(I'm sorry! That being said, I'm going to hide under the covers. Good night and enjoy!)
October 5th, 2011
09:16 AM
GOTHAM ACADEMY
Mr. Daniels' class was half way done and Dick was doing some work at his desk, again half-asleep but feeling better than the night before.
Artemis left for dinner after playing video games up in Dick's room and sharing stories, all in attempt to make him feel better, including stories about pranking Green Arrow (Artemis had tried very hard not to laugh and ended up falling into Wally, who went redder than his hair.)
Roy and Wally had left just after dinner (Alfred insisted that "Master Wallace not run home on a fully empty stomach", so he filled the three boys up while Bruce ate silently, watching them.
That night he had tucked him into bed personally to make sure he wasn't going to go on patrol with him and set Alfred as his night-watch guard. He wasn't allowed to leave the room, so he pulled the blanket over his head and search the police files and seeing if Bruce left anything on the computers in the Batcave.
He then patched into the Justice League mainframe. Superman was requesting any missions under the radar: hypocritical boy-scout. Green Lantern Jordan was off world: extreme Lantern Training by the alien named Kilowag. Samples of the plants were being conducted with multiple growth hormones and supplements: Super-villain team up!
Then he actually got to school, after convincing Bruce throughout breakfast and Alfred agreeing to drop him off and pick him up immediately before and after school. Getting into first period, it was more cumbersome as Paul and Mr. Daniels' had been watching him since he walked in the classroom door. He tried to keep his eyes on his work, but Batman's training had him watching around his surroundings.
His cell phone buzzed in his pocket.
"You okay?" Paul asked.
"Yeah. 'M fine." Dick sighed.
"So, what happened?"
"Bruce's caught the flu. Alfred & I caught it 2. Bed rest."
"That sucks. So, I guess you weren't kidnapped by a ghost football player on steroids."
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. Story…make up a story…
"Richard Grayson, report to the Guidance Councillor's office please, Richard Grayson."
Dick would have sworn in Romanian and English. Instead, Richard politely excused himself and started the walk from Mr. Daniels classroom. He was glad he convinced Bruce to let him come today. He had to "Deal with what happened". That and Bruce was way to over-protective. He was fine.
He was almost at the guidance office when Artemis signaled him, walking down the other side of the hallway. Intrigued, he walked over.
"Hey Arty." He smiled.
"You okay?" She asked casually.
"Yeah. I'm fine," smile on his face. He was. This is what he did: kept calm and carried on- occasionally hacking the motion sensors among the way.
"Wally's been texting me all morning." Artemis said casually. When Dick looked curiously at her, she replied "We exchanged numbers last night after training. M'gann got herself a cell phone last week, so the three of us traded digits."
"What's Wall-man been saying?"
"He wanted to know how you were. Apparently he's not grounded because his god-father needed a baby-sitter." Artemis chuckled.
Baby sitting? God-father? BRUCE! He frowned, which caused Artemis to start laughing even harder. "Smart aleck." He left the tenth grader laughing, holding herself up against the trophy case.
He arrived at the office and was waved right in to Miss MaCabe's office.
"Good morning Richard." Miss MaCabe smiled warmly. "Please take a seat." Richard obeyed, mirroring a fake version of his smile. On the opposite side of the room was the Principal Mr. White, Miss MaCabe and Bruce.
"Bruce?" Dick asked, his blue eyes went wide. Bruce gave his "public smile", a warm smile he gave to convince officials or keeping situations friendly. Since Bruce was more subtle at home, he only smiled when he felt truly happy, not just content.
"Dick." His "happy but concerned voice" greeted him. "Come sit."
Dick sat, appearing relaxed, but it seemed like everyone but Mr. White knew it was fake. "What's up?"
"Dick, can you tell us what happened yesterday?" Mr. White asked him politely. "It seems like there are quite a few people involved."
Bruce and Dick shared a polite smile.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I was really sick from the flu yesterday. I don't really know what happened." Dick frowned.
Miss MaCabe frowned. "You don't remember anything?"
Dick 'looked' sheepish and said "No. It could have been a hazing prank gone wrong. I am a freshman after all. I remember is feeling really sick in class, then I was in the bathroom. I remember being really scared…may have kicked something really hard…" Dick closed his eyes in 'concentration', coughed a few times for emphasis, and continued: "I don't know. When I woke up, Artemis was standing over me. She called Alfred, our- our butler, and she had to help get me into the car. And she won't leave until I was safe. At least, that's what Alfred told me when I finally woke up last night."
Mr. White nodded: a concerned look on his face. Miss MaCabe nodded too, while taking notes. Interestingly enough, her face seemed guarded, kind of the same way Bruce did. Bruce however, was playing the concerned father and put his hand on his shoulder in a 'comforting' manor.
"Is that all, son?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah Bruce." Dick sighed quietly.
Miss MaCabe smiled politely. "Mr. Wayne, can you have Alfred call the school next time." It wasn't a question. "For Richard's safety."
"I'm sorry about this." He smiled meekly, shaking hands with Mr. White and Miss MaCabe.
"Not at all Mr. Wayne. See you at the next School Funds meeting." Mr. White said, ever the institutional charming man.
Bruce and Dick excited the office together. Once outside, Bruce pulled Dick to the side.
"A believable performance, for the most part. However your guidance councillor seems a little suspicious."
So I wasn't the only one to notice. "Yeah, apparently. So, what are we doing tonight?"
Bruce smiled. "Well, you seem better. Aunt Dinah will be happy to see you."
Dick smiled.
Code names and all…
we are so back to normal.