by Drew Hayes
“I guess, but, I just thought, I mean, there were all those other students who got dropped last semester...”
“Look, let me lay it out for you here. If you get lazy, or overconfident, or careless, then I’ll have you out of my gym with a fresh boot print on your ass. No one is going to kick you to the curb for making an honest mistake in the pursuit of learning, though. That’s how you get better at something: you screw up until you’ve learned not to screw up anymore. Let me ask you this, you going to try and shoot lighting the same way again?”
“God no.”
“Then lesson learned,” Coach George said, spreading his arms.
“So, if I’m not in trouble then why was I brought here to wait for you?” Vince asked.
“We wanted to make sure you were okay. Things like this can really shake some people up, so we try to be proactive and talk to you about it as soon as it’s happened. Put things in the right perspective and all,” Coach George explained.
“Oh. I guess that does sort of make sense,” Vince said.
“That it does,” Coach George agreed. “To that effect, though, do you know what went wrong today? I mean, you nailed Castillo no problem during the exam, but this time it seemed to get out of control.”
“I’m not sure,” Vince admitted. “It could be a lot of things. Thomas was closer, so maybe it never had the chance to split. I had less power to use in the first place. Maybe even my state of mind. I wasn’t focusing on how to release the energy when I used it in the exam, I was just concentrating on getting the timing right. I can’t sincerely say where it went wrong.”
“That’s okay,” Coach George assured him. “It just means you’ve got a few more mistakes coming before you know how to handle this.”
“Oh dear,” Vince said.
“Don’t worry so much. Next time we’ll have you in a room where a mistake won’t be quite as alarming,” Coach George said. “Insulated walls, detached grid, grounded floors. Trust me, we’ve been doing this for a long time with a lot of Supers.”
“That might be okay then,” Vince said.
“Nice to hear you’re on board. Any other questions or things you want to talk about?”
“No, I think I’m all right for now,” Vince said.
“Excellent, then get your butt out of my office and back above ground,” Coach George said. “I’ve got paperwork to do.”
“Yes, sir,” Vince said immediately, scampering up from his chair and dashing out of the office.
* * *
“It’s certainly contrived, and I can see why you’d want me and Mary helping,” Nick said after Mr. Numbers finished his proposal. “It could go over all right, though. Possibly even well.”
“Happy to hear you’re on board,” Mr. Numbers said.
“I haven’t actually said that yet,” Nick pointed out. “I’ve only said it’s logically sound in premise.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
“As I told Mary, I don’t do favors. You want me to help steer things positively for you, then there’s something I want in repayment,” Nick replied.
“Dare I ask what?”
“Actually, nothing too complicated,” Nick said. “I want you to agree that at a point in the future, you submit to my request that you will refrain from interfering in whatever I am doing at the time.”
“I see. And if I don’t?” Mr. Numbers asked.
“Then neither do I,” Nick said. “That is the give and take of favors, after all. I would like to point out that I'm not asking for you to participate or intervene in any way with whatever activities I might be perpetuating: merely to do nothing. It's even possible you would have done nothing anyway and I will have burned my favor pointlessly."
Mr. Numbers carefully weighed his options. Making an open-ended deal with someone like Nick was far from desirable; however, the terms were slightly in his favor. It only required him to feign ignorance, turning a blind eye at some future point. Even if it was at a critical juncture, Mr. Numbers was confident he could stick to the letter of the deal while still circumventing Nick's plans if needed. And worst case scenario, he could always just break his promise.
"Deal," Mr. Numbers said.
Nick spread a wide grin across his face. "Then it looks like we're good to go."
111.
Michael Clark was drinking again. He was alone in his dorm room, having paid the extra money to live without a roommate. He knew it was a bad habit for someone like him to have, and he sincerely had been trying to cut back, but days like this invariably seemed to find him at the bottom of a bottle. It was strange: he’d never had a drink before college, yet ever since some seniors had procured hooch for welcome weekend he’d been hitting the sauce with regularity. Had Michael known a bit more about alcoholism, he would have known he was genetically predisposed to it by way of his mother, but that was one of the many subjects Michael had never bothered studying.
He poured another glass of cheap scotch. Michael knew whose fault it was he was here tonight; it was the same as always. Vince Reynolds. Michael could feel the alcohol curdle in his mouth at just the thought of that name. That little son-of-a-bitch had shown him up on the first day, and even though Michael had emerged triumphant, it seemed like Vince was always nipping at his heels. Vince was ranked eighth even though he’d lost in the first round. Vince was dating the hottest girl in the freshman class. Vince lived in some fancy high-class private dorm with only four other students. Even today, Michael had been showing off his tremendous skill at ranged fighting. Everyone was impressed, and then what happens? They finish up and find out Vince had nearly wiped out an entire room, without even trying. Oh sure, he’d said it was an accident, but who would buy something like that?
No, Vince had wanted to show up Michael once again. Just one more time show that even though Michael was clearly better, Vince was the one who would get the attention.
