Iron Woman - Home?

Chapter 1

Highway to Hell pumped through my speakers as I danced around the basement. 

As a 15 year old kid, with no family, the basement of an apartment complex was the best I could do. No rent. No worries. Just me, my music, and whatever trash people dumped down their chutes. 

I danced around my work benches, my Iron Woman suit standing by my bed. It needed a cleaning so I was taking off plates and cleaning it bit by bit. I maybe threw it an update, or two.

"Hey Cleo!" I said to my personal AI, "What time is it?"

"4:30 in the morning," she replied. "Do you want me to start your coffee?"

"Yes please," I said, stopping my work. 

I put the plate back on my suit and bolted it into place. I had worked into the morning, again, and I had to get to school soon. I washed my hands and face to get the grease off, and combed my hair. I threw on some jeans and an old ACDC t-shirt, as the coffee pot beeped. 

I lowered the music and poured my coffee into a travel mug with some cream and sugar. I scribbled down the last few answers to my chemistry homework before putting it in my bag. I switched my music to my earbuds (thanks Cleo) and grabbed my necklace. 

It had Cleo's nano chip in it. It came in handy if I ever needed a math answer or needed to call my suit.

After grabbing my phone, I walked up into the silent lobby. I liked to get to school extra early, but today the bus was running late. I was tempted to call my suit and just fly there, but it'd draw too much attention. I just waited at the city bus stop with my music.

5:15. Come on, I was gonna be late! NYC traffic at 5:00 was a bitch.

Finally the bus came and I made it just before the 6:45 bell. Good, 30 minutes before class. I waved to the woman at the desk before ducking into the janitor's closet. 

I climbed the ladder to the roof as Hells Bells came on. I sat on the edge overlooking, or more like looking at, the rest of Manhattan. I could just see the skyscrapers skimming the clouds, but the only one that ever caught my eye was Stark Tower. Home of Tony Stark. Iron Man. My idol.

I grabbed my journal from my bag and continued a few calculations on how to improve Cleo. Maybe give her a physical entity, besides a necklace and the speakers in the basement. The first actual school buses showed up below me on the street and kids came filing out. 

That's my cue to sneak back downstairs.

I slipped out of the janitor's closet and up a few flights of stairs to Mrs. White's english class. I took my usual seat in the back corner, and started the "Do Now." 

I closed down my earbuds, and wrote a tiny response to: What do you think of Star in The Hate U Give? Last few days of school and the teachers were just as done as we were. 

The second bell rang and Mrs. White shut the door.

"Alright kids," she said, "Our final is next week, so your only homework is to study. As for our yearly essay, you have until the end of class on Friday to finish it."

A quiet chorus of "yes" went around the room, as we opened our laptops. They were school provided/monitored.

Well, mine wasn't.

Someone had thrown out a bunch of old tech last year, so I fixed them up and added a bit of Cleo to then. I slipped my earbuds in and covered them with my hair. Wireless benefits.

Before I knew it, english, math, and social studies had gone by. I hated those subjects. I was good at math, but my teacher was an old hag. My last 4 classes were the best: lunch, study hall, chemistry, and design and engineering.