Heroes & Villains

Ex: 07 |Amplified Friction

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •Sera's POV• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Wednesday. 4:50 p.m. I scurry along the cobblestone sidewalks until I see the building that's being swallowed by green vines up ahead. Kal and I decided we would meet at the public library to discuss our plan. I soon realize I don't have his number, or any other forms of communication, so I'm just relying on that fact that I was listening correctly. I told Griffin I was heading to the library and would be home by dinner time and luckily Chatham High was hosting another pep rally meaning I wouldn't have to lie to Charlie. I know I'm not really lying, but that doesn't stop me from getting a pit in my stomach, maybe it's the nerves of today's meeting.

The fall weather casts a shadow over Central Chatham, as the streets are filled with cars heading home from their 9 to 5 jobs. The wind paints the air with the strands of my unruly hair as a piece gets stuck to my lips, all frizzy and tangled now. I swing the door open, as a bell rings up above the door frame, and I shuffle inside. I walk past the front desk, first few rows of shelves packed tightly together forming a maze and head to the back. There sits Kal, at a small oak table near the back of the library in the children's section. Around him are a few other tables with colorful bean bags scattered on the floor as well as an old leather chair on top of a bright knit carpet that looks like it was here before the vines claimed the front of the building. I used to volunteer all the time to read to the pre-school kids who use to come by. This was before I got my powers, before I had to fix my life.

As I approach the bright colored nook in the corner, his head peaks up from behind a large blue map he was focusing on and waves me to come over. I lay my leather bag besides the wooden legs of the table and drape my yellow raincoat over the back of the sturdy chair, and take a seat.

"You are very punctual, Seraphine Grove" he places the blue map across the table as a small smile creeps up on the right side of his mouth. It's odd to hear someone, especially him, say my full name. I notice his hair doesn't seem as disheveled as it usually is, yet his collar is unbuttoned, with again, no tie. He's wearing a plain navy sweater on top of the white buttoned shirt.

"What is that?" I gesture to the fold up map looking thing. White scribbles are written all across the page with 3D shapes consuming every corner.

"The blue prints from the Alpha wing, of course" he says while his eyes continue to scan the map, "I snuck this off one of the staff members the other day. Turns out blue prints are actually blue." He pauses before continuing "but I don't see any direct access of the roofs on here."

I squint at the prints where I notice the 3D shapes resemble floor plans. "Maybe it's not on there because there's no need for the staff to know about it. It is after all the only unsecured entry into their most exclusive floor." I say as a pull out my tablet (courtesy of the Hero Prep) and tap on Finn's app that let's us view the structure of any building in Massachusetts. It was kind of a challenge to convince Finn I was actually interested in the app after I practically fell asleep in the cafeteria hearing him talk about it, but like always, he came through. "My friend Finn-"

"The redhead?" he interrupts as he picks up the tablet and zooms in on the online schematics.

"Um yeah, he kind of developed a software that lets us see the skeleton structure of any building in Massachusetts" I say "and you can clearly see there's a giant vent on the North wing of the roof. You can't miss it."

He squints so closely to the tablet that his soft moss eyes are practically fully hidden behind his eyelids. "Huh.. well would you look at that... SAROM is even hiding things from their own staff" he shakes his head and places the tablet faced down revealing a bright blue Hero Prep sticker that reads We are Resilient, and I can't help but cringe. Is it because he's a Villain Academy student? Or for the pure fact that school spirit is cringe worthy in itself?