Here is chapter two and I hope you guys can review and tell me your opinion.
It was nine and I was ready. Here I was in the crowd waiting for the perfect snap. I had to capture this moment. This was a rare moment. Artemis was on stage in a dress. Her mom forced her to wear one. I was in the crowd with Paula with a camera. Artemis in a dress was a once in a million chance. I had to photograph it. Peter wanted to attend but he had work at Gotham Industries. Gotham Academy was certainly nice, it sure beat Gotham North. I wouldn't mind attending the school. However I didn't expect to meet the Bruce Wayne in person. He was right behind us. I didn't notice until I dropped the camera and he caught it for me. He had some smooth reflexes. He was really hot too when he handed me the camera. "Be more careful." I only nodded.
"The next award goes to Artimes Crook for outstanding achievements in math." Artemis tried to look happy but I could tell she was having a hard time smiling. There were a few girls in the back who were snickering. I snapped a few photos. It looks like I had to take out the trash again. After the ceremony Artemis, Paula and I started to walk around the school. Of course Paula ended up talking to Mr. Wayne while we went to her locker. "So are you going to stop talking to him?" Artemis asked while grabbing a book.
"Well I'm not sure I trashed the letters but then I realized those were only copies I had. I started looking for the originals and once I found them, I couldn't find it in my heart to destroy them. You and Peter have a point, it could end up like Alden but there's a chance it could be different."
"Nicole, you are nuts! You can't expect-"
Someone slammed Artemis's locker closed. "Well, well, well we never knew you had friends, Artemis." The brunette interrupted.
"We didn't know your mother was also in a wheelchair either." The blonde laughed.
These two were the ones snickering behind Artemis. "I didn't think you had a mother or one that was Chinese either."
"She's not Chinese, she's Vietnamese. There's a difference!"
"Ooh I'm scared. Looks like your friend has a mouth, maybe she needs a lesson." The blonde smirked.
"Right, as if you two could take us." Artemis said.
"I am going to-"
"Ladies, I heard that the press is here."
The two twigs disappeared.
"Thanks Dick, this is Nicole, a friend from Gotham North." Artemis introduced me to a pint sized kid with bright blue eyes. He was cute not hot but cute. I would tap that if he was a bit taller and older.
"Nice to meet you, Nicole, I'm Richard Grayson but you can call me Dick." He kissed my hand.
"You're quite the charmer. Aren't you?" I giggled. This kid was adorable.
"Well I am the son of Bruce Wayne. I have a reputation to uphold." He insisted on leading us to Paula and Mr. Wayne.
We left soon after that in order for me to catch up on the school work I missed and for Artemis to work on her extracurricular activity. Whatever that was?
Artemis was with the team and practicing her stealth skills. She almost reached the target until her nose touched a red ray. "Good job, Artemis, but even a millimeter counts. We'll try again in thirty minutes after Kid Flash." Black Canary applauded.
"That was great, Artemis!" M'gann cheered.
"Yeah, you almost beat Robin's time." KF said.
"Yeah thanks." Artemis replied still thinking about what Nicole and Icicle Jr. "M'gann, while you and Superboy were undercover, did you write any letters?"
"Letters, well if we had stayed there longer, we would have started WFC, Write For Change. It's for prisoners to have penpals from the outside world in order to try to stabilize the prisoners. However the only one who didn't freak out their penpal was Icicle Jr., which was pretty surprising. Conner said that Icicle Jr. seemed less psychotic while he wrote the letters. Maybe Icicle Jr. will be fighting for our side in the future." Megan explained.
Artemis sighed. Nicole was her friend and she didn't want to put her in danger. Then again she was contradicting herself, Nicole was her friend. She was also putting her friend in danger. Sportsmaster was her father. Cheshire was her sister. Her mother was a former villain. Artemis, herself, was a hero who had enemies, those outside of her family. Maybe she was blowing this out of proportion. Icicle Jr. wasn't so bad and he was in Belle Reeve. He couldn't escape and find Nicole. If he did they would just put him back. Artemis decided to let it continue for now. Robin noticed Artemis's body compusore. He was curious about her friend. He could have sworn he had seen her before.
I sat at my desk trying to finish my math homework. I can finish a whole essay about the constitution and how the economy plan is unconstitutional yet I cannot graph these trigonometric functions on my own. Claude was in my lap taking a nap. I could feel him inhaling and exhaling. The door opened. "Nicole, you received some flowers. I put them in vase." Peter said while handing them to me. It was odd he was home this early.
"I thought you wouldn't be home until six." I said placing them somewhere Claude wouldn't destroy them. Claude tried jumping on the walls. He wanted to play with them. The clock said two.
Peter just opened the fridge. "I finished early and plus Mr. Wayne let everyone off early with pay. He had a dinner with his son." The leftovers from last night were put into the microwave. "You okay, you look very frustrated."