Michael noticed his glass was empty and swiftly remedied that problem. Ever since that first day, when Vince had thought so little of Michael’s abilities that he’d shown up with barely any energy to fight with, Michael had known what kind of prick that silver-haired douche really was.
And sooner or later everyone else would, too. Michael fully intended to see to that.
* * *
Julia Shaw was painting her toenails a candy-apple red, watching television. She wasn’t sure why she was bothering: boys never paid enough attention to feet and she didn’t have any capable female competition to notice the cute little details. She shrugged and kept on with it anyway. Even if no one else noticed, she still knew, and it made her feel pretty.
She glanced absent-mindedly at the clock. Ten until nine. If Roy was going to come over he wouldn’t do so until ten thirty at the earliest. Hershel liked to study in the evenings, and Roy wasn’t going to pick up the academic slack, so they usually didn’t switch over until ten. Julia felt a slight tingle of frustration that she knew so much about the schedule of a boy she wasn’t even dating. Not she wanted to date a hound like Roy anyway... okay, maybe a little.
He was just so much fun; it felt like every minute spent with him was energized and entertaining. Not to mention to things he could do in bed... Julia shivered involuntarily. She didn’t think she could ever go back to boys that weren’t Supers after so many months intermittently rolling through the sheets with Roy.
Julia smiled as she switched to the next foot. Hershel had told her recently that their situation was the longest Roy had consistently maintained a booty call. It wasn’t the nicest compliment, she could freely admit that, but it was something. Julia felt she was far and wide the most capable virgin out there. She shared memories, sensations, and experiences with her clones, but she’d never known a man with her own body. That she was saving until marriage, just as the lord intended. Besides, when she could feel everything the clones felt anyway, what was the point in soiling her purity?
Julia finished the other foot and blew on it. They should be done by the tim
e Roy might roll through. Even if they weren’t, though, no harm done. It wasn’t like it would actually be her own feet hiked over his muscular shoulders anyway. That was clone work.
* * *
Will yawned loudly and set down the book he’d been flipping through. He slid his glasses down to the edge of his nose and massaged the bridge. Will had hit a wall earlier in the night and was trying to slowly bore through it.
Sitting in front of him was what might appear to the layman as a falconer’s glove with wires running across and through it. In fairness to the layman, that’s exactly what it was. Will stared at his glove-shaped obstacle and then turned his eyes away. Today’s class had brought to his attention that while he’d created several devices for Jill to use, he was still lacking anything dependable in his own ranged arsenal. Sure, he could use one of the guns or throwing weapons they provided him, but that would be as good as stamping his own pass home.
Will was under no illusions. He was here because of his gift with technology. If he couldn’t deliver in that department every time then there was no point for him to be enrolled at Lander. Not in the HCP, at least. So if he wanted to stay, he needed to show up to the next training session with a weapon all his own.
Will pushed his glasses back into their normal position and picked up the book once more. He wasn’t going to sleep until he’d gotten at least three shots out of this thing. No compromises. No excuses. If Will failed out then Jill would be here all alone, and he’d promised a very long time ago to make sure that never happened to her.
Not again, anyway.
Will’s resolve strengthened, and he began tweaking one of the circuitry systems. It sparked and sizzled in less than four seconds.
It was going to be a long night.
112.
Friday afternoon, as she trudged home from class, Alice had to admit she’d had better birthdays. She’d had worse ones, too, but those had been the ones spent at home. Since her father was usually off doing his own thing, Alice would take her birthday as an opportunity to go on a trip, seeing Tuscany or Paris or Venice, sometimes all of them in the span of a few days. She had to take precautions, of course - a Powered girl can’t very well travel without some assistance in case of floating - but on the whole she’d still enjoyed herself immensely.
This one had been bleh so far. She’d been in a bit of a funk all week, ever since date night last Friday. The ranged training on Monday hadn’t made things any better, reminding her once again of how useless she was compared to her peers. She would have hung out with Mary to make herself feel better, but the small girl had been occupied with something all week long. Vince and Hershel had become swept up in papers for different classes, and in a fit of desperation Alice had even tried to waste time with Nick. Sadly, even he was busy with other things, leaving Alice to her own devices.
When she’d come down from floating last Friday, Alice had convinced herself that she was overreacting to her friends going out on dates. It didn’t mean they were going to abandon her or neglect their friendship. It just meant they had something new and awesome in their lives. Making her way slowly back to Melbrook, she was wondering if she had been right the first time. They weren’t even walking with her today: they’d been off like shots as soon as gym had ended. She wasn’t sure how they’d gotten out of there so quickly; Alice was almost certain she’d been in the first group up a lift.
She let out a breath, hoping to see it hang in the air. That time of year was done, though; the days were warmer with each sunrise. Too bad: Alice sort of liked the cold.
Perhaps she was taking this all too personally. It was college, people were bound to be busy from time to time. Besides, she hadn’t even told anyone it was her birthday today. She could hardly blame everyone for not making a fuss when she’d never clued them in to why they should. They probably would have, too. Alice understood that, rationally. Somewhere in the back her head was a small voice that repeated the same question whenever she tried to cheer herself, though.
