Virgil's POV
"Virgil! Hurry up or you'll be late!" my brother Armin calls out. This is the first day of my third year at Supers High.
"Coming!" I grab my backpack and use super speed to get to the kitchen. I don't see my brother so he must be in his room. I throw my lunch in my backpack. Since I don't want to be late I just grab an apple and super speed out of the apartment.
"Hey! You know the rules! No super speed in the apartment!" our landlord shouts when I almost run into him.
"Sorry Mr. Hightower but I'm gonna be late! See you after school!" I shout back before leaving the apartment building. It only takes me a couple minutes to reach school. My friend Charlie is waiting for me when I get there.
"Sometimes it's like you're trying to piss off Ms. Cunningham," she says as we walk inside.
"I'm not late yet," I respond. She scoffs and tells me to hurry up before I am late. We aren't in the same class so I tell her I'll see her later and race to my classroom just as the bell rings. I take a deep breath and open the door.
"Virgil Scott. You're late," my teacher says when I walk into the room.
"By literally half a second," I mumble as I make my way to my seat. This woman seriously hates me. She's middle aged and her brown hair is pulled back into a bun. Her dress is a dull green color that stops just above her knees and her shoes are the same brown low heels she wears almost everyday. For the next hour I listen to her as she teaches us. Homeroom covers English. Right before the end of class she tells everyone to quiet down because she has an announcement to make.
"Alright class I'm going to pair you up in groups of three and that will be your group for this year. You'll do training exercises together, projects together and eventually go on patrols together," she tells everyone.
"Ms. Cunningham?" a girl's voice calls out.
When she gets permission to speak she points out that there are 22 students in our class. She asks if that means that there's one person who will be alone. Please be me. Please be me. Please! Be me.
"There will be one group of four," Ms. Cunningham clarifies.
"Damn it," I mumble. The kid sitting next to me laughs at that.
"Virgil Scott! Why are you laughing?! I'm sure I said nothing humorous," my teacher calls out.
"But I- My apologies," I say, trying not to glare at the kid who really laughed.
"I was the one who laughed Ms. Cunningham," the kid says. Everyone looks at him with surprise. Probably because no one expected him to tell the truth if it meant I would get in trouble. I'm just as surprised because this kid is one of the most popular students. Him and two others rule this school. Roman Price, Logan Turner and Patton Salters. They all supposedly have amazing grades, strong powers, are charming and nice. All of them are in this class.
"Well don't do it again," she says. That's it? She would've thrown me in detention for a week if I had actually been the one to laugh.
"Your groups are listed on the board outside. Make sure you look at them," she says as the bell rings. It's 2nd period now. History. I leave the classroom and decide to check the list before I head home since everyone else is blocking the board. I make it to my class and take my seat.
As I'm waiting for the teacher to start the class I feel someone staring at me. I turn my head behind me and I see Roman Price. When I look at him he gives me a smile. A little confused, I turn back around. Weird. He could've been smiling at any... No. It was definitely at me. I'm in the front row and the teacher is walking around the class waiting for everyone to take their seats. Whatever.
Class ends. I'm about halfway to the cafeteria when I think someone calls me.
"Hey Virgil," someone says from behind me. When I turn around I see the three coolest guys at Supers High. Everyone in the hall stops to look at us. My anxiety spikes but I control it.
"Didn't you check the list earlier? You're in our group," Logan says as they start walking next to me. Seriously. Why them?
"Actually I didn't," I respond.
"Well we were hoping you would sit with us so we can get to know each other," Patton says with a friendly smile.
"I'm supposed to meet a friend," I say apologetically.
"That's fine. See you later," Patton says, still smiling. They walk off together and I go look for Charlie. When I find her I immediately tell her what happened.
"Seriously? Well why didn't you go to lunch with them?" she asks and I look at her weirdly.
"Because I know the real reason that woman put me in their group. I've been at this school for two years and I don't need babysitters," I explain when we sit at our 'loner' table. The cafeteria is pretty big since all 450 students share the same lunch hour. The walls are an off white color. All of the chairs and the round tables are a navy blue color.
"That's her reason. Not theirs," she says and I nod.
"You have a point there," I say in response. I love Charlie like a sister. She was my first and has been my only friend since we were first years. She's a great girl. Her curly dirty blonde hair reaches her shoulders. She has green eyes and is tan from spending so much time in the water. Her power is Invisibility. Most people think that means you're a big loner but she isn't. In fact she had a lot of friends in middle school. Of course they ditched her when they realized she became friends with me. Anyways she loves the water and is outgoing. She's the extrovert of us two.
"How's your brother?" she asks, changing the subject.
"Good. He just got promoted and actually is going to have his own team now," I respond.
"Nice. Have you thought about what I said about joining the S.I.P.R.O? The Supers International Police and Reinforcement Organization could really use someone like you," she tells me.
