Linh bounced through the school gates, full of the energy only a long, moonlit conversation with Jazz could provide. She was early, as she normally was. Linh was definitely a morning person.
Jazz on the other hand, most certainly was not. The leggy zombie was shuffling through slowly towards the school up ahead, latte cradled in both hands like it was a Fabergé egg, a bag with some kind of pastry in it dangling from her grip. Linh skipped up to the taller girl, reaching up to tap her on the shoulder.
“Morning!” She said brightly.
Jazz simply grumbled in response, and Linh giggled.
Jazz groaned, and sat down on one of the benches clustered around the entrance to the school drinking heavily from her latte while Linh plonked herself down next to her. Linh snatched the bag from Jazz, digging through to remove a pair of croissants. Biting into one, she handed the other to Jazz, who took it from her with the enthusiasm of a sloth.
“It's way too early for you to be this chipper,” Jazz grumbled, looking down at Linh, who was happily munching away.
“Mmhmm,” Linh agreed, before swallowing.
“Full moon tonight, I am hyped,” Linh explained. Their classmates often joked that Linh was powered by moonlight. They didn't realise exactly how true that really was.
“Well go be hyped somewhere else,” Jazz said, glaring at her.
Linh instead wrapped her arm around Jazz, leaning in against the taller girl.
“You're here early,” she said, “They’re still at it?”
Jazz nodded, and turned in, resting her chin on Linh’s head.
Jazz’s parents had been going through a bit of a rough patch, turning most mornings into a shouting match. Jazz had taken to slipping out early before they all got up, but Linh could tell it was bothering her.
“Thanks Bunny,” Jazz muttered, putting her latte down so she could give Linh a squeeze. They stayed like for a moment before Jazz sighed and let her go. She picked her latte back up and took a sip, before turning to Linh.
“So, training today?” she asked, and Linh nodded.
“Yep, gotta learn how to hero and so on,” she said, and Jazz snorted.
“Like you couldn't already kick most of their asses,” she said, and Linh glowed a little inside. She knew her friend meant it.
“It's more than just fighting,” Linh explained. “I need to learn how to work as a team and how their system works.”
“Urrg, paperwork?” Jazz groaned, and Linh nodded.
“So much paperwork,” she replied seriously.
“Who would have thought that Superheroing had more homework than Year 10?” Linh said, and Jazz chuckled.
“Just don't ask me to help,” Jazz warned, “I am far too busy to help.”
“Doing what, staring into the mirror?” Linh teased, and Jazz scoffed, tossing her hair.
“I’ll have you know that looking this good is a full time job,” she replied haughtily.
“Shame that's all you have…” Linh muttered, and Jazz bonked her on the head.
“Fuck you too!” Jazz said, laughing “We can’t all be magical rabbit goddess or whatever the fuck you are.”
Linh gave Jazz a playful shove, and the girls fell into giggling for a bit, before Linh looked up at her friend.
“Seriously though, you’re okay?” she asked, and Jazz ruffled her hair.
“I am, thanks.”
Jazz downed the last of her latte while Linh fixed her hair.
“Right!” Jazz said, rising to her feet, caffeine boost having kicked in.
“Let's go be stared at boys while we’re trying to learn, shall we?” she said, and Linh hopped up to join her. If nothing else, Jazz was resilient.
Homeroom went the way it usually did. Mr Roberts talked about a bunch of stuff no one cared about, not even the man himself, while Jazz and Linh pretended not to notice the way Harry stared at Jazz. No one was even sure why they even had homeroom, since it was typically an entirely pointless fifteen minutes.
Today, however did have a slight change.
“Linh,” Mr Roberts said, “I am supposed to ask you to head to the office after this, rather than first period.”
Linh frowned, “Did they say why?”
Mr Roberts shook his head, “Afraid not.”
Jazz leaned over to nudge Linh with her elbow.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Maybe they found your stash,” she said, and Linh rolled her eyes.
“They probably want me to tell them what you did last night,” Linh replied.
Jazz gasped, hand on her chest, “You wouldn't snitch on me would you?”
Linh considered, “Depends, are you going to keep ruining my hair?”
Jazz stared at the ceiling for a moment, finger on her chin.
