Disclaimer: I wish I owned Nightwing. I really do. I also wish that I owned Smallville, Teen Titans, and a Batmobile. But I don't. That's how it is. However, I do know how to win a coin toss without the coin being double sided.
Author's Note: I know, you're all so sad that this is like the second to last chapter of the story, but I'm sorry. That's how it is. Oh, and I didn't say this in chapter six because I was in a rush when I posted it, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter five and mentioned something about my dog. It was really sweet of you. On the subject of this chapter though, I hope you enjoy it. Now: 'Haircuts, Bullies, and Homework'! (Wow, both my chapters have three things in their titles.)
-N-
Flying
Chapter Six: Haircuts, Bullies, and Homework
There was only one thing that could constrain any part of Dick and that was hair gel for his hair. And he hated to wear it. It went hard and cold on his head and by the end of the day, he only wanted to wash it off. But who could blame him? It felt like he had a pile of goop on his head. But today he didn't have to wear it. Not yet, anyway.
"Mom, I don't want to go to school," Dick complained as Mary sat him down on a chair.
"We're going to be here for three weeks, so you might as well go. Pani's going with you," she answered. He was seven now and therefore had to go to either go to school or be home schooled. She opted for him to go to school.
"So? Pani's just going to cause trouble. We all know that," Dick answered as he watched his mother open the cabinet.
Mary looked over at Dick with a 'You're not getting out of it' look, "It's not that bad. I went to public school."
"But I'm already a grade and a half ahead of everyone my age! I'm going to be the short one again!" Dick replied, referring to the last time he had gone to public school.
John entered the room with his uniform on and Mary eye's bulged and said, "I told you to wait!"
John looked at her and then at Dick and realized what he had just done: Opened an entirely new argument.
"Why don't I just continue to be home schooled? You said public school messes with my training," he pointed out.
"Because you're already on your way to being a world class aerialist," Mary said with an air of all-knowing-ness, "Three weeks won't hurt you by much."
Dick shifted in his seat as he saw the scissors coming out from behind his Mom's back. Mary walked behind him and pulled his shoulders back gently. Dick hated getting his haircut. Especially when he felt he didn't need one. And that was all of the time.
"Come on," Mary whispered, "It's not that bad."
"Yes it is," Dick answered, moping.
"Do you want me to use a bowl or something? That would make it 'that bad'," Mary asked.
"No!" Dick yelled, not wanting a haircut like that ever again.
John laughed and ruffled Dick's wet hair, "Don't worry, if she does that I'll refuse to kiss her for weeks."
Mary raised a brow and replied, "Ha! Not like you could resist that long anyway."
John shrugged and walked off to the door to meet Dakar. Once the door shut, Dick looked up at his Mom, putting on the puppy dog stare that Moms were practically immune to. Or at least, his Mom was. Mary turned Dick's head away from her and began to comb it evenly before she reached for the scissors. Dick wanted to shift in his seat, but didn't dare for fear that the scissors would cut off too much and make his hair look weird.
"I hate it," he said.
"What?" Mary said, "What exactly do you hate?"
"I hate going to schools. Why can't I just stay and be home schooled like we normally do?" he asked.
"Because, you should mix with other children, Dick," Mary said, focusing on cutting his hair.
"I can do that when I hand out fliers and programs for Pop Haly, Mom," Dick told her.
"That's not what I mean, Dick, and you know it," his mother answered.
"But I hate going to school. I'm sure when people ask me where I'm from I can't say I'm from anywhere since we travel all of the time!" Dick said as he watched pieces of his hair fall to the floor.
"Dick, why don't you look at the bright side of things?" his mother suggested.
"Like what?"
"Well, you'll be able to see what I went through. And you get recess which is always fun," Mary answered.
"I hate recess," Dick told her.
"What? Why?" Mary asked, wondering when this had come into play.
"Last time, when I went to school and had recess, my teacher made me get off the jungle gym. They said I was doing something dangerous, but it was only swinging around on the bar and one handed stuff. It wasn't even that high up. I wouldn't even need a net if I fell." Dick explained, "Then when I got off, these kids came up to me and were just mean to me."
Mary looked at Dick and stopped cutting his hair, "They were mean to you?"
"They asked me where I learned how to do that and I told them about you and Dad and the circus. The girls giggled and laughed while the other boys either called me a 'show-off' or a 'freak'," Dick told her, "And I couldn't do anything about it because I had to sit on that bench!"
