Chapter 11

Homeroom ended with the bell, but perhaps for the first time in the history of this class, the students didn’t immediately spring out of their chairs to flee the room. Instead, Mr. Hendricks was serenaded by a cacophony of disappointed groans.

“Sweet music to my ears,” he mused, though nobody was paying attention. Eventually, they started to stir, because no amount of momentary distraction would delay a student in a classroom during the middle of their break.

“Janice, Roy, remember you owe me two paragraphs on proper school attire. Crocs are not appropriate footwear. The rest of you, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Tiff’s day wore on in blessed mundanity. Not that she was expecting anything to happen, but after last week’s excitement, school almost felt too dull. Math was dry, history was old news, and the halls between each of her lessons were filled with the sound of pleasant chatter rather than the devastation of a forming Rift. By the time Tiff was jonesing for her lunch, she had mostly forgotten that she was supposed to be worried over the fact that she was a Supervillain surrounded by Citizens.

Up until the point where Tiff sat down, alone, at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, and began retrieving the items from her brown-bag lunch and started sorting them in front of her by weight, color, shape, and texture. As usual.

To Tiff’s great surprise, Candice plopped a tray onto the table and sat down across from her. Tiff stared as the girl picked up the sandwich off her tray and angled it with a critical eye, searching for the perfect bite.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Candice said without looking up. “Why am I sitting here? Or something close enough, I guess. You’re honest, so I’ll be honest too. You’re, like, weird. But maybe you’re cool too? We’ll see.”

Tiff’s mouth had been slowly falling open, so she slowly closed it.

“Are you a good judge of cool?” Tiff asked. Candice finally looked at Tiff, her face once again conveying how much she didn’t understand Tiff’s words. She wasn’t confused; she was just looking at the girl as if she couldn’t believe she had the gall to say that to her face.

“I mean,” Tiff clarified, “I don’t. I’m not trying to dig against you, but if you weren’t aware, I don’t think I’d be able to pick cool out of a crowd.”

Candice slowly took a bite, keeping her eyes locked on Tiff’s chewing very slowly as she waited for Tiff to crack. Tiff did not. Candice eventually swallowed, smiled, and pointed at Tiff.

“See? That’s a start. No nonsense, we can work with this. Every hero needs a straight man.”

“Excuse me?” Tiff spluttered, just as she was about to take a bite of her apple. Candice didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she said and shrugged.

“I’m talking about me, of course,” she said haughtily, though she did crack a smile. “Going to make captain of the varsity squad next year. I’m kind of a big deal.”

Tiff stared at Candice, who raised a speculative eyebrow and continued as if she was talking about the weather.

“How do you feel about cheerleading? Obviously, the sidekick needs to participate, but she can’t overshadow the hero.”

“You think I’m a sidekick?” Tiff asked in disbelief. If she didn’t know Candice was clearly joking, she might have been insulted. At least, she was pretty sure Candice was joking.

“Maybe not yet,” Candice said seriously, her grin still present. “But we’ll get you there.” She reached across the table and patted Tiff’s hand patronizingly. “Don’t worry.”

Tiff rolled her eyes and ate her jello.

​

The rest of the school day passed much as the start had, which was unsurprising once Tiff thought about it. She wouldn’t have PE until tomorrow, and that was where things were going to get weird. Her dad already forwarded Tiff’s updated physical requirements to the school, so they should be aware that she was now classified under “special needs.” Tiff didn’t like that wording; it almost felt derogatory, but it was true and she was simply nervous about how her peers might take the news of her exemptions…whatever form they might take. As for her other stat changes…since the Assessment cleared her from any banned traits or abilities, she wasn’t required to disclose her two S’s. Sadly, just because she had an S in mind did not make her a super genius. She was not instantly incarnated as the second coming of Einstein, which was probably for the best. She didn’t want to deal with hair that wispy.

Tiff was, however, mildly surprised to see Amy bounce up to her as soon as the bell rang, and Tiff was waiting for the bus in the parking lot.

“Not hanging out with your friends today?” Tiff asked. Amy didn’t usually ride the bus. Even when she came straight home after school, Amy was allowed to walk where Tiff was not. Tiff would have grumbled about the injustice of it, but she didn’t begrudge Amy her freedom, and after her Might got downgraded, Tiff couldn’t muster up the strength to argue.

“Nope!” Amy chirped. “But why are you standing in line for the bus?”

“Because I want to go home?” Tiff asked. Amy gave her a peculiar look.

“You need to check your phone more.”

Tiff fished the small hunk of plastic out of her bag. Unlike some of her peers, she was not obsessed with owning the latest and greatest model. For her, a phone wasn’t a way to gossip with her friends and squeeze herself into the trendiest cliques. It was a practical way to summon somebody with a car and to let her parents know her current whereabouts.

