Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

The Invitation

I stabbed angrily at the salad M'gann had packed in my lunch today. I held the fork up and examined the skewered green cucumber at the end of it, my eyes narrowed. 

"Stupid." I muttered before shoving it into my mouth. 

The cafeteria of Gotham Academy was very chilly, which didn't make sense to me at all. I mean, if the school is so rich why can't they afford to heat their own building?! I'd make a fantastic furnace though. I bet if you put a pot of water over my head it would boil in seconds.  

I could feel the eyes of my friends watching me, but I didn't care. I muttered something under my breath, picking up more lettuce and tomatoes as I did so. The scenes that occurred last night played over and over in my head, and every time I just got more and more frustrated. 

"Would my brownie make you feel any better?" Dick asked, a hint of an amusing smile on his face. 

I pretended to ignore him for a long moment until he inched it closer to my face, waving it in the air slightly. I looked up, staring at it for a long second before shaking my head. I returned my attention to my lunch, digging up a charred cookie that M'gann had left in the oven for too long. Dick cracked up at the sight of it.  

"Try it. Alfred made them. I would say they're his specialty, but really anything he makes is great." Dick broke off half of it and tried to offer it to me again. 

I eventually caved and accepted the brownie with thanks. As much as M'gann had improved in her cooking skills, her cookies still needed some work. Artemis picked up the blackened cookie, examining it and turning it in her hand. 

"Behold, the most inedible man-made substance known to the world." Artemis hit the cookie on our table. It didn't break. 

"Ooh, you should ask Alfred can make us some of his peanut butter cookies. Those are my favorite." Barbra said and peeled apart her string cheese. 

"Yeah, I'll ask him today." Dick nodded. 

I tried the brownie. It really was delicious, just like he said. Maybe M'gann could really use some Alfred's his recipes, who I assumed must have been a private chef or something. 

"Better?" Dick wiggled his eyebrows. 

I managed a chuckle at his expense, wiping my greasy fingers on a napkin. My answer seemed to satisfy him, and he gave a small flourish with his arm. 

"Yeah, what's got you upset anyways?" Barbra jumped in curiously. "Was Amelia in your lab again today?"

"It's nothing." I shook my head. 

If I was hooked up to one of those lie detector machines, the big red light would have gone ding! I thought I was pretty good at lying- I'd gotten away with it more than a few times. But obviously I was a crappy liar when it came to my feelings with boys. My denial sure got Artemis's attention. Her expression might as well have said liar, liar, pants on fire! 

"Nothing?" Artemis smirked next to me. 

My grip tightened on the plastic fork I was holding, and my knuckles turned white. I shot her a warning glare, daring her to go on. But she clearly didn't feel too threatened by it. 

"The guy she likes is interested in someone else." She carried on casually. 

"What?!" Barbra exclaimed, her eyes twinkling at any hint of drama. 

I couldn't believe she just said that. I wanted to try and take her eye out with my fork! I was so going to get her later at training tonight. I imagined tossing her across the room or yanking her perfect ponytail out of her scalp.