As they pulled up to the next stop, she could see two kids dressed in all green with two red ponytails, clearly Layla, the earth child that Zach had told her about, and the famous William Stronghold, whom Zach called his male best friend. Chandra would be jealous if he didn't call her his sister.
"Morning!" the Bus driver, Ron Wilson, said enthusiastically. Layla waved.
"Is this the bus to sky high?" Will asked as everyone gasped.
Ron quickly closed the bus door exclaiming "Shh! What are you, crazy? Guess you want every supervillain in this neighborhood to know we're here."
"No, no sorry."
Will attempted to walk to a seat, but was stopped by Ron's arm across his front.
"What's your name freshman?"
Will looked uncomfortable. Well, Chandra thought, at least he doesn't take advantage of his parents fame.
"Um, Will Stronghold."
Ron gulped. "The son of Commander and Jetstream?"
Will nodded, still uncomfortable.
Ron stood suddenly and addressed the bus.
"Everyone! It's Will Stronghold! Son of the Commander and Jetstream!"
He begins shaking Will's hand in awe.
"I'm Ron Wilson, Sky High bus driver. If I can make your journey more comfortable, let me know. You two! Up! The seat behind Ron Wilson belongs to Will Stronghold," he exclaimed, pointing at a kid dressed in purple and black who looked nonplussed an an awed kid in bright orange.
The orange kid stood, "It would be an honor."
Will tried to decline, but the kid insisted.
"Magenta, get up." The kid was still oblivious to Will's discomfort.
"Why? He only needs one seat."
"So he can sit with his girlfriend.
"Layla?" Will butted in, "No, she's just my friend."
"Yeah, totally. He's like my brother." Chandra, who was well versed in sniffing out liars, could tell that Layla was lying to others around her and attempting to convince herself.
A nerdy kid with curly red hair and a brown sweater vest creepily took off his glasses and said. "Oh, well, in that case, hi. I'm Larry."
Will seized upon the opportunity to move towards Zach. Chandra sat up straighter.
"Relax," Zach whispered under his breath. "This isn't a fight"
"What makes you say that?" she asked innocently.
"You're tensing and your feet just got into position to launch yourself from your seat."
Chandra looked at her feet and realized Zach was right. With conscious effort, she relaxed her body just as Will arrived at the seat.
"Who's this?" Will asked. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."
Ouch, Chandra winced, I thought Zach would have told him about me.
"No," Zach replied, not catching the wince, "This is Chandra. Remember, I told you about my best friend who was too shy to meet you?"
Chandra stamped on his foot. She was not shy. She was just picky with who she trusted.
"Right." Will said. "I didn't know you had powers."
Chandra stared at him for a second, but sighed when Zach nudged her. "Yes, but I don't flaunt them. They're not something I'm proud of."
Layla stared at her, contemplatively.
Will sat across the aisle with Layla next to him as the bus started moving.
"So how was your summer?"
"It was tough, man. T- U-P-H. I was seriously sweatin' it. My dad going, 'Zach, I powered up before I started shaving.' and here's me, dude, halfway through August, and zip."
"Oh, so you…You don't have your powers."
"You think I'd even show up today if that happened."
Chandra caught Will's wince and her eyes widened. He didn't have any powers. The boy was screwed. There was no way he would make hero and the pressure his parents must put on him…he must have been drowning.
Will caught her look and his eyes widened before he relaxed and smiled at her, nodding. He trusted her. If Zach thought so highly of her, he would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Chandra and will focused back on the conversation at the same time.
"...and…bam!" Zach said, slapping his hands together dramatically.
"That's great. So what-what is it?" Will kid was nervous to death.
"You'll have to wait and see like everybody else." He had had to tell Chandra.. He had to tell one person. "But it's awesome, man. It's awesome!"
"Com on. It's not like you ever powered up in front of us."
The bus lurched to a stop.
"Sorry!" Ron called.
"Morning, the random kid mumbled.
"That's everyone," Ron said, ripping his badge and switching his hat, revealing sky high memberobelia. "Next stop, Sky High!"
The bus began driving up a ramp past caution cones.
"Where are we?" Layla asked nervously. Did she not read the handbook? Chandra didn't even have an address and she still read it.
"Hang on back there! We're goin' off-road."
He pressed a bunch of buttons, flipping down aerial instruments like on a plane.
"Here we go!" he said as the bus fell from the unfinished ramp.
Everyone was screaming around Chandra. Well, Ethan wasn't. She guessed no one but the two of them had known what was going to happen. As the bus stabilized into flight the school came into view, floating on a giant disk of land.
"There she is. Sky High. Kept aloft by the latest in anti-gravitational propulsion. She is in constant motion as a precaution against those who otherwise might have nefarious plans. Her location is supplied only to a few highly qualified individuals, such as myself, Ron Wilson, bus driver."
"Smooth and easy."
The landing was not smooth and easy.
"Sorry!"
"Word of advice. Don't miss the bus, 'cause the bus waits for no one. Except for you, Will Stronghold! If you're ever running late, running early, or you just want to talk…" Ron Wilson spoke as the kids filed off the bus and gave Will a business card, "...give me a call."
"Thanks, Ron. Seriously" Will said, safely tucking the business card in his wallet.
"Yeah! Freeze-Girl!" a boy called as his friend laughed.
A group of identical girls doing acrobatics caught their attention. "Hello, freshmen, don't be shy. Welcome newbies to Sky High! Juniors, seniors, all the rest. We're back to school. Sky High's the best! Ready, one, two, three," the girls formed stars, molding into one girl. Okay so cloning was a cool power, but Chandra didn't trust cheerleaders. She had read too many books were they were bullies. Maybe all of them weren't like that, but she wasn't taking her chances.
Out of nowhere, a blur was rushing around them, herding them into a tight circle. The blur stopped in front of them, apparently an immensely overweight boy with superspeed. A boy in stripes and orange stretched his way down the stairs like a slinky "Hey, freshmen!"
"You're attention, please," the first boy finished.
Chandra looked back to the stretchy one. "I'm Lash. Uh, this is Speed. And as representatives of the Sky High welcoming committee…"
"...We'd be happy to collect that 15 dollar new student fee." Lash stretched his arm out to Ethan, already picking him out as a target.
"Um, there was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook." Chandra winced. Ethan had just confirmed his status as a target. The boys were clearly bullies.
"OK, guys. Very funny. I'll take over from here." The girl was dressed in all pink. So many clashing different shades. It was like she thought that she should take every shade of pink and put them together and that would look cute. Chandra disliked her already.
"Hey, everybody. I'm Gwen Grayson, your student body president. I know you're all going to love it here at Sky High. I know I have. I've just had the greatest experience, but there are a few rules that I want to let you guys know…"
A small screech in the background took Chandra's attention. A group of two older boys had walked over to a boy with one red streak in his hair sitting on a bench. They said something that clearly made him angry and one put his hand on the boy's shoulder. The shoulder burst into flames and the two boys fled. The fire boy could sense someone staring at him, and he met her gaze.
"If you can remember those few simple rules, I promise you will not fall off the edge of the school." Chandra's attention was pulled back to the pink monstrosity in front of her.
"Follow me inside for orientation."
"Rules, What rules?" Will asked. Poor Layla. Chandra hadn't been too distracted to see Will making googly eyes at Miss pink.
"Weren't you paying attention." Layla explained the rules as they walked up the stairs into the entrance. Chandra took one last glance at the fire kid, but he was gone.