Finding Mr. Superhero

Chapter Four

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            Dedicated to AloneInWonderland for the amazing banner to the side :) I love it; thank you so much!

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            “Wow, you’re not in the office this morning?” I asked the next morning, cocking an eyebrow at Chloe as I took a seat next to her at the picnic table situated in the middle of campus.

            She shook her head and bit into her red apple. “Nope.”

            I stared at the apple. It was rare Chloe had breakfast at school, but when she did, it could only be for one reason. “Jennifer, again?”

            Jennifer Morgan was the epitome of a wicked stepmother. Chloe’s mom had died during childbirth, leaving Chloe alone with her father. By the time Chloe was eleven, her dad was remarrying to a woman a few years younger than him. Chloe used to always make a joke that she thought secretly Jennifer was possessed by a demon, but it was no joke, I had realized a few months later. Her stepmother was a total freak, and treated Chloe like crap. If she wasn’t criticizing Chloe on the little things, she was degrading her or her father in someway. Yet Chloe’s dad stayed with her for unknown reasons, and had always chosen Jennifer over Chloe, taking her side in arguments and voluntarily throwing Chloe under the bus without lifting a finger in defense for his own daughter.

            She nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yeah. Who else would it possibly be besides my dim-witted stepmother?”

            “Wanna talk about it?”

            She shook her head. “It’s the same old crap, Vi. Not even worth mentioning.”

            I didn’t press her on it. Chloe was an open person, so if she didn’t want to talk about it, I’d respect that. Instead of demanding answers, I simply nodded and took her apple, taking a bite out of it and then handing it back. “Okay. Well, I’m here if you need me.”

            She turned to me with a large smile, showing her blindingly bright teeth. “Thanks, Violet. So, any unprecedented visits from our town’s super-villain lately?”

            “Superhero,” I corrected easily, and shrugged. “And, yeah, actually.”

            “Wow,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “He seems to really have taken an interest in you.”

            I shrugged. “Maybe he’s just bored and praying on innocent school girls.”

            “Innocent?” she replied, laughing and nudging me with her elbow jokingly. “That’s rich. Anyway, what new information have you gathered?”