Extraordinary

Alarm

They say he's always there- watching over the city. Over Westervelt. Over the people. That he saves them. That he protects them.

Yeah. I'm sure there's a creep in a cape that flies around the city saving cats.

Where's the proof? How do we know?

I've always been a skeptic. I'm stubborn as all get out, and I won't be easily moved by some myth.

But, of course, my best friend, Meg, is his biggest fan. In fact, she's got a HUMONGOUS crush on this guy. Our luck, though, he's 82 and ugly as heck.

No one's ever gotten a picture of this guy. Meg's tried a hundred times, but she's never gotten a clean shot. Meg's in journalism, and she was assigned by the upperclassmen at the beginning of the year to write up a column on the masked man. Meg accepted the challenge, despite knowing the Seniors were just being jerks to her. When all was said and done, her teacher loved the article. It was honestly the best part of the school newspaper, and I didn't even believe.

Still, I wonder. Was there really someone dressing up and saving the day? If so, who? And why? Was it some big publicity stunt? Or was he really a superhero? Did he have powers? How? That didn't make any sense!

Despite my best efforts to ignore this guy, I was thrown deeper and deeper into the mystery, thanks to my best friend and my current location in his hometown.

So, this morning, as I laid in bed waiting for my alarm to go off, I wondered what this guy might do next...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I jumped despite my readiness to hear my alarm at 6:00 am. I felt around for my phone, swiping at it to turn off the alarm.

My cat, Calypso, meowed at me, begging me not to get up and stay in bed with her all day.

Well, that's what I wanted her to be saying.

I sat up in bed and groaned. "Sorry, girl. I gotta go to school."

It's not like I wanted to. Well, I kinda did. I wanted to get a scholarship, and 95% average attendance for all of high school was one of the many requirements.

I got out of bed and pulled on a sweatshirt over my tank, and my jean shorts replaced my sweatpants. It was kinda nice out this morning, so I treated my feet to a pair of flip-flops.

I pushed open my bedroom door and found Teddy, my dog, laying on the wood floor.

"Hello, you," I greeted him. He scrambled to stand up, and greeted me with drool and a wagging tail.

I led both Calypso and Teddy into the kitchen where a note from dad was waiting on the counter, along with my lunch.
______________________________________

Study hard, learn lots. Thanks for all you do.
Love,
Dad ❤
______________________________________

I scowled at the note. My blood was boiling! How dare he! He thought a cute little letter would make everything better?!

I slammed the paper onto the counter and grabbed Teddy's leash.

"Come on, boy," I ordered him to the door. "Let's go."