by Gracie Dix
2.3
Oliver got out of the shower and dried himself off. After that, he took the annoying plastic bag off his cast, got his clothes on, and set out looking for Snowball because he missed him.
Oliver sat down, pushed off his hands as hard as he could to compensate for the weight of his cast and Flew up to his bedroom door. But before he even got through his doorway, he saw something on his bed. He Flew over and picked it up to look at it. It was a picture of Teddy and Ondrea in front of the Girls’ bathroom door on the day of the fire. Oliver gasped and remembered the voice he’d heard in the Girls’ bathroom a few weeks earlier.
He wanted to go tell Jess, but he could sense that she was napping. He went down to the kitchen to get a snack after setting the picture aside.
2.4
Jessica was having the worst dream! She dreamed that Oliver had died in the fire, and there was nothing she could do. She dreamed about Peggy and her catastrophic death. She woke up startled and crying with Snowball at her side licking her tears away.
“Oliver!” she shouted. “How are you doing? You okay?”
“Yeah! Why do you ask?” he shouted back. At least she’s awake, Oliver thought to himself.
“I gotta talk to you,” she responded. Jessica clomped her way down the stairs, hearing voices coming from the television.
Oliver sat up from the couch and put down the cookie he was eating. He pushed up and took Flight.
“Hey, I need to talk to you, too,” he said. Jessica ran up to her room to grab the picture. Oliver Flew up to his room to get his picture, getting back downstairs first, with Jessica following close behind him.
They sat at the over-sized kitchen table and exchanged pictures.
“Whoa! You got a picture too?” she questioned.
“Yes, and I see you did too,” Oliver answered.
“Oliver, what is this picture about and why did you get it? This was taken by someone, I assume,” Jessica reported. Of course she recognized the two people in this picture, but she didn’t know why anyone would even take that picture!
“I don’t know what the picture is, but I do know where it was taken. It was taken outside the Girls’ bathroom. I don’t know who took it, though. The people in it are Ondrea and Teddy on the day of the fire. That was when they were coming to rescue me,” Oliver claimed. “Now, how about your picture?” he asked.
“Well . . .” Jessica started awkwardly. “You know that story about Peggy’s death that you talked about just this morning? That is Mrs. Mel, except, you know, all Flared-Up. As you can tell, Peggy’s foot is angled weirdly. “So this picture must show the moment before she fell on Mrs. Mel and . . . died.”
THREE
In Which Oliver Receives A Mission
Of course, the school was built for Superheroes, so, naturally, the school itself would be a “Super School”—able to repair itself! For Ondrea, Teddy, Jessica, Darla, and Oliver, that meant school was back in session right away. The classroom was silent except for the occasional growling and complaining from the teacher, Mrs. Mel.
Oliver and Jessica didn’t even know what class was in session— history, science, math? They didn’t feel they were learning anything anyway, so it might as well have been recess. The atmosphere in the room was less happy than before the fire. But that wasn’t much of a change—considering that this particular teacher was the most annoying, boring, and life-sucking one of them all.
The atmosphere was also really down because Peggy’s seat was empty, and always would be. Teddy started whispering, but no one dared to answer him. Everyone was very grateful when the sound of the loud bell echoed in the room.
“Why was everyone giving me dirty looks during class?” Teddy inquired.
Darla was about to respond when a different voice yelled, “Get out of the way! There are nerds I need to toss off the edge of the school! Ha, ha!”
“Run!” Jessica shrieked. “Run NOW!”
Every one of the students took off! Ondrea, with her Super-Strength and Super-Speed, picked up Teddy. Jessica, who also had Super-Speed, but not strength, picked up Darla. Oliver pushed up and Flew. Then, Ondrea, Oliver, and Jessica Super-Sped or Flew down the hall. Four seconds later, Jessica, Oliver, and Ondrea literally screeched to a stop.
“What was that all about?” Darla asked as Ondrea let Teddy off.
“You really don’t know? That horrible voice belongs to none other than the biggest school bully ever,” Oliver whispered in an ominous tone. “Malcolm!”
