Super Powereds: Year 1 (53 page)

“A day?”

“Yes. One twenty four hour period in which you promise to stay the hell out of my thoughts. No peeking, no listening, no popping in. On your honor. One day,” Nick said.

“Agreed,” Mary said with some slight hesitation.

“Then consider it done,” Nick said. “Assuming you really can talk her into asking me, of course.”

91.

“Pale pink, or off pink?” Alice asked, holding up yet another pair of nearly identical shoes.

“That depends. When you say your father is coming to town, is that slang for your daddy, or your handler as some girls call them?”

“You’re inferring these shoes will make me look like a hooker,” Alice replied.

“And they say the blonde ones are all looks,” Nick said with an unfazed grin. He wasn’t sure how Mary had talked her into it (for that matter, neither was Alice), but Alice had been convinced that Nick would be an acceptable shopping substitute. So instead of spending his evening relaxing and planning for the weekend, Nick was stuck on shopping duty. In truth, he’d been down this road many times with many girls, but he found that if they knew you didn’t mind then they felt encouraged to bring you along more often. That much, at least, he wanted to avoid.

“I know they aren’t perfectly high class, but I thought with the dress I picked out it wouldn’t be pushing the envelope too much,” Alice said, defending her selection.

“You thought wrong. If we were going out to a bar or with our friends I would say no problem. If we’re talking people with actual fashion then I think we both know you’ve gone over the line of class,” Nick said.

Alice sighed. “Damn it, you’re right. I hate you for being right.”

“Long as we’re hating me for appropriate reasons, I think I can cope,” Nick said.

“You know this means I have to keep looking, though,” Alice warned him.

Nick spread out his hands. “I’ve got all night, Princess. Nobody for me to impress tomorrow, so the room can stay messy and the clothes piled up.” In truth, Nick was only as messy as he needed to be in his Melbrook room. He preferred a meticulously tidy living space; however, such things would draw too much attention in a college freshman, especially when he had roommates keen on stopping by.

“Oh yeah, you, Vince, and I were supposed to be the parentless Lonely Hearts Club this weekend,” Alice said. “Sorry I kind of bailed on that.”

“You had family come in. If that was a viable option for either of us we’d easily do the same,” Nick assured her. “We’ll just have to find a way to soldier on without you.”

“Uh huh. Don’t do anything too mean to Vince,” Alice cautioned him.

“Perish the thought. I was planning on driving him out to have a nice relaxing dinner off campus, away from the hustle and bustle of those with visiting parents,” Nick told her.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

“...at a strip club,” Nick finished with a smirk.

“I’m pretty sure Sasha would punch you if she found out you tricked Vince into going to a strip club. Not like I punch, either. She’d aim right for the dick.”

Nick winced visibly. “I hadn’t thought of that part. I don’t know why she’d react that way, though, it’s not like she has anything to worry about. I mean, have you ever known a guy less likely to cheat, on anyone or at anything, than Vince?”

“True, but feelings aren’t always so logical,” Alice said. “Sometimes people overreact when the person they care about is ogling tramps.”

“I prefer to think of them less as tramps and more as ambitious young ladies paying their way through nursing school,” Nick said.

“The nearest nursing school is fifty miles from here,” Alice pointed out.

“So they commute. All the more reason to work extra hard for the gas money.”

Alice briefly considered throwing a shoe at him. She stopped herself, though, realizing that wouldn’t send the right kind of message. She needed to be calm and rational in her approach to chastising Nick for this type of behavior.

So she threw all four shoes instead. It was immensely satisfying.

* * *

Mr. Transport stepped through the front door and into the small hallway of the Melbrook foyer. He usually teleported back to his and Mr. Numbers’ apartment; however, from time to time it made sense to do an in-person walk-through. It was a gentle reminder to the students that though they may not be visible, there were authority figures on hand at any given time. Given that it was Thursday night, which was practically a Friday for all college-based purposes, he expected to walk into the common room and find all the students hatching some sort of night-occupying scheme.

What greeted his eyes as he passed from the hallway was significantly less jubilant. Only Vince was here, reading some chemistry on the couch.

“Good evening, Vince,” Mr. Transport greeted.

