Fawkes

High School: An Unexpectedly Sticky Place

It was quarter to eight when I punched in the coordinates to the tablet outside of the zeta tube. My heart was racing as the white light surrounded me and I opened the door to the outhouse on a quiet street in uptown Gotham. I was pretty sure I knew where the school was from here, but I followed the directions on the back of my schedule just to be sure. It was about a half an hour walk, and when I got to the general location of the school, the building wasn't hard to miss.

It was tall and looming, quite like the Manor, but with a smidge more life to it. Kids milled about the parking lot and courtyard. I inspected every one of them before even stepping foot on the property. The girls by the fountain were deep in conversation about the group of boys by the front doors of the school. That group of boys was all watching one girl walk across the grass; her skirt was accidentally tucked into her underpants and no one had the heart to tell her. A few kids by the gates were talking about some robotics project, and after I realized that everyone here had to be harmless, I began walking.

It was weird, seeing all these kids. These were normal people with normal lives. Their biggest issue wasn't pulling their sleeves down to hide their scars, no. Their biggest issue was catching the bus after school and maybe not being mugged on the walk home. They joked with each other and talked so freely about their private lives, not one of them worrying about the others hearing and using the information against them. One girl was crying over a stain on her shirt, and I wondered why. Why would you show emotion over something so small? Why would you let others see your weaknesses when all they're gonna do is find a way to turn them against you?

I slung my bag tighter over my shoulder and ascended the steps into the school, pushing past the boys gathered there and earning questioning stares from most of them. Upon entering the building, I didn't have so much as a minute to breathe before a blonde ponytail flashed before my eyes and Artemis was in front of me.

"Hey." She raised an eyebrow at me and I took a step back.

"Oh, hey Artemis," I exhaled, my heart rate returning to normal.

"I heard you'd be coming here." She began walking with me back to the two people she was previously talking to. "Do you have your schedule?"

I nodded and handed her the small piece of paper, which she quickly scanned and nodded with approval.

"Okay. We have Math, Digital Literacy, and English together. And the same Gym block." She frowned at my paper as we arrived in front of a small dark haired boy and a taller red head, "Jeez. You have a lot of honours classes and classes with sophomores. Dick here has a lot of honours too, but that's only 'cause his dad is—"

"Who's this?" The small boy, who I now knew as Dick, interrupted Artemis rather urgently, and I turned to look at him.

He was staring at me with a familiar look in his shockingly blue eyes, although I couldn't quite place it.

"Uh. This is Hershey. Hershey this is Richard Grayson and Barbara Gordon."

I blinked in surprise, because I had heard that name before. Not Barbara Gordon, although I was right to assume she was old commissioner Jim Gordon's daughter. No, it was the name Grayson that set me onto my toes. My brain did cartwheels as I wracked it for the correct information. I was forced to forget about it as Artemis gestured to me.

"She's new here. She uh . . . just moved from . . . Where was it again?" Artemis gave me a look that told me to come up with a lie quickly, and I masterfully spat out the first fib that came to my mind.