Super Hero Academy

by Simon Archer

  She blushed even more, to the point where I’m sure her cheeks would have lit on fire with a little fuel.

  Bright red, she whispered, “O-Okay, good. Date it is.”

  “Yup. Don’t tell Eric. He can’t keep a secret.”

  “I won’t.” She smiled. “See you tomorrow. For our date.”

  When I let go of her hands, I could still feel the tingle from where we’d touched. I felt her eyes lingering on my back as I headed towards the boy’s dorm.

  Chapter 22

  “You know, the last time I went to the carnival, I won this really big stuffed pig. I named him Norbert. I didn’t bring him to Valcav for obvious reasons, Brad would never let me hear the end of it, God, so I left Norbert at my mom’s house. She says she wants to give him to my cousin, but—”

  I did my best to tune out Eric’s relentless babbling, even if it was a little bit endearing. Kara’s hand squeezed in mine, and she smiled a sweet thing. In a twist of events that didn’t surprise me as much as it should have, Eric had somehow found out about our date. Except that he didn’t realize it was a date, and decided to invite himself because he really, really liked carnivals. Andie then decided to join to play interference, and Aylin came along because she had no idea what a carnival was.

  Which meant that Eric began to explain his life story in detail. I loved the dude like a brother, but sometimes he was the younger brother that I wanted to choke a little. Did he even know what the word ‘date’ actually meant?

  Andie chuckled and wrapped a flexible arm around Eric. “That’s nice, Sparkles. Hey, maybe you should show me where you got Norbert—”

  Eric bounced on his feet, and little trails of lightning raced through his short blue-streaked hair. Andie was zapped for her trouble and retracted the arm with a wince. Eric didn’t notice.

  “Good idea!” he cheered. “I can win another one! I’ll name this one Roberto!”

  Aylin giggled at his enthusiasm and followed behind the two. Just out of earshot, I heard, “I don’t understand. What is a pig?”

  I led Kara in the opposite direction which just so happened to be the rides. She still seemed amused with a gentle smile and happy blue eyes that kept drifting up to my face.

  “Eric’s a sweetheart,” she said, chuckling a little.

  I shook my head and glanced back the direction he’d disappeared. I was half-worried that Eric would come running back with a request to join him on his Roberto-hunting efforts. Not that it didn’t sound like a pleasant time, but I had different concerns.

  “Maybe, but he’s also a total doofus,” I said with a grin. “He should’ve known it was a date, meaning no invites.”

  “I don’t think he even knows what romance is,” Kara admonished as she waggled a slim finger at me. “Let alone its customs. That boy lives in his superhero collection. It’s sort of cute, really.”

  I gave her a smile. “Not as cute as you, though.”

  “Or you,” she laughed, “and your corny lines.”

  I smiled. The sound of her laugh was music, and I wished I could draw it from her more often.

  “Anyway, I don’t mind,” Kara continued. “Honestly, it’s just nice to have friends, even ones that interrupt a date. I could get used to this.”

  I frowned at the words and did a double-take. “You didn’t have any friends before Valcav?”

  “No, I... I kept to myself, I guess.” She shook her head. Red strands fell in front of her pretty blue eyes, and she ran an embarrassed hand through her hair.

  Instead of prodding her, I pointed at the Ferris wheel with a quirked brow. She smiled again and nodded slightly, so we made our way there.

  The moon was high in the sky, and the whole wheel was strung up in colorful lights. Lines of red, white, and blue flickered up and down the spokes, and trailed down like a bridge at either side of it. I held Kara’s hand as we walked toward the ticket booth. The man behind it gave us both a knowing smile, but I ignored his assumption and passed him the tickets.

  We climbed into an empty car, and once our seat began to rise, I gestured outward with a slow hand. The carnival rested along the bay, and its lights reflected in the water to join the rest of the glittering cityscape behind us.

  Alexandria was nothing if not a gorgeous city, a beacon of humanity’s potential and a bastion of hope against the storm. At night, spires of light rose up towards the heavens and streetlights dotted the lanes like stars. The red taillights of cars raced through the highway like a river. Always moving, any time of the day or night.