“Oh. Is he really that bad?” Darla questioned.
“Heck yes,” Teddy, Ondrea, and Jessica chanted.
Darla went silent. The gang just stood there, all quiet for what seemed like hours.
“Oh, great. Now we’re late for lunch!” Teddy joked.
They all laughed nervously. Their frightened eyes darted from corner to corner, from hall to hall. When they were satisfied that Malcolm wasn’t nearby, they laughed happily.
“Let’s get to lunch,” Jessica suggested. Everyone began walking or Flying down the hall to the lunchroom.
“Ewwww,” Oliver complained. “Does it always have to be spinach, salad, and kale?”
“Apparently so,” Teddy said, cringing in disgust. “At least it’s food.”
“Plus, it’s healthy, too,” Jessica said.
Darla groaned, and so did everyone else. The food was always so gross! Sure, it was edible, but looking at it made them want to puke their guts out.
After staff forced them to eat the gruesome lunch, their next “class” was recess. Outside, Francis, a freshman, was selling radioactive candy to kids in the younger grades, just like he always did. The older students always saw Francis doing things he shouldn’t do, but he just never got caught. He wasn’t a total bad guy, though, so they were glad he never got expelled.
Oliver Flew outside with Jessica. Ondrea and Teddy, holding hands, walked away. Darla ran off to play with her own friends.
Francis looked over at Oliver as if he didn’t see Jessica and said, “Hey, where’s your sister? You know, the yacker.”
Oliver glared at him and pointed down. “You have Super Vision and yet you’re blind!”
“Yeah! Why are you still selling this to kids, anyway?” Jessica growled, snatching a piece from the girl walking by.
“Hey!” the kid roared. “Give it back!”
“No,” Jessica replied. She quickly handed the girl some money—enough to make up for the candy she took from her. “I want to know what’s in this junk anyway,” she spat.
“It’s not much,” Francis said. He always became agitated easily and was already getting ready to vaporize Jessica for her remark.
Oliver looked at Francis in a panic and yelled to Jess, “Okay let’s go!” He took his sister’s hand and Flew off.
“What was that all about?” she questioned.
“Are you kidding me? He was about to vaporize you!” Oliver stated with his hands on her shoulders. They sat on the bench in complete silence for the rest of recess, both thinking about all that had already happened that year. Oliver was really annoyed and upset. Jessica Sensed that, so she sat in silence with him.
Near the end of recess, Ondrea and Teddy came to sit down with Jessica and Oliver. Ever since they first met when Jessica and Oliver tour the school the previous spring, the four of them had become close friends. It did take Jessica some time to get used to the fact that Ondrea and Teddy were always together. She had never seen a couple her age so committed to each other. But once she realized they really were in love—and good for each other, always supporting each other—she became comfortable with it.
Ondrea was just about to say something when the bell rang over the outdoor loud speaker and passing period began. Oliver Flew back inside and entered the door to his next class just as the bell rang. He tended to dread this class just because it was the last class of the day. For him, that meant if this class didn’t exist, he would be home already! That would be just the way he would’ve l
iked it. But he had to go to class anyway.
“Good afternoon, class,” Mrs. Thomas said cheerfully.
“Hi, Mrs. Thomas,” Oliver muttered quickly as he walked past her to get to his desk. The teacher turned and glared at him. Oliver didn’t understand why. Apparently, he decided, she didn’t like him.
“Students!” she shouted, getting their attention. “We have a huge test tomorrow, and we’ll be spending this entire class period getting ready for it!”
Oliver groaned softly, trying to avoid getting the attention of the teacher. The teacher glared at him and then glanced back down at her papers. Oliver, wary of this, hastily began studying for the test. About twenty minutes later, Oliver fumbled with his pencil and accidentally dropped it on the floor. Mrs. Thomas’s head snapped up and she once more glared at Oliver.
“OLIVER, get out here!” the teacher roared.
“Dang it!” Oliver snapped at himself. “Coming!”
