Batgirl: Year One by Kennedy Harkins (books to read to get smarter txt) 📕

“Midterms. Isn’t it bad enough we have to go through finals?” I complained to Clara, my best friend.

            “It’s a halfway point to make sure we’re ready for finals. And to make sure we don’t pass or fail based on one test.” She said. Ever the optimist. She could find something nice to say about cancer. It’s an answer to decreasing natural selection and over population. I mimicked in my best calm, rational Clara voice.

            “I’m just complaining. You know, gripe gripe, gabber gabber. It’s one of America’s youths’ favorite pass time. I hate tests.” I motioned in her direction, “You try, Perfect Polly.”

            She rolled her amazingly green eyes. “I’m not perfect, I complain all the time.”

            “You’re right, you’re not perfect.” I nodded gravely. “Didn’t you get a 97 on your Spanish test last month? I wouldn’t even bother getting up in the morning.”

            “You got a 99.” I was a little surprised to find a hint of bitterness in her words. I opened my mouth to tell her that I was just good with languages, and that she blew me out of the water in math, when she continued. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I have to pick up a dress from the dry cleaners.”

That quickly, my stomach knotted up, like someone had reached down my throat and twisted my insides. “Y-yeah. See you then.”

She was already mid-turn, but she paused, hearing the tremor in my voice. “You’ll do great; you’ve been practicing for months.”

Practicing can only get you so far. I nodded and gave her what I hope looked like a confident smile. She gave me one last glance before turning for the student parking lot. I stood there for a moment longer, and then turned to go in the opposite direction. I didn’t bother hurrying, I’d already missed the bus, and I needed to pick up my uniform from the locker room.

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my well-worn jeans. They’re too long for me, because I’m a little on the short side. Okay, a lot, but it comes in handy in gymnastics. The less of you there is, the easier it is to flip yourself through the air.

The long, lavish hallways of Gotham Academy were deserted. Nobody likes to stick around after class, especially on a Friday, and if you do, it’s because you need homework help. In which case you’re in a classroom, not skulking around the halls.

I grabbed my long sleeved, black leotard out of my blue and green gym locker. The material was simple, not like the extravagant colors that most of the girls prefer.

            A ring fell from my backpack, the clang echoed in the silent room. It rolled across the floor into a bathroom stall; I scurried after it just as the door to the locker room opened.

            “Don’t be a loser, Jessica. You said you needed the money.” Amber Dvorski. I winced, and jumped up on the toilet so my feet wouldn’t be seen. The last thing I need is the Queen of Evil to see me hiding in a stall.

“I know, it’s just... I’ve never done anything like this before.” Jessica Lang said. Never done anything like what before? Hang out with Amber? Because that I can believe. Amber’s the perfect example of how the other- richer- half live, and Jessica’s here on scholarship. But why would Amber pay Jessica to hang out with her? She’s got plenty of popular cronies to choose from.

“It’ll be easy. Just pick up the... product, drive it across town, and drop it off with a couple of my Daddy’s guys.” Product? Daddy’s Guys? In another city, I probably wouldn’t have given that two thoughts. But this is Gotham.

When Jessica didn’t say anything, Amber continued. “Pick up’s at the docks at  midnight, then you’ll drive it to this address, just like we talked about.” Through the crack in the stall, I could just make out Amber handing Jessica a slip of paper.

A few seconds later, the door slammed behind them, leaving me alone in the quiet locker room again. I hopped down from my perch and grabbed my overstuffed bag.

Nothing about that conversation makes any kind of sense. Jessica may not be a billionaire, but she’s no criminal and has no reason to hang around those shady docks.... Except, she didn’t say no, did she?

Amber and her friends rule Gotham Academy, and that allows them a certain control over the students, but isn’t this taking it too far? Is Jessica really so desperate for acceptance that she’d risk her life? And what was that bit about money? If Amber needed something done, and she was willing to dip into Daddy’s money, surely she could get someone better than a sixteen year old girl.

My mind ran through possibilities non-stop on the way the hospital. I fiddled nervously with the hem on my shirt, as the guy next to me talked loudly on his phone. The subway is packed. Making me feel like one sardine in a small can. Trapped. The walls closing in.

“You gonna be sick or something?” The guy next to me stopped yelling into his phone long enough to eye me suspiciously.

I gave him a shaky smile. “I’m fine.” Then I return to looking out the window. The tunnels are dark, and I can’t see my surroundings. A man behind me bumps into a woman, she falls into the next person, like dominos.

Sardines.

I breathe a sigh of relief as the doors whoosh open and I’m set free. Gotham General Hospital is just a block or two from my stop. The cool November air bit at my exposed skin. The sounds of the city are deafening, people yelling, cars honking. The everyday Gotham noise you barely notice when you’ve lived here your whole life.

