The Avengers Are My Family

Seriously? I have to go to School?

"Seriously? I have to go to school?" asks Drew. "Yes. It's the law!" says Tony.

It's now August 20th. The day before school starts and Tony has finally decided to mention that Drew is going to school.

"Why do I have to go to school? Why can't one of my 16 parents homeschool me?" asks Drew. "Drew, you have a valid point, but since we're the Avengers, our lives are very unpredictable. Homeschooling would basically turn into the weekend by lunch every day because of meetings or missions or needing to go to Shield headquarters. You have to do school no matter what. It's the law," says Tony. "Fine! But aren't you the same Tony Stark who acts like he's above the law and acts like laws apply to everyone else except for him?" asks Drew. "It's official. You spend way too much time with Nat, Yelena, Maria, and Carol," says Tony. Nat is watching Drew and Tony fight with a big smile on her face. Drew is becoming more like her every day.

Tony tries to pull the "I'm your father, and you have to listen to me" card. Unfortunately for him, Drew has a reverse card. "You're one of my nine dads. That card only works if the other eight are on your team. Plus, I have seven moms, and they all haven't spoken about this topic yet," says Drew.

This fight goes on and on for another hour. To Drew's dismay, Tony wins. Drew goes to her room calmly before slamming her door and throwing herself on her bed. The last time she went to a building with lots of other kids and teachers was the Red Room. The Red Room had "school." It was more like watching these cartoons that will secretly brainwash you and then learn a bunch of different languages and learn world history.

There's a knock on Drew's door, and Nat walks in. "Let's see. Judging by you and your past, you're scared that school will be like the "school" part of the Red Room or just the Red Room in general. Yes?" asks Nat. Drew is shocked at how Nat figured that out. She nods. "Drew, school is nothing like the Red Room or the Red Room type of school. I promise. You can ask Lila, Cooper, Cass, and AJ if you don't believe me. But, I'll make you a deal. If you hate going to school and have good reasoning for hating school, I will personally homeschool you. This deal is strictly between you and me, okay?" says Nat. "Thank you," says Drew. "You're welcome. Now let's go downstairs so we can talk about what you should say if kids or teachers ask you some things," says Nat. Drew nods in response and the two girls go downstairs.

Everyone is sitting in their seats at the kitchen table, so Drew and Nat sit in their seats. Peter is the only person missing, but he's been living with his Aunt May since August 1st. "Drew, at school, people are going to ask you certain questions like who your parents are, what they do for work, and other things along those lines. Because we're the Avengers, you can't say that. Meaning, we're going to give you some things to say if those questions come up. Okay?" asks Steve. "Okay," says Drew. "Great," says Steve. "For starters, you need to know the name of your school and what grade you're in. You go to Stan Lee Elementary school, and you're in second grade. Your last name is going to be Barnes. Your parents are Bucky and Yelena Barnes. You recently moved here from Russia. Drew, the moving here from Russia will explain why you weren't at this school last year. You have the choice of either saying that Peter is your older brother or saying that you have no siblings. That is up to you. All we ask is that you pick one and stick with it. You can say whatever you want for your favorite color, animal, etc. If anyone asks where you live, say Peter's Aunt May's address. If people ask about Russia, do not talk about the Red Room or Hydra. Make up a story about what Russia's like if you want, but never mention anything about your real backstory. Especially the Red Room or Hydra part. We have no idea who these kids parents are or who your teachers really are. They could work for either one. We need to be careful. You with me so far?" asks Steve. "Yes," says Drew. "Can you tell me your school backstory, so I know you understand it?" asks Steve. Drew nods and says, "Hi, my name is Drew Barnes. My parents are Bucky and Yelena Barnes, and we just moved here from Russia a month ago. I don't have any siblings. My favorite color is red, and my favorite animal is Sea Otters." Everyone except for Nat, Yelena, and Bucky are staring at Drew dumbfounded.

"Dang. You're good," says Sam. "I've had to memorize aliases since the age of four. This is not my first rodeo," says Drew. "Touché," says Maria. "Quick question. What if someone asks if I speak any other languages besides English? Should I mention the ones I told you about, or what should I say?" asks Drew. "Say whichever ones you're fluent in since people will want a demonstration. I would only mention English, Russian, Sokovian, and German. For the story, you could say something like Russia and Sokovia are neighbors, and my parents taught me German for fun. Does that answer your question?" says Yelena. "Yes!" says Drew.

It's now 8:00 PM when Carol says, "Drew, time for bed. It's a school night." "Whatever happened to the days when you all forgot to put me to bed until 11:00?" asks Drew. "Come on. Let's go," says Carol. Drew sighs and follows Carol to the elevator, which takes them up to their floor. Drew goes to her room and changes into PJs, and brushes her teeth before she hops in bed. The rest of the girls come in and say good night. Drew forces herself to fall asleep.