by Dee J. Stone
Melissa frowns. “Get down and go to your first class. Your teacher is waiting.”
Maddie and I drop to the ground. “What’s our first class?” she asks.
Melissa hands us our schedules. “If you would have come to orientation this morning like I told you, you wouldn’t be asking me that.”
Maddie bends close to me and whispers, “She’s a little cranky today.”
Melissa scowls. “Maddie.”
Maddie throws her hands up. “What? Why am I the only one who thinks divorcing that jerk is a good idea?”
Her mom stiffens. “Jerk or not, divorce is hard. Now go to your first class.” She enters the building.
“Meet you in history,” Maddie tells me before running after her mom. “Mom, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean…” The doors close after her.
I peer at my schedule. Looks like a typical high school schedule, with algebra and science, and history and all that. There’s lunch, more history and science, blah. But unlike a normal school, this one has a few extra periods called, “Training.” I’m kind of looking forward to that. I’m nervous, sure, but also excited. I want to help shape these kids into awesome heroes.
After entering the building, I look around. The place is filled with kids walking about. No one’s really talking. Everyone’s going to where they need to go.
I find my locker and shove my stuff inside. A girl is standing at the locker next to mine. She looks around twelve, with short blond hair and a scowl on her face. Many others have the same expression.
“I know,” I tell her, trying to make conversation. “School sucks no matter if it’s a normal one or superhero one.” I’m trying to make her smile, maybe help her feel more comfortable here, but she gives me a look like I fell from the sky.
I hold out my hand. “Nick McGuire.”
“I know who you are.”
I drop my hand. “Right. What’s your name?”
She shrugs. “Mia, but everyone calls me Flames.”
She’s the girl with the fire power who attacked during Kaylee’s play of the Wizard of Oz. I smile. “It’s nice to meet you—again. Excited for training?”
She gives me that same face. “I don’t need training. There’s nothing you can teach me that I don’t already know.” She slams the locker shut and stalks off.
“That went well.”
I turn around and find Maddie standing there. I lean against my locker. “No one said this was going to be easy.”
“I know. And I keep butting heads with my mom. I don’t know why. I’ve forgiven her for her involvement with JQ and I’m glad we get the chance to start over here. But I don’t know.”
I twirl a few strands of her black hair around my finger. “She’s just stressed. Both of you are. There are so many changes happening. Things will get better.”
She nods unsurely.
The bell rings. Maddie and I have all our classes together, since there aren’t many high school level kids here and there’s only one class. Our first is history. Kind of funny, since our first class at our last school was history, too.
The classroom is filled with kids, and Maddie and I manage to snag two seats right across from one another. In the front. Awesome.
This old guy walks in. He’s got a full head of gray hair, glasses that make him look like he comes from a different century, and bushy eyebrows.
He smiles as he takes us all in. Most kids look bored out of their minds. Jack sits all the way at the window, in the back. Definitely trying not to be seen.
The teacher clasps his hands over his stomach as his eyes continue to roam around. He smiles again. “Hello, students. My name is Professor Hall. You look like a bright group of kids and I hope we can learn a lot this semester.”
Everyone exchanges a glance. Some have looks on their faces, like they’re wondering: is this guy for real?
Professor Hall takes a paper from his desk and peers at it through his ancient glasses. “When I call your name, please tell me if you’re here.” He starts the list. I notice the fire girl, Mia, is in this class, too.
“Nicholas McGuire.”
I raise my hand. “Here.”
He looks up at me and grins. “The Blue Masked Hero. Big fan. Very big fan. As are my grandchildren.”
I nod because I don’t have anything else to do. As nice as it is to be recognized, I still want everyone to see me as plain old Nick.
“Madeline Randall.”
Maddie raises her hand. The teacher nods at her and calls the next name. Maddie gives me a look, then rolls her eyes. Some people don’t see Maddie as a hero. Not because she’s a girl, I don’t think, just because I was the original hero. Or maybe some people do have a problem with her being a girl. Idiots.
I write her a note and toss it at her. Ignore him.
She rolls her eyes again and crumples it.
Professor Hall starts the lesson like any normal teacher. Except there is one difference—he’s talking to us like we’re little kids and not on a high school level. I guess, in his mind, it makes sense, since these kids haven’t really been to school. They’re still educated, though. Mr. Hiram did make sure of that. Also, did this guy forget that these kids have high intelligence? Even higher than him I bet.
The day moves on like an ordinary one. Then it’s lunch time. I tried to catch Jack’s attention between classes, but we don’t really have many breaks. It’s class after class, one of the things Melissa and the government have been arguing about. They feel like the kids need structure and discipline while Maddie’s mom wants them to have some down time. Lunch is an hour long, so I guess that’s how they compromised.
The one great thing about lunch, other than eating and hanging out with Maddie, is that I can finally get a moment with Jack.
He’s sitting all the way in the back, alone, shoving food that he seems to hate into his mouth. He looks miserable.
“Hey, Mads?” I say as we stand in line to get our food. Free food is always nice, but this looks like crap. No offense to the chef. “You mind if we sit near Jack?”