"Yeah and the answer is still no. I'm joining the Supers Search and Rescue Association just like my brother. The SSRA is my dream. Besides, joining the S.I.P.R.O is your dream," I say pulling out my lunch.
"Fair enough. So are you going to go talk to them?" she asks with obvious excitement.
"Yes. Not like I have much choice since I'll be doing practically everything with them," I say before taking a bite of my sandwich. I finish my lunch quickly.
"I'm gonna go talk to them," I say looking over at the trio.
"Go for it. Might as well get it over with," she says with a smile.
With a heavy sigh I gather my things and stand up. I almost reach them when I feel a pang of anxiety. Nope. I'll talk to them another time. I turn back towards Charlie.
"Hey Virgil! Are you free now?!" A voice calls out to me.
When I turn around I see Roman standing up and looking directly at me. Our eyes meet and it feels like the wind is knocked out of me. How did I never realize how breathtaking Roman is? Is he a freaking demigod?! His brown hair is neatly combed and his skin is flawless warm ivory. His eyes are a brown that probably shine gold in the sun. He's wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. However he's not the only one looking at me. Everyone in the lunchroom is staring at me.
With a heavy sigh I make my way over to the big three. The sons of three of the most powerful hero families. They're supposed to be pretty strong.
I take a seat and take a better look at them. Logan has ivory skin, black hair that's covered in gel to make it look perfect, his green eyes are sharp from behind his rectangle glasses. He's wearing a black polo shirt with a blue tie and black jeans.
Patton has blonde hair that's kind of wavy. His light blue eyes are vibrant even through his round glasses. His skin is classic ivory. He's wearing a light blue polo with a grey cardigan wrapped around his shoulders and tan pants.
The trio is really handsome. They don't seem like bad people at first glance.
"I'm Roman and these are Logan and Patton," he says.
"I'm V-" I start to say but get cut off.
"We know exactly who you are," Logan says.
Can't tell if he meant that in a bad way but I'll just assume he did. Then he explains what's supposed to happen. Apparently we're going to be a group for the remainder of our time at Heroes High. It's supposed to help build bonds and improve teamwork because Heroes rarely go into the field alone. Teams are usually groups of three but since there weren't anymore students I got placed with them. We're going to be doing pretty much everything together. Might as well play nice.
It's not that I'm disappointed with my group but more that I feel bad for them. Being partnered with me must seriously be a blow to their reputations.
"What's your power?" Patton asks.
"Couldn't say," I respond. Logan tells me that I didn't have to be so rude.
"I wasn't being rude. I can't say because I'm not really sure," I say and he asks what I mean. How do I explain this to them?
"I'm able to use the powers of every super who I've come into physical contact with. So I guess I have many powers. Or maybe I only have one," I finally say after a moment of hesitation. They all nod and don't say anything else. I'm not going to ask about their powers. I'll find out soon enough.
After lunch I head to my fourth class of the day. Math. By far my worst subject. It's also an hour long.
"Hello," I hear a semi familiar voice say. I turn my head to see Logan in the seat next to me.
"Hey," I say awkwardly.
"I apologize for cutting you off earlier. I didn't mean to be rude. I simply wanted to inform you we already knew who you were. Patton says that it was a little rude so again, I apologize. I do hope and believe that in time we will become friends," he tells me with what seems to be utmost sincerity.
"It's fine. I mean I just assumed you didn't like me so it's nice to know I was wrong," I say back.
"Never my intention so I am glad we cleared that up," he says and I nod. Class goes on. At the end of class I gather my homework and head to the last class of the day. Power training in the gymnasium. Today our class is going to test the extent of our powers. We do this at the beginning and end of each year to test our progress.
As Logan and I arrive we find the rest of our homeroom class and two men waiting.
"Good morning Supers High Juniors. When it is your turn you will show everyone your power. This is mainly as a refresher for those of you who don't know another's power as well as to give us and yourself a good idea on where you are now. At the end of the year we will have a similar showing to test your progress. I'm principal Bright and I hope your time with us will help you become the kind of person you want to be," the first man says.
The second man introduces himself as Coach Kleon. He's not the same Coach we had last year.
"You can just call me Coach," he says and explains that he'll be overseeing all of our power training. "First up," Coach says and a girl steps up.
She looks like your typical girly girl. That's not a bad thing but I doubt I could be friends with someone like that.
"My name is Sarah and I have Super Speed," she says and shows it off.
"Next," Coach says.
"Kaman," a boy who looks outgoing says, "I have Telekinesis."
A few more students go up. Eventually Logan goes up and explains that he's a Technopath and has Super Senses.
"A technopath is someone who can control machines and bend them to the user's will, either through a physical or mental interface link," he explains.
Patton goes up next and shows us that he can manipulate the four base elements. Roman can fly, has super strength and is invulnerable.
"Next. How about you?" Coach says pointing at me. I sigh and walk up to the platform.