Superhero

Chapter 14

Only a little way did she walk when a sudden flash of light appeared in front of her. Before she knew it, a large green bus appeared in its place. A black figure ran in the opposite direction and disappeared into a spark of light too.
It was the bus that Addison was supposed to take. She knocked on the door and motioned for the driver to open it.
"What happened?" Addison asked as she sat on the first row. "Why did the Superhero teleport the bus here?"
The driver looked a little sheepish. "I skipped this route. The Superhero must've noticed since he brought the bus straight here."
Addison stared at him open-mouthed. "You what?!"
"I skipped this stop, I'm sorry!" The driver broke down. "This isn't the first time I've done this."
All those times when Addison had to walk home because of the bus came to mind. Even the time when she was chased by a mob. That was because of the bus's absence too. She wasn't the only one that waited for the bus at that stop at this time of the day, and the drivers knew. Yet, they still had the heart to miss this stop.
Just because the passengers were riding the bus for free.
And the Superhero knew this. He teleported the bus here and made a quick exit before anyone could even acknowledge him. Addison wished she could do that too, to avoid meeting people she didn't like. But sadly, she was just as normal as anyone else.
Besides the Superhero himself, that is.

Addison called her mother, just like she always did every night after studying.
"So any update on the Superhero lately?" Mrs. Parker asked. "It's all over the news, ya know?"
"I know," Addison sighed. "I haven't seen the latest update in the news, but I certainly did with my own two eyes."
"What did you see?" Mrs. Parker asked eagerly.
"Remember when I said I always missed the bus and end up walking home?" Addison said, frowning.
"Yeah?"
"Turns out, it wasn't my fault. The drivers have been dodging the stop I usually wait at."
"That's so mean! Well, not surprising, but mean nonetheless."
"Yeah. The Superhero found out and teleported the entire bus to my stop! Can you believe that?"
"The whole bus?" Mrs. Parker repeated in amazement. "How?"
"I have no idea," Addison sighed. "It suddenly appeared in front of me, then I saw the guy run away and disappear too. Well, at least I didn't have to walk in the rain."
She never told her mother about the incident in the convenience store she worked at. Or of the police that came to her house to ask about it.
Addison talked a little more to her mother before bidding goodbye. She hung up and sighed, going back to her laptop. She decided to watch a few videos of the town's Superhero. Surprisingly enough, her latest encounter with said person was also uploaded. Luckily, she was to far away to be seen clearly in the footage.
She also wondered where the Superhero had teleported himself to. Did he go home? Or did he end up in some faraway place in the town itself.
Only he knew.
Addison sighed and decided to just call it a day.

"Dude! Did you see how the Superhero teleported an entire bus to its destination just because the driver missed the route?" Jordan excitedly began as soon as Addison got into his blue sedan. "That was so cool!"
"I know," Addison smiled. She didn't mention how all of that happened right in front of her, and acted as if she just watched it online. "Serve those drivers right. They're always dodging the routes."
"Poor you..." Jordan sympathised. For a second, Addison thought he saw through her. "I've seen how you sometimes walk home because of the bus. Tell you what. I'll pick you up from the convenience store after work. How does that sound?"
Addison quickly shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think the drivers would skip that route now that they know the Superhero has his eye on them."
Jordan nodded, his eyes glued to the road. "You sure about that?"
"Of course!" Addison smiled. The last thing she wanted now was for Fiolina to keep mocking her for having a 'hot beau', as she would say. "I'm perfectly fine coming home by myself. Thanks for asking."
"Well, okay then," Jordan chuckled.
He said nothing more about it, much to Addison's relief.
"You wanna grab breakfast again?" Jordan asked as they arrived at the college campus.
"Sure," Addison shrugged. "Where shall we go?"
They decided to go to Chicken Mania and order the special breakfast chicken and egg burgers. Addison couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing four fast food restaurants in one college campus. Maybe Jeff was right. The were trying to fatten her and her college mates. She made it a point to visit the college gym during her free time.