"I am I don't like math. I don't see how you can do it every day for a living. It's annoying."
"Hey I work with computers; of course I'm use math. What do you need help with?" Peter asked getting out some fresh lemonade and setting up the table.
"Graphing trigonometric function without a calculator."
"That's easy. I'll help you after we eat."
"Thanks, do you need me to iron your shirt?"
"For what?" Peter asked while grabbing the leftover froms the microwave.
"Don't tell me you forgot." He was so dead. Peter looked baffled. "Tonight you have a date with Kathy. You promised her a candle light dinner at her favorite restaurant. You do know what today is?"
Peter's eyes widened. "Today is her birthday! Shit, I don't even have a gift. You made the reservations, right?" He grabbed his wallet and jacket. I nodded handing him the list I made him. "Thanks, Nicky, I'll be right back."
I sighed and picked up the phone. Maybe I could get some local help from Jude. In a few minutes Jude arrived.
"So you need help graphing, I can do it. It's easy once you manage the basics. The tricky part is when you start adding in the inverses and stuff." Jude said with his piercing blue eyes. "You missed the basics while you were in Star. Don't worry we won't be tested until the end of the month." He opened a math book and pulled out a standard calculator.
"Thanks for the help, Peter had to go out."
"It's cool, have you decided on what camp?" Jude started plotting the sine.
"No, I'm not sure. I haven't decided. It's complicated." I was following his steps.
"Oh well did you like the flowers?" He asked out of nowhere.
"They were nice, how did you get sunflowers? They aren't in season around here."
"I had connections. Besides I figured you needed something nice." Then we heard a crash and Claude meowing. We rushed to my room. There was glass everywhere and Claude just was licking his paws. Water was everywhere. The flowers were just laying there. "Claude." I tsked. Jude had already grabbed a broom and mop. I just grabbed Claude and put him in the cat cage. Then we started cleaning. "Sorry Jude." There were really nice and expensive for this time of year.
"IT's okay. I didn't even know how Claude got up there. He's still a few months right."
"Yeah, but judging from the marks on the wall. He climbed up. The landlord is going to kill us if we ever leave this place."
"They won't care and you know the flowers were fr-"
The phone rang. "Sorry Jude, hold on. " I went to answer the phone.
Jude went to dispose of the glass when he found the card in the trash.
Hey Nicky,
I just wanted to send you something nice and I miss you.
Alden
Jude sighed. The card was crumpled up. If Nicole thought he sent the note then who threw it away.
"Nicole, I have to go. I've got to talk to someone. I think you have the hang of it." He grabbed all of his stuff before he left.
"Sorry Jude what you want-, where did he go?" I asked. He was gone. Claude reappeared with sunflower in his mouth. "How did you get out? I swear you must be sneaky because you're always doing the unexpected. I locked that cage. But still Jude left without saying goodbye." Claude meowed and made sure to destroy the sunflower. "Claude. Stop being bad, kitty." I sighed.
Alden, young male around 5'7 was sitting in his room reading when a nurse knocked at the door. He blew his dark brown hair away before opening the door. "You've got a call."
He nodded while she escorted him to a phone. His callused fingers picked up the phone. "Hello."
Jude started. "She got the flowers but I think her brother threw away the card. She thinks I sent them."
"Oh well I thought she would be home when they arrived."
"I don't know. She must have left. You did tell them to arrive at eight right?"
"No I sent them around seven."
"That's when Peter leaves; he must have signed for them."
"He still hates me then." Alden ran his hand through his brown locks. He needed to see a barbor.
"Yeah Nicole's in therapy and she's doing better."
"Great, my sister coming to visit soon and I was wondering if you could go with her and Nicole."
"I'll see. Are you okay?"
"Yeah I've been clean for awhile and I want to talk to her. I still love her and I just can't believe I sold her to a pimp. I have to talk to her. I need to know."
"I'll try but I can't really promise anything."
Alden hung up the phone and stared at his reflection in the window. His grey eyes stared back at him.
Jude sighed. What was he going to do?
I finally finished writing the letter and I dropped it off in the mail slot. Claude wanted a walk and I had to follow him around. We finally stopped at the nearest butcher shop. Claude was just begging for scraps. I was nearly getting sick. I couldn't stand the smell of pork and beef. Claude finally got a piece. It was getting late so I picked him up. Claude was finishing the scrap. I chuckled.
Artemis almost crashed into wall. "My head." She saw Nicole and had to hide.
"Boy Artemis, why aren't you in Star City with your Uncle?" Robin asked popping out of nowhere.
Artemis stood up. "I'm just making a pit stop for my friend. Later." She disappeared.
Robin only chuckled. Then he noticed Nicole. She was carrying a kitten in her arms. He grinned. This was Artemis's friend. Now he knew where she lived.