fight or flight

introduction

introduction: rewind

"umm excuse me?" I asked the person sitting at the front desk.

"yes" he asked me

"umm... I'm kinda lookin' for... you know... A job. And uh you guys were hiring... so I'm here for the job interview" I spoke trying to grasp my surroundings.

HOLD UP. LET'S REWIND.

My name is Bailey Andrews, but everyone calls me Babe. Five years ago, I was in a car accident. My little sister and I were okay but both my parents suffered severely from the impacts.

For the rest of my fifth year, I skipped school because of my parents being hospitalized. my father recuperated much faster than my mom. She suffered from major internal bleeding while also managing to attract a weird virus they claimed 'were unsure how to treat'.

As my father was ready to get back on his feet, I was still clinging to my mother's side. She was so sick but my wanting her in my life was just barely keeping her here.

"Babe" she croaked one day. "come here"

"Hey mom" I said

"Take this... I want you to know. Because I know you and you will somehow follow the same path I did. It will explain everything. Tell your father I'm sorry but I've done my duties. Care for your sister okay?" She said handing me a letter with the most excellent calligraphy.

"Wait mom?" I asked as I watched her push a syringe filled with clear liquid into her iv.

"DAD! CALLIE!" I shouted as I saw them running down the halls.

We all crowded around my moms bed as we watched her slip into the darkness. That day was her last day.

It turns out the car crash of a famous surgeon and his wife was quite a big thing in the news. Once mom passed away, My dad decided we needed to move. Away from the city, iit's vibe and it's people.

We chose somewhere on almost the polar opposite side of the country. My father told my sister and I that we were moving to somewhere smaller and less busy comparing to the upper east side, where we had resided previous.

The town was called Star Hills. It was labeled to be 'a completely normal town where nothing strange ever happens'. I sshould've known that it was a clear sign that lots I stuff went down in this city. But I was ten so... that's fair right?

Either way, in Star Hills, every superhero story yyou've read or have seen is partially true. There is one main heroine who is always fighting for herself and the city and then there's a ton of bad guys who never give up.

Being a ten year old and having someone like that to look up to sure does change some things.

As that September rolled around, my father had the 'brilliant' idea to enrol me in private school.

My first day was a rough one to say the least. It involved me getting lost and somehow I bumped into a clique. But by some happen chance, they spoke to me. Here's a little rundown of the scenario

"Oh god. Sorry! Im new and I'm lost." I said trying to get out of their way.

"No worries. We've all been there before. Im Paige" The blonde haired girl said.

"Oh umm... hi! Babe" I said introducing myself.

"Hey we were just about to go get some lunch across the street at that sushi place. Care to come with us?" Another asked

"Sure" I said.

And that's how I wound up meeting Paige, Veronica, Gwen and Mia. My best friends.

Jumping to five years later, a week from the preset day, nothing's really changed between us. Paige and Mia cheer while Gwen writes and tutors and Veronica and I workout and study constantly.

This morning though, wasnt the best morning ever. It went a little something like this.

"Hey sweetie come here" My dad said as I slumped down the stairs.

"Wha--" I asked lazily.

"Okay, I'm gonna tell you something and you're probably not gonna like it but you will need to do this at sometime so I'm just-" My dad spoke

"Dad. Chill and cut to the chase please, I need to start priming soon" I said checking my watch. If I didn't start at the time the clok turned 7:25 I wouldn't be ready to leave when my father said I had to.

"You need a job. And by the end of next week. I expect one by next Friday night dinner" My dad rambled on while I ignored him after the first three sentences. He could be so demanding but I love him for it.

He wasn't entirely wrong. I needed a job but I mostly just wanted the money. I mean what 15 year old doesn't want to have money to do whatever they want with. I mean in a short while I could actually start to afford Urban Outfitters.

As I got my breakfast and made my way back upstairs, I prepped for school and didnt look half as bad as I thought.

JUMP TO LUNCH

Walking out of third period chemistry was honestly the happiest part of my day. Mainly just the fact we didnt have homework but still it was great!

"BABE!" My friends called out to me.

I ran over to them as we walked to the café across the street.

"Okay sooo.... how was everyone's mornings?" Gwen asked

We all replied and got talking about our weekend plans.

"Hey babe, what are you doing?" Veronica asked since I had yet to say anything.

"Job hunting" I said shamefully. The rest of my friends didn't need jobs and I envied them so much.

"Ohhh that sucks. Hey uh there's a place downtown that's hiring someone to help. I took a flyer for my brother but he could careless." Mia said handing me a flyer. "It's at a lab called the industry. Im pretty sure they're just looking for someone to help around but hey it's pretty cool"

I've gotta say this job was exactly what I was looking for. It was far enough away from my house to not have to walk and have my father hovering yet it was in a central location.

"THANK YOUH!" I said so happy. "I have to go" I said getting up and almost running out the door. I needed this job more than ever, mainly because my father would have a fit but still it wasn't terrible and someone could easily take it."

Since the café was a 10 minute walk from downtown, I took my bike to be extra speedy.

By the time I reached The Industry I was nervous. What was I going to say. I should have changed. God I'm not smart enough to work in a building like this! I gawked at the exterior of the building. It wasn't normal, it was like you took a huge skyscraper and shrunk it down to like a normal double floor store on the side of the road.

As I walked inside, there weren't many people there. You could see people working in the lab in the back but only one person was at the main desk. He looked at my very strange, almost as if he was sizing me up. Officially weirded out.

And that's how I got to this afternoon. I mean a job interview is a good reason to skip school right?

"umm excuse me?" I asked the person sitting at the front desk.

"yes" he asked me

"umm... I'm kinda lookin' for... you know... A job. And uh you guys were hiring... so I'm here for the job interview" I spoke trying to grasp my surroundings

"Go to the back." He said. I looked and saw a door that said back room.

As I walked inside, the entire setting changed. Where the hell was iI