Chapter 38

            The first day back to school starts off a bit hectic. Students have to arrive a little earlier than normal so they can wait in line to get their schedules for the semester. There are lines for each letter, and students go by their last name.

            After waiting in line for about 15 minutes, Simon gets his schedule and checks the first class: World History with Ms. Bavaneswaran in Room 215. Simon heads upstairs and finds the room. He walks inside, and already sees his friends sitting up front.

            “Oh sweet, we’ve got Simon, too,” Julian says.

            Simon smiles as he sits with Alex and Julian in the front row.

            “Homeroom together, this is gonna be awesome,” Alex says.

            “Yeah, man,” Simon says.

            There’s still a seat next to Simon but it doesn’t look like anyone else is joining the class, so Ms. Bavaneswaran stands before everyone.

            “Welcome, class, to World History,” she says. “I’m sure my name looks complicated, it’s Ba-va-ne-swar-an. But if you prefer, you can call me ‘Ms. B.’ So, good morning, class.”

            “Good morning, Ms. B,” most of the class greets.

            “I’ll pass out the syllabus and we can go over some things,” Ms. B says as she goes to her desk.

            “Oh, no, am I late?” someone says from the door.

            Obviously everyone looks over, and Simon sees Zoey, her black hair up in the same pigtails as when she had dyed red hair.

            “No, you’re just in time,” Ms. B tells her. “Oh and there’s still a seat right up front.”

            Zoey sees the seat, and as she heads over, she notices Simon.

            “Oh, hey,” she says as she sits down. “You’re Simon, right? From Alameda Baptist.”

            “Yeah, hi,” Simon says, this entire thing feeling surreal. “What’re you doing in San Leandro?”

            “Oh, I guess word didn’t get around. My family moved here over the holidays.”

            “Really?” Simon says, realizing he sounded a little too excited.

            “Yeah, it’s… it’s all crazy.”

            “Y-Yeah, crazy,” he says with a smile.

            The syllabus is passed from left to right, so Zoey gets it first. She takes one and passes the rest down to Simon. He fumbles with getting his own copy before passing it to Alex.

            “So you moved here from Alameda, huh?” Simon says.

            “Yep,” Zoey says.

            He’s so nervous around me, she thinks. I wonder if this is how I looked around Shaun way back when.

            Simon does his best to calm down. He can’t be dreaming, because he can read the syllabus clearly. He remembers watching an episode of Batman the Animated Series that claimed you can’t read properly in dreams, so obviously being able to read means he’s awake.

            Maybe now that Zoey is going to this school, I’ll have more chances to warn her. Oh wait, she won’t be in trouble if she’s here. Well, for the sake of her cousins in Alameda, then, I should try-

            “Oh, um,” Zoey speaks up.

            “Yeah?” he asks, probably also too excitedly.

            “Since I’m obviously new to this school, and I literally haven’t had time to get to know anyone here, I might need help finding my classes.”

            “Oh, yeah, I could help,” he says. “I mean, I haven’t been everywhere on campus but I’m sure I can direct you in the right… direction.”

            “Thanks,” she chuckles. “And if not, maybe your girlfriend could help me?”

            “Yeah—My girlfriend?”

            “Yeah, y’know, Cyndi, the girl you spend lunch with,” Alex says over Simon’s shoulder.

            “Thank you, Alex, I remember,” Simon says flatly. “But how did you know?”

            “Oh, I just overheard things at the New Year’s Eve party,” she says. “You went out of the room to make a call and your younger brothers teased you about calling your girlfriend.”

            “Oh… Well, then, yes, I can put you in touch with Cyndi or other female friends, and they can help.”

            “That’s great,” Zoey says with a smile.

            Such a pretty smile, Simon thinks. But he stifles those thoughts as class truly gets going.

 

            The bell rings and class is dismissed.

            “What’s your next class?” Simon asks while he and Zoey pack up.

            “Umm…” Zoey says while bringing out her schedule card. “Sophomore General Science, which I know there is a science wing. I’m guessing 205 is the second floor.”

            “Yep,” he says. “And, actually, I have that same class.”

            The halls are hectic but Zoey manages to follow Simon downstairs and out of the building. They go across the way to the science wing, and Cyndi finds them on the way.

            “Oh, there you are,” Simon says. “Good timing.”

            “Yeah,” Cyndi says, noticing the girl following him. “Who’s this?”

            “Hi, I’m Zoey,” she introduces herself.

            She and Cyndi shake hands.

            “From Alameda,” Simon says quietly, followed by his best subtle look.

            “Oh…!” Cyndi says.

            “So, we were heading to the science wing,” Simon says. “What is your next class?”

            “It’s also science, actually,” she says. “Room 205, our Spektrum fan club clubroom.”

            “Really?” Zoey says. “That’s great!”

            The three of them go to the nearest stairwell and go up to the second floor. They enter inside room 205 and see Mr. Gugel standing at the front of the class.

