How is it possible to get writer's block this early into a story? The ideas are bursting in my head but I can't seem to get them into words! ARGH *pulls hair*
Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High
1/17/16: i just realized this chapter is a straight up filler so I'm trying to add SOME movement into it, maybe exposition since I took it out of chp 1
The summer before Sky High was filled with new experiences.
Nothing was new about the setup: new house, new family, new school.
But this time they were real. I could feel it, and I definitely hoped for it. After a tearful and slightly awkward (on my side) reunion, the Strongholds swept me up into the storm of their life. Josie, my mother's cousin, was a force to be reckoned with: she bought me everything I needed to replace the paltry garbage bag of belongings I had held onto while moving from place to place.
The Strongholds were a tight knit, throw-around-the-old-pigskin-in-the-backyard, barbecue Sundays type of family. It was in their nature to be hospitable. During dinner, they said grace and they even had Family Fridays, which Will lamented, but I knew secretly enjoyed.
Speaking of the illustrious second cousin, I spent all of that blissful summer with him exploring Maxville with his friend Layla. Will was easygoing and accepting, and my surly personality seemed to slip off him like water. He was a truly nice kid, and I always feared the day I would take advantage of his generosity by doing something horrible and not accepting his forgiveness.
Layla, on the other hand, was a little hard to get along with at first. Her parents raised her to question everything and assert her opinions, so she talked. A lot. I, being a reticent person I am, never said anything to indicate my discomfort with her. Eventually I found her long rants rather endearing and saw them as a necessary evil and rolled my eyes and smirked at her narrative.
Never before had I had real friends who understood me, and I hadn't realized this until one day when we were hanging around the Maxville Grill.
"So Avery," said Will while Layla recuperated from her long-winded rant about the carbon emission of Sky High's antigravity system. "What was your school like in New York?"
"Um. Good." I hadn't really remembered any of it except zoning out and having people search the school frantically because I forgot to turn off my powers.
"Hey! You were in the city when The Hulk tore up Harlem, right? Were there any supers at your school who had parents called in to deal with the aftermath?"
"Will, close your mouth when you chew, you're getting french fry bits on Avery," Layla mothered, and reached over and wiped my cheek with a napkin.
I usually pride myself on my steely nerves but at that point I hadn't considered Layla that close of a friend (actually who am I to judge when had I ever had real friends) so I flinched away from her when she turned to my other cheek.
"S-sorry," I muttered, staring at Layla's suspended hand.
She blinked a few times, eyes concerned, and turned to Will, sharing a moment of best-friend telepathy.
Not a second skipped by as Layla swiftly recovered and started ranting about the fascist hierarchy of Heroes and Hero Support.
I realized as I sat there watching Will listen intently to Layla, nodding at the right times, that they understood that I needed space. They saw my reservedness and took a step back to let me adjust, and I felt a surge of affection for them.
Over the next few weeks Layla and Will slowly but surely drew my personality out, casually asking questions occasionally every time we met. By the end of the summer, I felt sad that we had to go to school. Those two months felt like me, Will, and Layla all alone in our little world, and I didn't want to let go.
But if I knew what was waiting for me at Sky High, I would've been less apprehensive.