Chapter 6
Clint drove me to school the next morning. I had woken up and realised that taking a week off school was not a good idea. I would have missed so much homework and my grades had already been slipping this year. So, I checked my phone for the first time in weeks and read the countless messages from my friends Freya, Harriet and Lara. There was mention of various pieces of homework that teachers had given them and by extension me, if I was in that class. There was also a few messages of support and love on the day of the funerals. It made me very happy to see these messages. I got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to have breakfast. Unsurprisingly, Clint was not up yet. I found the bread and the toaster and set myself up for a simple toast breakfast. When Clint got up, I told him I wanted to go back to school. He didn’t argue and told me that I better hurry up otherwise I’d be late. There was in fact a last-minute dash to school, but I made it on time. Walking through the school halls was an odd sensation. It was not the awe-inspiring halls of Avengers HQ nor the mundane hall of Clint’s apartment. Yet it seemed that it held its own importance. I could never really explain the feeling I felt the first time I walked through school after a mission. This time it was slightly different; a shadow hung over it. This was, supposedly, the first time that I heard that I was an orphan and homeless. I saw some familiar faces look and stare at me. They knew what had happened. Everyone did. Then I saw Harriet. Or rather she saw me.
“Abs!” She yelled “You’re back,” Harriet ran towards me and gave me a big hug.
“Hey Harriet. How are you?” I ask, returning the hug a little.
“How am I? I should be the one asking you! You’re the one whose had the week from hell,” Harriet says in disbelief. I sigh. As much as I loved Harriet, I really did not need a reminder every single second what had happened.
“And that week from hell is over now Harriet. It’s time to find a new normal,” I explain, “Maybe you should tell me what I missed,” Harriet launched into a spiel of all the social changes.
“You know Darcey Stephens right? The military brat? Well she seems a little frustrated at the moment. Apparently, her best friend Megan – the new girl who was once home-schooled – was meant to come back from her family vacation last week but hasn’t returned. I think Megan’s found some early summer romance and isn’t coming back. And then there’s a new sophomore – Alyssa Anderson is her name. She’s the one who was in the news a year or so because her parents spent five years raising an android or something instead of her,”
“Are you really boring Abigail with the social status of the entire school on her first day back?” Lara asked, laughing a little at Harriet’s excitable social butterfly routine “How are you Abs?”
“Do you want me to answer that honestly? Cause at the moment I really don’t want to talk about how I am. I want to know exactly what I missed in classes because I only skimmed what ever I had on my phone,” Lara gave me a look that said she would get an answer to her question whether I liked it or not but changed the subject anyway.
“We have a Spanish test today, although I’m sure they’ll give you a pass on it since you’ve missed basically everything. I’m pretty sure that there was a French exam that you missed too. Oh, and we got our math test results back. I’m sure you did fine in that…” I listened to Lara just talk about what I had missed – even in subjects that I did take – as we walked with Harriet. It turns out the Freya was waiting for us at her locker. In her hand was a wicker basket. In that wicker basket was a loaf of freshly baked bread. It was a throw back to the early years of high school when Freya would bring a load of bread that was freshly baked once a week.
“She’s been doing that all week, in case you turned up,” Lara explained “Which has been great because it’s amazing bread but not so great in the sense that Coach thinks that I’ve been eating too much carbs,”
“Hey Abigail,” Freya said, “I’d ask you how you are but I’m not going to bother with that question,”
“Thanks Freya,” I smiled gently at my friend.
“I made some bread,” Freya held up her wicker basket “I thought we could restart the tradition,”
“That sounds like a great idea Freya,” I hug my friend.
“Abigail Jackson is giving out hugs now?” Harriet asked, laughing a little.
“Sometimes even I need a hug Harriet,” I say, letting go of Freya “I need to go to my locker first though – Spanish is second period and I left my Spanish book in my locker,”
“Well of course we can go to your locker,” Freya said, linking her arm with mine “Senor Valdez would probably kill you if you forgot your book,” We all walk towards one of the side entrances where another set of lockers adorned the walls. Mine was fifth from door which meant I could easily escape at the end of day if I was ever putting away my books. Many students liked coming in through the side entrances because it was a discreet way to come in as the principal or the vice principal never there to greet people. I personally didn’t bother going for the side entrances – it had been quicker for me to walk to the front door. As we approached my locker, I saw Stassia waiting at the locker. Like Freya, she had come bearing the gift of free food.
“Hey Stassia!” Harriet called out “What did you bring?”