She follows my gaze. “He looks like he can use some company.”
After we get our food, we make our way to his table. He slowly lifts his head.
“Hey,” I say.
He dumps some soggy fries into his mouth.
“Can we sit?” Maddie asks.
He keeps his gaze on her. “Wow. The Blue and Red Masked Heroes. What an honor.”
We sit down. “Didn’t we talk about trying to make the most of it here?” I say. “What are you so mad about? I mean, this place is all right. The classes are decent. You’ve got a roof over your head and food—disgusting but still food—on your plate. Don’t you think you should be a little grateful that someone’s trying to make your life easier and comfortable? And by someone, I mean Maddie’s mother.”
He doesn’t say anything.
I puff out my cheeks. “JQ messed with my sister.”
His eyes snap to mine. “What?”
“When they took her, they tortured her and now she’s traumatized. She’s going to need a lot of help to get better.”
He doesn’t say anything as he pushes the food around on his plate.
“I just feel like you should be grateful, that’s all.” I don’t want to go announcing to the world about Kaylee, but I think it’s important for Jack, and the rest of the powered kids, to know how worse their life could be right now. They could be in homes that won’t treat them right. Melissa is awesome for taking it upon herself to care for the kids.
“Fine.” He stabs his carrot. “I’ll try to be more grateful. Doesn’t mean I have to be happy.”
I bend close. “You wish you were still at JQ? That Hiram was alive? Experimenting on all of you? Forcing you to do his dirty work?”
“At least I was doing something and not sitting in this place all day.”
I see. He’s bored. “Just wait until training after school. You’ll be more than ‘doing something.’”
He doesn’t respond. I take a bite of my cold pizza.
Chapter Five
All two hundred and thirty six of them are gathered in the gym. No, not a gym. I don’t know what to call it. A huge room that seems to go on for miles. Melissa had this room designed specifically for training. Here, we have room to fly, use our powers, battle one another.
Of course, above us on the wall, is a glass window where the government agents are watching us like lab rats. I don’t like this one bit, but whatever. I guess if the government is funding this, they need to oversee everything.
Melissa is in the center of the room. The quiet room. Once again, no one is talking to one another.
“Maybe we need to do a few trust exercises before we get to the real training,” I whisper to Maddie. “These kids look like they want to kill one another.”
She snorts. “Wouldn’t surprise me if they did at the lab. Remember Hiram wanted us to kill one another.”
“Don’t remind me.” The more we refused, the more he tortured Kaylee and Maddie’s mom.
Her face fills with regret. “Sorry. Did you call home?”
“Yeah. Kaylee’s doing okay. She and my mom spent the day together and she smiled a little. Then she freaked out at the mall and mom had to take her home. I think she saw someone who reminded her of JQ. This sucks. It really sucks.”
She’s about to say something, but stops when we realize two hundred pairs of eyes are pasted on us.
“Maddie, Nick, do you want to share with everyone else?” Melissa says.
I step toward the center of the room. “Actually, I do.”
“Nick,” Maddie hisses. “What are you doing?”
Ignoring her, I continue on to the center of the room. “I don’t want to talk about this. It’s too painful, but I think I have to.” I catch sight of Jack hiding in the shadows. Talking to him earlier made me realize that these kids need to hear it, too. They need to see how much better their lives are, how they need to appreciate everything Melissa is doing for them. I know I’m not their parent and have no right to lecture them, but someone has to.
I hold up my hands and start. As I talk, the kids who were bored perk up and listen. I tell them stories of kids who grow up without parents and get into serious trouble. They have no one to care for them. “But you do.” I wave toward Melissa. “She cares about each and every one of you. She doesn’t gain anything by helping you—not money or fame or anything like that. She’s doing this from her heart. She believes in all of you and you need to believe in yourselves.” I pause. “I know you’re all thinking I should shut up and get lost, but I don’t care. Someone needs to help you see how much better you have it.” I swallow. “You all know my six year old sister was kidnapped by JQ and tortured so I’d listen to everything they said. Because of that, she’s suffering now. I’m trying to be positive that she’ll get better, but it’s hard. She was actually kidnapped twice by JQ and I blame myself for that every day. She could have died. She could have gotten seriously injured.” I pause again. “Sometimes I regret being Blue, just so my sister’s life could be better. But then I realize that had Maddie and I not taken down JQ, all of you would still be suffering there.” I force a smile. “But we did take JQ down, with all your help. We can be a new, strong family. You’re all in a much better place now and can learn and grow and have good lives. I just want you all to appreciate everything Melissa and the government is doing for you. So please don’t be angry all the time. Just look around you and know that you’re all in a very good place with people who care about you.”
They all blink at me.
“Uh…” I rub the back of my neck. “We can start the training now, I guess.”
Maddie and I explain to the kids that we’ll split them into two groups. Those with powers similar to hers are in one group and those similar to mine are my group. “But for now,” Maddie says. “We’re all going to train together because we’re going to start off with something a little simple. It’s simple but important.”