Tiff stared at it, shocked to see she had a missed call and two new messages. Nobody ever called her. She was, if nothing else, predictable. And, as a rule follower, she always kept the thing on silent and hidden away in class, far away from any temptation to bring it out and risk getting it confiscated.

Amy was programmed in practically the polar opposite way. Her phone wasn’t the latest and greatest, per se…or at least, it wasn’t the most expensive, top-of-the-line, brand new model. Tiff could easily see a world in which Amy Awoke to a Technomancer class…or at the very least, a Tinkerer.

Though that seemed entirely unlikely, now that she really stopped to think about it. Tiff had already Awakened to a Class, and that was rare for a single family. It wasn’t entirely uncommon for children to inherit some of their parents’ enhanced genes if they were Meta, but it was usually minimal. Victoria’s enhanced strength was already rare. Amy wasn’t as strong as their big sister, but she was probably the strongest kid in her class, and she’d gotten a decent chunk of their dad’s brains, too. Which sounded gross.

But speaking of her sister and her dad, Tiff finally checked her phone. The missing call was for her mom, asking how Tiff’s day was going. Tiff rolled her eyes; the call was from 9:30 that morning and the day had barely started. On top of that, what was Tiff supposed to do? Disrupt her class by taking the call just to soothe her mother’s worries? That sounded like a great way to get her phone confiscated.

The first text was from her dad, letting her know that the clerical aspect of her Awakening had been handled and that the school had been notified of her Assessment. He made sure to stress that all relevant information had been given and that she didn’t have to share any more with anyone, not even the principal.

The final text was from Victoria, which surprised Tiff. Normally, Tiff would run into her big sister at home, but otherwise didn’t talk to her over the phone. The same went for all her family, but especially her very self-sufficient, very independent big sister. If she wasn’t actively delving into a Rift, she was training her body to keep in shape or else preoccupied with her job.

Which, now that Tiff thought about it, was exclusively devoted to protecting her.

“Big big sis is coming to pick us up,” Amy crooned. “I’m going to catch a ride with her.”

True enough, that’s exactly what the text said. Tiff hardly had the chance to confirm the actual words when she heard a honk and Victoria’s voice shout out.

“Little sisters! Over here!”

Sure enough, there Victoria was in her crappy Camry.

“Get in the car!”

“Me first!” Amy ran forward, yanking at the passenger side door. Unlike their mom’s truck, shotgun might actually do something for Amy. Tiff didn’t particularly care either way, but she did laugh as Amy’s attempt to get ahead of her was foiled. She tugged futilely against the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Tori, buy a better car!” She whined, leaning back with all her might as she continued to latch onto the handle.

“Let go, you doof,” Victoria smirked, leaning over and grabbing the latch from the inside. “You know it’s broken and hanging onto it like that isn’t going to fix anything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Amy grumped, sliding inside. “Where are we going?! Why are you here?!”

“Relax,” Victoria laughed. “We aren’t doing anything special.”

“Aww,” Amy pouted. “So why are you here then? Not that I’m not grateful for a ride, but why aren’t you at work?”

“I am working,” Victoria sighed, taking on a more serious tone. She leaned back to make sure Tiff was settling comfortably. “How you doing back there?”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I’m good, Tori,” Tiff sighed.

“What do you mean, you’re working?” Amy asked, perplexed. Victoria continued to stare at Tiff as she buckled herself in, but her lips were sealed as she drew them into a tight line.

“She’s my [Bodyguard],” Tiff eventually sighed. She looked up to find Amy staring at her, shocked and suspicious.

“What?” She eventually demanded, turning to Victoria. “Why’d you do that? Why would you need to? I don’t get it. Wait…does it have to do with Tiff’s super secret Class?”

Tiff said nothing as Amy rambled, shifting her eyes between both of her sisters. As soon as she talked herself out, Victoria glanced at Tiff before staring at Amy seriously.

“You want me to kick her out, boss?”

“WHAT?! You wouldn’t dare!!”

As amusing as it would be to see Victoria toss Amy from the car, Tiff wasn’t that petty.

“It won’t be necessary,” Tiff sighed. “Yes, Amy. It’s for my Class. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is. Don’t ask.”

“But I want to know!” Amy begged, turning around. “Why are you keeping it a secret? What’s so special about it? What if it’s actually really cool?”

“What if it’s not?” Tiff countered, unamused. Amy stuck out her tongue and turned back around.

“Well, fine! Be boring then! Maybe when I Awaken, I won’t tell you, just on principle!”

“Please,” Victoria laughed. “You never shut up. You not spilling the beans would literally be impossible.”

“Hey,” Amy frowned. “I can keep a secret.”

“I’m sure,” Victoria teased.