Electra

Erin looks halfway normal in her school pictures, probably a victory.

"Well, maybe with some training," Erin allowed. She looked over at Mike with some understanding. "I know I don't feel ready to play sports yet, but with the training they give here, maybe I will be pretty soon. I mean, if they make superheroes here, I'm sure they can train people to just control their own strength in the everyday world. It would be kind of cool to play games where we can, y'know, run and jump as fast and far as we can, without worrying."

From the chapel, she went to investigate the library, which was by far the best-smelling library she'd been to in a very long time. Not that it had a lot of competition for the title, given the condition of most of the libraries she'd been in, and the lack of corpses here. She spent a few minutes browsing the magazine racks, but since she didn't have a student ID or anything yet, she didn't try and check anything out. That would be nice for later, though. She would have to remember to get the special key that the tour guide had spoken of as well. The computers looked really new, and like they'd be fast. She wondered if she could get headphones and played games. She toured around a little, but couldn't go up to the third floor, because it was locked. That was good to know, in case of emergency.

Erin almost walked right past the chapel as she adjusted her clothes and smoothed down her hair from her basketball game, but curiosity drew her in. It seemed like a weird thing to have at a school like this. It was dark and cool in the chapel, and smelled faintly of incense, sort of the way she remembered her old church smelling. It didn't look like this place got used a lot, and she wondered if it was mostly for funerals and such. It had a very Catholic vibe to it, that was for sure. She wasn't sure what Catholocism and superhero school had to do with each other, and was a little afraid of trying to draw too many comparisons. Instead, she walked brazenly down the center aisle and stood in front of the altar, staring up at the mournful face of the crucified Christ. Time dragged on as she struggled with the urge to pray, or maybe to curse, or just to ask why. Finally, unable to muster any response at all, she turned and stalked out of the chapel, not even bothering to note any emergency exits. God would save them, right? she thought bitterly.

A little bit of walking brought her to the gym, a place she figured she might be spending quite a bit of time as she learned to control her powers. She was quickly disabused of that notion when she saw "No Powers!" as the first rule upon entering the gym. Where was she supposed to practice? she wondered. They had to have someplace around, but maybe they kept it off the map, so nobody got any ideas. She found a rack of basketballs sitting unattended on the court, and couldn't resist the urge to pick one up and dribble it around a little. That was fun, so she got into it a little more, doing some turns and fancy blocks. She'd been pretty good at basketball once, when she used to play with her friends at school, and her body was a lot better now. She played imaginary one-on-one for a few minutes, and scored some points that impressed even herself, before literally jumping a foot in the air as the outside doors to the gym opened up. Guilty, she dropped the ball back on the rack and scampered out the back door before anyone caught her where she might not be supposed to be. She really needed to figure out the rules for this place.

A quick consultation with her map brought her to the Diana Falk Cafeteria, a pretty big place just for eating and food. She decided to go inside and take a look, tucking away her notebook so she didn't look like a crazy person. A line of vending machines caught her attention, and she spent a little while perusing the offerings there. The idea of having unfettered access to chips and chocolate that weren't completely stale was appealing, but she knew she'd better save her money. Eventually someone was going to explain to her what work-study actually was, but she thought it likely she'd need to be concentrating on the study too much to get a lot of work in for awhile. The cafeteria was closed, but there were good smells coming from upstairs, so she headed up for a look. It looked like there was a restaurant up there, which was sort of confusing. She backed out before anyone told her she was somewhere she didn't belong, retreating downstairs and back out of the building. Eventually the cafeteria would need more study, because it was always important to know where the food was kept and how much, but that could wait.

In the shade of a big tree outside her dormitory, she stopped and sat down for a few minutes. Her brain was starting to go too fast, with too many plans and too many what-ifs. The last thing she needed was a big fat panic attack, right when she was trying to reassure her hindbrain that everything was okay. It was very pleasant there in the yard, quiet and peaceful, with birds even singing in the trees. She hadn't known Freedom City had songbirds. She'd always associated big cities with rats and fat pigeons, but not the sort of birds who brightened up the place. Birds were one of her favorite parts of any place, so she lay back for a few minutes and just listened. Beyond the walls she could hear the traffic of the city, but that, too, was reassuring. She rested and birds sang, but beyond the walls, life went on in all its noisy, crowded glory. After a little while, she started feeling better. She got up and resumed her tour, wondering where they went for supper.

