Super Secret Series (Book 1): Super Model (5 page)

“Where exactly are we going?”

Audrey and I walked along Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. When we had gone our separate ways on Monday night she was still pretty shocked. She said she needed time to think about the whole thing but she’d be in touch. I was doubtful, but true to her word she texted me the next day and told me to meet her in Cadman Plaza Park at 6:30 because she had an idea.

“My district meeting,” Audrey huffed.

I couldn’t tell if she didn’t want to talk or if she was just out of breath from walking so much. In fact, it seemed like she was out of breath a lot. That didn’t seem very Super-y to me but what did I know about it? “District meeting?”

“When you graduate the Academy, you’ll get your Super license and a district assignment. That’s where you’ll be working. I talked to my district lead about you and your test. Since I don’t have any mind powers, I don’t know what will be on your entrance test. But there will be someone at the meeting who does.”

I nodded as I took it all in. “What district do you have?”

“Brooklyn. There are a lot of Supers working Brooklyn but for the most part we all work alone. District meetings give you a chance to see everyone.”

“What’s the Academy like?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Like high school. Like a really weird high school. It’s basically a bunch of kids with overactive hormones running around except instead of gym class, you learn to control your powers.”

“You make it sound pretty normal.” I envied the casual way she talked about it. Like it was in her blood. She practically took it for granted.

“It is. Or at least it becomes your normal.”

“What about Big Supers? What was yours like?”

Audrey shook her head. “They didn’t have this stuff when I was in school. Must be something new.” She pointed at a church ahead. One of those big ones with the spires and colorful windows. “We’re here. Come on.”

I followed Audrey inside and down a few flights of stairs to the basement. We ended up in a meeting room with rows of chairs and a big refreshment table in the back. Everyone inside looked pretty normal, which surprised me but I tried not to show it. Audrey had just yelled at me the night before about not being able to tell a Super just by looking.

Audrey motioned for me to follow and made a beeline right up to the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. The guy was tall. Impossibly tall. He had jet-black hair, smooth creamy skin, and the most beautiful blue eyes. He looked one of the guys on the covers of the paperbacks my mom read when she didn’t think I was paying attention. I didn’t know how old he was but I wondered if I could talk him into to waiting for me until I was old enough to marry him.

Audrey, on the other hand, seemed oblivious the insane beauty of this guy. Maybe her eyes weren’t working. She tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey.”

“Hi, Audrey.” Even his voice was beautiful.
Oh my God,
I thought.
How can he look like that AND sound like that?

“This is the one I was telling you about. Penny. And this is Nathaniel, my district leader,” she added, turning to me.

“Hi, Penny. I hear we have a problem.” Nathaniel shook my hand. It was warm and strong and I held on a little bit longer than I had intended to and then blushed when he practically had to yank it back from me.

“Um, yeah, you see I was supposed to go to the Academy but I guess I didn’t get in because of some glitch.” I was babbling. I took a deep breath and tried to slow myself down. “Anyway, Audrey convinced them to give me a second chance and now I’m worried about the testing because I don’t have—”

“We don’t have any idea what the tests are going to be like,” Audrey interrupted, giving me the stink eye. “So, yeah, like I told you before, we need to know what we’re up against.”

“Right.” Nathaniel raised his hand and called over a short, blond guy with glasses. He was eating a cookie from the refreshment table. “Ladies, this is Dale.”

Dale shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth and used his now free hand to give us a little wave. “Hi Audrey. Hi Penny.”

“How did you know our names?” I blurted out.

Audrey gave me a pained look and Dale rolled his eyes. “Come on, man. I’ve got skills.”

I felt my face get hot. “I just. . . I just didn’t think it worked that way.”

“Just kidding! Nathaniel told me!” Dale laughed. “So you’re taking your entrance tests? Cool. What do you want to know about it?”

“We were just wondering what kind of tests they put you through.” Audrey explained, while I stood there quietly. I’d already embarrassed myself enough for the night.

“There are only two tests—a written test and a card test. Everyone’s written test is personalized purposely so that it’s on something you know nothing about it. And the card test is just guessing cards they hold up in front of you.”

“That’s it?”