He saw Mrs. Thomas give a slightly sympathetic smile in his direction as she held the smooth wooden door open for him. She slammed the door shut as soon as they got out into the hall, and Oliver saw her eyes rapidly search the area.
“All right, I have a mission for you Mr. Fletcher,” she whispered.
“What? What do you mean ‘a mission?’ Please tell me what it is. Is anyone else going on it with me? Is everyone going to die? ARE WE SAVING THE WORLD?” Oliver questioned, emotions bubbling up inside of him like lava in a volcano.
“Oliver! Please, calm down!” Mrs. Thomas exclaimed quickly. “No one is going to die, hopefully. You know what I mean when I say ‘a mission,’ and I’ll tell you exactly what the mission is after Study Hall. You’ll be able to choose a few of your friends to take with you. But you won’t know who the other mission participants are until the mission starts. We wouldn’t want you to get upset if we choose people you don’t like,” she finished.
“All right, I’ll give you a break, for now,” Oliver joked, glad he wasn’t in trouble. As soon as he went back inside, the bell rang. He gathered up his school stuff and left for Study Hall.
FOUR
In Which The Love Birds Receive A Mission
Hello, my wonderful students,” Mrs. Macintosh exclaimed cheerfully. “It’s about that time again. Attendance-taking time! I know it’s not your favorite, but it must be done,” she finished with a slight chuckle. After reading a long list of names, she finally called Teddy.
“Here,” Teddy answered.
“Good, we’re all here, and that means we can start studying for the coolest thing ever—a test!” Mrs. Macintosh exclaimed with witty sarcasm.
“YES! Yay,” Ondrea cheered. For some reason, she absolutely loved tests, no matter what they were.
“No. Why?” Teddy groaned quietly. He hated tests no matter how “cool” they were supposed to be.
“Come on, Teddy! It will be fun. All right, get with your study buddies everyone,” the teacher said with a wide smile.
“Ondrea! Let’s go,” Teddy invited.
“Okay,” she responded.
“Ondrea? Teddy?” Mrs. Macintosh called.
“Yes?” they both asked at the same time.
“Please come with me,” she said walking toward the yellow wooden door. Once they were outside the classroom, Mrs. Macintosh closed the door behind them. Before they could say anything, she held up a hand.
“Listen, there is a very important thing that I NEED you to do,” she emphasized sternly.
Teddy had never seen his teacher this serious. She’d even managed to keep a smile when he had accidentally ejected a chair out the window at the beginning of the year.
“Yes?” he asked nervously. He looked at Ondrea and saw her nod.
“I need you to be free after Study Hall,” she said simply, smiling. Then she put her finger to her lips. The door opened and she led them inside.
“Now,” she started, “don’t you ever show me disrespect like that ever again!” Then Mrs. Macintosh winked, pointed to their “study” corner, and laughed quietly.
It was immensely difficult to pay attention to “studying” after what had just happened. Teddy’s and Ondrea’s gears were turning, thinking about what Mrs. Macintosh’s statement could mean. A nearly deafening sound snapped them out of their thoughts. RRRIIINNNGGGG! The bell screamed. Class had ended!
Jessica, Oliver, Teddy, Ondrea, and Darla all had the same homeroom. When Darla and Jessica came in, all the others tensed up, not knowing they were all tense for exactly the same reason.
Although Darla was completely oblivious, Jessica noticed the change in atmosphere as soon as she entered the room. That was another one of Jessica’s cool Powers—Super Sensing change in anything at all.
She studied the faces of her fellow roomies and noticed three faces trying to look natural. Teddy still needed to work on his I’m-normal-looking face. Meanwhile, Ondrea and Oliver had done a pretty good job of hiding it. Darla knew absolutely nothing about what was going on. Jessica felt upset because she knew something was going on but didn’t know what it was. She felt left out.
“What’s up?” asked an invisible Darla. Darla appeared behind Jessica with a curious look on her face. Did Jessica dare tell Darla that she knew the other three were trying to hide something? She didn’t want Darla to get sad like she was. Also, Darla was younger.
