"Over the last two hundred years, there have been four monumental changes to humanity as we know it. Does anyone know what they are?” Mr. Frederick asked the class.
Margaret Andrews hand shoots up. "The war between Ukraine and Russia that led to the Big Bang, the original trigger event.”
“Correct, Ms. Andrews. But please wait until I call upon you to answer. I wouldn’t want to deprive your classmates of the chance to participate.”
Margaret’s face flushes in embarrassment as she looks around nervously. I’ll never understand why Mr. Frederick makes those comments; no one wants to be in this class. Every student watches the clock and counts the minutes until school is out. Why admonish the only student who likes school? Margaret is the studious head in a book type. You’ll never see her at a party or on a date. She’s our valedictorian and wants to join the BNA after college. I don’t understand the allure or even how exactly that became her goal. Our small town is far removed from the world of Capes and Cowls. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with powers.
“Mr. Blakely, can you give me another one?” he asked me.
I must’ve looked bored. No other reason for him to pick me. I need to be present and stay in character; Eryk is a good student and pays attention.
“March 1st, 2030. The Neuvohuman Accords were created alongside the Bureau of Neuvohuman Affairs by the United Nations. The Accords are the rules, regulations, terminology, and procedures regarding Neuvohumans. They also list the categories that all Neuvohuman powers fall under, as well as the rating scale for said powers. They pioneered the terms ‘Capes' and ‘Cowls’ for describing where Neuvohumans fall regarding the law. They are held up and enforced by the BNA, whose function is to mediate Neuvohuman disputes, incarceration of criminal Neuvohumans, relief workers for disasters caused by Capes or Cowls, and also help protect the identity of Neuvohumans.”
“Textbook answer, Eryk. Now, does anyone know what separates a Cape from a Cowl?”
Aubrey Iskan, one of the four people in my friend group, raises her hand. An athletic girl of southeastern descent and absolutely obsessed with Neuvohumans.
“Yes, Ms. Ishkan?”
I can see her wince as he fucks up her name for what must be the millionth time. It’s nearly unnoticeable if you aren’t familiar with spotting unconscious expressions. She powers through and answers confidently. “Cape is the term used for Neuvohumans fighting crime and saving lives. Cowl is the term used for any Neuvohumans who operate outside the law. This includes criminals, terrorists, and even vigilantes. Initially, the Neuvohuman Accords used the terms heroes and villains but determined that they didn’t properly allow for nuances. The BNA found it harder to convict Neuvohumans who were known as heroes, regardless of their crimes.”
“Wrap it up, Ms. Ishkan. I’m sure the class would like to move on to the rest of the lesson,” Mr. Frederick said, cutting off Aubrey before she got too wound up.
Aubrey deflates at his words and slumps into her desk. I will have to set time aside to talk about this with her. I cannot wait for this year to be over; this group of friends has long become a burden. Each of them is a collection of insecurities and needless whining. Aubrey is an intelligent and driven woman, and she’ll be leaving this town and Mr. Frederick behind, never to be thought of again. Why on earth does she care what happens in high school?
“The final two are just as important as the ones Ms. Andrews and Mr. Blakely have said. They are the Middletown Massacre and the resulting founding of the Heroes’ Union by the Supreme Six. Just two and a half years after the Big Bang trigger event, one of the worst tragedies to happen on American soil occurred. Two Cowls, known as Schizophobia and W.O.B, used their abilities to corrupt and ruin the city of Middletown, Connecticut. Schizophobia, real name Jeremiah Stafford, could cause mass hallucinations, terrifying hysteria, and psychologically degenerating effects on anyone who saw his face. W.O.B., which stood for Whore of Babylon, had no known civilian identity. She could shape living material like clay, and together with Schizophobia, they turned the entire population of Middletown into broken, violent monsters that fought and devoured each other. In the end, it required six of the most powerful Capes to come together and quarantine the city until it could be destroyed. Over Forty-Seven thousand lives were lost that day. It serves as a reminder of the destruction a Cowl can cause and that the world needs Capes who are willing to do the dirty jobs,” Mr. Frederick said.
I wonder what it looked like before the government stepped in. When you view it through Google, all that’s left is a smooth black surface. Whatever weapon they used left the city glassed over. What kind of tough conversations did the president have before deciding to write off all those lives? My mental musings distract me long enough that Aubrey is now speaking.