Dale adjusted his glasses. “They usually give them on separate days because when you’re that young and you’re learning to use your powers, stuff like this can really take it out of you. You get migraines if you try to push yourself too hard.”

Audrey nodded. “Right. And, just curious, how much should she be able to do right now, anyway?” She tried to say it casually but I knew what direction she was going with this.

“Enough to pass the test.” Dale cocked his head to side a bit and focused in on me. “I mean, no one expects you to be really good at this. You haven’t been trained yet. The whole reason to go to the Academy is to figure out how to use your powers. But the tests are really basic. You should do fine.”

Nathaniel looked at his watch. “We need to get this meeting going.” Then, louder, to everyone in the room “Everyone, time to get started. Everyone take a seat.”

Nathaniel went to the front of the room while we found seats. As the meeting started, I kept thinking about what Dale had said. He made the test sound really easy but it probably
was
easy for him. He had powers. I wasn’t so sure.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, thinking it was my mom. I needed to text her right back or she might call in the National Guard. But when I looked it wasn’t her.

You can’t fake it.

I didn’t recognize the number, but I texted back anyway.

Who is this?

Dale. The guy you were just talking to.

I looked behind me to see Dale sitting in the chair he’d taken a few rows back. He gave me a half wave.

How did you get my number?

Come on.

He followed it with three crystal ball emoji. I blushed into my phone.

Sorry.

I don’t normally read thoughts when I’m not working but you’re practically broadcasting yours. Like I said, you can’t fake the tests. But if you have any of the talent, you can make it stronger by practicing.

That made a lot of sense. I might have just been grateful to get some good news. It also meant that maybe I could prepare for this whole thing somehow. But if Dale could read my thoughts, what would stop the test proctors from doing it? I asked him the question and he texted me back immediately.

No. They aren’t psychics. They’re just Supers who work at the Council.

Before I could text him again, he sent me another message.

Get a deck of cards and start practicing guessing which card you’re going to pull.

It sounded so simple but something deep in my gut told me it wasn’t going to be.

What should I do if I don’t get any right?

He didn’t text back right away. I looked back to see if he had gotten caught up in the meeting or maybe he went back to get another cookie. But no, he was just sitting there, staring back at me. It made me so uncomfortable, I broke eye contact and turned back to face the front. After what seemed like a long time, my phone buzzed.

Keep going until you do.

“You know, I can’t tell if you’re an idiot or not.”

Audrey said it just as I bit down on my slice of pepperoni pizza so I had to chew before I could answer her. We were at Monty Q’s, a dive pizza joint right across the street from St Jude. Audrey said when you get news like we just did, the only thing to make it better was grease and pepperoni. So I texted my mom that I was doing extra credit work for history and we found a booth in the back for privacy. I filled Audrey in on everything that happened with Dale and she listened carefully before wondering aloud whether I was an idiot.

Truthfully, I didn’t know how to respond. It actually wasn’t even a question. It was a statement with room for comment. “What do you mean?”

Audrey snarfed down the rest of her slice before answering. “Because you don’t have to do this. You can just go home and go to regular high school next year and live happily ever after.”

She made it sound so easy. “We’ve been over this already. I can’t live happily ever after if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do.”

“But why risk it? If you stop now, maybe you can walk away without a wipe. If you fail, you’re going to lose probably every memory of your dad since you found about Supers. You really want to lose the last year you had with your dad?”

“But I’m
not
going to fail!” I don’t know if I was trying to convince her or myself. “I’m going to pass with flying colors.”

“And then what?”

“And then everything will work out.”

“If you say so,” Audrey shrugged. “But I still can’t decide if you’re doomed or not.”

“I hope when I get old I’m not so negative about everything.”

She choked on her pizza. “I’m not being negative. I’m trying to be realistic.
Age
does that do you.”

“You’re a terrible Big Super. You’re supposed to encourage me.”

“Ha! One, I already told you this would be a bad idea. Two, you don’t even know what a Big Super is supposed to be like because you have no reference,” Audrey ticked off on her fingers. “And third, it doesn’t matter if I’m a bad Big Super or not. You won’t remember me after your mind wipe, anyway.”