            “Please, everyone,” he says. “Wait to be seated until we have everyone. I want to make sure we seat everyone alphabetically.”

            A few students groan, they never really like these kinds of seating arrangments. It only takes a few more minutes before Mr. Gugel has checked everyone off his roll call sheet.

            The tables are arranged to sit four each, spaced out so that each one is near a sink in this lab style room. Because of alphabetical order, Simon Michaels and Zoey Mizaki sit across from each other with two others while Cyndi Simmons ends up at the other table. Luckily Cyndi’s table is still next to Simon’s, so Cyndi makes sure to sit directly to Simon’s left.

            Mr. Gugel passes out his own syllabus, and goes over it with the class, and not everyone is excited at the prospect of a big project near the end of the semester.

            “Of course, this project will matter more to those of you who don’t do so well up to that point,” Mr. Gugel says. “So if don’t worry about that and worry about everything else before that, you’ll do just fine.”

            Like World History, the first day of Science class goes by with just some basics. Simon and Cyndi keep up but Zoey has some difficulties. She really had to work hard last year in Science, and somehow managed an A-, so she’s already planning on having that big project in her back pocket.

            The class ends and it’s on to the lunch break. Simon and Zoey stay put and Cyndi joins them at their table while the other Spektrum fan club members file in. Cyndi of course sits on Simon’s right, and even scoots her chair a little closer.

            “So what other classes do you have?” Cyndi asks both Zoey and Simon.

            “I’ve got,” Simon says as he takes out his schedule card, “Weight Training for PE and Pre-Calculus for math.”

            “Me, too!” Zoey says. “Well, no, not Weight Training, wow.”

            “Yeah, wow,” Cyndi says. “Didn’t know you’d be pumping iron. But hey, at least we have PE together then.”

            “What math class are you in?” Zoey asks.

            “Trig.”

            “Oh, well I’ve got notes you can borrow then,” Simon says. “Get a jump ahead on the class.”

            “Thanks so much,” Cyndi says with a smile and hand on his arm.

            “Aw, you two are so sweet,” Zoey says with her own smile.

            The three of them eat lunch, as do the other club members, and Zoey takes a look around. She wants to ask if anyone knew The Spektrum personally, but knows no one would publicly answer that. But there is something she can say.

            “Um,” Zoey says, turning her seat around and speaking up to the class. “So, I’m not really sure how to start. I’m new here, so I don’t really know what it was like the day he died.”

            Zoey chokes up a little, and everyone understands exactly what she’s talking about.

            “This being The Spektrum fan club,” she continues, “I just want everyone to know, that even at my old school in Alameda, we were just… so devastated. He wasn’t just San Leandro’s hero, he was ours, too.”

            The other students nod, and someone starts clapping. Everyone joins in, and Zoey starts to blush. She did not expect that reaction.

            “That was really nice, Zoey,” Cyndi says. “Oh, y’know, I wonder if I can get the school to let you add your name to our tribute poster to The Spektrum.”

            “Wait, there’s a poster?” Zoey asks.

            “Yeah, it’s in the main building,” Cyndi says. “I’ll show you after school if you want.”

            “Yes, please!” Zoey says.

            The bell rings and everyone hurries to their third class of the day. Everyone with a PE class goes to the gymnasium-auditorium instead of the locker rooms. This is only the first day of the new semester, and not everyone has had PE, such as freshmen. Therefore, the PE teachers have collapsible tables set up with special roll sheets to take down orders for uniforms. Zoey and Simon each wait in line while Cyndi finds a seat on the bleachers.

            “Name,” the teachers ask.

            “Simon Michaels.”

            “Zoey Mizaki.”

            “So, what do you need?” the male teacher asks Simon.

            “A shirt,” he says.

            “What size?”

            “Large.”

            The teacher looks at Simon with a raised eyebrow.

            “Really?” he says.

            “Yes,” Simon says. “For my height.”

            “Alright,” the teacher shrugs as he jots that down. “Bring $10 tomorrow for the order fee.”

            Simon nods and heads back to the bleachers.

            “What do you need?” the female teacher asks Zoey.

            “Um, everything, I guess,” Zoey says. “I’m new here.”

            “Okay, so shirt, shorts, sweats and a sweatshirt,” the teacher says.

            The teacher then looks at Zoey, and her eyes rest on Zoey’s chest.

            “So I’m pretty sure you’ll be needing a large for the tops,” the teacher says.

            “Y-Yes…” Zoey says.

            Zoey hears giggles behind her in line, and would probably confront that person, but the teacher’s right here.

            “Size for the shorts and sweats?” the teacher asks.

            “Small.”

            “Okay,” the teacher says as she writes those sizes down. “You’ll also be needing a lock for your lockers, so bring… let’s see… $50 for the full package, which includes shirt, short, sweats, sweatshirt and the lock.”