“Whoa,” Jessica started. “You scared the life out of me!”
“Sorry!” she said with a twinkle in her mischievous little eyes. Darla enjoyed using her Invisibility Power, and she knew Jessica would have enjoyed it if she’d had that Power, too.
Darla was the youngest of five girls in her family, and her sisters always treated her like a baby, which she hated. To get back at them, she played tricks on them—a lot. This school year was the first time she was developing a group of friends outside her family, and she really wanted them to like her. She couldn’t seem to stop playing tricks on people, though. But she was trying hard to not take it too far.
“So,” Darla began again, “What’s up?”
“I’m just upset about all these stupid tests I’ve got to study for,” Jessica answered, deciding not to tell her.
“Okay, cool,” Darla finished. With that, she left.
Jessica sat down and took out all her study materials. Then she realized she’d left some of her notes in Mr. Jenkins’ class.
“Oh, no!” she cried.
“What’s the matter?” Oliver asked, coming up behind her. She didn’t answer.
“Jess?” he asked again. Then he realized she was trying to read his mind.
“NO! Stop!” his mind screamed. She did exactly that.
“I left my notes in Mr. Jenkins’ class,” she sighed.
“Want me to go with you?” Oliver offered.
“Nope. I got it, but thanks,” Jessica replied. Then, she left.
FIVE
In Which Darla Says Something Nice
There’s no way he can be it! That can’t be right!” The Stranger whispered. Just then, a bug flew around his head, annoying him to the point of frustration. He hated being in the school’s janitor’s closet. He wished his target were somewhere else—anywhere else!
Then, he yelled in a furious rage, “I’VE DONE YEARS OF RESEARCH, BOSS!”
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now for raising your voice to me, slave!” the other man spat. “Besides, we have to get the girl in order to get the boy! You catch my drift?”
The Stranger thought for a moment. “Hmm . . . Maybe we can use them all, Boss. But which one should we take first? Francis, maybe?” he asked. “OOOHHH! Or maybe . . . ”
“YES, FRANCIS!” The Boss roared. The Stranger jumped up, startled by his superior’s outburst.
“But, sir. It was just a suggestion. I mean, I showed you how those two acted toward Francis.” The Stranger started having second thoughts. “Well . . . we have been watching them for years. So, once we get back to the base, maybe if I use my hypnotic magic on Oliver,
he might remember the good old days with Francis!”
“Yes! That’s perfect!” The Boss yelled, barely able to contain his excitement. “WE WILL FINALLY GET THAT BOY!”
5.2
“So, Oliver,” Teddy said, “Wanna have a sleep-over, bro?”
“First of all, heck yes. Second of all, no one ever calls it that anymore. And third of all, no, Teddy, I don’t know what they call it now,” Oliver responded. “Oh, Ondrea has invited my sister to have a ‘sleep-over’ at her place, too, and I think that’s pretty cool.”
Oliver had just taken out his phone to text his mom and dad to tell them that both he and Jessica had been invited to spend the night, when his sister skidded into the door.
“Dang. Took you long enough!” Oliver murmured. He bumped Teddy on the shoulder and pointing to the clock, said, “We gotta go!”
Study Hall usually ended at 3:27 p.m., and it was 3:23 p.m. already. He wanted to get there on time, or perhaps earlier. And since they had been texting in Study Hall, Oliver, Teddy, and Ondrea all knew they had been chosen to do something serious afterward—whatever it was!
The three of them had the same second-period class, so Oliver used that as an excuse.
“We have to go to the Science Lab to get something,” Oliver said convincingly.
“Okay,” Jessica said. “But hurry up! Remember Ondrea is taking me home.”
5.3
Oliver, Ondrea, and Teddy were running down the long hallway when Oliver decided to stop.
“Why did you stop?” Ondrea asked a few feet ahead of him.
“Did you forget? We’re splitting up,” he said. Then he continued down the hall toward Mrs. Thomas, while Ondrea and Teddy turned left toward Mrs. Macintosh.