She had a point there. I changed the subject. “How come you didn’t tell them about my powers situation?”

“Because Nathaniel is kind of a goody-two-shoes,” she explained. “He likes to do everything by the book. If I told him that you don’t have any powers, he would have said that means that you don’t need to go to the Academy. I don’t necessarily disagree with him but I do think that if you want to try, you should be allowed to,” she added.

I took a sip of my root beer. “You know him pretty well, huh?”

Audrey shrugged. “I haven’t worked with him that long. He was my probation supervisor and now I’m working on this task force he put together. But he’s pretty much a golden boy so I know he’s not going to be up for any shenanigans.”

“How can you even stand to be around him when he’s so, so. . .” I trailed off, unable to find the words to describe him.

“Hot?” Audrey offered.

“Charming,” I shot back, but I already felt the blush creeping up my neck and into my face.

Audrey shrugged again. “You get used to it. Besides, once he’s yelled at you for messing up a mission or two, he stops being so hot. You gonna eat that?” She pointed at the last slice of pizza. I shook my head no and pushed the tray over to her side of the table. She scooped it up and snarfed it down, while I chewed on my own thoughts.

Thursdays were always my favorite day of the week. Sure I had to go to school and it was still one more day until the weekend. But on Thursday nights, Mom and Dad would let Jeannie, Skye, and Marty run the show at the diner, and we’d all go do something together.

It was little stuff. Nothing big. Maybe a movie. Or a rare dinner out. I always got to pick, though. When I was eleven, I made them take me to the night show at the planetarium seven Thursdays in a row. It was the same show every time but I loved it.

After Dad was gone, me and Mom tried to keep it up the weekly tradition but it wasn’t quite the same. And then Skye followed her boyfriend to LA and Mom went back to working Thursday nights.

That’s why I was kinda shocked when Mom slowed down during breakfast just long enough to suggest that we go to a movie that night. “But what about the diner?”

“It hasn’t been very busy lately. I think Jeannie can handle it by herself. What do you think?”

I scrambled for something, anything to say. I had plans with Audrey that night, but it wasn’t like I could tell her that. “Um, I actually had plans tonight.”

“Plans?”

“I, um, I—”

“Excuse me? Ma’am?” One of the customers waved at Mom and went over to find out what he wanted. There seemed to be something wrong with his eggs. Mom had to take them back to the little kitchen and argue with Ray about it.

I took a deep breath and thanked God for the interruption. I had no idea how I was going to finish that sentence I’d just started. What excuse was I going to use?

Mom badgered a fresh pair of eggs out of Ray, delivered it to the customer, and was back at my side in less time than I would have liked. But by then, I knew what I wanted to say. “Mom, I didn’t want to tell you this but I got a tutor.”

Her face lit up. “For the SHSAT? I thought you weren’t going to do that.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been thinking about my future and I think you were right. I need to take this thing seriously. I signed up to take it next month.” The lie slipped out easily but I still felt like crap.

I didn’t feel any better when Mom pulled me into a tight hug. “Penny, this is such good news. I’m proud of you. It’s a little late to be applying to schools but if you work fast, you’ll meet the deadlines.”

“Slow down, Mom. I have to take the test first.”

Mom released me from the hug long enough to yell into the kitchen. “Ray!! I need more bacon. My
niña
is going to need extra protein for all the studying she’s doing!” Then she ran into the kitchen to get it.

As for me, there was nothing else to do but to eat bacon I didn’t deserve and try not to look as guilty as I felt.

“Did you get them?”

I’d spent most of the day in school, taking some time to go to the guidance counselor’s office to pick up some practice tests and answer sheets as props for all the lies I was telling my mother. Around five, I headed over to Audrey’s place with my overwhelming sense of guilt and a new deck of cards I picked up from the bodega nearby. Audrey opened the door and let me in without saying hello.

“Yeah.” I pulled out the cards I’d bought at the bodega up the street. “You think this will work?”

“You have any other ideas?” I shook my head no. “Then get in here.”

Audrey’s place looked a little neater than last time I’d seen it. At least there weren’t any clothes on the floor. Crash had a new bowl and seemed a little livelier, too. As if reading my mind, Audrey explained, “I tidied up for you. Sit down. You want a soda? I know you can’t have beer.”

