Under the Radar

Easing Out

The time flew by quickly. I talked on the phone with Matt every day. Vy was still ignoring me. I didn't bother with her too much. I knew she just needed time to cool off. Katy tried to help when she could, but mostly, she stayed out of it. Katy was her normal bubbly self. I had invited her to go to the Prom with us but she declined. Headmaster was surprisingly lenient. He only gave me a few short missions that were four days tops. Mostly, I taught the students martial arts. During one of my classes, Headmaster came in and watched. Afterwards, he had a small smile on his lips. He nodded once to me and promptly left. I shrugged it off until Headmaster called me into his office one day. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Marissa, please take a seat," he said motioning to the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Good morning," I smiled. He nodded once and cut right to the case.

"A lot of the students like you teaching martial arts. They are also improving remarkably. I know you are... leaving us in about eight months, but I was talking with the rest of the board. We were wondering if you would be interested in a job position as the martial arts teacher," he asked. "It would pay, of course, and you would be moved to an instructor's cabin. Your benefits would remain as well. And if you really like it, maybe we can keep you as an instructor after you leave. That way, you'll have a normal life, but still be with us." He continued in a rush. When he said normal life, something clicked in my head. I looked at him.

"I would love to be an instructor," I agreed. "But can I ask you something?" I asked. He nodded and leaned forward in his seat.

"Go ahead," Headmaster encouraged.

"Do you know... who my mother is? Where my parents are?" I asked hesitantly. He sighed sympathetically and leaned back in his seat, taking his glasses off.

"Your mom was... a wonderful woman. I tried to keep this from you to let you continue what you wanted to do without restraint, but I guess it's only fair to know before you don't have the option anymore. One of the reasons I wanted to be apart this institution was because of our lineage. I was special, just like you. That's where you got it from. I met your mother at a science convention. We fell in love, got married, and then we had you. Your mother and I loved you to bits, but at the same time, we were always on the run. Just how this institution looks for those with special abilities to protect them, there are people who wanted to kill us. They got your mother. After that, I looked for this place, and enrolled you immediately. Seeing as I had nowhere to go either, they let me teach. After a while, I ended up in this seat," he explained. I was shocked to say the least.

"So you're my actual dad?" I asked in a whisper. He gave me a sad smile and nodded.

"To keep people from treating you differently, I couldn't tell you, and I had to keep it a secret," he explained. I sighed and sniffled. I felt some resolve in finally having an answer.

I thanked him and left his office. Some students ran up to me and I smiled genuinely. I hugged them quickly and went back to my room. I immediately called Matt and told him the good news. After a brief conversation with him, I started packing my bags to move into the instructor's cabin. Headmaster wanted me to start right away. It was still too soon to call him dad. Katy and Vy walked through the door. I sighed and turned to look at them.

"What are those big bags for?" Katy asked cautiously. "Do you have another mission?" she asked. I froze and shook my head.

"No, Headmaster wanted me to be a permanent instructor for martial arts, so I'm moving into an instructor's cabin," I explained, putting the last of my things in the bags.

"But... what about us?" Katy asked in a small voice. I sighed and gave it to her straight.

"I love you Katy, I really do, but I have to think ahead. I'm going to leave eventually. This is only cushioning the fall a bit," I shrugged.

"Wait, you can't leave yet," Vy said quietly. I turned and looked at her blankly. Her lips were twisted into a frown. She looked like she would burst into tears any second.

"Why would you care," I said flatly. She cringed.

"Because, regardless, you're still my best friend," she said quietly.

"That was questioned when you called me stupid for trying to have a normal life," I sneered. I turned and zipped up my bad.

"I was just trying to look out for you. It was only because I cared," she said. I laughed humorlessly and put my bag on the floor.

"You sure do have a funny way of showing it," I snapped. Vy's face was full of regret as she looked at her shoes. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "It just... really made me mad that you were always on my case about Matt. We're not getting married right away, we're just engaged. It's only... a promise to marry him later." I explained, calming down a bit. Vy's eyes came back up to mine and she smiled softly. She nodded and took a step towards me.

"Friends?" she asked. I smiled softly and nodded. We hugged for a second before they helped me get my bags to the cabin. When I was all settled in, I went down to the lounge with them. As usual, Katy turned the TV to E! News. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I was tired of seeing myself on the news 24/7.

"... One of the youngest Hollywood couples has recently gotten engaged. It seems like just yesterday, we first heard about her. Matt proposed to his girlfriend, Marissa, yesterday in Louisiana before he came back to California. Insiders say that the couple was having a relaxing afternoon at a small café near the river when Matt Jason just suddenly popped the question," the reporter announced. I could feel the people in the lounge freeze as they all looked to the TV and to me. The reporter continued.

"We got a picture of them when she said-" I snatched the remote and turned the TV off. All eyes were on me now. A small pool of people gathered around me and started throwing questions my way; most were about my answer. I blushed deeply and looked to Katy and Vy for help. Katy cleared her throat and stood up.

"Of course... she said yes. Now any more questions for Mrs. Jason will have to go through me from this point on," Katy announced. She looked back to me and winked. I rolled my eyes and stood with Vy. Katy answered questions as best as she could as Vy took me to my room. When we got to the room, I sighed heavily and plopped down on my bed. Vy chuckled and crossed her arms.

"Not as easy as you thought, huh?" she asked shaking her head. I sat up on my elbows and looked at her confused. I had no idea what she was talking about. She sat next to me. "Being famous... there's going to be a lot more of where that came from. You are marrying a celebrity, after all. That... was only a little taste of what's coming." She said motioning to where the lounge was. I sighed and laid back down.

"It's different when it's people I don't know," I mumbled. A small part of me wanted to go back downstairs and see the rest of the story. It became like a tradition to me to watch the news of the Matt Jason Romance. The only difference would be that I couldn't laugh about it with Matt. I sighed longingly and turned over on my side. I admired my ring before I closed my eyes. I missed Matt. I wanted to be eighteen already. I forgot Vy was in the room with me until she cleared her throat. I looked over to her surprised. She laughed and stood up.

"I'll just... leave you to your thoughts," she said unsurely, heading to the door. When the door closed behind her, I looked at my ring again. Subconsciously, I pulled out my phone and hit Matt's speed dial. 

"Hey... I miss you," I sighed. He chuckled.

"I miss you too," he said sadly. "I called Headmaster and he agreed to let you come to California next month to go shopping for Prom." Matt explained excitedly. I smiled and sat up on my elbow.

"Really? That's perfect!" I smiled. He chuckled and I laid back down. "How long do I get to stay?" I asked cautiously.

"A week," Matt replied. I smiled sadly.

"Okay," I sighed. "Love you." I smiled.

"Love you too," he answered back. I hung up and put the phone away. After thinking about how much my life would change for way too long, I fell asleep.