            “Okay,” Zoey says.

            Zoey heads back to the bleachers, catching up with Simon and sitting on either side of Cyndi.

            “What happened?” Cyndi asks, noticing Zoey’s frown.

            “The teacher just assumed I’d need a large…”

            “But she was right, though, right?” Cyndi says.

            “Yes…” Zoey grumbles.

            Cyndi giggles, which gets Zoey to giggle.

            Nothing else happens on this first day back in PE, so everyone just sits and talks.

            “So what is Alameda like?” Cyndi asks. “As far as like, Catgirl and those kinda weird villains that showed up.”

            “Oh, it was fine,” Zoey says. “Well, I mean, the street thugs were just a bunch of trouble makers, and that Citrus-C guy was just a weirdo. But Tyranno-Shark was scary. Or, er, whatever his name is, I don’t know what anyone’s calling him.”

            Zoey has to keep from saying something that might give away who she really is.

            “That’s definitely a lot more dangerous of an opponent than what we’ve gotten,” Cyndi says.

            “Hey,” Simon says defensively.

            “Well, it’s not like The Spektrum faced anyone with all those claws and teeth,” Cyndi says.

            “And the tail,” Zoey says, remembering how it slammed her in the side.

            Simon wants to counter but he can’t bring up Tiger going Man-Tiger, that would give away who he is to Zoey.

            Though, he thinks to himself, that’s supposed the idea eventually, isn’t it?

            “Whose side are you on?” he whispers to Cyndi.

            Cyndi just smiles.

            The bell rings and it’s on to the last class of the day.

            “Alright, well,” Cyndi says. “I’ll meet you guys back here, I guess.”

            “See you then,” Simon says to her.

            Cyndi holds onto Simon’s hand as long as she can as she walks away. Then she goes on her own towards Mr. Neilson’s trig class while Simon leads the way to Pre-Calc.
            “How long have you two been together?” Zoey asks him.

            “Just before the holidays,” he says.

            “Oh, wow,” Zoey says. “Did Christmas give you the courage or something?”

            “No, it wasn’t that,” he says as they head for the other set of Portables. “It was The Spektrum, in a way. We met in the fan club.”

            “Oh, okay,” Zoey says. “So you didn’t have any classes with her before?”

            “Nope,” he says. “This’ll be the first semester we’ve had classes together.”

            “Cool.”

            Simon would bring up Shaun, but he isn’t sure how Simon would have learned who that is when it was The Spektrum who heard her cousin Jeff mention him. He ignores the subject as he and Zoey approach Portable Classroom 404.

            “There you are,” Mr. de la Rosa greets Simon.

            “Hey, Mr. De,” Simon says with a smile.

            “You already know each other?” Zoey asks.

            “Yeah, Mr. de la Rosa was my Algebra 2 teacher last year,” Simon says.

            “Which means he knows the routine,” Mr. de la Rosa says. “And you are?”

            “Zoey Mizaki,” she says.

            “Oh, well then you’ll be seated next to each other,” Mr. de la Rosa says. “Second row, closest to the door.”

            Simon and Zoey take their seats, with Zoey on Simon’s right. Once all the students are accounted for, Mr. de la Rosa hands out his own syllabus. Simon already knows most of the procedural expectations, but they seem pretty strict to Zoey. Though, perhaps it’s just very thorough compared to her other teachers.

            “And I’ll go over this part,” Mr. de la Rosa says as he holds his own copy of the syllabus. “Seating arrangements will change after the first test. Those who score the lowest will be moved up to the front while those who score the best will be moved to the back. It’ll be so I can keep an eye on those of you who perhaps weren’t paying attention closely enough. But perhaps if everyone does well, no one will have to be moved.”

            The class isn’t sure how to take that, other than being up front because you did badly on the first test will be rough to take. No one wants to be called out for doing badly.

            Like the other classes, this one goes by rather uneventful for just the first day. The final bell rings and Simon patiently waits for Zoey as she packs up. She leads the way out and they return to the open space. Cyndi meets up with them and they go inside the main building.

            “Oh, is this the door that got smashed apart?” Zoey asks as they walk through a very new-looking frame.

            “Yep,” Simon and Cyndi say.

            Cyndi leads the way into B Hall, with all the administrative rooms.

            “I’ll go ask for like a ladder or something,” Cyndi says. “Simon, go ahead and lead Zoey to the lobby, you guys should see the poster pretty easily.

            Simon nods and leads the way. They pass by the library as they go to where Halls A and B are connected. The lobby is right off of this, with a high ceiling and windows. Simon looks around, and finds the poster up on the wall directly opposite the door, over the hall they just came from.

            “Well that’s why we need the ladder,” he says.

            “Good thing I wore pants,” Zoey mutters.

            “Huh?”

            “Nothing…” Zoey says, realizing that slipped out.

            Zoey looks at the poster, and all the names written on it.

