The Marvels

Ep. 25 | Old People, New Friendships

Barnes & Noble was a different dimension, and no one could convince Vidya otherwise. It was a quiet, dreamy place that smelled like coffee, cookies, and books, and it calmed her enough so that she was able to pick out a calculus prep guide without panicking into indecision. She tucked the book under her arm and browsed the shelves, moving slowly because she knew that the moment she left the store, she'd be back in her own, homework-filled dimension.

She passed by a display, froze, and backpedaled to it, coming face-to-face with copies of Flamethrower's biography. Vidya eyed the cover, scrutinizing Flamethrower's angelic smile with a judgemental smirk of her own. The pages must be filled with words of kindness and compassion and heroics but absolutely no mention of the burned corpses or the buildings that blew up 'on accident'. There would be nothing about the scathing insults that spilled out of the hero's mouth or the fact that she didn't get along with anyone, especially not her team. Vidya shook her head, laughing to herself.

"One day, it'll be your biographies on that display."

Vidya whirled around at the voice, shocked that somehow, someway, someone here knew she was Frostbite. Standing a few feet away, alone, was a girl sporting a private school uniform and a devious grin. The recognition kicked in: it was Aisha.

Vidya exhaled in relief. "I've already gotten publishing offers," she joked, "but I've got nothing to write about."

Aisha laughed. It was nice to see her, to see Mask as she was during the day. Instead of the dark hero ensemble, she wore a green blazer and grey pants, a tie hanging loosely from her neck. Her friends, dressed the same way, were waiting by the doors.

"I'll catch up later," Aisha told them over her shoulder.

They shrugged and left. Vidya gestured to the connected Starbucks, hopeful. "Want to sit?" she asked. Any excuse to put off studying, she'd take it.

Aisha nodded. They bought two Astraccinos (a limited-time specialty drink named after Astra, a famous light-powered hero) and sat facing each other at a small table.

"So you go to Huntington Prep?" Vidya asked.

Aisha ran her finger over the embroidered school patch on her blazer. "Yeah."

"Does David go there, too?"

"No. He's nineteen, probably graduated already." She shrugged. "At least, I think so. I don't really know. I only met him two weeks before we met you, so the friendship's still fairly new."

Two weeks? They seemed so close that Vidya was sure they'd known each other a long time. It was adorable. She wished that her own team could be like this, that they would genuinely enjoy each other's company, because it sure didn't seem that way now.

"So how's it going in the big ol' corporate world?" Aisha asked, waving around her Astraccino with its mass-produced, signed-by-Astra cup sleeve.

"I think I've finally settled into the job," Vidya said. "I met hospitalized children yesterday, and their smiles were worth it."

"Yeah, I saw the pictures on Instagram."

Several thousand likes and heartwarming comments, and it felt great. Vidya poked the tip of her tongue into the mouth hole of the lid and gently tipped the cup to test the coffee—nope, still too hot. She set the cup down with a sigh; yes, she was that person who had to wait until the coffee was practically cold to be able to drink it. Ironic, no?

Aisha was having no such trouble. She swallowed a big gulp and cleared her throat. "I was thinking," she said, shifting in her chair, "if you still, you know, want to go out with us every now and then, and...if we're friends, do you, maybe, want to exchange phone numbers?"