I Forgot to Mention

Who Needs Enemies

Artemis was half asleep, with her head pressed firmly against a cold desk in study hall, when she remembered about Barbara's study group. She highly considered just skipping the whole thing altogether. It wouldn't be hard to sell a quick "sorry, I wasn't feeling too well, maybe next time!"  But, then Artemis remembered that midterms were coming up. Her grades were pretty average for the most part, it was only in math class that an obvious disparity existed.  It wasn't exactly her fault, as traditional school subjects were often pushed aside during her early childhood for more practical lessons.  Or, at least what her father had deemed "practical."  Advanced forms of math didn't fall into that category.  Artemis didn't need to know the Pythagorean Theorem to know when she was almost out of arrows on the battlefield.

She didn't like that she was failing the class, but it was far more than Artemis's own convictions that prompted her to reconsider the offer in earnest.  If she were to fail...then would Batman rescind his sponsorship?  There is absolutely no way that Artemis's mother could afford to send her to Gotham Academy on her disability payments alone, and it wasn't as though Artemis qualified for any legitimate scholarships.  Not with her grades! Artemis hadn't been privy to the EXACT details of the agreement between her mother and Batman, but it wasn't a stretch to assume that keeping up good scores was a condition. After all, Ollie did tell her to do her best. What else could that possibly mean?!

Hurriedly, she gathered her things. What was she supposed to even bring to this group? Since it was taking place at lunch, she assumed that she'd have enough time to grab a sandwich or something. Barbara made it seem like they'd be focusing on math, so it was probably going to be last night's homework. That worked for her, seeing as she had neglected to finish the assignment before the impromptu mission. Even after they had reconvened at the mountain when it was over, between waiting for Ollie and the other adults to regain consciousness, giving her side of what happened about twenty different times, and the health work up Batman ordered for all of them (she most certainly would know if she had a concussion, thank you very much!), she still had to wait around another three hours before going home. Her mother then took one look at her and ordered her to go to bed. Still, would it make her look unprepared to show up with a half finished packet? Like, she was only there to just copy their answers? That wasn't her plan. She didn't want to cheat her way through life, she was too strong for that. Lies, in contrast, were a different matter. She'd likely be held captive by the need to hide certain truths for the rest of her days. Shaking her head, Artemis reached for the door.

However, it appeared someone else was waiting just on the other side. Artemis was knocked to the ground, and, of course, her backpack wasn't fully zipped up. Several papers landed next to her, making her look even more pathetic. A hand was extended down to her and Artemis glared up at the owner, a boy slightly younger than herself, before taking it.

"Watch where you're going next-"

Before she could finish snapping at him, the boy suddenly pulled out his phone. He pulled her in close while a bright light flashed in front of them. Immediately, the boy dropped his grip on her, though the false smile lingered on his face. Artemis was left standing there, paralyzed by a mixture of burning rage and utter confusion, as he scooped up her loose papers. His blue eyes didn't leave his phone as he handed them back to her.

"You know," he said, still not looking up from his phone, "you should really consider getting some folders."

It took every ounce of self control for Artemis not to stab the boy with a pencil.

"A binder too, they're pretty useful."

And like that, he was gone. When she finally was able to move, Artemis was dismayed to realize that she had lost sight of his black hair among the sea of much taller students also headed towards the cafeteria. Whatever. Hopefully, she wouldn't run into his smug face anytime soon. It was a big school. Artemis made her way into the crowd, letting her immediate anger push away any other thoughts. Like, just how was some random boy able to get the jump on her, a trained (albeit not practicing) assassin?