            “People really admired him, didn’t they?” she says with a soft smile.

            “Yeah,” Simon says. “More than he realized.”

            “Huh?”

            “I mean,” Simon says, “probably. Does anyone really know how much we mean to others?”

            Simon gets nervous and really hopes Cyndi gets back already.

            Cyndi does return, doing her best to walk with a big ladder on her arm. Simon hurries over and takes the ladder for her. He stands it up, whips it open with one hand, and presses down the spreader hinges in one go.

            “Whoa,” Cyndi says. “Nice work.”

            “Thanks,” Simon says.

            Though honestly, he thinks, I’ve never done that before…

            “Hmm…” Zoey says as she looks at the possible spaces left. “I think I can fit in under the K.”

            Simon positions the ladder and holds it in place while Zoey brings out a Sharpee. She climbs and carefully balances so she can write without falling off.

            “And… There.”

            Zoey climbs back down and puts her Sharpee away.

            “Wait, what did you write?” Cyndi asks.

            かな

       “Oh, it’s Hiragana,” Zoey says. “I put the phonetic version of my middle name, Kana.”

            “Oh, that’s so cool,” Simon says.

            “What does it mean?” Cyndi asks.

            “It means ‘wonder’,” Zoey says with a proud smile. “Of course, in English, ‘wonder’ has many meanings, but my mom assures me she chose it for ‘awe’ and ‘amazement’.”

            “That’s so pretty,” Cyndi says.

            “Thanks,” Zoey says with another smile.

            Zoey looks back up at the poster and smiles even more. She hopes The Spektrum is smiling down on her.

            Cyndi notices the look on Zoey’s face. That smile and perhaps that teary glisten in her eyes, is there something more to Zoey’s admiration of The Spektrum? Cyndi looks to Simon as he folds the ladder back up. He notices and looks at her, and she gives a signaling nod to Zoey. He gives her an inquisitive look, because he wants to make sure he’s thinking what she’s thinking. She doubles down on the nod, adding a lean in and wide eyes.

            “Um, are you guys non-verbally communicating right now?” Zoey chuckles as she looks between them.

            “Uh…” both Cyndi and Simon say.

            “Well,” Cyndi says.

            “It’s just,” Simon starts to say, but stops when he hears a phone ring.

            “Oh, that’s me,” Zoey says.

            Zoey pulls her phone out and sees Karina’s name, so she picks up.

            “Hey, Karina,” Zoey says. “What’s up?”

            “Jeff got detention!” Karina says quickly.

            “What?!” Zoey blurts out. “On the first day?!”

 

            That morning in Alameda, Seth and Jeff drove into Encinal High’s parking lot in behind Alicia and Karina. They parked a few spots apart and ended up walking in together.

            “Morning,” Karina said with a big smile at Jeff.

            “Hey,” he smiled back.

            “Ugh, stop it,” Alicia said with a smirk and roll of her eyes. “You’ve been giddy all morning, it’s so awful.”

            The Osou sisters laughed while leading the Takagaki boys toward where everyone was picking up their schedules.

            “I’m surprised you’ve got a car of your own,” Alicia said.

            “Yeah,” Seth said in hushed tones. “I’m not sure how much I can say, but Reciprocity helped us with everything else, too.”

            “Really?” Alicia asked. “They helped and the best you got was a used Honda Civic?”

            “Well I wasn’t exactly going to ask for a Ferrari,” he said.

            The two laughed as they approach the waiting lines.

            “So Reciprocity helped your parents get jobs here?” Alicia asked quietly.

            “Yeah,” Seth said. “Our mom gets a job with the Alameda library like she had in Santa Clara and our dad simply transfers from working at UCSC to UCSF.”

            “Oh well that’s great,” Alicia said. “The power Reciprocity has is really crazy, though, huh?”

            “Yeah, scary, even.”

            The pair of sisters and brothers both got their schedules and compared.

            Seth and Alicia have what’s left of Government & Economics class together, and have the same English teacher with Mr. Kleckner, but at different times. She’s taking Biology for Science while he went with Chemistry, and her Elective is AP French while his is Photography. But their different Math classes are what stood out to her.

            “Wow, Calculus 2 class, huh?” Alicia said. “Mr. Smarty Pants here.”

            “Don’t feel too bad about only getting to regular Calculus in your Senior Year,” he teased back.

            “Zoey’s in Pre-Calc now, though.”

            “Well then she’s on pace with me,” he shrugged.

            For Jeff and Karina, they share Sophomore English and PE together.

            “Oh good, PE’s last,” Karina said. “Oh but English first? We’ll only start and end the day together.”

            “And you can spend lunch together,” Alicia pointed out.

            “Yeah but that’s like the free space on a Bingo card,” Karina pouted.

            “Just get going,” Alicia said with a playful smack.

            “C’mon, Jeff,” Karina said, offering her hand. “Mrs. Tolve’s this way.”

