Journey to Superhero School

by Gracie Dix

  “Hi,” she said assertively. “I’m Darla. I’ll be leading you throughout the school and showing you the layout. If you have any questions, for the love of all that is Super, save them until the END! I don’t get paid to do this, you know.”

  Normally, after Darla says this to visitors, they stay quiet all the way until the end of the tour, but not these visitors.

  “Hi, Darla! I’m Jessica, and this is my twin brother, Oliver,” Jessica piped up cheerfully.

  “Yeah, I know. It’s my job to know. I’m touring you around the school,” she mumbled.

  “Right! I’m so sorry!” Jessica apologized.

  Darla looked shocked. “Nah. It’s fine,” she stated blandly.

  “Why do you look so surprised?” Oliver questioned nervously.

  “Well, to be honest, no visitor has ever apologized to me before,” Darla confessed.

  “Well, I am thoroughly glad that we could be the first,” Oliver said proudly.

  “Uh. Thanks?” Darla muttered. “Let’s get on with this tour, shall we?”

  Oliver and Jessica were led through each section of the school, touring classrooms, the library and more. Each bathroom was pointed out, and Darla introduced them to a few people as they were passing through the halls. All the rooms had bright windows and the layout was basically the same, but each classroom was filled with personality.

  Darla took the twins around to introduce them to the teachers during their off periods. There were so many, the twins doubted they would be able to remember all of their names. As Oliver and Jessica went around and talked with Darla, they began to notice her friendlier side. This was the side of Darla no one ever seemed to notice, because they never tried to talk to her. Darla seemed to be warming up to Oliver and Jessica, as well. Her laugh became less tense, her smile became more real, and she seemed to have a little more pep in her step then she did before. At the start of lunchtime, Darla took Oliver and Jessica into the lunchroom to eat with the rest of the students.

  “Can we go and sit with Teddy and Ondrea?” Jessica asked after they had gotten their food, pointing to the table at the far left.

  “Umm, yeah, I guess,” Darla allowed. She, Oliver, and Jessica walked over to their table.

  “Hey guys!” Oliver greeted with a grin. “Why are you sitting all by yourselves?”

  “People kind of think we do too much PDA, but I say ‘humbug’!” Ondrea replied.

  “Yeah, those people are clearly off their rockers,” Teddy agreed as he quickly kissed Ondrea on the lips.

  “Eeew, guys. We came over here for lunch—not lunch and a show!” Darla sneered.

  “Okay, so maybe they’re right, but that’s only because . . . because other people never hang out with us!” Teddy exclaimed, frowning.

  “Well, we’re here,” Jessica said, shoving a piece of broccoli from Ondrea’s plate into her mouth.

  “Why are we here?” Darla wondered, plopping down in her seat.

  “These are our new friends,” Oliver explained. “This is Teddy and Ondrea. Ondrea and Teddy, this is Darla.”

  “We know! You must be really a really lovely person to welcome new students as much as you do,” Ondrea complimented.

  “Thanks, I guess,” Darla said as she put her hands in her lap and began to fidget.

  “Yeah. You’re a real bro for doing that,” Teddy agreed. He held out his hand for a high five.

  Darla looked up and panic glinted in her eyes for a second. It was as if she didn’t know what to do. “Um. Cool,” Darla mumbled.

  “Just slap my hand, girl,” Teddy urged. “It’s a high five. You’re cool.”

  Darla awkwardly high-fived him and the corners of her mouth curved into a slight smile. “Thanks,” she said a bit more confidently.

  “Hey, look at you, making friends!” Oliver teased.

  “What? Me?” Darla snarled as if she were angry.

  “Yeah, you,” Jessica confirmed, putting a supportive arm around Darla’s shoulders. Darla flinched, but didn’t move away.

  “Hey, thanks . . . thanks for the support,” Darla peeped. It sounded as if she meant it.

  “Look, I know you were talking to Jessica over there and that you don’t really know us, but we’re always going to be here to help you if you really need it. Just reach out,” Teddy said to Darla. “We all promise.”

  “Gee. Thanks! I . . . I’m thankful for all four of you. This is, believe it or not, the most social interaction I’ve ever had. Even more so, this is the very first social interaction I actually liked having. Maybe we could have more of these?” Darla asked, looking at everyone as she was talking.