  “I used to admire the lights when I was still on the island,” I said softly. “She’s a pretty view out there.”

  Kara followed my eyes to the view, and her gaze became distant. “It’s prettier up here.”

  Andie had a fondness for the darker, twisted aspects of Alexandria, but Kara wasn’t nearly so convinced. Carefully, I took her hand in mine, worried she’d pull it away the moment we made contact.

  She didn’t. Kara’s eyes found mine again, and they were an incredibly deep ocean blue. I could swim in them for ages without ever resurfacing again. She pulled them away a moment later, and her vibrant red hair fell before those eyes again, shielding them from my own.

  “I... I’m sorry, Nick,” she said softly. “I know I’ve been difficult.”

  I rubbed my thumb where we held hands and ducked my head down to catch her gaze in mine again. She resisted at first, but I was persistent. “Hey. C’mon, look at me.”

  She did with no small amount of hesitation, and I felt myself melt a little bit. Her eyes were terrified and embarrassed, but there was a note of love there too. I felt for her. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I knew it was like to live in constant uncertainty.

  “It’s going to be alright,” I said, holding her gaze. “I promise.”

  She flushed and ducked her head again. She glanced back over the city, her hand squeezing gently in mine. We were very high on the Ferris wheel now. The spires greeted to meet us as they combed the heavens.

  “I have something I want to show you,” she whispered, still not looking at me. “In my dorm room, I mean.”

  I hummed in acknowledgment and continued to rub my thumb along her hand. I didn’t know where this thing between us was going, but I suspected that there was more to the story than base assumptions. Kara darted a quick glance at me before blushing and looking away again. She clung to the flickering fairy lights of the Ferris wheel like they held the secrets of the universe.

  “You’re different, you know,” she said, “than how you used to be.”

  I lifted a brow at that. “I’d hope so. I was a bit of a snot.” She snorted at that and smiled a little. I considered that a victory. “Anyway, you’re different too.”

  Her smile fell again, and I shook my head and squeezed her hand in mine.

  “Not completely,” I amended. “There are still these little hints of the spitfire I remember. I meant what I said about Stacy.”

  The smile once again returned, and I smiled back when she caught my gaze again. Again, we held contact for an extended period. I couldn’t quite manage to look away, and neither could she.

  “I like who you grew up to be, Nick,” she said softly.

  As my heart fluttered with the beat of a thousand butterflies, I admitted, “I like who you grew up to be too, Kara.”

  She ducked her head as if she didn’t quite believe me. She glanced out at the view again.

  “Hey, I’ve got no reason to lie,” I said. “I think you’re fantastic.”

  “I’m not,” Kara insisted quietly.

  “You are,” I shot back. “You’re a ten. Eleven, even.”

  The Ferris wheel began its descent back to the earth. I tsked, still holding her hand in mine, and I gave it a comforting squeeze once more.

  “I’m not an eleven. Maybe a five at most,” she insisted again.

  “You’ve got lots of amazing traits, Kara. Keep that up, and I’ll list them.”

  “Nick—”<
br />
  “Alright, let’s see,” I said, tapping my chin with my free hand. “You’re a genius and a badass. You work well with the team, you can defend yourself pretty well, and you’re quick to act in the field. Oh, and I think your powers work well with mine. I can’t wait to see what we can do together.”

  She blushed and twisted in her seat, utterly embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed. “You haven’t said anything about my body,” she pointed out.

  I chuckled. “Oh, well, if we’re going there, I think your red hair is absolutely fucking gorgeous. And your eyes... they could kill, given half a chance.”

  A hand came up to her hair. She combed the pretty red strands, pulling the long bangs out of her eyes self-consciously. “That all?”

  “Nah.” I grinned. “You also have a nice butt.”

  Finally, finally, she laughed. It was a bright burst of joy, and I felt my heart warm a little in response.

  Wiping the mirth from her eyes, she shook her head and said, “Your butt seems nice too, I guess.”