“Hmm,” she mused, before she wrapped Linh in a headlock.
“Nope!” she said, rubbing Linh’s head until her hair frizzed.
Linh squealed, trying to wriggle free. Of course, if she really wanted to, she could easily overpower Jazz, but that wouldn't be fair.
Mr Roberts just shook his head and let it go. This was their standard routine. Besides, Linh was one of the top students in the year. Moonlight fueled superhuman stamina made it very easy to power through late-night study sessions with perfect recall.
Jazz, on the other hand, was the dark horse. Despite all the hair-flips and high-maintenance dramatics, she was just as much a top scorer. Her teasing hid a ruthless perfectionist streak, and keeping pace with Linh had become her own private competition.
The rest of homeroom passed with Linh trying to repair the damage to her hair while Jazz buried her face in her phone to avoid eye contact with Harry.
The guy just wouldn’t take the hint.
Linh had decided that her hair was good enough, and was putting her brush away as the bell rang to signal the start of the first period. Her and Jazz filed out into the hallway to part ways.
“Good luck with the cops,” Jazz said with a wave.
“Sending them straight to you,” Linh promised, and the girls split up, Jazz heading to Physics, while Linh made her way to the office. It was a shame, she liked Physics, even if they didn't necessarily apply to her.
Linh wandered in to the front office, heading up to the desk where one of the ladies, she didn't recognise this one, was working away.
“Hi, Mr Roberts said I was supposed to come up?” Linh said when the woman looked up at her.
“Ah, Miss Li?” the woman replied, and Linh nodded.
“Head through dear, they’re expecting you.”
“They?” Linh thought, heading over to the Principal’s office. The door was slightly open, so she knocked and stepped inside.
The office was… well it was a Principal’s office. Desk, books, generic posters spouting some “wisdom” about learning. The only concession to the Principal’s own tastes was the Swans jersey in a frame on the wall, signed by a former student, of course. Principal Rourke was a huge AFL fan.
The man himself was behind his desk, a woman sitting across from him in one of the comfortable chairs set there for meetings. Ms Hayes, the student counsellor. That probably wasn't a good sign.
“Ah, Linh, come in please,” Principal Rourke said, gesturing for Linh to take a seat. She entered the room, closing the door behind her and taking a seat. Her nerves must have shown, as Principal Rourke smiled at her.
“Nothing to worry about,” he reassured her, “Just some things to discuss regarding your new… extra curricular activities.”
Linh nodded, looking curiously at Ms Hayes, who smiled at her.
“I know everything,” the woman told her, “Don't worry, it's all confidential.”
“That's right,” Rourke agreed, “It stays in this room.”
Linh relaxed a little, “Okay,” she said. She wasn't embarrassed about her new hero identity, but she still didn't want the entire school knowing.
“Now,” Principal Rourke said, grabbing a folder out of his desk and sliding it across to Linh.
“While we obviously support your new career, it does give us some problems,” he explained, and Ms Hayes nodded next to him.
“We need to protect your privacy, and make sure your grades aren't affected. We can't have you slipping due to unexplained absences.”
Linh nodded herself. She doubted that crime would be kind enough to wait until after school to happen. There were definitely going to be times when she would have to rush out of class.
“So what's the plan?” she asked.
Principal Rourke responded by gesturing to the folder. Linh opened it, and saw what appeared to be a medical report. She scanned it as the Principal explained.
“We discussed the situation with your team, and it was decided to give you a cover.”
Linh read through the letter attached to the report. It essentially stated that she had some chronic illness and may need to leave suddenly.
“That note,” Rourke explained, “Will let you slip out of class if needed. Your teachers have already been briefed.”
“It also excuses you from PE,” Ms Hayes added.
Linh looked at her, puzzled.
“Your PE teachers have noticed your… inconsistencies in performance,” she explained, and Linh flushed.
“It's hard to remember how fast normal girls are,” Linh admitted. Her boosts, even in human form meant she had to try and disguise her abilities. She wasn't always the best at it.
“You now have a medical exemption," Principal Rourke said.
“The same letter is also your cover for visiting the Team HQ,” he continued, and Linh’s head snapped up.
