Hi jinx
John Pennyworth looked at me, grinning. "You didn't even tell me you were coming back, jerk!" I reached over to swat his arm.
"I'm crushed that this is the reception I get from my dearest childhood friend," he said in his posh accent. I rolled my eyes. "I got kicked out of Eton. Spot of bother with one of the students." For a second, his eyes went glacial. Before he could say more, though, the teacher called us to attention, introduced John, and called roll before passing back our homework. Answers from my friend would have to wait. He grabbed my homework to scan it (luckily I had an A, no need to be embarrassed) and see where we were.
I dragged him to the cafeteria with me after class and plonked him down at our table. "This is John Pennyworth," I told my friends. "Fresh from the UK, unexpectedly." I went to get our lunches and let my friends ask questions. John has an eidetic memory, a wonderful sense of humor, and lots of stories about our childhood. Sure enough, they were roaring when I returned. Jinx was actually wiping his eyes, he was laughing so hard. "So...what student?" I asked him briskly, handing over his tray after he'd finished telling about the time we'd gone swimming with some of the cousins in the pond and gotten scared by an enormous dark brown water snake. In our defense, even though they're not venomous, they're aggressive with foul tempers. We'd all fled the pond, and I'd beaten the pack back to the house.
"Lucius Montgomery," he said, his voice hard. The British PM, Winston Montgomery, had just resigned over the collapse of his government, and I remembered what John had said over the summer.
"So... did you punch him?" I asked. John has a sunny disposition usually, but he's got a real hot temper when you push him to far.
"Broke his nose. It can only improve his looks," he said.
"What did he say?"
"Doesn't matter. I beat him up, our headmaster said I should be more compassionate because of his family's reversal, and he gave me the boot. Despite other incidents where the boys were just disciplined rather than expelled. Mum was waiting for me at the airport; your dad insisted on her going by suborbital."
"And they never told me!" I fumed. He patted me on the back.
"I thought it would be fun to surprise you," he said affectionately. "Told you I was getting bored, anyway." The others had questions about Eton and relocating. I leaned back after finishing my lunch and watched the interactions. John seemed to be fitting in well.
"How did your folks take it?" I asked as we went to return our trays at the end of lunch.
"Dad told me to watch my temper, but both Mum and Dad seem glad I'm back. Dad had my room ready by the time we came home." I smiled. Alfred is both the definition of efficiency and one of the most thoughtful people I'd ever met. "They enrolled me yesterday, Mum got me kitted out afterward. I'm not going to be wearing that ridiculous uniform anymore." He frowned. "Dari and Z both think I'm a hotheaded idiot for getting chucked."
"They're half right," I said, considering, and he laughed.
"But what part?" he wondered, and I just laughed. He's no idiot, and he knows it.
I wasn't working, so after tennis (might be my last afternoon with the tennis club, it's too cold to practice outside) I went home and did my homework. Mom had texted that we were having the grandparents, Alfred, Delara, and John to dinner. After dinner, Alfred took over coffee and dessert, and Alan got to go home a little early. John has a way of livening things up and after the reasons for his dismissal were skirted around and Alfred and Delara's delight at having him back was sufficiently explored, conversation got more general and although I participated, I watched John. I thought he was mad at himself for losing control. Regardless of his remarks about Eton's drawbacks, I'd felt that he was proud of succeeding in such a competitive school and this was a blow. He was talking about finding an after-school job and I suggested that he join the same rowing club I belonged to. He brightened up and his dad, topping off the coffee, squeezed my shoulder. We made arrangements for him to come with me the next morning; the club allowed us to bring potential new members for a tour and he could sign up for a trial membership to see if he liked it.
He did. He said that the facilities were first rate and he knew some of the coaches by reputation; the one he'd be working with was a former Olympian. They signed him up for the trial and he was eager to get back to the sport. And I had a happy surprise too; Miles had deposited some money with the club, so I had a balance I could draw on for things like extra training or branded merchandise from the small stock of shirts and things that they sold. It was a couple of days before John found a job at the Asgardian embassy, courtesy of Uncle Loki, who was both amused by John's temper and sympathetic to his predicament. He'd be working with embassy staff to ensure the smooth running of the embassy; they didn't have butlers, but he'd be in effect training under their chief of staff in a sort of assistant position. He was settling in at school just fine; outgoing, he made friends fast although he ate lunch with me and my friends and started going out with us some. He said that classes weren't nearly as easy as he'd anticipated, and I was pleased that he wasn't going to just walk all over us.
Justine, Imogen and I had actually gone out twice before we found Homecoming outfits we liked. I liked a pink knit dress that matched the pink in my hair; it was a wrap style, but in place of a knit band of the same yarn to tie, it came with a tapestry-woven belt with a clasp. It looked neater and I liked the detail. The yarn itself had some angora, so it was slightly fuzzy and nicely warm. It was above the knee and the skirt was fun. Justine chose a denim-blue sheath dress that showed off her shape nicely, and Imogen chose a pretty pantsuit with a weskit top and almost palazzo pants, not quite as wide. It was in a lush coral that looked lovely on her. Homecoming week had a lot of fun activities, and the dance was a good time too. Only about half the students took dates, so our group of friends fit right in. John joined us and seemed to really enjoy the dance.
The next weekend, I met Jinx for lunch; we were both working and this was something we did whenever we were scheduled during the day. He was really steamed because he'd arrived for a lunch with Harley, but she'd neglected to show up again. I commiserated, and then we moved on to other topics. He ran cross-country, and they had their final race next week. He was feeling good about it; he might not medal, but there were always personal bests and team rankings to look out for.
"Excuse me." We looked up to behold a middle-aged woman with long red hair. "Jinx, isn't it? I'm a friend of your biological mother. May I have a moment of your time alone?" Despite her words, she wasn't really asking, so I stood up and balled up the wrappings from my sandwich, taking my drink with me.
"Talk to you later," I said to Jinx, who nodded. The woman took my seat and I headed for the door. It was starting to snow, and I had hopes that we'd actually get the accumulation the weather forecasters had promised. You'd think that after all this time, they'd be really good with their predictions, but not so much. I was back at work before my communicator buzzed with a text.
JJ: The woman was Dr Pamela Isley. She told me why Harley's flaked out. You need to tell whoever you feel needs to know. Harley's not around because the Joker is back. He is not dead, despite what everybody thought. Be careful.
***The adventures of Lys and company continue in "Identity."***