            Jeff took Karina’s hand and they walked together down the halls.

            “Well aren’t they adorable?” Seth said.

            “Oh, yes,” Alicia said with some sarcasm. “Karina was so adorable admiring her own selfie with Jeff in it.”

            The two older siblings shared another laugh.

            “Well, see you in Government,” Seth said.

            “See you then,” Alicia said as he waved and headed off.

 

            Karina and Jeff walked into Mrs. Tolve’s room together, and Karina smiled proudly as she made sure the other students saw her holding hands with him.

            “Alright, you two, break it up,” Mrs. Tolve said when she took notice.

            “Yes, Mrs. Tolve,” the two said as they let each other go.

            “Everyone sit alphabetically,” Mrs. Tolve said as she picked up the roll call sheet.

            As Mrs. Tolve goes through the names, people take their seat. Karina Osou and Jeff Takagaki end up in the same column, but Eugene Pinderhughes is between them.

            “Hi, Karina,” Eugene greeted.

            “Hi, Gene,” Karina replied, unable to resist the joke most people use on Eugene.

            “And Jeff Takagaki, huh?” Eugene said as he looked back at him. “Back from… wherever you guys moved to, huh?”

            “Yep,” Jeff said. “Nice to see you haven’t changed since middle school.”

            “Thanks,” Eugene said, unsure if Jeff’s being sarcastic.

            Mrs. Tolve gave out the syllabus and then had everyone get up and follow her to the library. Every student is given a copy of Macbeth, The Great Gatsby, and The Joy Luck Club.

            “This one must be culturally relevant to you, huh?” Eugene asked Karina.

            “Bro, racist much?” Jeff said.

            “W-What? I was just curious—”

            “Relax,” Jeff chuckled at the panicking Pinderhughes. “Just messing with you. Or am I~?”

            Jeff waved his hands and fingers in silly ways that made Karina laugh. Eugene chuckled, relieved that he hadn’t offended anyone.

            The rest of the classes were very much the same for everyone. A syllabus was handed out, maybe there was a book waiting for them at the library, and then there was lunch.

            Jeff exited the lunch line and brought his little pizza in a box to where Zoey’s friends were outside. He sat next to Karina with Chloe and Marina opposite of them. The four of them ate their various lunches while waiting for Alicia and Seth to join them.

            “Oh, I totally forgot to get a drink,” Jeff said. “Be right back.”

            Jeff got up and walked to a vending machine.

            “Hey, gurl,” Xavier said as he simply swooped in and took Jeff’s seat. “Oh! Pizza.”

            “Are you really this stupid?” Karina asked as she protected the pizza. “That is not your seat, this is not your pizza. They’re Jeff’s.”

            “Jeff?” Xavier asked. “Jeff who?”

            “Me,” Jeff said as he returned with a can of Coke. “Now get out of my seat, X.”

            “Whoa, JT?” Xavier said as he stood up. “You’re actually in Alameda for good? I thought it was just for the holidays.”

            “Nope, it’s for good,” Jeff said as he sat down.

            Karina scooted in closer and smiled as she looked into Jeff’s eyes. Jeff smiled back, but Xavier slowly put it together and got upset.

            “Dude, did you seriously snake my girl your first day back?” he accused.

            Jeff and Karina both turned to look at Xavier like he was speaking in tongues.

            “Your girl?” Karina said. “I’ve never been and never will be ‘your girl’.”

            “There was no ‘snaking’, Xavier,” Jeff said.

            “Nah, c’mon, JT,” Xavier said. “We both know you’ve liked Karina forever, but you didn’t make a move on her because you knew I liked her, too.”

            “What? That’s not why I didn’t make a move. I didn’t do anything because I didn’t know how! What 13 year old knows how to ask someone out? And cut out the ‘JT’ stuff. We haven’t been ‘JTX’ since middle school. We haven’t even been friends since then, either.”

            “Well yeah, because you cut me off,” Xavier said. “I called and emailed and stuff, but you didn’t respond.”

            “And why do you think that is, Xavier? Huh? Why?”

            “I dunno,” Xavier shrugged. “I know we got in trouble before you moved away.”

            “Got in trouble?” Jeff repeated. “You make it sound like we got caught eating cookies before dinner. We were getting drunk with your dumbass uncle, his gross girlfriend, and all their trashy friends.”

            “Hey, man, don’t talk about my uncle like that!” Xavier said, getting even angrier.

            “Oh I’m sorry, what am I supposed to call a guy who gives middle schoolers alcohol? Your uncle’s a scumbag, Xavier, and the only reason my life got ruined compared to yours is because I’m actually a good person.”

            Xavier suddenly swung his arm in a big broad punch! But Jeff easily got under the sloppy attack, turned to the right, and drove his elbow backwards into Xavier’s chest. The air left Xavier’s lungs, and Jeff easily pushed Xavier over with one hand.