“Cupcakes,” Stassia replied, smiling “Vanilla Chocolate Chip,”
“Dude how did you know Abigail’s favourite flavour?” Lara asked, laughing a little.
“I guessed – that and I ran out of coco powder,”
“Fresh Bread and Cupcakes?” I say, “It’s a good thing I forgot my lunch,”
“You always seem to be forgetting your lunch,” Lara said.
“Well…” I shrug, “I don’t have a reasonable explanation for why I forget my lunch,” I go to open my locker. Out of the corner of my eye I see two boys walk into the school. They both look vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen them before. I decided that I didn’t want to focus on the matter, so I grabbed my world history and my Spanish textbook out of my locker. Closing it, I turned to see three of my friends look at me in anticipation.
“Please tell me you saw Blake and Joey Hamilton walk past,” Harriet begged.
“Who?” I say, confused.
“Blake and Joey Hamilton,” Freya said, “They’re twins and they’re new to the school. Started last Tuesday. They’re juniors and apparently, their dad is going to run for mayor of New York,”
“Everyone is talking about them,” Lara said, “They are so gorgeous. Although rumour has it that Blake doesn’t want a relationship with anyone. He’s turned at least three girls. People are saying he’s getting over a heartbreak by the way he just seems to be following his brother around and going through the motions,”
“I’m going to reserve judgements until I actually meet them,” I tell Lara, Freya and Harriet “And if Blake is getting over a heartbreak, it’s best to just let him heal,”
“That’s good – I finally have some level-headed person agree with me,” Stassia said, “Don’t get me wrong Blake and Joey are hotter than anyone should be, but it doesn’t mean that everyone should be falling at their feet,” The school bell rang, cutting off further conversation.
“We better get going,” Lara said “Don’t want to be late for homeroom. I’ll see you in Spanish Abs,”
“Cya Lara,” I say, “I’ll see the rest of you at break?” Harriet and Freya nod before heading into the sea of students going to their homerooms. I was about to do the same when Stassia grabbed my arm.
“Are you sure you didn’t recognise Blake and Joey?” Stassia asked.
“I’m sure I’ve seen them somewhere. My mind just doesn’t know where,” I said, knowing Stassia had seen straight through my small lie.
“Maybe Greenberg and Hayes ring a bell,”
“No… you don’t think… they can’t really be coming to school here,”
“I mean Gecko didn’t give us a photo during her briefing, which is odd, but two boys called Blake and Joey turn up literally the day after two boys called Blake and Joseph detonate a bomb just a few blocks from here? You tell me if something sounds a little bit fishy,”
“Have you told Gecko?”
“Haven’t been able to get through to her,”
“Just get me images of Blake and Joey. I’ll get them to Gecko,” I tell Stassia, “Now we better hurry and get to homeroom. I will not be late on my first day back,”
Second period Spanish turned out to be second period Counselling. Senor Valdez told me to head to the counsellors’ offices as soon as I walked into Spanish. Without complaining I turned on my heal and made my way towards the administrating area. Our school, strangely, had three counsellors. I guess it probably had something to do with New York City being an epicentre for super villain activity. Each counsellor specialised in something. The first was an academic counsellor; Ms James. Ms James was often visited by over stressed freshman and seniors worried about which course they should take, careers wise. I had been in Ms James’ office only once after a long string Cs and a couple of Ds in sophomore year. I had quickly improved my grades and there had been no need to see her again. At least, not until senior year when it came to college applications. The second counsellor was Dr Connor Hasket. Dr Hasket saw all students with on going mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. The school promised to provide safe confidential counselling, but people could always tell that someone had mental health problems when they walked through Dr Hasket’s door. The final counsellor was your run of the mill guidance counsellor you see on TV shows and coming of age films. Mrs Abernathy was a sweet, loving person. Out of all the counsellors, I had visited it her the most. Whether it be other people’s drama that I had somehow gotten involved in or the over stressed monster I became when I left too many projects to the last minute, Mrs Abernathy always had an answer. I had seriously begun to consider vetting her, so I could get some real guidance. This time around, I didn’t know who wanted to see me. I waited for one of the counsellors to call me into their office in the hallway, sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs. Next to me on one of the other seats was someone I hadn’t seen before. Her auburn hair was long and slightly messy. Her green eyes avoided any contact with my eyes while her hands fidgeted with something made of plastic. Dr Hasket came out of his door.