Mary sighed after hearing the story. Yes, she knew that there was always the chance of name-calling if she sent Dick to public school. All of the families in the circus did. 'Freak', 'Creep', 'Ew', 'Clown'; all of these little things were possibilities. It was just how it was for them. It happened in other ways and places, too. But she also knew that name-calling could happen to any kid in school. And Dick wasn't used to going to school, anyway...
"Dick, maybe, you should just, not do that at school. People, they don't like different," Mary whispered, "Not many of them do in any case."
"But they like it here," Dick said, "Why wouldn't they like it at school?"
"Well, school, it's routine for them. The circus is a chance to be... entertained. Different can be entertaining, but only in the right situation. The circus is the right place. School, not so much. That's why they come here to see us." Mary said, hoping Dick understood what she was trying to tell him.
Dick's first instinct was to nod, but stopped as he heard the scissors start up again. So instead he answered, "I think I get it."
Mary finished cutting his hair in silence and put a bit of gel in it to top it off, "That wasn't that bad now, was it?"
"Guess not," Dick answered.
"Now go get ready for school." Mary said.
Dick nodded and went to his room. Mary sighed and went outside to sit on the steps. Dick came out moments later with a small backpack on his back. Finding a cab, Mary and Dick found their way to the school. The first stop was the Principal's office as always. After that, they parted ways and Dick was sent to his first class. And, surprisingly for Dick, things went okay... till lunch.
The only thing that he couldn't avoid, the only thing that everyone could see, the only thing he didn't have to tell was the fact that he was short. And that meant he was susceptible to being picked on. Plus, he was the new kid. At least he hadn't done anything during morning recess like his mom had told him. He had been focusing on getting his lunch and trying to decide which platter of... slop didn't look the most revolting.
Finally, the mac and cheese had made it onto his plate, but it wasn't like he was really going to eat it. Well, maybe if he got really hungry, but... nope, not happening. Getting up from his seat, Dick moved to the trash can when he bumped into someone much larger and taller then he was, the plate of food almost touching the stranger's shirt. Almost, but not. Dick gulped. He could tell this wasn't the 'nice kid' in school.
"Watch it!" The kid yelled.
"Sorry," Dick said, trying to not look the other directly in the eye.
"You're sorry?" the other kid asked.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Dick said, trying to move away.
The kid didn't want to have it, "You a new kid?"
"Yeah," Dick said, hating this as it went.
"He looks too short to be in this grade, Mark," a friend of the kid's said.
Dick told them, "I skipped a couple grades."
"So you're a smarty pants, huh?" Mark answered.
Dick was hating this and tried to will his feet to move, but nothing happened, "I don't mean to be...?"
"Hey, you with that other new kid, Pansy or somethin'?" Mark asked.
That got Dick mad. "His name is Pani."
Mark laughed, "So you're with his group? Are you a clown or something?"
'I'm going to kill you, Pani,' Dick thought as he answered, "No."
"Then what can you do? Huh?" Mark asked.
"I couldn't do it here," Dick answered.
Mark laughed again, "Come on, do something!"
Dick's face scrunched up. He loved what he did, but hated it when someone with this little a brain was telling him to perform like some sort of monkey in a cage. Well, he was a 'smarty pants'...
"Sorry, gotta pay Pop Haly to see me do something." He answered, "But I guess that means you'd have to go beat up some more kindergartners for their lunch money to do that."
Mark stopped laughing and growled. That's right, growled. "You know what? I think I got my payment right here."
Mark grabbed the plate of the mac and cheese and shoved it up into Dick's face. Dick's jaw dropped in shock, revulsion, and anger. Plus he was glad that he didn't eat the stuff because it smelled disgusting. He wiped his face with his hand and then sighed. Fine, fine! That was it!
"You want to see what I can do, then?" Dick answered.
"So you'll do something?" Mark asked, he and his friends snickering.
"Sure. I'd love to." Dick said.
He walked off a bit and then started at a run towards Mark. But he didn't stop. Stepping on Mark like he was a wall, he began to flip, but landed a kick to Mark that sent him to the ground. Now people stared. Mark's friends were bewildered as to what just happened and weren't worried about themselves until they saw Dick doing a handstand on a nearby table. But it all stopped when they saw a teacher came running up.
"Mr. Grayson! What on earth are you doing?" she yelled.
"I... he..." Dick stopped and got down from the table with a flip, "He shoved my food into my face and kept teasing me and my friends and my family and stuff."
