Chiron Academy

Chapter 22: If At First...

Wyatt smoothed out the grey fabric on his legs again, despite knowing for a fact they had gained no wrinkles since he'd last done it.

The day was warmer than it had been the day of the field trip, but Wyatt hadn't wanted to take any chances. He'd thrown on a few extra underlayers, and while he was sweating a bit in places, he was barely able to perceive the cold through the suit.

He'd gotten a few odd looks from people walking through town in his suit. People seemed to look at him like he'd left his zipper down. As small as the town was, Wyatt doubted most people had ever seen a superhero before. Little did they know that there was a secret school for vigilantes on the outskirts of town. He wasn't sure when that particular fact would come out; the school's location didn't seem exactly secret per se, but everything he'd seen seemed like it was wary of mentioning their exact location.

He clenched his fists as he steeled himself. He let out a slow breath and pulled open the door to the police station.

He'd expected more visible activity in the large room, a haven bustling with different officers all booking in criminals, typing or reports, or dutifully pouring through reports looking for that final clue needed to take down a murderer. 

The smallish white room looked almost deserted, the small smattering of desks that were in the room sat unoccupied. The only person in the room with Wyatt was a lone officer standing at a counter that looked like it served as the front desk. He was doodling idly on what might have been the check-in book. He didn't even seem to notice Wyatt come in.

Wyatt smoothed the fabric on his legs again as he approached the vinyl faux wood countertop.

"Excuse me," he said, standing up as straight as he could.

The cop raised his eyes slowly from his drawing. He looked Wyatt up and down in sleepy amusement. 

"Anything I can do for you?" he asked, with a silent chuckle in his voice.

"I need to talk to Lieutenant Davis," he said. "Please."

"And who should I say wants to see him?" 

"Flyerman," Wyatt said as confidently as he could.

The policemen's eyes rolled hard as he voicelessly mouthed the word.

"Well, he's probably about to head out for the night there, chief," he said. "Main office hours end at 5. You'll probably have to come back tomorrow." 

Wyatt was afraid that this would happen. He'd wanted to leave the school directly after classes finished, but their gym session with Achilles had run long by almost an hour. By the time he'd showered, changed into his costume and flown all of the way into town, he'd known he'd be cutting it close.

"But it's not five yet," Wyatt said. 

He pointed at a clock on the wall that read 4:50.

"Sorry, sir," the cop yawned. "I'm afraid you'll have to come in tomorrow. Office hours start at 9 am."

"Can you just go back and see if he's there?"

The cop's eyes floated back down to his doodling.

"Try calling for an appointment next time," he said.

Wyatt gritted his teeth. He had not rushed the whole way here just to be turned away at the door.

"Well, can I just go back and see if he's there?" he asked.

"I can't just let you wander around the police station unsupervised, 'sir'," the cop said.

Wyatt tried to ignore the sarcastic way the man intoned the word 'sir'.