The first building she came to was marked on her map as staff housing, so she didn't pay too much attention to it, except for a quick jog around the perimeter to see what the entrances and exits looked like, how many windows it had, where the most likely escape points were. It was stupid, she knew it in her head. She wasn't even going to live in this building. But if she was going to be a superhero, she couldn't think only of herself! In an emergency, it was vital to have every bit of available information already at hand.

Going back to her own dormitory, she did the same outside tour, making notes on windows and doors, bushes people could fall into and survive, possible roof accesses. She had to laugh at herself. If a teacher found her now, he'd probably think she was casing the joint. He wouldn't be too far from wrong, really, but it was a breakout she was planning, not a break-in.

There were still kids playing out on the grassy field behind the buildings, though the game seemed to have changed to some sort of elaborate game of super-tag. She watched for a few minutes, fascinated by the elaborate and showy maneuvers, the reckless expenditures of power and energy, and the fun everyone was having. Screened by the trees, she thought for a minute about trying to join in, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it. It might not be safe. She really didn't do well with people running at her, even when she thought she was prepared for it. She would practice, she promised herself. Once she got used to being safe again, she'd be able to play too, and leave campus, and feel normal. Turning, she jogged back the way she'd came, towards the cluster of buildings.

As she walked, Erin smelled and tasted the various plants, judging which ones were edible and which ones might be poisonous. Poisonous plants didn't bother her, but it never hurt to have a good idea of what was around you. She'd done a lot of studying on plants, and while these were mostly decorative, as one might expect at a tony place like this, there were a few that were good for food, or even for medicine. Someone was taking very good care of them, too. The soil had fertilizers and moisture extenders added to it, she judged, but it was pretty good to start with. They could grow a lot of good vegetables here if they wanted to... but why would they? she reminded herself. There was no point to it, when plenty of fruits and vegetables were available just a truck ride away, or even just beyond the front gates. She pushed herself away from the foliage and started looking around some of the buildings.

Later on Tuesday May 26, Erin, Alex and Mike arrive at Claremont, are assigned rooms, and get a tour (Un)Familiar faces. After that, Erin takes a walk around campus. Going Walkabout.

This is the OOC thread for the "Going Walkabout" story.

Once the orientation tour was over, when the students had been cut loose for a little while, Erin decided to take a walk on her own. She liked her room and her new roommate well enough, but she knew she'd feel antsy until she had a really good idea of the layout of the place. With a notebook, pen and a map of campus in hand, she headed out and onto the broad green grounds of the academy to look around. It looked a lot different than it had the last time she'd been here, picking up a part for Dr. Atom. The lawn had been brown and dead then, and there'd been a pile of skeletons over by the front gate, people trying to get in to safety or beat their way in to get revenge on the heroes who hadn't saved them, who could say?

Erin shook off the memory and kept walking. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful world, and she wasn't going to spoil it. All the same, she was on alert as she walked, keeping an eye out in all directions for anyone approaching, and noting down possible strategic locations in her notebook. It made her feel better.

"I guess if nothing else, we'll have weekends and stuff," Erin said, picking up a brochure and looking through it herself. "Doing theater might be kind of cool. When I was in school, only the upperclassmen got to do that kind of stuff, but it looked neat. I wonder if there are tryouts and stuff, or if it's just everyone gets a part because the school is so small." She grinned a little. "Just as long as they don't do musicals, I guess. Or I could always do tech stuff behind the scenes too."

Inventory

Besides clothes, there were room for a few other things in Erin's bag. Her mementos went in first, of course. She'd thought about buying a new frame for the picture of her parents. The one she had was badly mangled after spending nearly two years in one piece of luggage or another, with the metal parts banged up and a long crack across the glass. But she'd gotten used to seeing it like that, and it wasn't as though she were finished with her traveling, anyway. It went into the bag, wrapped carefully in her shirts. Megan's music box went in next. It, too, had seen better days, though the sturdy cardboard had held up, with the help of a little scotch tape on the corners. The Disney princess motif was still clearly visible, and the princess inside, Sleeping Beauty, Erin was pretty sure, still twirled around to a lullaby whenever the lid was open. Tucked securely in among her socks and underwear, it would make the trip safely. Bear needed much less protection. He'd had a hard two years, serving as pillow often as not when she was sleeping outdoors, and his brown fur had seen better days. She put him in a plastic bag before packing him, more to protect her clothes from him than the other way around.

