Daddy's Girl: Cape High Book Five

by R. J. Ross

  "Mr. King!" I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time she's said it again, so reluctantly I look up at Ms. Lotus. "See me after class, please," she says. The room goes silent and I feel everyone looking at me again. This is the first time in years that I've been the center of attention. I don't like it.

  "Fine," I mutter, going back to my drawing as she starts up her little lecture again. I don't even know why she's trying, she's just a substitute. I'm really not sure why people are actually listening to her, either, I realize as I glance around discreetly. Even Matt is taking notes. Something must have happened that I didn't notice, huh? I don't think I'm going to ever find out, since nobody talks to me.

  I wonder if she's got a thing for Panther. I mean, she looked really interested in the picture, even showed the class. Maybe she wants to confiscate the drawing or something. Seriously, why did she have to take it up to the front, anyway? I'm still scowling as the bell rings, but since I've been asked to stay I stay right where I am. I wonder why half the class is walking past me on their way out. Man that's annoying.

  "Are you going to keep that?" one girl asks, making me look up. She's staring at my picture.

  "Yeah," I say.

  "You could um... put it online," the guy behind her says a bit nervously. "There's a competition on the Hall's fanpage--" He stops as I stare at him, then pushes the girl forward so they can leave.

  "Panther isn't Hall, moron," I hear someone say as they leave.

  It seems like forever before they're all out of the room. I spend the time finishing up the shading on my picture. "It's gorgeous." The sentence makes me jerk and look up at the woman sitting on the desk in front of me, watching. "How much do you want for it?"

  "You're propositioning a teenager?"

  "I'm trying to buy a picture of my favorite villain," she says. "I'm a Panther fanclub member--one of the founding members, actually," she says, pulling out her wallet and showing a card. "Fifty bucks," she says.

  "You're not supposed to do this in school," I have to point out.

  "Seventy five. If you sign it."

  I stare at her.

  "Okay, fine, but you're pushing it, mister. One hundred. If you add color."

  "You do know this is a doodle, don't you?" I have to ask. "I've got a painting I need to do for art class--"

  "I'll take it!" she says, her smile almost blinding. "It's going to be Panther, right? Oh, man, would that look amazing in my office," she adds, looking extremely happy. "I wonder if I could get Pan to come over and see it--wait, no, he's not allowed on school grounds..."

  "Pan?"

  "Ah, just a... friend," she says. "Now, here's my email, so write me a note when you've got the painting started, would you?" she says, jotting down an email on a scrap of paper and handing it over. "I'll be here all week," she adds.

  "Yeah, sure," I say, feeling a bit thrown off. I get up, packing up my things. "Can I get a note for my next class, just in case?" I ask. If I get another tardy I'll be in detention for the rest of high school.

  "Oh, sure," she says, heading for the desk to write something up. She hands it to me and I head on to my next class, wondering where they hired people from. Wherever it is, they need to check their qualifications better.

  You know how crowded halls are at high school? You can't walk a step without bumping into someone, right? Well, things don't exactly work that way with me. It's like that old story about a sea parting when I walk down the hall. I don't think it's even conscious on their side, they just sort of shift to one side automatically and a path appears in front of me. Most of the time that path comes with people blatantly not looking in my direction. Except for a handful.

  "Hey," Matt says, stepping in front of me. We're the same height, but he's broader than I am. "What were you thinking back there, King?" he demands, getting in my face. I look him straight in the eyes, not saying anything. "You trying to speak up? Trying to be famous or something? You should just shut up and stay down, where you belong."

  The entire hall goes silent, turning to see what I do. Matt's on the football team, one of those guys that actually plays, not just sits on the bench. I'm just the social outcast of the school. I'm supposed to do something at this minute in time, everyone knows it. I'm either supposed to do what he tells me or talk back and become that underdog that everyone roots for in movies. But this isn't a movie. So I just stand here, thinking of all the messed up things in my life and how insignificant this guy is in the long run.

  "SAY SOMETHING!" he bellows in my face. There's spit coming from his mouth. Disgusting. "You--" he snarls when I still don't reply. His hand comes up. It looks like it's in slow motion, but I don't dodge, just take the fist to the face. It doesn't even hurt, I think, not budging with the hit. He curses, grabbing his hand and almost whimpering.

  "Matt!" Jenna cries out, racing forward.

  "BREAK IT UP, BREAK IT UP!" one of the larger male teachers bellows as he shoves his way through the crowd. Not that there's anything to break up, really. I'm still just standing here, staring at Matt as he fights the urge to cry like a baby. I can see it on his face. I think he broke his fist on my face. Now that's something that will be in the yearbook. "What happened?" the teacher demands, turning to glower at me. "Did you do this?"

  "His face broke Matt's hand," a guy said from the crowd. Everyone starts laughing, except Matt, Jenna, and the teacher, who is rapidly turning purple with rage.

  "I don't believe that," he snaps at the crowd. "You, and you, both of you are coming to my office!" he says, pointing at me, then at Matt. I didn't do anything! You saw it, right? Like it'd matter even if I said it, though. Nothing I ever say in school is listened to. You wanna know why? Because one time when I was still a freshman they had us write papers on what our parent did for work.

  I wrote "My Dad is a Super Hero."

  ~About the Author~

  R.J. Ross has been writing since junior high, when she discovered that it could help her keep an A in English Class. She lives in Missouri, where she works as a secretary for the family business and spends all of her free time writing. If you would like to see more of her work, you can find several short stories at http://amazon.com/author/rjross!

  Like her on Facebook for bonus material such as character profiles, unpublished information, and status updates at http://www.facebook.com/capehigh! Or check out her blog for free Cape High short stories at http://capehigh.wordpress.com/

  And for other super hero novels check out the Pen and Cape Society at http://penandcapesociety.com/!