  “Oh, yeah!” Ondrea chimed in.

  “Totally!” Jessica cheered, pulling Darla in for a side hug.

  “Cool,” Teddy agreed calmly, although he was grinning.

  “You know what?” Oliver began. “I think this is the start of a loooong friendship.”

  As soon as he said that, Darla smiled. Her expression held many emotions: Nervousness, confusion, and excitement. The emotion that stood out the most was happiness. “I’d like that,” she replied.

  Chapter 9

  Welcome to Superhero School

  After lunch, Darla finished showing the twins around. They were about to sit and hang out in the main part of the building when Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher walked in, having finished their tour as well.

  “Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!” Oliver yelled from the couches.

  “My venturing vultures! How are you?” Mrs. Fletcher wondered, running up to greet her children.

  “Yes! How was the school? Did you like it?” Mr. Fletcher asked, casually walking toward the kids.

  “Gosh! The school is AMAZING!” Jessica screamed. “Like, OM – WOW! It was super COOL!”

  Darla covered her ears and grimaced. “Does she always get like this?” she whispered to Oliver. Oliver just nodded.

  “We made three new friends and it was so much fun!” Oliver agreed, keeping the part about Francis to himself. “The classrooms look amazing, and we met a lot of teachers. This school is awesome!”

  “Well, I’m just so glad my babies had fun!” Mrs. Fletcher laughed. “Your dad and I were both impressed with the school, too.”

  “This is Darla!” Jessica said. She grabbed Darla gently by the shoulders and dragged her to Mrs. Fletcher.

  “Well, hello there, Darla!” Mrs. Fletcher exclaimed. “Any friend of my kids is a friend of mine.” She pulled Darla in for a hug even though Darla’s body language clearly stated, “I don’t want to be hugged.”

  “Uh. Mom, Darla isn’t really into the hugging-at-first-sight thing,” Oliver mentioned, stepping forward.

  “Oops! I’m sorry, Darla. Our family consists of huggers,” Mrs. Fletcher said.

  Mr. Fletcher cleared his throat. “Not me,” he countered. “But I didn’t marry her for her hugs. I married her for her heart.”

  Mrs. Fletcher blushed, Jessica smiled, Darla looked uncomfortable, and Oliver pretended to gag while sticking his tongue out. “Eeew,” he mumbled.

  “Anyway,” Mr. Fletcher began, clearly feeling embarrassed that he had just said that out loud. “You said you made three friends today. Where are the other two?”

  “They’re in class,” Darla explained as she saw Oliver and Jessica look at each other with a clueless expression as to where Teddy and Ondrea might be.

  “Oh, I wanted to meet them,” Mrs. Fletcher admitted sadly.

  “Don’t worry you will. Next year, Mom,” Oliver said, grinning. “Their names are Teddy and Ondrea. You’ll love them.”

  “Ondrea is a lot like you, Mrs. Fletcher,” Darla whispered.

  “Thank you, honey!” Mrs. Fletcher cheered. She gave Darla’s shoulder an affectionate, almost-motherly squeeze.

  Suddenly, another woman began walking toward Darla and the Fletchers. “Hello, kids and team!” she called out. “Sorry I haven’t been able to get to you today, it’s been busy. Some kind of evil villain organization just emailed us an
d threatened to burn down the school, but it’s okay! We deal with these things all the time. They had some weird kind of acronym—Vork. I believe it stood for Villain Organization Radish Ketchup. I guess they couldn’t think of anything for the R and K? It’s nothing to worry about, really.” By the time she had finished talking, she was now standing in front of them. “Anyway, my name is Mrs. Macintosh. I’m the one who called your mother about your acceptance to this school.”

  “Hello!” Jessica blurted. “My name is Jessica, and this is my twin brother, Oliver.”

  “I know, Jessica. I’m the reason you kids are here. It would be criminal not to know your names,” Mrs. Macintosh informed them.

  “Ohhh. Congratulations! Does EVERYONE know our names already, then?” Jessica grumbled, crossing her arms. Darla tried poorly to stifle a laugh.

  “That’s rude.” Mr. Fletcher stated, giving Jessica a warning glance.

  “No! It’s quite all right!” Mrs. Macintosh piped up with a chuckle. “So, do you kids like our school?”

