Batgirl Begins

Chapter Three

The next day I woke up for school feeling awful. It took everything in me to roll out of bed. Once I arrived at school, a swarm of people were asking over and over again if I was okay.

"I'm fine," I said for the last time. I grabbed my two best friends, Julia and Heather, by their wrists. "I'd rather be with a few people. Could we walk around?"

"Of course," Julia said. We started to walk in no particular direction around the school. "Are you okay though?" Julia looked at me.

"I'll get through it," I sighed, hoping all the pain would leave if I exhaled hard enough.

"I'm so sorry Lily," Heather spoke up. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now." She put her hand in mine, and Julia nodded.

I shrugged and said, "Well, I better get to class." My friends nodded and Heather gave my hand a quick squeeze before letting it go.

The rest of the day went by in a haze. Nothing felt normal. In every class I went to, someone asked if I was okay. I was getting really sick of that question. 

I came home and reread the letter from Batman seven more times. I had it memorized when I was done. I still didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do the following day either. Before I knew it, it was 6:50 on Wednesday night, and I had ten minutes to figure out what I was going to do. I stared at my watch for ten minutes, until 7:00 passed. I couldn't bring myself to get off the couch and solve this mystery.

The week passed, with the same schedule everyday. I wasn't going to my dojo so I stayed home every night. I couldn't face the other girls, knowing it was my fault she was dead. Wednesday rolled around, and I didn't go meet Alfred again. I did find out what old ice cream shop he was referencing. Yet I still couldn't bring myself to go there. I wanted my life to continue as if nothing happened, as if I didn't meet Batman or the Joker. 

I wanted to forget.

But by the final Wednesday, my grief caused me to never leave the house except for school, and I didn't respond to anyone who texted me. I began to shut everyone out. Even my family. I finally decided maybe Batman could help me, or have some answers. 

I realized where I heard his name before. Batman was on the news about two months ago for saving someone, but it was all speculation. No one really knew what to believe. 

At 6:45 I had my mom take me to Downtown Wheaton, under the pretense I was meeting Julia. She dropped me off three blocks away from the old building. As soon as her car was out of sight, I sprinted to the meeting spot. I got there four minutes early, and waited in the parking lot out of sight. At exactly 7:00, an old man wearing a suit walked to the middle of the parking lot. He looked around before making eye contact with me. His eyes widened, but he immediately composed his face.

"Lily Storan," he said as he approached me. "My name is Alfred Pennyworth. I'm here to escort you to the Batman." I noticed he had a British accent.

"How do you know it's me," I said a little skeptical. "I could be a random girl who just happened to be here."

He chuckled and said, "Well of course there is a picture of you on file." I must have looked creeped out, because he added, "You are a citizen of the United States."

"Whatever," I said. "Just take me to him."

"Wonderful," he turned around and began walking away. "There's a car out front ready to take us to the rendezvous point. It'll be a thirty minute ride."

I followed him to find a long black car with a driver waiting in the street. It looked incredibly expensive. Inside, I sat on satin seats, equipped with a stocked bar on the back of the seat in front of me. I was in awe.

After thirty minutes of excruciating silence, we finally arrived at the destination. I had no idea where we were, as the windows were blacked out. Alfred got out first, and closed the door. I took a breath, and opened my door as well. But as soon as both feet touched the ground, I saw a fist coming right for my head.