            “Hey!” a teacher said as they stormed over. “You! Detention!”

            “But he threw the first punch!” Karina said, pointing at Xavier.

            “He did,” Chloe and Marina also said.

            “Fine,” the teacher said. “Both of you, detention.”

            “Well Mom’s not gonna like that,” Seth said as he and Alicia finally arrived at their table.

            Jeff sighed, then glared down at Xavier, who was still catching his breath.

 

            Back in the present, Zoey sighs.

            “Thanks for telling me, Kari-chan,” she says. “I’ll make sure all of us get on him later. Talk to you soon.”

            Zoey hangs up and sighs again.

            “So what was that about?” Cyndi asks.

            “My idiot cousin,” Zoey says. “I’m sure Simon noticed them at church last week, the New Year’s Eve party. Jeff, the shorter, younger one with spikey hair. He’s in detention!”

            “What?” both Cyndi and Simon ask.

            “Yeah, I know,” Zoey says. “Maybe we should’ve expected it. Oh, but while I have my phone out, I’m gonna take a picture of the poster.”

            Zoey takes some steps back and focuses the poster board into frame. She takes the pic and smiles as she puts her phone away.

            “Alright,” Zoey says. “Guess it’s time to head home then.”

            “Where’s your new house?” Cyndi asks her.

            “Maud Avenue.”

            “Oh, that’s not too far from my house,” both Cyndi and Simon say.

            “Really?” Zoey says.

            “Yeah, I’m on Morgan,” he says.

            “And I’m on Dolores,” Cyndi says.

            “Oh wow, I’m between you two then,” Zoey says.

            “Then why not all walk home together?” Simon suggests.

            “Oh, are you sure?” Zoey asks. “I know I just said I’m between you two, but I don’t want to get between you two. Besides, it’s not that hard to get back. I just follow Bancroft down to Maud, right?”

            “Right, yeah,” Cyndi says. “But since that’s the way all three of us will be going, might as well stick together.”

            “Oh, true,” Zoey says. “Then lead the way!”

            The three head out through the lobby’s front doors and head down the street.

            “So wait, where is Morgan Avenue?” Zoey asks as she checks the street signs.

            “It’s actually parallel with this street,” Simon says. “I can just cut through and circle back.”

            “Oh okay. … So have you guys lived in San Leandro your whole lives?”

            “Not my whole life,” Simon says. “But ever since entering school, yeah.”

            “I’ve definitely been here my entire life,” Cyndi says. “And I guess we just went to different schools our entire lives before high school.”

            “Huh,” Simon says, thinking back. “I was McKinley and Bancroft.”

            “Washington and John Muir,” Cyndi says.

            “Our rivals maybe,” Simon says with a confident smirk.

            The three of them laugh, then carefully cross the street.

            “Well, here’s me,” Zoey says as they reach Maud. “See you guys tomorrow.”

            “Bye!” Cyndi says while she and Simon wave.

            Zoey heads down Maud while Simon and Cyndi continue on towards Dolores.

            “So…” Cyndi says while they round the corner. “That was the Alameda Catgirl, huh?”

            “Yeah,” Simon says. “I told you that.”

            “The Alameda Catgirl you were in New York and Vegas with.”

            “Yes, I told you that, too.”

            “Seems like you left out some details,” Cyndi says. “Some rather large details.”

            She motions to her chest.

            “Oh c’mon,” he says with a roll of his eyes.

            “Don’t give me that,” Cyndi says. “You had to have noticed the first time you met.”

            “I… might’ve noticed.”

            “You might’ve noticed what?” Cyndi asks with a laugh.

            Cyndi smiles teasingly at Simon while he blushes.

            “Huh?” she asks. “You noticed? Huh?”

            Simon scoffs to cover up his embarrassment.

            “You can say it, Simon,” Cyndi says. “She has big boobs.”

            “Yes,” he says with relief. “She has…”

            “Big boobs,” Cyndi finishes for him. “Say it.”

            “Zoey has big boobs, okay?!”

            “Not that loud!” Cyndi says with nervous laughter. “She might hear you across the way!”

            Simon blushes harder while Cyndi does her best to stop laughing.

            “Where is this even coming from?” Simon asks. “I thought we were all getting long.”

            “We are,” Cyndi says defensively. “Zoey’s a nice person, with a really positive attitude for having moved away from home and her old school. But with her being Catgirl, who you got to know and go on adventures with, I dunno… I just feel like you could’ve told me more about her.”

            “Would you have been okay with me saying she had big boobs?”

            “Probably not,” Cyndi shrugs. “But at least you would’ve told me about it. This whole time, you were running off to places with this cute little hottie who can kick butt.”

            “You’re plenty cute,” Simon says. “Didn’t I tell you? Cutest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

            Cyndi smiles and blushes while she holds hands with Simon.