  “Like it?” Oliver asked. “Man, I mean, um, Mrs. Macintosh, we LOVE it here! It’s so beautiful and awesome!”

  “I’m so glad to hear it!” Mrs. Macintosh exclaimed. “Will you be joining us next year, then?”

  “DUH!” Jessica screamed like she couldn’t hold in her excitement anymore. “THIS PLACE IS LITERALLY MAGIC!”

  This time, EVEYONE within earshot, including Darla and the front-desk lady began laughing. After everyone had calmed down and the Fletcher parents chatted with Mrs. Macintosh a little more, it was time to go home. As bummed as the kids were that it was time to leave, they were eager to go home and get some rest. Naturally, they were quite worn out. Everyone said goodbye to Mrs. Macintosh and Darla as they began to head out. Before they could even get out the door, Teddy appeared directly in front of them holding Ondrea’s hand.

  “Holy cow, Teddy!” Oliver yelped, Flying backwards.

  Ondrea giggled as Teddy let go of her hand. “Sorry we scared you!”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Teddy apologized. “We just wanted to say goodbye.”

  “Are these two Teddy and Ondrea?” Mrs. Fletcher questioned.

  “Yeah. Let me formally introduce you. Mom, Dad, this is Teddy and Ondrea. Ondrea can Heal people. It’s SO cool!” Oliver exclaimed. “I don’t really know what Teddy does.”

  “Ah, yes. That’s another reason why we came here,” Teddy mentioned giddily.

  “Teddy can SHOW you his Power,” Ondrea added. She shared a knowing glance with Teddy and smiled.

  “Dude, what?” Oliver asked.

  “First of all . . . ” Teddy began. He turned toward Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher. “Did you guys drive your own car here?”

  Mr. Fletcher answered, “No. There’s actually this really cool taxi system installed into this school called the ‘Taxi Super Service.’ We took a Flying taxi up here, which is really something we didn’t expect. It had . . . “

  “Great! Is there anything else any of you need to grab before you go home?” Ondrea questioned, beginning to sound impatient.

  “Um, no,” Jessica responded, sharing a confused glance with Oliver and their parents.

  “Good. Now show me a picture of any room in your house,” Teddy instructed.

  At this point, Oliver just chose to go with it, so, he went into his photo stream and pulled up a picture he took a week ago of the living room. He showed it to Teddy. “Will this work?” Oliver asked as he shoved the phone in Teddy’s face.

  “Oh yeah. That’ll work,” Teddy agreed. “This is going to be really cool, I swear.”

  “He’s NOT kidding!” Ondrea said excitedly.

  “Gosh, this is exciting,” Teddy yelled. “Okay, hold on to Ondrea’s hand. Basically, just form a chain of hand-holding.”

  Once everyone had their hands connected, the lobby flashed out of view and suddenly, they were in their living room. “What!” Jessica screeched, looking around. “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?”

  “Wow. Ouch, my ears!” Teddy mumbled.

  “Teddy Bear can teleport!” Ondrea explained with a grin. “Your reaction was priceless!”

  “Wow . . . this is all just so overwhelming,” Oliver gasped. “This is going to change our lives forever. Man, this is . . . this is great!” Everyone smiled.

  “We gotta go,” Teddy said, grabbing Ondrea’s hand once more. “By the way, if you think that was cool just wait until you begin the school year.”

  “Wait!” Jessica called. “Do you have any advice for us?”

  Ondrea thought for a minute and then said, “Be yourself no matter what. Treat everyone as if they’re your friend.”

  “I’d vouch for that too,” Teddy agreed. “Final piece of advice: Be brave, Jessica. Stay safe, Oliver. Lastly . . . ”

  Teddy and Ondrea looked at each other and smiled. “Welcome to Superhero School!” They both laughed together. Teddy and Ondrea popped out of view as they teleported back to the school together.

  All of the Fletchers looked back and forth from family member to family member, mouths agape. Oliver spoke first. “I have a feeling we signed up for a lot more than we asked for.”

  “Whatever it is, Ollie, we’ll all get through it together. This is going to be a blast!” Jessica exclaimed.

  “Yes, and as they said,” Mr. Fletcher began, “Kids, welcome to Superhero School! I have a feeling this is going to be the beginning of a thrilling new adventure.”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Fletcher repeated, smiling with joy, “Welcome to Superhero School!”