A few shift from one foot to the other, bored.
“We’ve noticed that none of you are friends,” I say, hating that I have to be a teacher. It’s weird. “Sure it’s not a big deal. I mean, you guys don’t have to be friends, but we’re all going to be a team and we need to learn to trust one another. So this exercise is going to be about trust and getting to know one another.”
This eleven year old kid who looks like he’s sixteen pushes himself off the wall he was leaning on. “That’s dumb. We’re not in some lame kiddy school, trying to get along.” He slams one fist against the other. “We want to fight.”
The others cheer and nod in agreement.
“We get it,” Maddie says. “You have all this built-up frustration that you need to let loose. But now’s not the time. How can you work together if you don’t trust each other?”
The guy steps forward. “Who cares about trust? All that matters is how strong we are.”
The others cheer again.
Maddie and I exchange a helpless look. This isn’t going well. Are we supposed to do all of this on our own? How do we get the kids to listen to us?
The Suits behind the glass window aren’t making a move to help us. Melissa is also behind the glass, watching closely. Aw, man. They really do expect us to do all this on our own.
“Well,” I say. “This school isn’t just about training you. Heck, you don’t even need to be trained, since you all can control your powers. But we’re trying to help you use your powers for good. And the way to start that is by trusting one another.”
The guy snorts. “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”
The kids look at us expectantly. Maddie and I exchange another glance. Okay…here goes. I clear my throat. “Right. So let’s get into groups of, like, five and get to know each other.”
***
“I think that went well, don’t you?” I ask Maddie as we circle the school building. Training has ended and everyone is off doing their own thing. Dinner should be ready soon, and I know Mom’s expecting me home. But I don’t want to part with Maddie. She wanted to come over, but her mother wants her to eat with the others. Something about bonding and whatever.
“Sure,” Maddie says.
I pull her toward me. “Wish you could come to my place. Kaylee would love to see you. But I know you have stuff to deal with here. Your mom really needs you.”
“Yeah. If not for me, she’d be arguing with the government all alone. Having backup is nice.”
I twist my nose. “It’s not fair that the government feels like they can control everything, but it’s important to keep the world safe, so they need to do what they need to do.” I peck her lips. “Call you later?”
She rubs her nose with mine. “I might or might not sneak off later…”
I laugh. “Can’t wait. See you.”
She heads into the building and I turn toward home. It doesn’t take long and as soon as I enter the kitchen, I find the entire family except for Kaylee huddled in front of the TV.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
They all turn around. Dad shuts the TV with the remote. “Nothing.”
I move deeper into the room. “Guys. Come on.”
My parents look at one another. Matt folds his arms over his chest. “He should know. This does involve him.”
My parents keep quiet.
“Mom. Dad.”
Mom throws her hands up. “Just some idiots talking about you on TV. It was nothing.”
I push past her and turn on the TV. Sure enough, people are talking about the Blue Masked Hero. And they’re not saying nice things.
Apparently, a man swears he saw me messing with kids in the park the other day. They were playing Frisbee and the Frisbee flew away from them, landing in a tree. It wasn’t a windy day and there was no way the kids could have thrown it that high. So many people think “supernatural forces” were the cause. And by that, they mean Blue.
“I wasn’t at the par
k.”
“You were,” Matt says. “Looking for Kaylee. But we know you didn’t do that. People are just plain stupid.”
I can’t let any of this bother me. People will pick on me and Maddie for the stupidest reasons. I can’t lose my cool.
“Is Kaylee sleeping?” I ask.
Dad shakes his head. “Playing in her room. We didn’t want her to see this.”
“How’s the search for a therapist going?”
“We have an appointment with one next week. Supposedly, he’s the best in the business. We’re keeping our thoughts positive.”
I nod, then make my way up the stairs. My little sister’s sitting on the floor, playing with her dolls. She looks normal, not like the happiest kid on the planet, but she doesn’t look like she went through something horrific.
Lowering myself next to her, I take a doll. “How are you doing?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? And why couldn’t I go to school today? Mommy and Daddy didn’t wanna answer me.”
It’s like she doesn’t remember what happened. Maybe her brain is trying to repress the memories, but they’re trying to break free. “Uh…” I force a smile. “Everyone asks me the same thing all the time. It’s just what we do.”
She gives me a look like she doesn’t believe me. “Then why didn’t I go to school today?”
I rub the back of my neck. “Uh…”
She stomps her feet. “Why is everyone keeping secrets from me?!” In addition to the stomping, she slams her fists on the table. One of her usual tantrums.
I reach for her arm. “Kayls, come on.”
She pulls free. “No! Everyone’s keeping secrets from me. I’m not stupid. I’m not!”
“Want me to make you fly?”
“No!”
Footsteps are on the stairs, and then my parents burst into the room.
Mom takes Kaylee in her arms. “What happened?”
She thrashes against her. “Everyone’s lying to me. Even Nick. And he never lies to me. Except when he was Blue, but I forgave him.” She shoots me a look. “But now I’m not. I’m never gonna forgive him.”
I give my parents a helpless look.