“Alyssa, I’m ready for you now,” He said. The girl, Alyssa, looked up at Dr Hasket before getting up and going into Dr Hasket’s room. She must have been the girl that Harriet had told me about when I got to school. I waited a few more minutes before Mrs Abernathy opened her door. She smiled at me.
“Hey Abigail, why don’t you come take a seat in my office,”
Mrs Abernathy’s office was nice. A small couch was sat under the window while Mrs Abernathy’s desk was placed on the opposite side of the room. There was a tall bookshelf covered top to bottom with various books from Harry Potter to school textbooks to books on psychology. Her office was painted a pale blue colour which I found was quite comforting. I took a seat on the couch while Mrs Abernathy took a seat behind her desk.
“You know it’s usually me asks to see you not the other way around,” I joke, trying to make myself feel less nervous. I get a small laugh from Mrs Abernathy.
“Trust me Abigail, I wouldn’t ask to see you unless the school really wanted me to,” She said, “I know you’re probably sick of this question, but I have got to ask, how are you feeling?” I take a deep breath.
“Probably better than I did a week ago,” I admit, “It was kinda relieving to finally put my family to rest yesterday. Not that the relief lasted long cause there’s a whole new set of problems to deal with now,”
“I was wondering if the question of your custody had been brought up,” Mrs Abernathy said, “I assume you will be going to live with your family in Dallas,” I shook my head
“I don’t know. Grandad and Grandma want me to come back with them but… I don’t think I’d be safe down there. Then there’s the whole pressure of changing school right before senior year. I’ll probably lose all my friendships from up here. And there’s my internship at Stark Industries that I would really like to keep,” I explained, “And Uncle Clint is going to file for custody. A friend upstate told me that anyone who plays an important role in a child’s life may file for custody. But it will be an ugly battle, if you know what I mean,” Mrs Abernathy nodded.
“I’m sorry you’re going to have go through this process Abigail,” She said, “How is your mental health?”
“Probably not great. I… uh… before the funeral... I only left Uncle Clint’s apartment four times total. I’ve been out more in the past 24 hours than I have all week,”
“Would you like me schedule in an appointment with Dr Hasket?”
“No. Coming to school has made me feel a lot better, even with all the questions and the starring. But can I pop into your office when I need to?”
“Of course, you can Abigail,”
Stassia caught me after school on my way out.
“How was your day Abs?”
“Alright. Could have been worse. How was yours?”
“It was good. My best friend is finally feeling better and well enough to come back to school. My cupcakes were a hit and I’m pretty sure I got exactly what you asked for,” She handed me an USB. I took it from her.
“I’ll get these to Gecko,”
“Are you sure she’ll answer you?”
“Yes,”
“Why?”
“She answered me last night,”
With my implant activated, I borrowed Clint’s secure holocube. I called Gecko through my glasses and patched it through to the holocube.
“Two calls in 24 hours? You must be desperate for legal advice for your custody battle Slingshot,” Gecko answered.
“I’m not here for any legal advice Gecko. I had an informant give me these photos. I need you to confirm their identities for me. According to my informant, their names are Blake and Joey Hamilton and they transferred to their high school last Tuesday,” I uploaded the two pictures Stassia had given me. The pictures of Blake and Joey Hamilton appeared next to the hologram of Gecko.
“You’re thinking that they’re Blake Greenberg and Joseph Hayes, right?” Gecko asked.
“What gave you that idea?” I asked, raising an eyebrow “Was it the similar names?”
“Very funny Slingshot,” Gecko rolled her eyes “But yes, you are correct. Blake and Joey Hamilton are Blake Greenberg and Joseph Hayes. What high school does your informant go to?”
“Midtown in New York,”
“Darcey is going to kill me. I’m already a week late from arriving from holidays,”
“You go to Midtown?”
“Uhh….”
“Okay, don’t tell me,” I said, “I’ll get back to you with our next step,” I finished the call with Gecko and brought up my files. I opened John Galvon’s files and then created a new, separate file. I started writing up a plan that would end with the capture of Blake and Joseph. I was so engrossed in my work that I did see Clint come and stand in my doorway.
“Why do have my cube? You have your own,”
“May I remind you that nearly everything I now own is new,” I answer, not looking up from the holocube “I haven’t had time to buy a new holocube so I’m borrowing yours,”
“Right, I’ll get Tony onto sending you a new one,” Clint said, “What are you working on then,”
“A plan. But it’s not finished yet. Mind if I keep at it for a while longer?”