“Thanks.” I looked for the cleanest part of her couch and sat there.

She came back with a Dr. Pepper for me and a beer for her. “I hope you know that I had plans tonight. I’m ditching those plans to help you. I’m basically the best Big Super ever.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What plans?”

She took a swig of her beer. “I’m a very busy girl, Penny. I could be anywhere in the world right now but I choose to be here with you.” I just stared at her. “Fine. I barely leave Brooklyn. But still.”

“What do you even do?” I actually really wanted to know.

“Are you serious? I have to keep this building running. People are always getting locked out or breaking their toilets. Then I have to run around collecting the rent. I have a civilian boyfriend who doesn’t know about my powers so I have to work really hard to pretend to be normal so he won’t break up with me.” Her eyes got big and I could tell she was getting into the whole thing. “I’m the maid of fucking honor in a wedding and I get like twelve text messages a day about it. My sister is going to kill me because a cat I gave her is pregnant. And on top of all of that, I basically have to save the world every day.”

I didn’t understand half of what she was talking about so I changed the subject. “So how do you know what you’re supposed to do when you’re actually a Super? Do you get, like, instructions?”

“Depends. You get a district assignment, but that’s just the area you work in. If you do really well in school and meet the right people, you’ll get more specific assignments. If you don’t, you’ll just do a lot of patrol shifts and handle the small stuff.” Audrey took another gulp of her beer. “I started with patrol shifts but now I work with Nathaniel’s task force. So I don’t have to wander around some park in the middle of the night trying to prevent people from stealing purses or whatever.”

She walked back into the kitchen and came back with another beer. “I mean, I know I talk a lot of shit about the Super lifestyle but the truth is that it’s pretty much all I’ve ever known. I really thought about leaving it a while back but ultimately, I realized I actually wanted to change the way I handled being a Super. What do you think being a Super is going to be like for you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only really thought about being like my dad. I don’t feel like my dad really had a secret life from me and Mom. He basically seemed like a regular guy.”

“Because
that’s
the gig, Penny. If you become a Super, you have to be pretend a regular person and hide that part of yourself from everyone who isn’t one. Are you ready for that?”

I thought about my mom and all the lies I’d been telling her lately. I didn’t know if I wanted to keep that up forever. But if that’s what the job was, that’s what I’d do. “Whatever it takes.” Just as I was about to ask her what she thought it would take, there was a knock at the door.

Audrey groaned and got up to answer it. When she opened it, there was that weird guy I’d met when I first went to find Audrey. He was still in the outfit he’d been wearing the last time I’d saw him.

He peered around Audrey at me. “So I see you found her.”

Audrey turned to me. “You know Bob?”

Before I could answer that I’d only spoken to him for a second and he wasn’t all that helpful, Bob answered for me. “We’ve met. What are you two doing anyway?”

“I’m mentoring her.” Audrey stumbled over the words. “It’s temporary, though. Don’t get used to it.”

Bob looked concerned. “Someone let you mentor a kid?”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “What do you want, Bob?”

“Can I borrow a cup of milk?”

“Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah. Because it’s my milk and I want to know.”

“Fine. I’m doing some baking and my recipe calls for milk.”

“Where are you baking? And where are you baking it? You’re homeless.”

Bob narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have any milk, do you?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”

“Because I wanted to know what was going on.” Bob gave her a dirty look and Audrey went on. “Go upstairs and ask Mike. He usually has stuff in his refrigerator that hasn’t expired.”

Bob turned to go but stopped short. “You guys still dating?”

“Yeah, we’re still together.”

He started to go up the stairs again. “I get why you’re with him. I don’t get why he’s with you. He probably needs to rethink some of his life choices.”

“Good bye, Bob.” Audrey shut the door and turned to me. “Sorry about that. Someone knocks on my door every damn minute of the day.”

“That guy’s a weirdo. He was here the day I came looking for you.”

“Yeah, we call him Outside Bob because he basically lives outside but is always around. He’s the very definition of weird.” Audrey came back to the couch. “Now bust out those cards and let’s get started. Time to get your psychic juices flowing.”