Free Super Villain Grandpa (Cape High Series Book 15) by R.J. Ross Page B

not like anyone will really want to—except maybe Aubrey, but Aubrey’s way too nice for her own good,” I declare. “I mean, I have—well, had, anyway, a crush on her boyfriend—”
    “Did you want to talk to them?” he asks.
    I hesitate before saying, “Who needs them? I’m perfectly fine on my own!”
    He smiles slightly, pushing some of my hair behind my ear. “You and I are quite the pair, aren’t we?” he says with a hint of amusement. “Come on, let’s get going.”
    “To the amusement park?” I ask, getting up.
    “Sure, why not? I’ve always wanted to see what kind of ride they’d make out of Century. Did they manage to make it stop time?”
     
    ***
     
    The classroom is completely silent. Blackjack had seen this as the perfect way to get out of teaching and turned HTV on, but his class was over a few hours ago. The television is still on. Every teacher that’s come in since has been given a very calm, yet unyielding expression from the class. It’s followed by a simple sentence from Max, “Sorry, but can we keep watching this? She’s one of ours.”
    That he’s even claiming Keliah had most of the class looking at him strange the first time. Now, though, since it’s the third teacher to walk in, they just nod in agreement, turning back to the screen as soon as the teacher nods in return. Banshee is actually sitting in the back, watching along.
    “I want to go to her,” Aubrey says abruptly. “Emily, can we go talk to her?”
    “No,” Max says, answering for Emily. “Not yet.”
    “But you HEARD her, Max! She’s just a little girl that’s been trying to act tough—”
    The entire attitude towards Keliah has changed since they started watching. Max can see the rest of the group debating on joining the argument.
    “She is tough,” Jennifer says, absently touching her nose.
    “Maybe to you, she is,” Trent says, although not unkindly. “And that’s understandable. She promises to be a very strong cape. But right now… well, she’s one of the…” he hesitates, glancing over at Jennifer’s friends, Olivia and Elidee, and then over at Cisco, “she’s one of our… what should we call you guys?”
    “Fledglings,” Max says, grinning slightly. “I liked that one.”
    “It sounds stupid,” Jack points out bluntly.
    “We can’t call Cisco a chick, though, even if he is the right color,” Max says.
    “I dunno, he kinda looks like—”
    “Jack!” Aubrey says in a scolding tone. “Ignore him, Cisco, he has no filter between his brain and his mouth. Trust me, I’ve checked.”
    “Love you, too, Aubrey,” Jack says to his girlfriend, earning a teasing grin.
    “Whatever,” Cisco mutters, ducking his head and turning a bit red at the “looks like” burn.
    “The fact of the matter is,” Trent says, giving his brother a warning look, “those of you that are just coming into power are the ones we need to protect most. We’ve all been there, so don’t take it personal, fledglings. Soon you’re going to fly, or run, or whatever it is you’re built for. When you get to that stage you’ll get tossed out onto the field like the rest of us, and we’ll expect you to watch out for the next group of fledglings.”
    “Because by then we’ll have graduated,” Vinny says, looking up from his magazine, finally, “and taking care of the norms, who are even more delicate than the ‘fledglings.’ This is just as much training as it is taking care of our own.” He hesitates, looking around the room. “Hey, does anyone know where Justin is?”
    “He’s skipping class today,” Ace says. “He took one look at the screen and left.”
    The older ones in the group go quiet. It’s only Olivia that speaks up. “Does he not like Keliah?”
    “No, that’s not why he skipped,” Ace says.
    “One of the escaped convicts killed his father,” Morgan says softly, still focused on the screen. “It wasn’t Keliah’s grandpa, but I bet it’s close enough to be a… tender