not like you → c . barton

I'm not like the other kids in my school. I can't go to Take Your Kid to Work Day, since my mom has to stay at home with my sister and two brothers, and my dad is always at work, whatever it is that day. I can never bring my dad in for Career Day at school, because he's always off on a business trip. But, I guess one good thing is that he never brings work home with him. Otherwise, we might have dudes tied up to chairs while we eat dinner. But, in the end, he's still a great dad, and he loves us.

But, when you're an eighth, almost ninth, grader, and your dad is an Avenger, who thinks to bring two arrow quivers instead of one for a robot invasion, life gets crazy. Plus, he's always ripping apart the house to renovate it, which is totally uncalled for, just ask mom. My dad is Clint Barton, otherwise known as Hawkeye, and he is a master archer. I am plain old Alexandra 'Alex' Barton, who's only talent is getting higher than a D on pretty much every math and science test. My dad tries to teach me archery, and his friend, Natasha, tries to teach my hand to hand combat. But no matter how hard I try, I'll never be like them.

Keeping the secret from my teachers is hard enough, because whenever they want to meet my dad, I've gotta make up some excuse for him. But, it's difficult keeping the secret from my friends. And I'm the oldest, so my siblings have no idea what he does, either. It's tough for a kid like me, an almost freshmen like me, a girl like me. But I'll keep trudging on, because maybe, just maybe, I'll find a gift of my own one day.

( Book Seven in the Superhero Series )