Masquerade

Chapter 4: In-Class Discussion

Chapter 4

Melia Price unlocked her classroom door as the first bell rang. She had her hands full with papers, coffee, and a textbook.

"Do you need me to hold something?" asked Mari, one of her students. She was a sweet girl with rosy pink cheeks and bushy brown hair. Melia smiled gratefully and handed over her papers and book.

"Thank you, Mari," she said as she opened the door. "If you could just put those on my desk, that'd be great."

As the flow of students walking into the room died down, Melia checked the hallway to see if there were any stragglers.

As soon as she was sure there was no one left, she closed the door and sat down at her desk, which sat at the front of the class, organizing all the papers that Mari had set there. "Alright. If I could have you all pull out your homework--" she narrowed her eyes playfully at her students, "that you all did last night."

There was the ruffling of paper as the students brought out their essays.

"Can anyone tell me what the title of their essay was?" she asked.

The assignment was to write an essay about one thing that is unknown in the world. Such as the cure for cancer, or the reason for type one diabetes.

No one raised their hand. "Do I need to start choosing?"

A few tentative hands started to go up. "Yes, Mike."

The chubby boy picked up his paper and read off the title. "Why are people still racist?"

"That's a good one. Can anyone answer his question?"

Mari's hand shot up. "People are still racist because they just don't understand what's going on. They don't really understand why everyone is equal now, and why they weren't before."

"That's a good answer. Why don't they understand why people are equals now?" Melia looked around the class. No one answered. "The truth is, there is no right answer to that question. There is no real reason for people not understanding why people are equal. An example of this would be how a while ago, there were people with powers that far surpassed our own." She tried not to grimace as she remembered her own powers.

"What kind of powers?" asked a boy named Norman.

Melia leaned against her desk. "Well, once there was a duo that fought evil in our city. They were called Firewing and Tidal Wave. Firewing had the ability to fly, and create fire. Tidal Wave had the ability to move liquids with her mind."

In that instant, she caught the attention of her entire class.

"However, even though they were fighting for good, many people thought they were just villains in disguise. In fact, a little over a decade ago, there was a bank robbery where the robber shot Firewing and killed her."

A gasp spread across the classroom.

"Why would he kill her?" Alex asked, alarmed. She hadn't been paying much attention to this point, but that last statement had caught her attention. "It's not like she was doing anything wrong..."

Melia shook her finger. "That's just it. Maybe he thought she was there to hurt him. Back then, supers were very unpredictable."

"That doesn't justify killing her!" Alex protested. The class turned to face her and she blushed red. "Um, hey, everybody," she said, trying to play off her embarrassment.

Melia pretended to be remembering a time long ago. "Ah, I remember, once, I was out with a friend and we actually saw the supers pass by. It was like a streak of blue and red-orange."

That was a complete lie, by the way, but anything to entertain her students. Especially if it kept them off of her trail.

"Really?" asked a girl named Nancy sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Ms. Price, but we all know that supers were extremely careful as to who could see them. I think it's very unlikely they would be so careless as to fly right by some random mortals."

A few other students agreed with Nancy.

Melia noticed Skylar shifting nervously in the back corner. She chose to ignore it and answer Nancy's comment. "You are correct, supers were very cautious, but it's not unheard of for someone to have seen a super before. After all, they were all over the city every day."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Still."

As class ended, Melia gathered up her things to lock up the classroom, as she had to be in the drama studio next period for her next class.

She heard a squeak as the last student got out of their chair. "Um, Ms. Price?"

Melia turned to see Alex standing up with her things. "Yes, Alex?"

"Um, I know what Nancy said, but... I believe you." Alex shifted slightly to the right as she hefted her bag over her shoulder.

Looking down, Melia smiled. "Thank you, Alex."

"What was it like?" Alex asked suddenly. "To be in the presence of someone who could do both so much damage and so much repair at the same time?"

It's something like what you're feeling now. Melia smiled. "It was amazing."  

A text buzzed in Melia's pocket after Alex left.

Unknown number: I believe you too.