Michael Mitchell raised his head from the steering wheel for what must’ve been the thousandth time. He adjusted his glasses and read the name of the school on the building, disbelieving that he would be teaching here. Herculean Academy. He shook his head, refusing to believe. He knew when he was moving to this city that it would have far more of them then his hometown did, but that he would actually teach at the school where most of them went? The thought scared him more than the thought of his grandmother in a thong. Why he would think of that in the first place, is anyone’s guess.

Michael shook his head again. A teacher should not be afraid of his students. He was here to teach physics, which even they needed to learn. And there were plenty of Natural students and staff members that went here, so he wouldn’t be completely out of place. He took a deep breath, grabbed his bag, and got out of his car.

He locked the door, and looked out at the academy. He was just looking at it from the inside of his car, but now that he was looking at it from outside, it amazed him all over again. It was large, blue and white, looking just like a manor. It was probably diamond-shaped from a bird’s-eye view. Spires littered the top, an observatory tower in the back, and a balcony circled around the central building. It reminded him a lot of the university he attended. He took some comfort in that and pushed on through, out of the parking lot, up the stairs and into those double doors. He made it. He mentally patted himself on the back, smiling. The first step is always the hardest. He looked around and saw students walking down the hall, chatting with friends, hanging out by lockers, drinking from the water fountain. Normal high school student stuff. If they stayed this way, he could definitely make it through the day.

“’Morning, chief!” greeted a cheery voice. He looked to his side and saw a student, no older than sixteen, despite being a little on the short side. He had slicked back black hair, faded denim jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt under a black T-shirt. And he topped it off with a pair of sunglasses. This kid certainly made it a point to look cool. Or was he trying to and failing? Michael couldn’t tell what kids found “hip” these days, but then, he was never part of the in crowd in his younger years.

“Good morning,” he greeted in return. “Could you point me in the direction of the teacher’s lounge?”

“Down the hall and to the left,” said the student, pointing in that direction.

Michael thanked him, then added, “Are you supposed to wear sunglasses inside?”

“You sayin’ I should take ‘em off?” the student asked with a mischievous tone. Michael raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just that, in the schools I’ve attended, students weren’t allowed to wear hats, bandanas, and sunglasses indoors. I’m new to the area so I’m not completely sure what all the rules are. However, I don’t see much purpose in wearing sunglasses indoors.” And on a cloudy day, no less, Michael added in his head, but didn’t want to appear judgmental. A student’s first impression of a teacher is just as important as vice versa.

“Can’t argue with teacher-logic. Okay, chief, I’ll take ‘em off.” The student closed his eyes, removed his sunglasses, and then opened his eyes again. Michael gulped as he and the boy locked eyes. It was a trap.

The boy’s eyes were green with many black dots speckled about his irises. The boy looked down toward Michael’s lower regions and laughed.

“Aren’t you a little old to be wearing Winnie the Pooh underwear?”

Michael flushed and walked away from the boy as a nearby adult yelled at him to put the sunglasses back on. Michael cursed himself as he headed toward the teacher’s lounge. The seeming normality of the school led him into a false sense of security. That boy was one of them. And they made up nearly half the school. Michael had actually almost forgotten.

Fate saw fit to give Michael another reminder. He stopped near a water fountain to calm his nerves and saw a female student, wearing a knee-high skirt, walk down the hallway. The halls were getting much more crowded as more students arrived so she had to push her way through. Two boys from the side were checking her out. One had wild brown hair and golden eyes. His arms were crossed as he looked at her, hungrily. The other boy, who was black, noticed and said, “Yeah, she is pretty hot. Nice legs. But that skirt’s too long. So let’s see if we can get a better view. ” He stared intently at her skirt, concentrating. Then…

WHOOSH!

The girl’s skirt flew up as if she were standing on top of a fan. She screamed as onlookers laughed and chided, and the wild boy wolf-whistled (Michael would later learn just how appropriate that was) heartily. The girl pushed her skirt down, glared at the black boy and muttered “Stupid muties” as she huffed away, blushing hard.

“Aw, don’t be like that! Jus’ a joke!” he laughed, calling after her. “An’ a damn funny one at that.”

“Taekwon!” yelled an adult, the same one that yelled at the sunglasses kid, “You know the rules.”

“It wasn’t me, Mr. Bruder. It was that wind kid,” Taekwon lied as his wild boy friend, laughed (in a strange “yip yip”) way. An Asian boy from across the hall stopped laughing, and said, “Damn it, TK, I told you to quit blaming your pranks on me.” He thrust his arms, palms stretched outward, and a huge gust of wind knocked TK down, taking a few bystanders with him. Mr. Bruder grabbed both students by the arms and scolded them, giving them detention.

