Chaos In The Flesh

Chapter 6 (Part 1)

August 22, 2022; 11:45am:

Sarah set down her tea and raised an eyebrow at Anasi who was nibbling on her wheat toast in front of her.

Jonathan kicked her in the shins and cleared his throat as he shoved down another Belgian waffle. Sarah's nostrils flared as she sneered at Jonathan, but she revealed nothing about dropping the elephant in the room.

"Anasi," Sarah began, ignoring the glaring look from Jonathan. "Aren't you on the dance team?"

Anasi shook her head and set down the piece of bread. "Not anymore, I quit this year because I'm taking too many APs."

"And you couldn't do both?" Sarah made a tsk-ing noise. "I would think a well-rounded student like you wouldn't quit at anything."

Jordan, who was sitting next to Sarah with a mouthful of omelet, stopped chewing and looked at his girlfriend, appalled at her question. Jonathan choked on his orange juice and required several slaps of the back from Anasi.

After a good last pre-season practice, Jordan wanted to go to the diner for breakfast. Naturally, that meant Sarah was coming. As they were walking into town, Anasi had been walking back from the library. Jonathan cheerily asked her if she wanted to tag along with them.

Now, 25 minutes later, tension at the table had risen 4 notches and didn't seem to be falling.

Jonathan and Anasi sat on one side of the booth, Jonathan closest to the window. Jordan sat across from Jonathan and Sarah sat across from Anasi.

After Jonathan finished choking he took a sip of orange juice and wiped away any tears that had fallen.

Anasi, to her credit, didn't take the jab personally. She replied, "I'm going to join back up next year, but this year is really important for me. Besides, my team respects me and understands. It's not uncommon to push aside a sport."

Sarah shrugged and took another sip of her tea, the steam curling around her nose and rising to her dark eyeliner, shadowing her eyes. Her curly hair was pulled into her usual half-up half-down. She wore ripped jean shorts and a red and white striped tank top with worn gray sneakers. She wore three rings, a purple, green, and red stone reflected on the white mug.

Anasi smiled and returned back to her meal. She wore flowing long navy pants with brown sandals and a white tank top with three small daisies on it across her chest. She wore a small gold necklace with her initials on it and gold star earrings. Even though she wore her hair in a low bun, a few wisps had escaped and floated around her head. Her dark skin shined with a light layer of sweat.

Jonathan and Jordan exchanged looks before returning to their own meals.

"Have you guys heard? We finally found out the superhero's name!" Anasi said, covering her mouth with her hand, food still in her mouth. "And it's a female!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and Jordan was the one to nudge her this time. She stuck her tongue out at him before looking down at her tea. "There's been female superheroes before. Don't get too excited."

"Yeah, but never one in Smallville!" Anasi turned and faced Jonathan who was already looking at her. "Where do you think she came from?"

"We had Supergirl in Smallville before." Sarah muttered. "Unless she suddenly switched genders, I would say that this hero is the second, third, or even fourth female heroine in this state."

Jordan took his last bite of the omelet and eyed Jonathan's fries greedily. "You know what she means, Cortez."

Sarah frowned to herself as Jordan stole two fries from Jonathan's and stuffed them in his mouth. Jonathan held up his hands, horrified by the sudden theft.