  I scoffed at the very notion and pretended to be offended. With one hand planted on my chest, I summoned my inner drama queen.

  “Nice? You guess? Oh no, sister, my butt is glorious,” I said. “You could flip a coin on it.”

  “I suppose I have taken a peek from time to time,” she admitted with a roll of her eyes. Then, with a heavy blush, she added, “Those abs on the beach. I, uh, I liked those too.”

  “I feel so objectified,” I joked. “I’m more than abs, you know.”

  With a cool brow, she looked me up and down. Gone was the girl with little self-worth, and back was the first girl that I’d ever fallen in love with. I don’t know who’d convinced her that she was below-average on the scale of life, but I owed them a solid punch or two if I ever found out. I must have given her some bravery, because this time, her eyes were a bit hungry.

  “I beg to differ,” she said with a grin.

  The Ferris wheel had finished its descent, and we soon came to a stop. I climbed out first, then held a hand for Kara. She took it, still a bit shy, and then followed me past the Ferris wheel back into the games area. It was a chaotic array of tents, gaming noises, bells, and cheering. It smelled like corn dogs and cotton candy.

  I kept a lookout for Eric because I wasn’t quite finished with my alone time with Kara yet, and when I didn’t see him, I looked for a game to play. I had a mission to get Kara a Roberto of her own.

  I was seriously considering the bean bag toss when Kara made an unhappy noise. I followed her gaze to a fish toss game, where people were throwing ping pong balls into little cups of fish.

  “That’s cruel,” she said, her brows pinched. “Most of those little guys are gonna die.”

  They were feeder fish, probably bred by the penny, and likely sick with half a dozen illnesses. Still, a life was a life, and I understood her sentiment.

  “I think you win them if you get the ball in the cup,” I said thoughtfully. “I can give it a go. Save a few, maybe?”

  Kara’s eyes brightened at the idea, and she bounced just a little. “Can we? I can get an aquarium for my dorm.”

  I chuckled at the idea and went to the tall to pay a surly looking man for a bunch of balls. There were other contestants here throwing their own, and all missed their targets. The cups were arranged in a way where the ball was meant to bounce off the rim and miss its target. I would have to adjust for that. I gave Kara a thumb’s up as I held the first ball in my hand and gave it a toss after a moment of calculation.

  It landed in the cup of a brown-and-gold fish, who lurched at the ball that invaded its tiny home. The surly man sighed and reached for the cup. He carefully placed the cup with the winning fish beside me and gestured for my attention.

  “Good aim, Mr...?”

  I shrugged in answer, not really in the mood to deal with the bullshit my name always presented. Instead, I tossed another, and it landed in the cup of a pale gold guppie this time.

  “Too good,” the man grumbled.

  Kara clapped for joy, grinning from ear to ear. “There any rule on how many we can win?”

  The man jabbed his finger at a sign. Painted in bright red capital letters, underneath the ball cost, it said, ‘FIVE FISH MAXIMUM PER PERSON.’

  I gestured with the third ball, “You got one you want, Kara?”

  She leaned a little against my side as she peeked over the row. There were black fish, spotted fish, goldfish, and brown fish. Likely half a dozen breeds, all of them freshwater varieties. She pointed toward a tiny little rainbow one in the farthest corner. When the light caught his fins, they glistened.

  “That one,” she said firmly. “I want to name him George.”

  “George, huh?” I asked with a grin.

  The man in charge of the stand began packaging the first two fish as I tossed my third ball. It bounced off four bowls before landing in the cup I’d been aiming for.

  Kara clapped with joy and bounced on her heel. “Nick, that’s amazing!”

  “Eh, it’s nothing,” I said with a shrug. “Just takes practice, that’s all.”

  “No, it’s amazing,” she assured me. “Two more?”

  “Two more,” I confirmed and gestured with a ball in either hand. The other contestants had noted my skill with a jealous glance. I gave one a cheeky smile and tossed the fourth ball. It landed exactly in the middle, in the cup of a goldfish with blown out cheeks.