Addison walked into the convenience store she worked at, having twenty minutes to spare before the start of her shift. Jeff looked tired as ever behind the counter.
"What happened to you?" Addison couldn't help but smirk when she put a pack of instant Mac 'n cheese and soda on the counter in front of him. "You look like a zombie!"
"Stayed up way too late to finish an assignment that's due today," Jeff said, taking a sip from a paper cup off coffee that he obviously bought and prepared at the shop itself. "Only had two hours left to sleep. Ended up oversleeping, and then had to scramble out of bed to get ready."
"Gosh, poor you," Addison watched as he scanned the barcode for the things she bought. "When was the assignment given to you?"
"Last month," Jeff sheepishly stated, pushing the stuff she bought towards her. "Yeah, I procrastinated real bad, didn't I..."
"You did," Addison chuckled, taking out money for the stuff she bought. "What time did you sleep last night?"
"Four...?" Jeff said thoughtfully, putting the money in the cash register and taking out the change for her.
"Is that a question?" Addison laughed, taking her change. "Dude, you should so not procrastinate."
"I know..." Jeff sighed. "Especially since I had morning class today."
"So you had to rush for work?" Addison asked in surprise. "Poor you!"
Jeff snickered while she went over to the other side to prepare the instant pasta. "Eh it's only on Fridays. Not that big a deal."
"Still?" Addison gave him a glance. "Don't procrastinate!"
"Yeah, fine..." Jeff sighed. "I'll keep in mind to sleep early on Thursdays. Okay?"
Addison chuckled. "It's for your own good, not mine. Also, don't thrive on coffee?"
Jeff took another swig from the plastic cup, then turned to her with his scarred eyebrow raised. "I need the caffeine to keep me going."
"Do you have classes after this?" Addison asked, slightly worried for her coworker. "I hope you don't."
"I do," Jeff said dismally. "But only one. It's pretty light on Fridays. Just that I have to rush to work in the morning, that's all."
"How long is that class?" Addison asked, putting the container of mac n' cheese into the microwave. "I hope it isn't four hours long..."
"Nah, only two," Jeff chuckled. "I'll be back by seven. And then I have the rest of the night to myself."
"Get some rest, okay?" Addison said, going towards Jeff again. "Don't spend the night watching movies or something."
"Okay, Mom," Jeff chuckled. "Even my mom doesn't lecture me like this, you know that?"
Addison looked at him in surprise. "Can't relate. My mom is always telling me to get enough rest and eat well. She makes me call her every night."
"Huh..." Jeff said, his face dropping a little. "My mother... rarely calls me. She's a busy woman, I don't blame her. She has to take care of my younger siblings on her own while I'm here on a scholarship."
"What about your Dad?"
"He... left us when I was younger," Jeff said, turning away from her.
Addison gasped. "Oh my, I'm sorry I brought it up."
Jeff shook his head. "Nah, it's fine," he said, watching Addison use a paper towel to take out the hot container from the microwave. "You didn't know. It's not your fault he ran away. He didn't even fight for custody."
"I'm very sorry," Addison apologised. "I... I didn't know."
Jeff chuckled. "Don't be." He decided to just change the subject to lighten the mood. "Anyway, Dietitian, I heard something about a bus being teleported to the bus stop. By you-know-who."
Addison sighed, sitting at the table in front of the window. "Happened right in front of me."
Jeff's eyes widened. "Wait what?!"
"Yep," Addison couldn't help but be a little smug. "I was waiting for the bus, but it didn't show up. It was raining too. I eventually gave up and started walking home, and then WHAM! The bus just appeared before me!"
Jeff shook his head, his mouth slightly agape. "Did you see him? The Superhero, I mean."
Addison frowned. "I did, but he disappeared before I could take a good look at him. He ran off and disappeared into that white light of his."
"Scary..." Jeff chuckled, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "Is he even human?"
"I have no idea," Addison shrugged. "All I know is that, he gets pretty hungry sometimes. And he loves SlurpSlurp. Like you."
Jeff looked a little taken aback, but gave Addison a playful smirk. "You're the only one in the whole wide world who has never had SlurpSlurp before."
"Me and my whole family," Addison stuck her tongue out at him before spooning another mouthful of macaroni into her mouth. "At least we have a lower chance of getting diabetes."
Jeff made a face at her.