  And now, join Oliver and Jessica as their adventures really begin in . . .

  Welcome to Superhero School

  Book One of The Vork ChroniclesTM

  by

  Gracie Dix

  ONE

  In Which There Is a Fire

  “Wheeee!” Oliver Fletcher shouted joyously as he zoomed about his classroom.

  “Just because this is a Superhero School doesn’t mean you can Fly around the classroom like a misbehaving animal!” Mrs. Mel snapped. “Now sit down, Oliver!”

  Jessica Fletcher knew that whenever Mrs. Mel got even the least bit upset, she would flare up—her entire body lighting up like a Christmas tree, but with fire instead of lights. This time, though, Mrs. Mel was furious. Jessica didn’t want her twin brother to get in trouble in his first month at Superhero School.

  She and Oliver had always known they had Super Powers, but they hadn’t known there was a special school for kids like them. When their mom received the phone call inviting them to join the school, they were shocked and excited. They had no idea what to expect.

  They couldn’t have anticipated how many different Super Powers were represented by the kids. They hadn’t even known there were four categories of Super Powers: Earth, Water, Fire, Air. Oliver, since he was Flying around the classroom, was obviously in the Air category. Jessica was, too. They figured that since they were twins, they must have twin Super Powers.

  Before coming to this school, they had never known anyone else with Super Powers, and always had to keep their abilities a secret. Now that they were surrounded by superheroes, they finally felt free to be themselves.

  They’d even made some friends with Super Powers. Before they came to this school, they had read books about Superheroes and seen movies and television shows, and they had assumed all superheroes were good. But at school, they found out there could be superheroes who were not really headed in the best direction.

  Most of the teachers at the school are really good at their jobs and are great with the kids. In fact, since the school only hires Superhero School alumni, the teachers all have Super Powers and some of them had been dreaming about teaching at the school their whole lives. But Jessica had also discovered that some of the teachers don’t even like kids, and some are unhappy because their own lives hadn’t worked out how they’d hoped.

  “Oliver, please do what she asks of you for once,” Jessica pleaded. “Please!” She really hoped he would listen to he
r, at least this time.

  “Fine, I don’t care anyway. I mean, come on, sue me,” Oliver replied sarcastically as he floated down and sat firmly in his seat.

  “Okay,” Oliver thought, “I really do care. Seriously, though, did Mrs. Mel have to flare up? This is the first time I’ve acted up since the beginning of the year. Why did Jessica have to say that, anyway? Don’t get me wrong, I love her and all. I just don’t get why she has to be so bossy!”

  “After that vile and unnecessary interruption, let’s get back to the lesson,” Mrs. Mel said.

  All of a sudden, the fire alarm blasted everyone’s ears. It was so noisy, they could barely hear the announcement stating that one of the Flamies (a Fire-type Superhero) had just set the school on fire for the tenth time since the start of the year. Mrs. Mel began to flare up again, but Peggy calmly escorted the teacher out of the room and into the busy hall. The whole class Flew, Floated, Super-Sped, Teleported, and Speed-Walked out of the classroom in a chaotic fashion.

  “Jessica!” Oliver called, hoping to hear the sound of her voice calling back. He didn’t. “Uh-oh,” he mumbled. Oliver always tried to look out for Jessica, even when he was incredibly upset with her.

  “Yo, man, what’s up? I’ve gotten pretty used to these procedures,” a deep, familiar voice rasped from behind him.

  “Oh, hey, Teddy!” Oliver responded loudly, trying to be heard above the overwhelming noise that echoed in the halls. “Hey, man. Never mind that! Have you seen my sister?” He was worried and starting to smell the black, nauseating smoke from the gymnasium.

  “Sorry, wish I had,” Teddy replied thoughtfully. “Have you tried Flying? That might help,” he pointed out.

  “If I do, I’ll get in trouble for sure this time,” Oliver stated sadly.

  “Oh, my gosh, dude, this is your sister we’re talking about here. Show some love! Show her that you love her enough to break a rule.”

  “You do make a good point, Cupid,” he retorted. “Where’s your bow and where are you wings?”

  “Well, bye,” Teddy mumbled quickly.

  “Wait, sorry! I’m stressing out! Please come back!” Oliver begged. But Teddy was already gone.