“It is?” she asked, and he nodded.
“Your team's physician is listed as your GP,” he explained, and Linh looked down at the letter. It had a small note attached to it.
“I will know if you abuse this - Beacon”, Linh grimaced, then she noticed the second note below it, written in an elegant, flowing script.
“Use it if you need to, I will not have you collapsing due to stress. Your health comes first - Doctor Cross”
Linh grinned, she could absolutely see the Doctor lecturing Beacon about working too hard.
“Is that everything?” Linh asked, and the Principal looked at Ms Hayes. The woman looked at Linh, face serious.
“I agree with your Doctor,” she said, “It's a brave thing you are doing, but you are young, and looking after yourself is your priority.”
Linh’s chest felt warm, it was nice to have people concerned about her. And also incredibly embarrassing.
“I’ll look after myself,” she promised, and Ms Hayes nodded.
“If you need to talk, come see me,” she said.
“I will,” Linh agreed. She closed the file, and slid it back to Principal Rourke. He shook his head and slid it back.
“That's your copy,” he explained, and Linh instead tucked the folder into her bag.
“That’s everything for now,” Rourke said, “Thank you for coming Linh, and good luck. We’ll be watching.”
Linh blushed, standing.
“I’ll do my best,” she promised.
“Did you make a deal?” Jazz asked, sliding into the bench across from Linh. They were in the quad, at their usual table. Linh had missed Physics, and the girls didn't share a class for second period, so they hadn't had a chance to talk before the morning break.
“No, but I got my results back,” Linh replied between bites of apple.
“Results?” Jazz queried, fishing her own food out of her bag.
Linh nodded, pulling out the letter she had been given and handing it to Jazz.
“Turns out I have a chronic heart condition,” Linh said casually.
“Wait, really?” Jazz said, snatching the paper. She scanned it, eyes growing wide.
“Why didn't you tell me?” she demanded, and Linh fought the urge to giggle.
“I only just found out!” she defended, “It's like, super rare! Only some sort of super doctor can treat it.”
Jazz's brow furrowed, and Linh saw understanding dawn on the other girl as she reached the note at the bottom. Jazz leaned forward to smack Linh.
“You bitch,” she said, and Linh burst into giggles.
“Don't do that to me,” Jazz growled, looking down at the note.
“So you can just leave class, like, whenever?” she asked, and Linh nodded.
“My heart is very fragile,” she said, “It could act up any moment.”
Jazz rolled her eyes, “I am pretty sure that your heart could power this school.”
“No!” Linh protested, hand pressed to her chest, “I am but a fragile maiden, a poor little doll.”
Jazz scoffed. “Bitch, if you’re fragile, what does that make me?”
Linh held up a hand, “Rich, tall, gorgeous, smart and just all round awesome,” she counted off on her fingers.
Jazz flicked her hair back, “Exactly.”
“Also vain, forgetful, and a bit of a skank,” Linh continued, ducking to dodge the water bottle that flew at her head.
“I see how it is,” Jazz said, “She gets one tiny job as a super hero and suddenly she’s all high and mighty.”
“You know it,” Linh agreed, “I expect you to salute me in the halls from now on.”
“Yes ma’am,” Jazz replied, giving Linh a one fingered salute. Both girls fell into giggling.
“Seriously though,” Jazz said, meeting Linh’s eye, “Be careful out there.”
Linh nodded, “Of course. Someone has to be here to keep you humble.”
“Please, being humble is for ugly people,” Jazz replied haughtily. “Besides, being a bitch just makes me hotter.”
Linh laughed, looking at her best friend as she flipped her hair and posed. Jazz had a point, the mean girl persona worked for her. Linh was a little jealous of how effortlessly beautiful Jazz always was. Or she would be, if she didn't know how much effort Jazz put in behind the scenes. Still, Jazz’s legs were just unfair. Long, smooth and longer than Linh was tall. Jazz had them stretched out, ankles crossed, her slightly shorter than regulation skirt showing her toned thighs.
Linh shook her head, she wasn't properly jealous, not anymore. After all, while Jazz had the looks, Linh was a super hero now. Also, she now had an excuse to get out of Chemistry. Chemistry was the worst.