The nurse at the front desk, Sandy, recognized me and waved me towards the ICU without checking my credentials. I nodded my thanks, grateful I didn’t have to dig around for my I.D.

The ICU smells like cleaner. It’s overwhelming how sterile it is there. People sit at bedsides of patients I can’t see through the gauze and casts. In other parts of the hospital, the doctors are all smiles. Here, they’re filled with grim determination, their eyes filled with the patients they couldn’t save.

I shut the door to room twenty-four behind me, dropping my backpack to the ground,  and walking over to the bed. A woman in her late twenties lies in the bed. Her beautiful chocolate her looks dull under the florescent lights, her skin is the sickly pale color of someone who hasn’t seen the sun in years.

“Hey, Sis.” I know she’s not going to answer, probably never will again, no matter what Dad says. But it helps. Just getting the words out there. “The fall gymnastics competition’s this weekend.  Mom said she’d be there. So did Dad, but you know how he is. Work, work, work.”

I debate telling her about what I overheard in the locker room, but decide against it. I have some suspicions that I’m not sure I want to say out loud yet. I sink into the uncomfortable chair next to Anna’s bed, and let my mind wander.

A product that needed to be picked up and dropped off in the middle of the night. Something important enough that Amber’s willing to pay Jessica a lot of money. Sure, the well-off don’t think of money the way the rest of us do, but still. It has to be a hefty sum to get Jessica, an extremely smart girl, to brave the docks at midnight.

But, why is Amber hiring anyone to pick up something from the docks? Surely, she can get her designer pumps delivered to her doorstep. And why Jessica? Someone Amber sees as below her social standing, and therefore, not worthy of breathing her air.

Is it illegal? That would explain a lot of the secrecy, and why Amber wouldn’t want to ask one of her minions, someone that could be linked back to her. Why would Amber Dvorski need to turn to crime, though? Her father’s extremely wealthy. Is it some kind of rebellious teen thing? Thrill seeking? If she’s looking for a rush, wouldn’t she want to pick it up herself?

I feel like I’m trying to solve an equation with a million unknown variables. I get that feeling a lot, especially in math class.

What if it is illegal? Should I call the police? On one hand, I could prevent something bad from going down. On the other, if I get involved, and it turns out I’ve blown everything out of proportion... and not for the first time, either, I could end up doing more harm than good.

I glanced at my sister, looking at all the scars on her body, remembering how she got them.

The world was collapsing. My world was collapsing in a cloud of smoke and destruction.  

“Anna! We’ve got...to get out of here.” I said in between wheezing breaths and coughing out the smoke in my lungs. I could only make out the outline of her figure through the thick smoke and falling debris.

“I think the exit’s that way!” She said, motioning to our left. A great rumble came from above us, a huge patch of ceiling coming down on us. I felt something collide with my back, pushing me out of the way of the wreckage. I later realized it was Anna’s hands, pushing me out of the way.

I regained my footing, my legs trembling as I jumped over fallen walls to where I had last seen my sister. There was a terrible pain in my ankle, but I ignored it. I started frantically throwing rocks off the pile, hoping to uncover her.

She has to be there. She has to be okay.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the debris pile. I struggled, but the grip was like iron.

“Please!” I yelled. Turning back to see who was trying to pull me away. The bat on his chest was the first thing I saw. The next was his dirt streaked cape and suit. Both were ripped in places.

Batman.

“My sister’s in there.”

“I’ve got her.” A voice said from behind me, but the ankle chose that moment to give from underneath me. When I would have slumped onto the ground, Batman caught me and slung me over his shoulder, running from the wreckage with me in tow.

I lifted up my head to see who the voice belonged to.

Her suit reminded me of Batman’s, only feminine. Her flame red hair shown neon amongst all the grey debris, smoke, and dust.

Batgirl. Batgirl saved my sister.

I glanced at the clock, my eyes widening when I realized it was seven. A couple hours past when Mom expected me home. I grabbed my stuff, said goodbye to Anna, rushed through the hospital and out into Gotham.

The streets are dimly lit, and the wind picked up as soon as I stepped out. The subway ride is slightly less unnerving, because my mind keeps going over and over the facts, and all the conclusions I’ve come to.

I thumped my head slightly against the glass. What in the hell am I supposed to do?

The news is on in the subway station, and it catches my attention.

“- arrest of Angus Allen, reported to have links to the Riley crime family. The police Commissioner has confirmed that Batman played an essential part in the apprehension-”

Batman. What would Batman do?

My lips turned up a little at the sides.

He certainly wouldn’t sit around twiddling his thumbs.