Peroxide

Chapter 2: Introductions. [Thea Rose/ Dick Grayson]

The sunlight streamed through the bedroom of Thea Rose, who at five am that morning had passed out on her bed, still dressed as her alter ego: Peroxide. She rolled over as she felt the sun on her face and groaned quietly. Her body hurt more than usual and when she finally opened her eyes, she remembered the fire at the bank. She slowly got up, stripping out of her uniform as she got to the bathroom and started the shower. Soon, there was steam filling the room and she stepped in, the hot water easing her sore joints. She ran a hand through her hair and felt ash fall out. Thea sighed, tilting her head back so her hair was soaked in the heat of the water. She shifted her weight slightly, the water hitting the cut on her knee. She hummed lowly, squeezing her eyes shut at the sting. The nights events played back in her head, everything before the fire feeling like a lifetime ago. She was glad that Nightwing had helped her, she had the beginnings of doubt in herself when she saw the size of the flames.

She grabbed the shampoo and started washing the ash and smoky smell from her blonde hair. She felt better just by doing that, letting it sit for a minute as she washed away the remaining traces of the events from her body. She finished washing her hair and turned the shower off, leaning out to grab her towel. Wrapping the fluffy material round herself, she made her way back to her bedroom to dry off and begin her day as a civilian. She opened her laptop as she towel-dried her hair, opening her emails to see if any of her persistent applications had made it to an interview stage. She hummed as she clicked on one and her eyes widened as she read the opening lines.

Dear Thea Rose,

We were impressed with your application for the role as youth support worker here at The Drake Foundation's Meta Centre for Youth. We would like to offer you a one to one interview with one of our board members, Richard Grayson, on Wednesday, March 16 at 1:30pm . If you are able to attend, please reply to this email confirming your attendance. If this day is not suitable, please call our office to rearrange a date.

Many thanks,

The Drake Foundation's Meta Centre for Youth.

Thea let out a breathless squeal, immediately replying to the email saying she would be there. Then she checked her calendar.

"Oh shit, that's today." She spoke to herself, still in shock that she'd gotten a reply from the one place she wanted to work. Then she looked at the clock on her laptop screen. "And that's in three hours."

Thea suddenly found her energy. She dried her hair and got dressed, carefully applying makeup to hide her dark circles under her eyes, and the bruising on her temple she has acquired from a thug a few nights ago. She made herself some breakfast, sticking to cereal for ease. The folder she had made for herself with her experiences and certificates in this area sat on the coffee table, ready for this day. Soon she was out the door, folder and laptop bag in tow, heading to her car.

The journey to the centre was somewhat a long one, lunchtime traffic out in force. But still, Thea managed to make it with plenty of time. Parking her car in the parking lot, she checked her phone to see if she had received any other emails. She had, and this one told her where to go for the interview. After fixing her hair, she got out her car and got her things from the backseat. She locked her car and took a breath before turning to head into the building. She looked around as she went through the revolving doors, taken aback. The centre was modern and busy, it was everything she imagined and more. The skylights let a lot of daylight in the building, giving no need for artificial light until night time. Returning to reality, Thea approached the reception desk to be given a temporary card so she could go upstairs to the offices. After signing a form, she was allowed access and the receptionist buzzed through to her interviewer, Richard Grayson, to let him know she had arrived.