Disclaimer: I do NOT own Batman or any of its characters. It is owned by DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and other stuff.
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It's Taylor's first day of school at Gotham High.
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"Taylor, wake up!" Mom demanded.
"Oh, Mom! Just five more minutes!" I begged.
"No, you're going to be late for your first day of school," she pointed out. "Now get up! Eat your breakfast and get dressed."
I got dressed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. I tied my hair in a ponytail, put on some chapstick, and some foundation make up. "Okay, Mom, I'm ready for school!"
"Are you sure you're not gonna be too cold?" she asked me, observing my outfit.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"It's only fifty degrees outside," she explained. "We're no longer in Miami, Taylor."
I said, "But most of my classes are going to be inside the school building."
"How do you know that?" she wanted to know.
"Just guessing," I replied. "Just making a very EDUCATED guess."
She surrender-sighed. "Fine. But if you get cold, ask someone for a jacket or something."
I hopped onto the elevator and ran out of the condo toward school.
"Gotham High," I said, staring up at the large school building. The building was made out of bricks, just like a lot of other high schools I had seen before moving away from Miami. I walked inside, passing a group of chattering boys and girls, kissing and hugging. I assumed right away that they were the "Popular's" of Gotham High.
Someone spoke over the intercom, "Any student who didn't attend Open House last Friday please come to the cafeteria to receive your schedules. I repeat, any student who didn't attend Open House last Friday come to the cafeteria to receive your schedule."
I shrugged and did what the person over the intercom said.
I stood in a long line in the cafeteria, waiting to get my schedule.
"Hey," said a boy's voice. I turned around and saw a good looking African American boy wearing glasses.
"Hey," I replied.
"My name's Devon Parker," he said.
"I'm Taylor Cummings," I said.
"You didn't go to Gotham Middle, did you?" he asked.
"No, I just moved here from Miami," I explained.
"Miami." He looked impressed. "Isn't it really hot in Miami?"
"Yes," I laughed.
"But I hear it's cool because there's beaches everywhere," he pointed out. I nodded. He sighed. "I would love to go to the beach. There's no beaches in Gotham."
"That's a shame," I said. I missed the beach. "Then what is here in Gotham?" I wanted to know.
"A lot of criminals," he said. "A lot of criminals."
"Yes, I heard about that," I said.
"My dad is a police man," he explained. "He has to be out every night, catching criminals. Just the other night he was chasing after some dude called Mr. Freeze."
I tried not to laugh. "Mr. Freeze?" I said.
He started laughing too. "I know," he said. "That's a really stupid name. Basically what he does is he freezes things with an ice gun."
"Wow. How terrifying," I said, sarcastically.
"It may sound stupid when you say it out loud, but how would you like being frozen; I mean, really?" Devon asked.
True. I guess I still couldn't get past the name.
It was my turn to get my schedule. Then Devon got his. We compared ours.
"Looks like we got lunch together," he said.
"Yea, that's fifth period," I said. "First period I got Social Studies."
"I got Math," he said. "But I'll see you fifth period."
"Bye," I called after him as he walked away. I headed upstairs to the Social Studies classroom.
The teacher was an old lady named Mrs. Briggs. "Sit down in the front," she told me.
I sat down. The person sitting to my right was a girl. She was wearing a purple jacket, black leggings, a pink skirt, and a scarf. She had black hair and dark make up. I think she was Emo.
The person sitting to my left was also a girl. She was extremely thin and pretty with long brown hair. She was wearing a pink dress.
"Hi," the Emo girl said smiling at me. So she was a friendly Emo.
"Hi," I replied. "I'm Taylor Cummings."
"My name is Alex Gordon," she said. "My grandpa is Commissioner Gordon." She looked very proud. I nodded. She frowned. "You've heard of him, right?"
"Well, I'm new here," I explained. "I'm from Miami."
"Oh, cool," she said, looking interested. "Can I see your schedule?" she asked. I handed her my schedule. "You've gotta sit with me at lunch today," she insisted. "I'm gonna tell you everything there is to know about Gotham City."
"Cool," I said. "I was gonna sit with a boy named Devon Parker, but you can sit with us too. Do you know him?"
"Yea, I know him!" she said. "He's like my brother from a different mother!"
At least they knew each other. That would make lunch a less awkward experience. Alex lowered her voice, "That girl sitting on the other side of you is Kristen Meridian. She's very quiet."
I turned around and looked at Kristen. "Hi," I said, politely.
She looked up and blinked. "Hi," she said.
"I'm Taylor," I said to her.
"I'm Kristen," she said. "My mom is a psychologist. Her name is Chase Meridian."
"Cool," I said. "My dad is Bill Cummings. He's gonna be a new District Attorney."
"Cool," Kristen said, nodding. "Wait," she said, seeming a little less impressed now. "That's a really dangerous job in Gotham."
"What do you mean?" I asked, nervously.
"We had a District Attorney a little while back named Harvey Dent," she explained. "And once some guy who he was trying to put in jail threw acid all over him, and now Harvey's a villain, himself. He calls himself Two-Face, because one half of his face is normal and the other's abnormal."
"Based on the names these villains use they sound like comic-book villains," I pointed out.
Alex laughed.
"Girls, stop talking," Mrs. Briggs said. "Especially you, Alexis."
"It's Alex!" Alex corrected.
Mrs. Briggs, looking appalled, continued teaching.
"That's not great," I said to Alex. "It's only the first class of the first day of school and she already knows your name."
"She taught all my siblings over the past few years," Alex whispered. "She hates our guts."
During fourth period (Language Arts) I was paired up with a really cute boy named Ryan Haws for a class project. River had dark hair and tanned skin.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked him.
"No," he replied.
"Why not?" I said, curiously.
"I never had time," he replied. "I was always busy with my studies. I gotta make A's. All A's."
Aw, he was a brainiac. I asked him if he would sit with me at lunch. He said yes.
So at lunch I sat with Devon, Alex, Kristen, and Ryan. Devon and Alex sat next to each other. Kristen and Ryan sat next to each other. I sat in between Devon and Ryan.
Alex talked the most. She talked about all the villains in Gotham that her grandpa met, and then Ryan said that his father, Mr. Haws, worked as a scientist alongside Bruce Wayne in Wayne Enterprises.
"So, you've met Mr. Wayne?" I asked him.
"Yes," Ryan said. "Many times. He's a nice guy."
"Interesting," I said.
To be Continued…
