a certain image and keeping everything unpleasant behind closed doors.
Josie was all-too-suddenly reminded of Mr. and Mrs. Brighton; they'd known Zach and his parents since primary school, but she and Steve hadn't known a thing of what went on behind closed doors. The comparison made her feel somewhat nauseous, but she forced the feeling away and turned her attention to her son instead.
"I'm very proud, Will."
"You are?" Will said in surprise, blinking. His expression faded to a grin. "So... does that mean I can take Magenta out to celebrate?"
"For our top ten son, of course!" Steve said, even though Josie desperately wanted to take Will home to discuss his grades in private.
"Great, thanks!" Will said, turning to Magenta and grinning at her. "Wanna go celebrate?"
"Uh... Yeah. Do you mind?" Magenta asked her parents, hoping they wouldn't be too upset about changing their usual end of school year celebrations.
"You go enjoy yourself," Mrs. Yolanda said, patting her hand.
"Back before eleven this time, querida," Mr. Yolanda added, Magenta and Will both blushing.
Will held Magenta around the waist and flew her up into the air and out of the gym.
"That's so sweet, I wanna hurl," Zach said, groaning at Ethan.
Ethan rolled his eyes and kept walking around the gym. "I can't believe that Lisa and Ben being expelled changed the sophomore Heroes grades."
"Oh, yeah. Those lucky kids got bumped up two spots! Wish we could've," Zach said.
"You made second place, Zach," Ethan pointed out, adjusting his glasses to hide his grin.
Josie Stronghold had definitely heard their words and was looking over to the board curiously.
They continued back towards their friends, holding hands to avoid losing each other in the crowd.
"That's not the point, Eth. I could've topped the first spot," Zach replied.
"If you want to top, just ask," Ethan said, laughing when Zach blushed brightly.
"I hate you both," Adam said, glaring at them.
Josie looked to Magenta's parents. "Excuse me a moment, would you?" she said with a bright smile, flying up into the air before they could respond.
Josie tried to find a spot at the board as the children returned to their parents with their report cards in hand. There was finally enough space for her to squeeze in and Josie landed, looking at the sophomore student listing.
Will was twelfth out of fifteen students, not tenth as he'd so proudly stated.
In the background, Josie heard the Levinsky's berating Larry for losing his top position and his drop in grades. The Levinsky's threatened Larry with a tutor over summer and demanded he leave his girlfriend so he could focus on what really mattered.
Josie knew she couldn't get Will to dump Magenta, as he'd probably spend all of summer sulking as a result, but a tutor was doable. Not to mention private and discreet, if paid the right price. No one could know that the Stronghold's son needed a tutor. No, that was too much like failure and failure was unacceptable for the world's greatest family of superheroes.
"Congratulations on your grades, Warren. I'm so proud of you," Nina said, kissing him with a loud smack on his cheek.
"Really, Mum?"
"Yes. I get to embarrass you a little longer. Just think, next year you'll be a senior and you'll be the one graduating. Oh, I feel old."
Warren shook his head. "C'mon, Mum. Let's get out of here before you need a walking frame."
"You're coming home with me? I thought you'd go out with Layla," Nina admitted.
"Layla asked, but tonight's still our tradition of too much pizza and a marathon of bad B-list movies, so we made plans for the weekend instead. Did you make other plans for tonight?" Warren asked.
"Oh, no. I just thought it was going to be me, a bottle of wine, and Sleepless in Seattle."
"I'll never understand why you like movies that make you cry. Besides, it's stupid that they kept missing each other when she could teleport," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Crying's cathartic and, besides, it's healthy to cry every now and then. She didn't have control over her power; do you really want to have this argument again, kid? Because I will argue about it for hours if necessary."
"Yeah, I know you will," Warren said, grinning.
Nina laughed and kissed his cheek. "All right, say goodbye to your friends while I say goodbye to mine, and we'll order the pizza on the way home. How's that sound?"
"Pretty good. Thanks, Mum," Warren said, kissing her cheek before heading through the crowd to his friends.
Nina smiled and looked at Warren's report card as she headed to her friends.
Term 1 comments: Quiet in class, could contribute more. Very smart and it shows in his work.
End of year comments: Warren's work has only improved over this term. He's a wonderful student, and it's been lovely to see him interacting with his classmates more this term. It's taken some time, but I'm glad to see Warren has made friends here at Sky High.
Nina couldn't agree more.
...
End of the seventieth chapter.
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it.