A very rushed explanation, but finally the teacher answered, "Well, I'm sorry about that Dick, and you're right that Mark shouldn't have been doing that, but we don't resort to doing something like that."
"He wanted to see me do something, though." Dick told her under his breath, "I was just showing him something so he'd leave me alone."
The teacher sighed, "I know you're not used to school, but Dick, don't do something like that next time. Mark could have gotten really hurt."
Dick knew that she only let him off because she didn't realize he had been trying to hurt Mark. He hated bullies like that and was glad when his Dad came to pick him up in the cab. Getting home, he finished his homework, hating every second of it. But he finished it and was glad when he could collapse on his bed. It felt like he had survived a nightmare. Well, at least he was normal in some ways. All kids hated school. So he had that in common with his classmates, if nothing else. Finally, he got up and was called into the kitchen by the smell of food that his mother had put on.
"It won't be ready for an hour," his dad said from the table, "I already asked."
Dick laughed, "Can I go and practice then?"
"Sure, but you'll only have about forty-five minutes or so," John said.
Dick left and John rolled his eyes, Mary smiled as she told him, "You know, we probably shouldn't let him after that call we got today."
"Sounded like he was provoked, Mary. This Mark said things about the family. I don't blame him. I did the same sort of thing at his age. Besides, let him be happy to be who he is, that's something he's going to need while he goes to school," John responded.
Dick came out in his uniform and with a towel. Mary gave him a kiss and then Dick jumped down the stairs. On his way to the tent, Dick lazily walked around the long way. He loved the evenings. Barbecue permeated the air, but still, the mixed odors of popcorn, cotton candy, pretzels, and... animals, were way more apparent. It didn't bother him, though.
He looked down at his uniform, his shoes in his hand to keep them from getting dirty. He really needed a new one. It was way too small. The uniform was green and gold and made just for him; his mother was an expert at stuff like that. He liked it, but he could feel it stretching to fit him and it was slightly tight on his shoulders. But he'd wait. Just like every other time he waited. His parents knew when he needed a new uniform.
He walked into the pitch dark tent as he had so many times before. Finding the switch, he finally pushed it up and slowly, he could hear the loud clangs and the lights slowly started to appear. Large spot lights illuminated the red sky of the tent. The stadium was empty and everything became quiet once again.
Dick smiled. He loved this. This is what he loved. Not school. This. Pulling on his shoes in a frenzy and chalking his hands, he hopped over to the poles and dropped his towel. Finally, he leaped up and caught the ladder. He climbed up and soon found himself several stories up. Not that he cared. Untying the swings, Dick allowed for them to swing. He grabbed the one coming over to him. Looking down, he saw the ground below, far below, but it could never reach him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Dick let his toes slip himself off of the pedestal.
He felt himself swing forward as he opened his eyes. The crowd below was huge. They watched him and gasped as he jumped, as he soared through the air. They cheered and shouted his name. They smiled. His heart and lungs felt bigger than they ever did. This was his type of homework!
In reality, there were only two in the audience. Mary and John looked up and smiled as they saw Dick laugh and yell as he opened himself up to the feeling of weightlessness and flight. Okay, maybe ten more minutes. He was part of the show now, or was going to be. He was more than old enough to perform. Finally, Dick came back down and went down to the bottom to meet his parents. But something was still on his mind.
"Mom? Dad? Could I still do this at school? At recess?"
Mary and John looked at each other and then John answered, "If the teacher says so, I guess."
"Really? I think people would like it. To watch anyway. Not to do it, they'd get hurt, but I just, I'd like to show them. They're going to find out anyway, so why not show them why I like it so much?" Dick asked.
Mary smiled at John and nodded at Dick. Dick jumped onto his Dad's back with a smile, "So what's for dinner?"
"How does a chicken casserole sound?" John asked.
"Still warm?" Dick asked back.
"Yep," Mary told him.
"Sounds great," Dick said, his thoughts on the next day and when his recess would be.
-N-
A/N: How did you like it? Please review! Now, who can believe that Dick's growing up so fast? I can't. One whole summer. Wow. Alright, maybe he's a bit of ahead of schedule, lol. This was meant to be a summer story. But don't worry, for those of you who enjoyed this and anything else I've written, I want to let you know that I've been drafting a new story. I'm really excited about it, so yeah, I'm just putting it out there that I'm working on another multi-chapter story. I also have some One-Shots in mind as well. I'll be back next time with the last chapter! Later!
Rena