“Apex, Voyde, Captain Chrono, Mawler, Ratqueen, and their leader Technologica, each of them was the true definition of a hero, even if we don’t use that word anymore,” Aubrey said.
“Thank you for such a compelling, if not entirely unnecessary, spiel,” Mr. Frederick said.
The bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. I could’ve sworn we had another twenty minutes. I tend to lose track of time when I’m in my head. Aubrey is the first one out of the classroom, while I can see Margaret fidgeting at her desk, waiting behind to talk to the teacher. I follow the blob of students as we leave the classroom and enter the bustling hallways. I will never understand why people have such trouble walking. People are leaning against lockers, groups standing in the middle of the hallway. It is pure chaos and disorder. I spot Aubrey’s hair bun amongst the masses and make my way over to her. It would be easy to force my way through, but that wouldn’t fit Eryk. Eryk is friendly and non-confrontational. So I slip past bodies until I arrive at her locker. Our other two friends are next to her as she vents. Marcus Driggs is the stereotypical all-American guy next door. He’s tall, handsome, athletic, and white, everything Middle America loves. Marcus was captain of the football team until he tore his meniscus, cutting his college dreams off at the knees. Despite that, he always manages to have a smile on his simple face. I’ve always found the phrase “golden retriever boy” puzzling until I met Marcus. The boy is entirely and utterly daft. The girls in our school find it charming, and he helps balance out our group compared to Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc Dupont is a dark-skinned, squirrelly boy. He and his parents migrated here when he was six after the Cowl Noxus made Paris uninhabitable. Aubrey, Jean-Luc, and Marcus are the ones I chose to be my shields. Our eclectic group of nationalities and backgrounds makes us a diverse friend group that appears unbreachable. Which is what I wanted it to be.
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“You should go to the principal, Aubrey. If he still isn’t getting your name right, it’s not an accident. It’s on purpose.”
“Maybe it is. He’s old. You know how old people get. Besides, why would Mr. Frederick get her name wrong on purpose? That doesn't make any sense,” said Marcus.
“It’s called a microaggression, Marcus. You wouldn’t understand,” Jean-Luc retorted.
“Are you calling me dumb?” Marcus asked.
I could see the tension between the two, so I decided to intervene.
“Easy guys, let’s not make Aubrey’s issue about yourselves. And no, Marcus, he wasn’t calling you dumb. He meant people like you and I, won’t understand because we don’t experience it.”
Everyone visibly relaxes at my words, and I try to steer us off of this particular topic. This conversation is one we’ve had hundreds of times. Jean-Luc will try to convince Aubrey to confront our teacher, while Marcus tries his best to be supportive, even though he doesn’t know what’s happening. Jean-Luc and Aubrey will feed off each other and get worked up into a storm until Aubrey realizes she’s as timid as a mouse. For a person obsessed with Capes and Cowls, she has neither the courage of heroes nor the confidence of villains. It's far better for me to nip this before they get started.
“Aubrey, do you need a ride home today? If so, I’ll drive you. I have to stop at Roxy's for some things after school, and you’re like five minutes from there.”
“Wha- um yeah. My mom’s working late again, so she can’t get me.”
“We’re still on for the party tonight, right? Jake Deckler is hosting the final party of our senior year. I know it’s not really what any of you would want to be doing on a Friday night, but it might be the last time the four of us get to do something like this.”
Amazing Marcus. He perfectly ends any chance of that conversation resuming. Thank you for saving me at least twenty minutes. Not even Jean-Luc would attempt to ignore our friend’s genuinely sincere question.
“I don’t know. I’m pretty tired after that test in fourth period. Might just go home and go to bed,” Jean-Luc said.
“But it’s the last party of the year. We have to go as a group. You guys promised,” Marcus complained.
“Ugh. I’m kidding. Of course, we’ll be there. A promise is a promise, after all,” Jean-Luc replied with a smile.
“After dealing with Mr. Frederick, you couldn’t stop me from getting drunk if you tried,” Aubrey answered, smiling for the first time since class ended.
