The Villain Goes To High School

Episode 2, Part 2: Janitor's Closet, Plus the Bathroom

Esper didn't see Val again until it was time for lunch. He had just finished stashing his books into an empty locker when the Hero sidled up to him.

"What do you know! We're locker buddies!"

You've got to be joking.

Standing side by side, Val was a head shorter than Esper, and he was convinced her messy brown ponytail made up an inch on top of that. The loose strands sticking out around her ears annoyed him. With her congestion cleared, her golden eyes shone as bright and blinding as the sun. She opened the locker next to Esper's and took out a plastic-wrapped, slightly squashed sandwich. Esper missed Osha's grand dining room lunches already.

"Man, what a day. Someone flew a paper airplane through the halls and almost poked Mr. Sine's eye out in math. I bet it was Anil Pavana, he uses wind. And I heard one of the toilets in the men's bathroom is already clogged. The smell will send you to—wait up! You walk super fast."

Esper just quickened his pace down the hall. If he took a left soon, he'd be going straight for the janitor's closet.

Val followed him like a lost puppy. "I never caught your name, by the way."

"Esper," he answered too quickly in the hopes it would make her go away. "I mean, Espen. My name is Espen."

"I don't think I've ever seen you around before, Espen. Are you new in town?"

"Yes."

"Cool! Where are you from? How do you like Greenwood so far?"

He didn't respond and rounded the corner. At the end of this corridor was the unlabeled door, just as he'd remembered.

"Well, I thought I'd let you know about the list of who to avoid to help you out on your first day," Val continued. "Mrs. Lehrner, for obvious reasons. Georgina Ma and Sam Arson, the dynamic duo. They're supposed to be chill but they honestly look super intimidating. There's also William Wagner, he's two years above us. Not a Hero, but his family's got a ton of money so he has this gang of Heroes that he hired to pick fights all the time. He dresses fancy, kind of like you..."

Esper turned on his heel. Val jerked backwards to avoid crashing into him.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed under Esper's piercing glare. "I wasn't insulting you, I was just trying to explain..."

"If you value your life," Esper said. "Stop. Following. Me."

She flinched at the venom in his voice. "I said I was sorry. You don't have to be mean about it. I was just giving you some advice."

"I don't need your advice."

Val gaped, speechless. Her shock turned to hurt, then to anger, and she whipped around and marched away with her head held high and her ponytail swinging. Esper watched her go.

Well. She's upset.

He banished the weird knot in his stomach and marched towards the janitor's closet. The door was the same as any other classroom's, except it had no room number. He checked to make sure he was alone before trying the knob.

Locked. He checked his surroundings again.

Then he phased through the door.

It was cool and dark on the other side, quite refreshing until the overwhelming smell of chemicals and garbage hit him. He pinched his nose. His eyes adjusted very quickly to the shadows as he walked deeper into a surprisingly large room.

Sludge coated the wet floor. Shelves of dirty towels, ripped boxes, and all sorts of spray bottles lined the walls. Unemptied trash cans stank at his feet. A line of cracked dustbins, old brooms, and dripping mops hung from a rack at the far end. Clearly, the janitor cleaned everything but this closet.