“Hi, Mr. Transport,” Vince said, looking up with a smile. “How’s your night going?”

“Very well. And yours?”

“Not bad. Just a few problems left and I’m done for the night.”

“Commendable. Vince, I can’t help but wonder where the others are tonight. Some sort of mischief I should be concerned of?” Mr. Transport asked.

Vince laughed. “Nah, nothing that I know of, sir. Everyone is kind of gearing up for Parents’ Weekend. Hershel and Mary are both in their rooms cleaning, and Nick went with Alice to shop for some new outfit. Turns out her dad is coming in and they’re going somewhere nice.”

“That seems enjoyable,” Mr. Transport said, carefully gliding over anything that could be construed as a question as to why Vince’s activities weren’t in the same vein. Mr. Transport was already quite informed on that answer and tactful enough not to bring it up.

“I hope so,” Vince replied. “I don’t get the feeling Alice sees a whole lot of her dad. She’s trying to downplay it, but she seems excited.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Mr. Transport assured him. At the mention of Nick, Mr. Transport recalled that he didn’t possess any family likely to visit either. “I assume you and Nick will be up to some merrymaking of your own tomorrow night?”

“He mentioned something about dinner off campus, which seemed like a nice change-up,” Vince said. “Say what you want about Nick, he knows how to have fun.”

“That he does,” Mr. Transport said, feeling a bit relieved. He’d grown a bit fond of Vince and didn’t like the idea of the boy stuck alone, surrounded by people with loving families. “Well, I’ll leave you to your studies. Have a good night, Vince.”

“You, too, Mr. Transport. See you tomorrow when we go to class.”

Mr. Transport walked through the common room and into the kitchen. Once there he made the quick teleportation into the apartment tucked away behind the steel door by the stove.

“You’re late,” Mr. Numbers chastised him. “You know we have some reports to make tomorrow.”

“I stopped to talk with a student,” Mr. Transport said defensively.

“That’s less of an excuse than you might believe it to be and more of an explanation on how you wasted the time that made you late,” Mr. Numbers snapped. He was often on edge before reports were due which, given the possible circumstances of a bad one, was not an inexcusable crime.

“I’ll remind you of that next time Mary challenges you to a game of chess,” Mr. Transport said, joining him at the table where papers were already spread out.

“The chess is different,” Mr. Numbers replied. “That is education.”

“I’m sure,” Mr. Transport said. “Shall we debate this more or simply acknowledge that I’m here and it’s time to get to work?”

“Work,” Mr. Numbers said sharply.

“Then work it is,” Mr. Transport agreed, concealing something of a grin behind a fit of fake coughing.

92.

“Hershel!” yelled an enthusiastic middle-aged voice.

“Hi, Mom,” Hershel said, embarrassment welling up as his mother gave him a tremendous embrace.

The Melbrook students were gathered in the common room, relaxing after gym on Friday. In honor of the weekend’s occasion, the dorm’s front steel door had been deactivated, allowing visitors to enter as they pleased. It was a nice way around reminding the parents that their children had been experimented on and were still under careful watch. Plus, it saved anyone from having to get up to welcome people.

Hershel’s mother had been the first to arrive, so the remainder of the students got up from their chairs to greet her. All of them were there, though Nick and Vince were present purely to meet the makers of their dorm mates.

“These must be your friends I’ve heard so much about,” Mrs. Daniels said after she had thoroughly squeezed Hershel. “I feel like I know them already. The one with the silver hair must be Vince.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Daniels,” Vince said.

“Good to meet you, too. And I see the other boy is wearing sunglasses indoors and curiously well-dressed, so that would be Nick.”

“Bingo,” Nick affirmed. He’d gussied himself up a bit in honor of the night to come. He liked to make the right kind of impression on the ladies of the evening.

“Which leaves these two lovely young ladies as Mary and Alice,” Mrs. Daniels concluded.

“Correct,” Alice said. “I’m Alice and this is Mary. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Daniels, we greatly enjoy our friendship with Hershel.”

“Ditto,” Mary agreed, somewhat shyly.