           

            Tuesday at school, classes start getting textbooks. So for Simon and Zoey, they each get a World History textbook in the morning and shove them into their backpacks. Cyndi is with them when getting the Science textbooks, and with the books comes their first bit of Science homework, which Zoey dreads already.

            “So how did it go with your cousin after detention?” Cyndi asks during lunch.

            “Oh he was in trouble with his mom, of course,” Zoey says. “I got the full story when I got home. This jerk at our school, he likes to call himself ‘X’ because his name’s Xavier. He keeps flirting with my friend Karina, even though she’s constantly shutting him down. But Karina likes Jeff and Jeff likes Karina, they both have since like the moment they met. So Jeff actually talks back to Xavier, and Xavier tries to punch Jeff but Jeff knocks him down first.”

            “Right, the martial arts training from your grandfather,” Simon says.

            “Yeah, how did you know that?” Zoey asks.

            “Uh,” Simon says, his brain in a panic. “I must’ve overheard it at church or something.”

            “It’s always so weird when people gossip at church,” Zoey says with a slight frown. “Though, I guess that’s not gossip…”

            “Yeah,” Simon says with a nervous chuckle.

            Then for PE, Simon brings his $10 for the shirt while Zoey brings the $50. Her mom wasn’t quite happy about that but it’s for school so there wasn’t a lot they could do about that. Reciprocity also won’t cover it, so that’s nice...

            “So wait, I didn’t even ask,” Zoey says. “What’re the uniforms like?”

            “The shirts are red, the shorts are blue,” Cyndi says. “The sweatpants and sweatshirt are both grey.”

            “Oh, those sound nice,” Zoey says. “Encinal just has white and blue.”

            Then lastly, Simon and Zoey get Pre-Calculus books, and their first Pre-Calc homework assignment.

            “And here is my old FST notebook,” Simon says when they regroup with Cyndi.

            “Thank you,” she says with a sweet smile as he hands it to her.

            Cyndi skims through it to find something for the first homework assignment.

            “Wow,” Cyndi says. “Your handwriting is really something.”

            Simon knows exactly what she means. The way he grips his pencil is definitely not traditional, so his letters always end up rather random. His lowercase letters can look very different from one instance to the next.

            “Sorry,” he says shyly. “If you need help decoding it, I can help.”

            “No, I think I’ve got it,” Cyndi says with a smirk. “Just having a heads-up is enough.”

            Though admittedly that night, Cyndi does need to take a moment to retrace Simon’s writing with her own, in pen, to clean it up.

 

            On Wednesday, PE really got going. Uniforms came in, as well as combination locks for those who needed it. Simon and Cyndi brought their uniforms and locks from freshman year and check them in with the teachers. Then everyone is assigned a locker and start changing clothes for class.

            “Oh wow! We’re next to each other!” Zoey says.

            “Yeah…” Cyndi says. “What luck.”

            Cyndi smiles as she and Zoey open up their big lockers to put their backpacks and all that in, but inside her head she’s grumbling and groaning.

            Seriously? I’ve gotta change next to the short stack?

            After getting dressed, classes met outside on the black top. Cyndi and Zoey are in the exact same class, and also stand next to each other in the line-up as they do stretches. Simon’s weight training class is the next basketball court over and they also do stretches.

            Cyndi also can’t help but grumble while doing jumping jacks.

            Those things can’t even be contained by a sports bra?!

            However, in Simon’s class is Chris. He and Chris ignore each other for the most part as they stretch. The weight training class is first to go for a jog around the entire field, which doesn’t just stop at the grass, but goes up and over to the Track & Field gravel circuit. This is where they unofficially acknowledge each other, vying to be the fastest sophomore. Simon manages it, but it’s not like he’s top five in the class or anything.

            As the class is introduced to the weight room, which is just another of the many portable classrooms on campus, the students must divide into groups. The handful of female students obviously sticks together. The weight training class definitely has bigger and stronger guys, from junior to senior year. Those guys all divide up, which leaves the lightest of them to be with the sophomores. And among the sophomores, Simon and Chris end up in the lightest of them all. Simon does his best to contain his grumbling as everyone learns the proper form for squatting weight.

            Simon’s turn comes just as the other class is jogging around the field. The weight room is alongside the path, so Cyndi decides to slow down enough to see into the windows. Then she stops when she sees Simon squatting.

            Cyndi smiles and waves, and Simon notices as he comes back up. Zoey comes up and stops to see what Cyndi’s waving at.

            “Oh!” Zoey says as she sees Simon.

            Zoey joins in waving, and both girls giggle as he does more squats.

            “Okay, enough showing off,” the junior says.

            “I wasn’t…” Simon mutters.

            He puts the bar back on the hooks and moves aside for Chris to take his turn. Zoey and Cyndi continue jogging while Simon takes a seat.

            “So who were those girls?” one of the other sophomores asks.

            “Friend and girlfriend,” he says.

            “Which one is which?”

            “There’s no way the Asian girl is your girlfriend,” the junior says. “Too hot for you.”

