Heroes Not Wanted

Chapter 1: Ten Years Later

Hal Whittaker walked through the halls of his school, not willing to go home until he met with Diana Crocious. Not because he found her attractive or anything—she was just a plain girl. No, she tended to know all the right answers to all his tests and he planned on asking her again. Although she usually tried to squirm away, she ended up helping him in the end.

Sure enough, the blonde Diana was fiddling with her locker. There was no one else in the hall with them, and Hal leaned against the locker next to Diana's. The sixteen-year-old girl looked up at him, her green eyes wide, freckles flecked across her face. She was about a head shorter than the tall Hal, and a good deal thinner as well. Diana had to crane her neck to look at him. "Hi, Hal," she said, her wispy voice little more than a whisper.

"Hi, Diana," he said in reply. A little sheepishly, he ran a hand over his own short, auburn hair, sure that his cheeks were as red as his hair. "How—how's it going?"

"Okay," she said, still watching him. "You?"

"Okay," he answered. He ran his hand over his hair again. "Do you—umm, I mean—that geometry quiz was pretty hard. You know, slopes and logic and stuff. Did you figure it all out?"

She nodded. "I aced it."

Of course she had. Diana always did. "I failed," Hal admitted.

"I'm sorry," Diana told him.

"Why?"

"For, you know, you failing it?" She blinked at him, a little confused.

"Oh, right." Hal rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at the bumps of acne back there. Puberty had been the worst. "Yeah. I knew that. So, um, can you give me a hand with it? You're really good at these kinds of things."

Diana brushed some of her pixie-cut blonde hair from her eyes. "Oh, um, thanks, Hal. I'll tutor you if you do me a big favor."

Oh boy. Hal forced a smile and said, "Yeah, sure, anything. Whatcha need?"

Diana started chewing on her oddly-painted fingernails—they were a bright yellow color. "Oh, it's not so hard. I just want you to walk me home for a while. A week, maybe? That's it."

That made Hal flush in embarrassment. Did she really think he liked her in that way? It really made him feel guilty for being her friend just so she would tutor him. Quickly, Diana spoke over him. "I don't mean to imply I like you in that way, Hal. I just want ... I'm afraid of going home alone."

"Why?"

"My parents are out of town, and I'm afraid of getting there to an empty house," Diana admitted. "Please, won't you walk with me?"

Hal sighed inwardly. "Oh, alright, Diana. You'll tutor me though, right?"

She nodded. "Of course. Fair is fair." To his surprise, she gave him a smile. "Can we go now?"

Hal jumped, realizing he'd been staring. "Oh, right! Yeah. Leave. Let's go."

He led the way out of the school and Diana followed him. He thought he heard her laughing a little, but when he turned around, her face was completely serious. Hal never saw the smile Diana was hiding.

. . . . . . . . . .

From across the street, watching from one of the two-story houses there, the man turned to his wife, running a hand through his long brown hair. "Is that her?" he asked his wife.