Picture frame with photo

Music Box, pink, plays "So This is Love"

Stuffed Bear, brown, fair to poor condition

Erin's mom and dad didn't want to send her off to school without at least the basic supplies, and Erin felt more comfortable having them too. She did her best to be frugal in this area as well, and was a little chagrined to realize that the lovely-smelling soap she'd liked to use for her infrequent hosing off back in her own world was actually quite expensive when you had to pay money for it. She stuck to store brands and inexpensive accessories wherever she could, amassing a tidy little pile of things to take with.

Four spiral bound perforated notebooks

Ten black ballpoint pens

Ten blue ballpoint pens

One box colored pencils

One hardbound diary

One protractor

One box envelopes

Twelve "forever" stamps

One toothbrush

One tube tartar-control toothpaste

Two sticks deodorant, "powder fresh"

One hairbrush

One bottle shampoo for normal/oily hair

One bottle conditioner

One box feminine napkins

Three bars aloe soap

One nylon loofah sponge

Clothes

When Erin packed her bag to go to school, it contained all of her worldly possessions. That was a little weird, since many things that she remembered as being hers were right next door in the second bedroom, but they didn't actually belong to her here. The other Erin was nice enough about sharing, but in the end, those things were still hers. In the weeks she'd spent in Freedom City, then in Seattle, Erin had managed to pick up some things of her own.

She went shopping for school clothes for Claremont with Clarissa and the other kids. It felt strange to have to pick what to wear again, and to know it mattered somehow. And that money meant things, and she couldn't just take what she wanted. The idea of spending money seemed strange and extravagant, and it affected how much she was willing to buy. It wasn't as though she weren't already putting these people out! She was happy to find a clearance rack with slacks and blouses on it, and bought mainly from that, enough clothes that she would be wearing something different every day of the week. Other Erin thought they were unfashionable as sin, and even Clarissa tried to steer her towards a few things that were a bit more flattering, but Erin didn't see how it could possibly be that important. They covered everything that needed covered, and the fabrics were sturdy and durable. She got socks and underthings as well, and wound up spending an amount that she considered to be acceptable. Being a burden would only make her feel more uncomfortable.

Two cream blouses

One blue blouse

One purple blouse

One red sweater

One blue pullover top

One pair yellow cotton pajamas

Two pairs blue jeans

One pair khaki slacks

One blue windbreaker

Seven pairs socks

Seven pairs underwear

Two brassieres

One pair tennis shoes

"All right, thanks." Erin took a breath and allowed herself to feel a little relief at the idea that things were going to be taken care of. There were a few papers to sign, there always were, but that was painless enough. She was still happy to escape the vice-principal's office and get back to her new classmates out in the lounge. "Classes start on Wednesday," she reported, "at least, that's when tutoring starts for me. I don't know if we're all going to have the same schedule or not. But I guess we get field trips and stuff eventually, out to the mall at least."

At this point, Erin was more concerned about being singled out than about pocket money and shopping centers, so she merely nodded along with everything the vice-principal said, fidgeting like any teenager who's been dragged into the principal's office. "Right, um, if you want me to work, that's okay, I'm sure I can do some things around here at the school. I can do yardwork and stuff, or vacuum, um, make beds? Whatever. But tutoring would be good. Ah, Alex said, Alex out there, my new roommate, she said that she would help me some too. Do I need to buy books or something before I can start?"

"I guess it's what they put in the admissions packet, that we should be thinking about what we wanted our hero identity names to be," Erin said, sounding a little uncertain. "I didn't know we'd be going by them all the time though. Mine's kind of stupid. Maybe we'll only have to use them every once in awhile, and some people just like theirs and use them more often." Erin shrugged and looked over to Mike and Mrs. Harcourt, then followed Alex's lead in emptying her bag. It only took about thirty seconds to dispose of her small cache of possessions. Her clothes took up one dresser drawer, her notebooks and pen one desk drawer, and the photo of her parents in its battered frame, the pink and blue Disney Princesses music box, and Bear all went on top of the dresser. She set aside the Ziploc full of toiletries on her desk, then put the duffel bag on one side of the top shelf of the closet and was finished. "What should we see next?" she asked Mrs. Harcourt.

Erin dropped her bag on the bottom bunk and began doing a survey of the room, looking out the window, into the closet, checking out where the outlets were, and things like that. She startled just a little at the sound of a new voice before turning to study the new girl. Satisfied that this, too, was a stranger, she mustered a polite smile and extended her hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Erin."

Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 7:00am, over Freedom City

It's several hours before Erin starts writing again, on a new plane, full of early-morning commuters and at least one soccer team heading to a tournament. The plane is in a holding pattern before landing, and when Erin looks out, she can see the tall silver buildings of downtown and the crush of midmorning traffic. Every once in awhile someone points and shouts that there's a superhero in the air, but the supers tend to stay away from plane traffic, for fear of accidents. As the plane banks for yet another turn, Erin pulls out the little bound book she's been using as her diary for Dr. Franklin. He likes it when she records her feelings, even if she mostly does it when she's bored.

May 26

In a few minutes, I'll be landing in Freedom City and going to the school. I think I should probably be terrified. It's been two years and two months since I last went to school, and now I'm supposed to be heading to this elite private gig. But I'm not. I guess after a certain point, nothing really scares you. I am kind of nervous, though. I really want this to work out. I want to make friends, and not have people think I'm some kind of freak or emo or something. I wonder what it will be like to meet other people with powers. I wonder if I'll meet anybody I've read about. I wonder if I'll meet anybody I fought. It's already going to be weird seeing Freedom City all full of people. I mean, when I left in January, I wasn't really paying that much attention. But now I'm going to live here. I don't think I can go back to Seattle, not to stay, so this is home now. I hope I like it, and that they like me. I should remember to ask if I can learn to drive sometime. Not like I have a car or anything, but I've been driving for so long, it would be cool to get a license.

Erin lifts her head and closes her book when her ears pop to signal increasing descent. The captain's voice comes over the loudspeaker to welcome them to Freedom City and tell them that it's a beautiful day. She tucks away her book and pen. It's showtime.

May 26, 2009, 1:30am, somewhere over Iowa

Bored with looking out the window of the plane into darkness, Erin takes out her notebook and flips on the overhead light. Her seatmate groans, but she ignores him, as she has been for the past few hours. Licking the tip of her pen, she begins to write. Dear Mom and Dad... It still feels strange to call them that, knowing that they are and yet they aren't. She can't call them Roger and Clarissa though, so she lets it stand.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I wanted to send you a note to let you know that I got out from the airport okay and that I'm having a good trip. The food is kind of nasty, so thanks for the sandwiches! I wanted to thank both of you for how nice you've been to me since I came here. I know it can't have been easy having an extra person around, especially when it's weird like this. But you really made me feel welcome, and I won't forget it. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable sometimes, I didn't mean to. It's hard to get used to being around people, I guess. Thanks for the clothes and the soap, and the money for the trip, and everything else. The pilot says we're going to stop in Cincinnati to change planes, so I figure I will mail this then. I'm going to call you when I get to school, so you'll already know by the time you get this letter that everything is fine.

I hope things are going good for all of you, and that you have a really nice summer. I will think of you going to the Pike's Place Market for the weekend shows like we always used to, and out to the 4th of July fireworks on the water. I'll miss you all, but I know this is the right solution for all of us. Tell Erin and Megan that I said hi.

Erin sits for a minute and thinks, trying to come up with anything else to say. It shouldn't be this hard to talk to your own family, should it? Finally she scrawls a hasty "Love, Erin Keeley," then tears out the paper and folds it into one of the envelopes she brought along. She addresses it, then flips off the light, drawing yet another groan from her seatmate as the plane circles to begin its descent.

Erin started to fidget when Mrs. Harcourt talked about her "situation," shifting her bag from arm to arm and scratching her ear. "I dunno," she said with a shrug in response to Alex's ideas. "I'm not good at anything special like that. But I guess there are jobs anyone can do, dishes or yardwork or things like that. Can we see our room now?" she asked abruptly.

"What does work-study mean?" Erin asked curiously. "I don't have any money to buy a computer." She stayed in the doorway to assess the room, keeping one eye out to make sure that no one was coming at them from the corridor. "Can we get jobs here?"

Erin looked around as well, but it wasn't until Alex broke off from the group to go look at the electronic goodies that she seemed to find the courage to do so as well. "I always wanted one of these things," she said softly, picking up a Nintendo DS and turning it over in her hands. "They look so cool. But they were too expensive when they came out." She grinned at Alex. "Maybe it won't be so easy to concentrate on catching up in school after all." Setting it back on the shelf, she turned to look at the tour guide. "When do we start school?" she asked.