Invincible

Chapter Ten

As we walk into the house, I try on my new glasses.

"Well, how do I look?" I say nervously.

Brad looks at me and smiles. "You look great, kiddo. You have nothing to worry about."

But he was wrong about that. I needed to make sure that no one would be able to tell the difference between me and my superhero persona. I had everything to worry about.

I didn't feel weird wearing the glasses, though. They weren't tight on my ears and I could see right through them. Well, that wasn't actually a miracle, because I sort of switched the lens before Brad had bought them, so I could see clear as day.

When I got to my room, I took the jacket and gloves out of my backpack, immediately pulling the price tags off and placing them under my bed. Brad wouldn't look under here, unless his obsession with his deceased family has led him to look under beds just to get a memory of them. Other than that, I should be okay.

I walk over to the medium-sized mirror attached to the wall near thecomputer, and observe myself. Standing in front of me was a normal boy withbrown eyes covered by a pair of thick, black-rimmed frame glasses, brown hair,and a slender, but muscular enough body, and thought that this was what Ineeded to be. I had to be this person. I had to live and breathe it. I neededto be this because if I wanted to save people, this was the façade I'd have toput on.

---

                   

When I got back to school, everyone was surprised by my new look—well, just Jack and Taylor because they were the only ones who really noticed. Jack didn't really seem to mind, but it was Taylor who was overwhelmed.

"How come you never mentioned that you wore glasses?" she asks during our walk to History class.

"Well, to be honest, I was really getting sick of wearing c-contacts," I reply.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm being totally honest with you."

We both laugh.

"Well," she says, "everyday you're changing. It might be normal to you, but it isn't to me. I mean the way you look, the way you talk, and the way you act. It's like you're becoming a whole new person right in front of me."

"W-well, that's the goal, isn't it?"

"But it's like a different surprise with you every second. I mean, come on, is there anything I don't know about you already?"

I stop smiling. I wanted to tell her. I really wanted to. But I couldn't. I had a plan to stick to.

"I guess you'll have to find out," I tease, smiling back at her.

---

                   

In the afternoon during P.E., Jack complained about the big History test that was coming up, saying that he was hopeless, and that he would fail. I got to thinking that I never really got a chance to spend much time with Jack, or anyone really, outside of school. And when I wasn't talking to Taylor, I basically knew the lesson from front to back, so I volunteered to help him, and suggested that we study at his house.

For some reason, he seemed reluctant. I didn't know why, but after some convincing that it would be good for his education, and for us as friends, he agreed.

After school, I used Jack's phone to call Brad and ask if I could study. After he agreed, we waited outside for Jack's father to show up.

"He's always late," Jack says, looking at his watch after ten minutes of waiting.