“What if they didn’t?”
That’s why Alice hadn’t told anyone it was her birthday. Because right now there was an excuse for no one caring. If she’d said something and they still hadn’t... well, then she might have had to face an unfortunate truth or two.
It was better this way, she assured herself as she neared Melbrook. Better to play it safe and maintain a medium level of happiness. Contentment had worked for her all her life, it would certainly suffice for today.
Alice opened the Melbrook front door and walked down the hallway. It seemed too silent for after class on a Friday. They should be on the other side of the door, watching television and making a ruckus. Hershel savoring the last few hours before he handed off the weekend to Roy, Vince and Nick debating how to spend the evening before eventually settling on something ridiculous, Mary sitting quietly and laughing at them all. Alice had gotten used to it. She supposed they were busy; even on a Friday they all had their own things to do. Alice wondered if it was too late to book dinner and a massage in town. That would certainly be a combination to lift her spirits. She reached the end of the hallway and pressed her thumb against the pad. It beeped and Alice stepped into the common room.
“Surprise!” The lights flashed on, though why they had been off was anyone’s guess since the room didn’t have any windows to the outside, and the Melbrook students leapt out from behind various pieces of furniture. Once again one could speculate on why they’d been hiding in the first place; however, one might conjecture that a surprise party has some conventions so inherent to it that they are obeyed even when non-applicable.
“Hubuwahnow?” Alice sputtered, trying to regain her composure.
“It’s a surprise party,” Mary said, stepping forward. “Hence us yelling surprise. You know, for your birthday.”
“I... um... wait, how did you know it was my birthday?”
“Mr. Numbers and Mr. Transport told us,” Mary replied. “They actually helped us organize the whole thing.”
“That’s suspiciously nice of them,” Alice remarked.
“Nah, they’re actually pretty good guys,” Vince chimed in. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have known about your special day, since someone didn’t bother to tell us.”
“Oh, well, um, birthdays aren’t such a big deal in my family. I guess it slipped my mind,” Alice said lamely.
“Happens to the best of us,” Nick said. “Luckily for you, it certainly didn’t slip ours. Now, I hope you’re prepared for a night of collegiate celebration.”
Alice let out a smile she wouldn’t have believed possible earlier in the week.
“I think that might be okay."
“Your words say okay, but your height says awesome,” Nick said.
“My what?”
Mary tugged on her sleeve and pointed down. Alice glanced at the floor and realized she was nearly a foot above it. With as much grace as she could manage, Alice lowered herself back to a gravitationally compliant position.
“Old habits,” she said by way of explanation.
“At least we can always tell when you’re happy,” Hershel pointed out.
“She’s like a buoyancy mood ring,” Nick agreed.
For her own part, Alice just kept on grinning like an idiot. As for that questioning voice in the back of her head, it wasn’t entirely gone, of course; such things just don’t happen overnight.
It did shut the hell up for the evening, though. There was a certain amount of triumph in that fact alone.
113.
Alice was exhausted, but filled with the soft glow of genuine delight. She was sprawled on the couch in the common room, the last (wo)man standing from the night’s festivities. And festive they had been.
It turned out the reason everyone was so busy this week was that they’d each been putting together things for her party. Vince had scoured cookbooks and local grocery stores in an effort to make a five-star dinner. He’d actually done pretty well too, starting with scallops, then rack of
lamb, and finishing up with a tiramisu, all of which were Alice’s favorites. She wasn’t entirely sure how he’d worked that out, but then again she’d gone dining with Mary several times, so maybe the small girl just paid a lot of attention.
Mary had gone above and beyond, too. After dinner they’d gone to a section out in the forest that had been completely overhauled. There were stands, barriers, and even some small bunkers. Hershel had designed an entire paintball course and Mary had built it, all in the span of a week. Here they met up with Thomas, Will, Jill, Sasha, and Alex to participate in a paint-based battle that can only be described as truly epic. Turns out nine Supers in the woods make for quite a tournament. Alice still wasn’t certain who had won, since after a certain point it seemed to degenerate more into a brawl than any regulated system of scoring. She just knew it had been fun.
After a return to Melbrook everyone showered, then had a slice of fudge cake Vince had somehow cobbled together when no one was looking. Songs were sung, candles were blown out, and more processed sugar was ingested. Eventually the others grew tired and headed off to their respective dorms, then her own dorm mates had begun succumbing to the demands of biology and gone to bed.
Alice had been too wired, even now as she sat alone in the common room she felt jazzed up. She’d be sleeping late tomorrow, no doubt, but that’s what Saturdays were for. She readjusted her pose and a white envelope fell to the floor. Ah yes, she’d nearly forgotten. Hershel had given that to her before going to bed, emphasizing quite clearly that it was from Roy and Roy alone.
At the time she’d been hugging Mary goodnight, but now her curiosity was tickled. She slid a manicured nail beneath the envelope’s lip, breaking the seal. Inside was a slip of paper with only a few lines written on it.