  “Oh! A bubble eye!” Kara’s arm came around my shoulder as she craned her neck to get a better look. “I wasn’t expecting that. He’ll be named Bubbles, of course,” She grinned, nodding with confidence. “He should get along swell with George.”

  I chuckled, though the man in charge of the stall was not at all amused. He snatched Bubbles, and his cup joined the rest. Kara watched eagerly as the man poured George into a small plastic bag and began to tie it tightly with a rubber band. I scanned the cups carefully with the last ball in hand and then nudged Kara.

  “Any favorites?”

  She tapped her chin while she carefully looked them all over. In the farthest right corner, there was a pretty blue betta fish.

  “Him!” Kara called out. “He’ll need his own tank, but him.”

  The cup with the betta was obvious bait. It looked easy enough to sink a ball into, but it was so far away from the line and so clustered with the other cups that it was a very difficult target. Most probably went right for the cup, only to bounce off the rim of several others.

  Instead of aiming directly, I took a deep breath, and then threw the last ball hard enough that it bounced off the sign I was aiming for. The man behind the counter laughed, apparently content that I’d missed, but then the ball ricocheted off another cup. It bounced from cup to cup and danced along the rims until it landed exactly where it was meant to be.

  The man’s grin turned upside down, and he scowled at me like I was cheating.

  I shrugged and smiled back at him with utter sweetness. “Looks like that’s it. Five balls, five fish.”

  I crossed my arms and glared when the man hesitated on bagging the betta. He caved in pretty quickly once it was apparent I’d go through him if I had to. Kara cheered and then hugged me, her arms tight around my waist. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.

  “That was amazing. Thank you, Nick!”

  Five minutes later, I was carrying three bags of fish, and Kara was carrying one in each arm. The first two fish I’d snatched were named Goldilocks and Spot, and Kara proclaimed they’d be very sharing the same tank with George and Bubbles.

  Knowing that the fish couldn’t stay trapped in the bags forever, we decided to meet up with Eric and the others and then stop by a pet store for supplies. Kara spent some time studying the blue betta while we walked, uncertain of what to name him.

  “He’s special,” she said quietly. “He’ll need his own tank, and he’s prettier than the rest. I want his name to mean something.”

  “Could call him Eric,” I
joked. At her blank look, I explained, “The blue matches the streak he always wears in his hair.”

  “Oh! That’s true,” she considered. “But if I do that, Eric would probably explode. He can only handle adoration in small doses.”

  I chuckled and conceded the point. “Well, no reason you have to name them right away. Give it time. He’s not going anywhere, you know?”

  “That’s true.” She nodded and hugged the bags she carried close to her chest. Her eyes were a deep, fathomless blue when she looked up at me. “Thank you for saving them, Nick. I know it won’t save them all, but... at least these guys get a chance at something better.”

  I shrugged, feeling a heat color my cheeks. “It was nothing.” I chuckled. “Really.”

  “To them, it was everything.”

  There was a moment of hesitation when she stared deep into me, and I stared right back. With my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest, I wondered if now was the time. We’d officially crossed back into relationship status at some point, and that meant things like kissing and hugging carried a lot more weight than they did before. I was hungry for anything she’d offer and was worried she’d run at the first opportunity. She was a bit more flighty than she used to be... a bit more uncertain about her own worth.

  All the worry faded when she leaned forward and kissed me. Her eyes fell closed, and mine did the same. The kiss was soft and tender, but there was a great deal of emotion behind it. It was like I was a kid again, confused and obsessed about the strange, quirky girl who lived next door.

  When we pulled apart, my eyes lingered on her lips. Mine tingled, eager to connect again.

  “Andie lives by the rule that people should talk about things,” I whispered. “And I... well, I mean I... what I want to say is...”

  Kara pressed a finger to my lips and smiled. “I know, Nick. It’s alright.”

  I shook my head, displacing the finger. It had to be said. “I... you were the first girl who ever... I really...”

  I’d said it before, even said it to more than one woman, but for some reason, Kara was different. This moment was different. It was harder to spit it out now that we were both standing here, face to face. Adjusting the fish in my arms, I grunted in frustration.