            The other junior guys chuckle while Simon stays quiet.

            “Well she’s definitely too hot for you, too,” Simon finds himself saying.

            “What was that?” the junior says, standing up from his seat.

            “What you mean what?” Simon keeps talking. “You really think hairy, husky and musky is her type? And yeah, musky, as in that speed stick you put on ain’t strong enough.”

            The junior gets a bit flustered but the others, and even seniors, chuckle.

            “Honestly, nobody has a chance with her,” Simon continues. “Zoey, and yes that’s her name, Zoey, she has a boyfriend. Haven’t met him, but I’ve seen him, and she’s devoted to him like he’s Prince Charming from Disney. So just leave it alone.”

            With that, everyone goes about their workouts until the class is over.

 

            The rest of that first week is pretty uneventful. With no villains showing up, Simon, Zoey and her cousins are able to focus on normal school life. It almost seems like things have gone back to normal, aside from the news.

            Reciprocity Inc. becoming part of the federal government, there’s any number of channels talking about what this means for the country. The progress made in Brooklyn with Homeboy is a major story, with the successful stop of a Christmas Eve shooting and a general crackdown on gang activity. Everyone else on the Power Surge is glad to hear that, except for Tiger who doesn’t bother with the news.

            “Yeeeah boy!” Mikey says as he and Gerald celebrate with a handshake. “We made national news!”

            “I made national news,” Howie corrects him.

            “We made national news,” White Walls says as she walks up. “The headline is ‘Reciprocity presents: Homeboy.’”

            “Either way, this is good stuff, right?” Gerald says. “People will see how great Homeboy is, how great Reciprocity is, and how we can clean up the streets.”

            “Exactly,” White Walls says. “If we do well enough, Reciprocity might even expand this to other places.”

            “Wait, so like,” Mikey says as he tries to put it together. “This program could go national?”

            “Yeah,” White Walls says. “Though, not you guys. You guys are staying here. I might go national.”

            They all chuckle, but Homeboy really does like the sound of that. It’s well-known that New York isn’t the only state with gang problems. If Reciprocity, the police, and possibly more Power Surger members, the war against organized crime will finally be won.

 

            “He lives in San Leandro?” Karina asks in hushed tones.

            “Yeah,” Zoey answers. “I thought he went to Alameda High or something, but nope.”

            “I like his hair,” Chloe says.

            “Meh, too Tobey Maguire for me,” Karina says.

            “I think that just means Chloe likes Tobey Maguire,” Marina teases.

            It’s a Sunday, and as usual Zoey, her friends and her cousins sit in the balcony area at church. Zoey, Chloe, Marina and Karina peer over the edge to watch Simon where he sits with his family.

            “Hey, what brought up you guys training with Grandpa?” Zoey asks her cousins.

            Her cousins give her confused looks before asking back, “What?”

            “Simon said he overhead people talking about you guys and Grandpa,” she says. “Who brought that up?”

            “I don’t think anyone’s talked about it,” Seth says.

            “Yeah, neither of us brought it up,” Jeff says.

            Zoey looks to her friends, but they shake their heads “No”.

            “Then how did he know about it?” Zoey asks.

 

            The second week of school begins, and Zoey dreads turning in her Science homework. She had to constantly check with Seth and Jeff via texts, they’re better at science than her.

            “Relax,” Cyndi says during lunch. “This first assignment wasn’t so bad.”

            “Really? How well did you do in freshman science?”

            “Oh, well, I got an A+, actually.”

            Zoey practically whimpers as she munches on a chip.

            Suddenly, a huge flash of light came through the windows! Zoey’s eyes shut from how bright it was, since she was facing the windows. But Simon and Cyndi turn to look, knowing exactly what that light meant.

            Down on the grassy Quad stood the fived masked men under Zorb’s command, The Masqueraders.

            “Your hero is dead!” the giant red one shouts. “There is no one to save you now!”

            Simon and Cyndi look to each other and immediately understand. She grabs her phone while he leads the way out.

            “Hey, guys?” Zoey asks though still a little blind. “Where’re you going?”

            Stupid bright light, Zoey grumbles in her head. I should be able to go out there…

            Simon and Cyndi make sure no one else is in the stairwell as they head down. He transforms into Code Silver as they go, and she starts the video recording on her phone.

            “Whether you cower or concede, it is all the same to our master!” the red giant continues.

            “Then why don’t you shut up?”

            Everyone looks around, including Cyndi and The Spektrum, because he wasn’t the one who said that.

            “And the hero isn’t dead, he’s right here!”

            Someone drops down from the roof of the main building! The Masqueraders turn around to look at the back corner to see a young man in a black A-shirt and baggy jeans walking over. His hair is now a crewcut and there’s something literally glowing about him, but The Spektrum recognizes him right away as Craig Foster!

            “Aw HELL nah,” Spektrum says.