Superhero

Chapter 25

"So how's your assignment doing?" Addison asked Jeff as soon as she called in for work.
"Better," Jeff nodded, typing something on his laptop.
"You look better too," Addison noted the fading dark circles under his eyes. "Way less like a zombie, and more like Jeff. What do you even do at night?"
Jeff shrugged. "Stuff..."
"What kinda stuff?" Addison smirked.
"Oh, you know, the usual?" Jeff shrugged again.
Addison put a chicken pie in the microwave. "Let me guess. Video games?"
Jeff nodded slowly from side to side. "Yeah. I guess you could say that."
Addison shook her head and went to grab some juice while waiting for her pie. "You should rest more, Jeff."
"Yeah, I am," Jeff smirked. "I've been resting a lot more now with the assignment up. That's the only thing on my mind now."
"Good," Addison returned to the counter. "Make sure you get enough sleep."
Jeff smirked. "Sure, Mom."
"Oi!" Addison scowled.
"Well, yeah!" Jeff laughed. "You're worse than my mom!"
Addison sighed. "Jeff, you should've seen how you looked, depending on coffee instead of sleep for energy."
Jeff simply shrugged and continued typing on his laptop. His shift soon ended, so he swapped with Addison and started buying a few things.
"I rarely see you drinking SlurpSlurp nowadays, Jeff," Addison sat on the turn-stool and spinning it sideways as she watched Jeff head for the refrigerator. "It's either yoghurt or soda for you now. Why's that?"
Jeff shrugged. "Don't know. Just don't feel like all the sugar for now."
Addison chuckled. "Good. Because you might end up with diabetes if you keep drinking it."
Jeff made a face at her, putting the stuff he took on the counter.

***

Addison rushed down the stairs and made a beeline for the kitchen, her trusty flask in hand. She popped open two sachets of coffee and poured it in before filling it up to the brim with scorching hot water. She closed the lid and started going to the porch to carpool with Jordan like she usually did.
Addison stepped onto the porch just as Jordan's blue sedan drove away, much to her horror.
"Hey!" Addison shouted after him. "Wait up, Jordan!"
But of course, he didn't turn back for her.
"Arghhhhhh!" Addison screamed in exasperation. "Jerk!"
As it is, she was already running late. There was no telling if the bus would come on time to pick her. Without much of a choice, she took out her phone and booked an online taxi. It was a good thing the driver was nearby, so she only had to wait for about a minute.

Addison ran to McRonald's to get herself a last-minute snack before class. She went to the counter and got herself an egg burger and some hash browns to eat in the courtyard before class. Just as she turned around to leave, she saw a lump of light strawberry blond hair at the far corner of the shop.
"Jordan...?!" Addison murmured in surprise. She went closer to take a look, and sure enough, it was Jordan Anderson. "What is he doing here?!"
She frowned and stomped towards him. As she got closer, she realised that there was a girl with him.
"Hey!" Addison exclaimed, gesturing towards the table. "What the heck is this?"
Jordan simply looked at her. "Breakfast."
"Yeah, but what the heck?!" Addison complained. "You just left me stranded!"
Jordan chuckled. "Oh come on, I had to leave a little early to pick up Sierra!"
Addison turned to the blonde girl in surprise before turning back to Jordan. "So this is why you abandoned me? You could've at least informed me about this earlier!"
Jordan smiled sheepishly. "I forgot..."
Addison scowled. "You should learn to be more responsible, Capelli Rossi."
"Don't call me that!" Jordan retorted with a scowl.
Addison's lips tightened. "See you at the Academic Writing hall."
And with that, she turned on her heel and left.
"Is that girl your ex or something?" Sierra asked, turning to Jordan in surprise.
Jordan shook his head. "Nah, we never dated. She just carpooled with me. She's a tenant in the house I rent at too."
"Oh..." Sierra relaxed.

Addison sat by the fountain and opened her burger with a frown. She thought it was kinda mean of Jordan to just ditch her like that without a word. It was true, he had a date and all, but a simple text would've made things more different, right?
She took out her phone and started complaining to Fiolina about the incident via texting.
Add: I can't believe this guy!
Add: He just abandoned me because of that chick!
Fio: Whoa whoa calm down now
Fio: Who abandoned u?
Add: The housemate I carpool with
Fio: That ginger guy?
Add: Yeah
Fio: Weren't u guys dating or smth?
Add: What?!
Add: No!
Add: I just carpool with him!
Add: He's such a slob
Add: You should see his hoodie
Add: It's practically his dust cloth
Fio: Eww...
Add: I once saw this brown stain on it
Add: Idk if it was mud or coffee
Add: But it was caked onto his hoodie
Add: I'm not sure if he washed that thing off
Add: Or if he just scraped it off
Fio: Gross!
Add: Shudder to think what it would look like if it was white instead
Add: 🤢🤢
Fio: Gosh can u stop?!
Fio: This guy sounds disgusting!
Fio: I would wear a radiation suit around him if I were u
Addison started laughing at the image of her wearing a radiation suit whenever Jordan was about. But then, she also remembered what Jake said about him picking his ears and then rubbing the wax onto his pants before using the same finger to pick at his teeth.
The radiation suit didn't seem like such a bad idea, after all.
Addison quickly ate and rushed off for her first class.

Mr. Galante started his lecture, teaching the methods of Academic Writing. Addison listened attentively, taking notes, and even raising her hand to ask questions.
All of a sudden, the main doors burst open and in came Jordan, his blue tote bag sloppily hanging from his shoulder. He looked visibly nervous as he walked in, making a beeline for the empty seat next to Addison. She groaned because she didn't want to sit with him today, but it just so happens that the students neatly avoided that spot for some reason.
Giuseppe stopped teaching and looked at Jordan, his arms folded against his white blazer.
"So, Mr. Jackson?" Giuseppe frowned.
"It's Jordan!" Jordan growled.
"Good for you," Giuseppe said, tight-lipped. "What time is it?"
Jordan looked at his watch. "Half-past twelve?"
"And what time does my class start?" Giuseppe raised an eyebrow.
Jordan sighed. "Twelve."
"Mmmhmm..." Giuseppe nodded.
"I'm sorry, sir," Jordan apologised. "I... I didn't quite see the time."
'Must be because of that blonde chick,' Addison smirked to herself.
"Go sit down," Giuseppe bellowed before turning back to the board.
"Thank you, sir," Jordan said, relieved. He quickly slipped beside Addison, who moved away from him slightly. "Aight, what did I miss?"
Addison rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and listen to the lecture."
Jordan looked at her in surprise. "What's gotten into you?"
"Look, this wasn't really a good day for me, okay?" Addison spat. "Just take notes and listen."
"Can I borrow your notes later?" Jordan asked, much to her dismay.
Addison only glared at him.

"Hey, hey, Addison," Jordan called as soon as the class was dismissed. Addison ignored him and continued walking away. "Stop! Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?"
"Because you just ditched me without a word!" Addison finally turned to him. "Luckily I managed to book a PickYou. What if I didn't? You could've at least told me earlier so that I could've arranged something, right?"
Jordan sighed. "Fine... I'll tell you in advance. I won't be able to carpool with you for at least a week."
"It's fine," Addison said. "Thanks for telling me in advance."
"Can I copy your notes later?" Jordan asked. Addison rolled her eyes yes and nodded, instantly making him perk up. "Thanks!"
He gave her a quick wave and ran off. Addison watched after him with a grimace before making her way to the bus stop to wait for the free bus.