“Obviously, I have to be there to take care of you three idiots. Wouldn’t want Jean-Luc to have a repeat of The Christmas Fiasco.” Jean-Luc looks down in embarrassment at my mention of his sloppiest night ever. “Relax, dude; I’m kidding. I will be the DD, though. Maria will probably come over before the party, and we can take her car to get to Jake’s house.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna head home. I’ll text when I’m on my way to your place, Eryk,” Marcus said before heading for the exit.
“And then, there were three,” Jean-Luc laughed. “I’m also going to take off. See you later, guys.”
“You ready to leave, Aubrey?” I asked.
She nods in agreement, and we finally leave the school. I’ve now had to stay an extra thirty minutes past the final bell because of my friends. The upside to it taking forever to leave is there won’t be any traffic getting out. We walk to the parking lot and find that my ruby-red truck is the only vehicle in sight besides a couple of the teachers' cars. The simple two-seater was a gift from my father for my sixteenth birthday. He likes to say that all a man needs in a vehicle is for it to be reliable and straightforward. The only problem is that I’m the one my friends call when they want to move something. One more month until I don’t have to help or think about any of these people again. The ride to Roxy’s is blissfully quiet as we drive through town. Living in a small town means that any trip is, at most, a fifteen-minute drive. As I pull into her driveway, her phone chimes, causing her face to light up.
“Oh. My. GOD. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.”
“Are you okay, Aubrey?”
“No. I mean, yes, but sorry, it’s just someone uploaded a video of Titania fighting off some Cowls!”
My blank expression must have given it away; I have no idea who or what Titania is.
“DON’T TELL ME YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO SHE IS. For God’s sake, Eryk, aren’t you going to Quinstin for college? She’s one of the strongest nonlegacy Capes and the leader of the Heroes’ Union branch in Quinstin. Didn’t you research the city’s heroes before you decided to go there?”
I hadn’t. My life is so far removed from the world of Capes and Cowls that it hadn’t even occurred to me to look that stuff up. There hasn’t been a single Cape or Cowl that’s ever come out of New Farford, so I rarely think about Neuvohumans if it isn't at school. Especially since the BNA scrubs the internet of any pictures or videos of Neuvohumans fighting, they say they do it to prevent people from getting inspired to commit crimes, but some fringe conspiracists claim otherwise.
“Haha, I’ll be honest, I didn’t. I don’t even know what a legacy Cape is. It’s not like any of that involves me. I’m only going to Quinstin because they have one of the best engineering programs in the country. I’m not like you, Aubrey. I don’t want to go out and join the BNA and protect the world. All I want is an excellent high-paying job and to retire before I’m forty.”
“Ugh, you’re so boring. What I want is to make a difference and help people. I’m not trying to shit on your dreams, but I crave adventure! And a legacy Cape or Cowl is someone who has at least one parent with powers. Having one parent with powers gives you a twenty-five percent chance of inheriting the same power or an offshoot of the same power as your parent. It increases to fifty percent with two parents. God, how the hell do you not know about this?”
If anyone understands the need for excitement, it’s me. I’ve placed my bet on the possibility that I will find something in Quinstin that will make me feel. School, family, friends, none of it does anything for me. Emotions are nothing more than words on a page for me. Graduation will mark a clean end to this chapter of my life. Finding a new group to surround myself with will be a challenge, but one that I welcome. It’ll be more challenging to infiltrate a preexisting group than make my own, as I did here.
“You can keep your adventure and superpowered parents. Now get out; I gotta go shopping.” I said with a slight grin.
Aubrey hits me in the arm as she gets out, flipping me off with her middle finger. “See you later, asshole.”
As I pull out of her driveway, I let the smile fade from my face. It took years, but I have great control over my facial muscles. Whenever I’m alone, I take the chance to relax. The drive over to Roxy’s is uneventful, and I quickly buy the few items I need. Thankfully, no one from school is there to bother me and add more time to my errand. A quiet and pleasant drive back home was exactly what I needed to refresh my social battery before tonight’s party.
Unfortunately, my driveway, which should be completely empty, has a black SUV parked in it. This can only mean that my wonderful, attentive, loving girlfriend is here. I had hoped I would have more time before she arrived, but Aubrey wouldn’t shut up, and now my alone time has ended. Taking a deep breath, I turn my truck off. Should I break up with her now and save myself the trouble of slowly undoing our relationship?