Michael looked down at his pants. Still dry. Good. He gulped, calmed himself, and made his way to the teachers lounge. He just witnessed three of them and there were plenty more. In his twenty-seven years of existence, this was the closest he ever came to them and they were just as scary as he thought they were. This would indeed be a long day.

Michael ducked into the teacher’s lounge and heaved a sigh.

“The school day hasn’t even started yet and you’re already tired?” said a friendly voice. He looked over to one of the sofas near the vending machine and saw a black man giving him a polite wave. A fellow teacher.

“I was, uh, overwhelmed by the, um, activities that go on here,” Michael said. The man closed his briefcase, and walked up to Michael.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” Michael nodded and the teacher held out his hand. “Trevor Travis.” Michael shook his hand and introduced himself. When that was done, Trevor put his hands on his hips and arched his back, stretching. “Looks like we snagged a young one, too,” Trevor said. Michael responded with a nervous chuckle. Trevor had a crew cut of curly black hair, but grayness was starting to show even in his moustache. “Well, you get used to having a bunch of metahumans running around. Lucky for us, we teach the Mental classes. I pity the poor saps that have them for the Physical ones.” He laughed. “So, where did you used to teach?”

“Oh, well, I’m actually just starting. This is my first job, or, gig, as some may call it.”

Trevor scratched his head. “No one calls it that. This ain’t the music business.”

“R-right. Sorry.” How many times must I tell you: never attempt a joke! You’re not funny!

“So what are you here to teach?” Trevor asked.

“Oh, I’m not a permanent teacher, unfortunately. I’m just here to sub for the physics teacher until the school can find a new one.” Trevor’s face became drenched in confusion which made Michael suddenly feel uncomfortable.

“Impossible,” said Trevor, “I’m the physics teacher.” Now it was time for Michael’s face to be doused in confusion.

“But they called me to sub for Physics. At least, I’m sure that’s what I heard.”

Trevor scratched his chin. “I suppose we better take this to the headmaster. Follow me.”

The two teachers reached the headmaster’s office and went inside after being let in by the secretary. The tall man with a full head of grey hair behind the desk looked up from his papers, interlocked his fingers and leaned back into his chair.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” he greeted.

“Good morning, Mr. Lazarus,” Trevor greeted back, “It seems we have a little mix-up here. Is Mr. Mitchell here supposed to sub for me?”

Mr.Lazarus looked at Mr. Mitchell who tried to maintain a professional face. Was it a mistake? To be honest, he wouldn’t have been too mad if they sent him home.

“I don’t see why you’d need a sub if you’re here.” Mr.Lazarus said, perplexed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lazarus, but your Board called me this morning, saying Herculean Academy needed a sub for Physics class,” said Michael as politely as he could. Mr. Lazarus’ eyes widened, then he closed his eyes and shook his head, muttering.

Finally, he sighed and said, “That Board. I don’t know what they’ve got going on down there, but they shouldn’t put people with lisps on the phones. Not that there’s anything wrong with them.”

“Of course not,” Michael said quickly, almost obediently, which earned a smirk from Trevor.

“I apologize, Mr. Mitchell, but we didn’t need a substitute Physics teacher. We needed a substitute Psychics teacher.”

Michael’s eyes became saucers of surprise. “Ps-Psychics?! You teach psychics here?” Mr.Lazarus raised an eyebrow.

“You do know what school this is, right?” he questioned.

“Y-Yes, I’m sorry. I’m just not used to this stuff,” Mr. Mitchell admitted. Mr. Travis gave off a short laugh.

“Well, that’s not exactly a bad thing so there’s no need to apologize. Anyway, psychic students need a psychic teacher. I better see if they can send one down soon. Class is about to start. Mr. Mitchell, since you’re here, would you mind watching them until then?”

“Me?!” Michael exclaimed, “But I don’t know anything about psychics! I study natural physics, not the physics of metahuman abilities.”

“It’s okay,” Mr.Lazarus assured, “The class is small. Psychics are rare, after all. You don’t even have to worry about teaching them; just watch them until the sub gets here.”

“A-Are you sure I can handle it?”

“Of course, metahumans and humans may be different in terms what they can do, but they’re still the same. It’ll be no different from watching a bunch of regular kids.”

Michael thought about it. It really wouldn’t look good if he denied. Being afraid to watch a couple of kids? This could be reported to the Board and he might find himself with less jobs. But they weren’t normal, though. And coming from a predominately Natural neighborhood he hadn’t had much experience with them. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to get to know them? He hadn’t looked at it that way. Maybe he’s wrong and they’re not all scary. Plus, he did put on his good pants. People don’t do that if they aren’t doing anything interesting for the day.

“Okay. I’ll watch them.” Michael said.

“Thank you. Now, you better hurry to room 113, because class is about to start.”

Michael headed out the door, but not before he heard Trevor snickering and say to himself, “Sending an untrained Natural to look after a group of Metas. Especially those kids. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”