“Well, you are such a polite bunch,” Mrs. Daniels said. “I’m glad to see Hershel has made such nice friends.” She turned back to her son. “All right, let’s go see your room and then we can go out to dinner.”

“Sounds great,” Hershel said, relieved his mother didn’t want to dally too much with the others. He loved his mother very dearly, but there were certain times in a boy’s life when a maternal presence is one of pure, unbridled embarrassment. Being around a girl you’re trying to work up the nerve to ask out was definitely one of those times.

Hershel took his mother by the hand and walked her into the boys’ lounge, the steel door whooshing shut behind them.

“She seemed pleasant,” Vince observed once they had gone.

“Yeah. Makes you wonder what kind of nutjob the dad must be to have produced a kid like Roy,” Nick added.

Nick felt something kick him sharply in the shin. He glanced down, immediately suspecting Alice, only to see nothing there. On a hunch he glanced over at Mary. The look in her eyes left no room to wonder about the nature of his invisible assailant.

Before he had a chance to react, though, Mary’s focus shifted abruptly.

“Ooh! My parents are here,” she cried. “I’m heading out to meet them. See you guys later!”

“Wait, we don’t get to meet the folks that spawned our local wacky telepath? I feel gypped,” Nick complained.

“It’s nothing personal; they’re just normal people and they’re not used to being around Supers,” Mary said, making her way to the door. “I need to get them a little adjusted first. I promise I’ll bring them around once they can better handle themselves.” With that, she was out the door like a shot.

“I still sort of feel like we just got brushed off,” Vince said.

“Either we did or they did, and I’m not about to go rooting around the psyche of a telepath trying to figure it out,” Nick replied.

“Amen to that,” Alice agreed.

There were no new arrivals immediately following Mary’s departure, so the other three returned to lounging about. Well, Nick and Vince lounged. Alice sat carefully so as not to wrinkle or upset the outfit she had purchased. The effort was understandable; after all, the girl looked sleek. Her black dress was complimented by a mere whisper of pink trim, along with matching shoes and a handbag. She’d spent more time that she would ever admit on getting her makeup just right, which essentially meant making it look like she wasn’t wearing any. Her long, platinum blonde hair was pulled up and styled, with a few key strands hanging down for effect. In short, she was the picture of adolescent elegance, just as she had been taught to be for many, many years.

“I got to go take a wiz,” Nick announced, hurling himself up from the chair.

“You are so amazingly crude,” Alice sighed.

“That wasn’t crude. Crude would be saying I need to go defile the porcelain,” Nick countered.

“Touché?” Alice said, not quite certain whether it was a win for Nick or a loss for everyone in the room. Nick didn’t stick around to find out; he headed over to the boys’ side and swept through the door.

The next man to walk into the room was not a returning Nick with an empty bladder. It was instead a gentleman dressed simply yet spectacularly. He wore black slacks, a white shirt open at the throat, and a black jacket. A simple pair of cufflinks and a watch were all the accessory added on to his ensemble. It was a classic look, yet not an impressive one. Unless, of course, one was aware of how much each piece of the outfit cost. At that point, he was a picture of splendor and decadence.

“Good evening,” said the tall, suited man.

“Hi, Daddy!” Alice said, extracting herself carefully from her chair. It was a difficult task, not only because of the dress but because of the wave of excitement that crashed against her. She and her father didn’t see each other all that often, and this was the first time she could ever remember him making a trip specifically to spend time with her.

“Hi, Mr. Adair,” Vince said, pulling himself to his feet and sticking out his hand. “I’m Vince Reynolds.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Vince,” he said, pumping the hand once and immediately releasing it. “I would love to stay and get to know you better, but unfortunately Alice and I are shorter on time than I’d intended.”

“Oh, no problem,” Vince said. “You guys have fun tonight.”

“Erm... we’ll certainly try. Alice, are you ready?”

“Ready,” Alice chimed off brightly.

“Then let us make some haste,” he said, flashing Vince a million dollar smile. It seemed just a touch familiar to Vince, but it quickly slipped out of his mind.

Just like that, Vince was the only one left in the room. He sat back down and waited for Nick to finish his business so they could go eat. It was only a few seconds of waiting when Nick stepped back in from the boys’ side.