Not Your Average Hero

•2• superhero hater

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the front doors of Landchester High was the various colours of everyone's outfits clashed together. Of course I already knew that there wasn't a dress code here, but it was strange to see people express themselves through what they wear. At Greengate, everyone wore blue blazers over a white button down shirt with a tie, beige dress pants for guys and hideous plaid skirts with knee length socks for girls; we even had uniforms for gym.

I kept my eyes to my feet as I maneuvered my way through the bustling crowd, avoiding the gaze of multiple students as they were quick to realize I wasn't from around here.

The warning bell sounded just as I reached my locker; once I got it opened, after getting the combination wrong multiple times, I placed the contents of my school bag inside before heading to the office so the principle, Mr. Chartrand, could explain everything we need to know, rules that might be different having changed from a private school to a public one.

*

When Mr. Chartrand finished up, I felt stiff in the cheap wooden chair placed in front of his oak desk. Axel only made the time here worse by asking too many questions to count to avoid going to class.

I quickly went to my locker to grab some books before heading to second period English. Gaining some courage, I knocked on the closed door with so much force, I'm almost certain an elephant with a hearing aid wouldn't have even been able to hear it; however, it swung open to reveal a short woman wearing what appeared to be the most stereotypical teacher outfit she could possibly muster. Her short grey hair sat in curls on her head, a smile formed across her chubby, pink chipmunk cheeks as she placed her hand on my back and guided me into the classroom, stopping in front of rows of desks. .

I gulped as everyone's, except for a boy reading in the corner, eyes were on me. I'm somewhat shy to say the least. Whenever I'm the center of attention my hands get clammy, my mouth is dry and I feel as though I'm going to have a breakdown of bodily functions, similar to the boy I saved except with a much larger audience.

It was times like this I wished the world didn't consist of supers, anyone in this class could read my mind at any second without my knowledge, listening in on my embarrassing thoughts.

"Hello," The teacher, who I discovered by looking at my schedule was Ms. Wilson, brought me back to reality, "You're our new student?" She asked. I felt the urge to say something sarcastic like 'no shit sherlock', but I had a feeling she was a decent teacher, and my throat was drier than the Atacama Desert. I settled with a nod.

"Wonderful! Everyone, I'd like you to meet Ashlyn Calloway, she just transferred from Greengate Academy! Welcome her to our humble abode!" She beamed as if she was a kindergarten teacher.

Heat rushed to my cheeks as everyone recited, "Welcome Ashlyn Calloway from Greengate Academy to our humble abode." As if they were robots programmed to say those exact words at the same time.

Ms. Wilson guided me to a seat near the back of the classroom next to a girl who was nose deep in a magazine featuring superheroes. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again. Superheroes are overrated.

"Excuse me?" The girl reading the magazine shifted to glare holes through me as I sat down. At first I wondered whether or not she could read my mind but confirmed I did, in fact, say it out loud when I used a long list of profanities to describe her beloved supers and she didn't even flinch.