-1Chapter Twelve-New locks
Clark went to school like he normally did, only this morning Lex was nowhere to be found in the Manor. When he'd asked Steve, he was told that Mr. Luthor had gone out on business. Clark could only imagine what business deal he was out to devour with his evil ways, but as long as Lana was being left alone he didn't have a problem.
Clark opened his locker door and stuffed his duffel bag inside. Practice was starting tomorrow and knowing himself he'd forget to bring his gear. So he brought it today to stuff in his locker for tomorrow.
"Kal!!" Clark spun at the call.
He saw Max and the others walking down the hallway, casually pushing aside students who were in there way. Clark smiled and brushed knuckles with Rex, the bigger of the two. The two of them went way back to their rookie gangster days. Rex and himself had always trained together. If they got into a fight they ended in a tie. Almost always at least.
Clark greet Max, Sam, and Will the same way he greeted Rex. With a smile and busting of knuckle against knuckle. They gained a few watchers as they carried on rather loudly in the hallway. Never-the-less Clark was glad to see his old buddies.
"You guys settled in?" Clark asked as they stood in the middle of the hallway.
"Yea, its this old farm off in the middle of nowhere. Pretty spacious actually." Sam said.
Clark nodded, "You'll have to show it to me sometime."
"As if the Manor isn't big enough for you and your ego." Will said. They all laughed but were cut off when the bell rang for first period.
"I've got to go." Clark said.
"Whoa, Kal actually going to class?" Sam asked completely shocked.
"I have to. I could get kicked off the team if I play hooky too much." Clark said.
The guys shrugged and Max waved them off down the hallway. Clark laughed and headed into class. He took his normal seat in the back of the class room, Chloe and Pete only a few seats in front of him.
A second before the last bell, Lana came running in. She was completely out of breath as she took her seat next to Chloe. Clark leaned forward to hear what they were saying.
"Lana, what's wrong?" Chloe asked. It was a good question and Clark wanted to know the answer.
Lana leaned closer, "I woke up this morning and Lex was in my living room with a dozen roses."
Clark leaned back in his chair. He didn't have to hear anymore. That was Lex's business appointment this morning. Clark couldn't help but be pissed. He tapped his pencil against his book and waited anxiously for class to come to an end so he could put an end to Lex greeting Lana while she was still in her pajama's.
When the bell finally did ring, Clark was out of the classroom so fast no one was in the hallway. He didn't even bother to sign out as he left the school building and made his way to his bike. If he got there fast enough he might find Lex still floating around.
When he reached the Talon, it was already full of customers. He parked his bike in the back and carried in his bag of supplies. He might as well fix up everything while he was at it. He walked in and was pleased to notice Amanda working.
"Good morning, Mr. Kent." Amanda greeted him as he walked up to the counter setting the large bag down.
"Morning Amanda. I was wondering if you'd mind if I did some fixing up?" Clark asked.
"Not at all." Amanda said. "Want anything to drink?" She asked.
"Maybe after I get some work done." Clark said.
He took his bag to the back and hung his jacket up on the rack. When he came back out, he was wearing a tool belt and carrying a seat of new locks. He sat down at the front of the store and got to work.
He worked on the new locks for the next few hours, and when he took a break it was almost time for school to let out. Once the front locks were done he started on the back locks. At least while he worked on these he wouldn't get run over by customers barging in through the doors.
He lost track of time as he struggled with the back door. This lock was different than the front doors and trickier to install. Lana walked in the back door and watched as Clark smashed his finger.
"Damn it." Clark cursed and sucked his thumb that he smashed.
"Don't make me wash that mouth out." Lana said. Clark jumped at hearing her voice and spun on his knees.
"Please don't, soap doesn't taste all that good." Clark joked.
"Fine, only if you tell me what you're doing." Lana said.
Clark stood and dusted off his hands. "I overheard you and Chloe this morning. You woke up with Lex in your living room."
Lana looked down, "Yea."
"So I skipped the rest of the day to install new and improved locks." Clark said.
"Why would you do that?" Lana asked.
"You're going to hate me." Clark said, leaning against the wall.
"After all this I couldn't hate you." Lana said smiling at him.
"Well…being the new owner of The Talon, I find it my duty to protect those who work here. Also someone very important who lives here." Clark said.
Lana shook her head at his words. "Wait…you're the owner of The Talon?" Lana asked.
Clark shook his head and waited to see her reaction.
"Why didn't you tell me that when you stopped by for inspection?" She asked.
"I didn't know what your reaction would be. After all I'm the son of a Luthor. The said Luthor that's giving you problems." Clark said.
"Clark, he's not your father by blood." Lana said.