Thompson High. The last public high school in Velo City. Michael sighed, and followed Michelle away from the torrent of autocabs and into the dirt parking lot next to the barbed wire fence surrounding the school yard.

Michael calmly turned off the Mustang, reached into his passenger's seat for his worn school backpack, and stepped out of the car, slamming the door with a resounding thud. He swung the backpack over his shoulder, and slowly walked to join the line into the school.

The first thing that struck Michael as he reached the line was the intense smell. Unwashed teenagers, the smog from the air mixing with the potent pheromone deodorant was a deadly combination. Michael felt like the air was heavier than it was outside city limits. The line moved slowly by virtue of each and every student having to be put through a metal detector and x-ray to make sure no one was carrying weapons, drugs, or both.

Michael often felt nervous reaching the front of the line, he worried he somehow had a piece of metal on him that wasn't his car keys, and he would be detained for no reason. He walked through the massive metal detector, and then a large, plastic and metal box with legs strolled up to him, an x ray security droid, which paused to scan him. A few aching seconds went by, and the robot moved its square body up and down as if it was nodding, and turned towards the line of remaining students.

Michael sighed in relief and pushed his way through the bumbling mass of students on their way to various classes, keeping his head down and his back pack swung over his chest to prevent theft.

"Yo!" A familiar voice said.

"Hey Nick... what's up?" Michael sighed.

Nick was a short and stocky boy about Michael's age, tan skinned with brown eyes and hair. He wore a bright yellow hoodie, and baggy grey jeans.

"The ceiling." Nick retorted with a smile.

"Ha ha, very funny." Michael said sarcastically.

"Anyways, I've been looking at Hondas again, and if I get my dad to co-sign on the loan, I could get into an S2000..." Nick said, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"Really? How much is it..." Michael asked skeptically.

"It's only 5 thousand credits!" Nick said excitedly.

"What's wrong with it..." Michael sighed.

"The motor is seized, the interior is gutted, and the floor is rusted, but I could fix it!"

"- and how much have you got saved?"

"Like 2 thousand..."

"Why do you want a car anyways... it's easier just to take an AutoCab to school, believe me."

"Like I said before, you want to get on the Racing Authority circuit! There's followers to be had, cash prizes, and girls and-"

"-Crashing your car, getting arrested, if it was actually worth it, Michelle would've already dragged me out there. We can barely afford rent for the farm as it is-"

"Ohh, Michelle, is she still dating that guy-"

"For fuck's sake Nick-"

"No I remember they broke up-"

"Dude, she's way out of your league..."

The two boys reached their classroom, a shabby auditorium packed with about 70-100 students. A scrawny blonde teacher stood trembling behind bulletproof glass at the front of the room, submissively looking down at an ancient tablet computer with a crack in its screen while the students shuffled in towards various desks. She occasionally glanced up from her tablet, fearfully counting the number of students with her gaze.

Nick and Michael sat at their desks next to each other, just as the bell rang.

"G-Good morning class."

A vast majority of students continued speaking or playing on their watches. Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"T-Today we have a... special presentation about Metahumans..."

"JUST PLAY US THE VIDEO BITCH!" someone shouted from the back of the class. Michael sighed.

The teacher shuddered and tapped something on her tablet, the classroom lights dimmed, and a holographic projection materialized in the front of the classroom.

It was a poorly animated CGI cartoon of 3 high school age students that had clearly been dressed to look 'cool' and 'hip' by the boardroom that designed them, as they all wore baseball caps backwards with letterman jackets and jeans.

"This is Jeffery, a model American student, and this is Jennifer, his best friend." A narration voice said.

"OH, THEY FUCKING! " A student in the audience shouted. About half the auditorium laughed.

The cartoon characters walked through a stereotypical middle American high school in the midwest.

"-And this is Ivan... he's just moved here from another town, and there's something off about him."

The two main characters of the cartoon witness Ivan drop a sandwich out of his hand. Suddenly, the sandwich floats upwards and back into his hands, which was clearly just the previous frames of the animation being played in reverse.

"Ivan here is a class 3 Metahuman, and is considered dangerous to society."

Images of rats, a nuclear detonation, and footage of soldiers and mechs marching to the last war flashed rapidly on the screen.

"Hey, Jeffery, Jennifer, you guys saw nothing alright?" Ivan said nervously.

"Now what do you do when you see paranormal human activity?" The narrator asked sternly.

Jennifer answered quickly, "You continue on your way like nothing happened?"

"Wrong! Report this activity to your local law enforcement immediately! Metahumans possess abilities that are dangerous to our society and the American Way! They are no better than criminals!"

"But Ivan is our friend!" Jeffery added.

"Hahaha, silly Jeffery, Metahumans aren't your friends! They can have abilities like mind control to make you think you're their friend, or super strength to bash your skull in, or deadly psychic powers!"

The animation smash cut to Jeffery and Jennifer talking to a police officer. It then showed Ivan being lead away by men in masks and body armor into a black armored van, marked M.R.F. The Metahuman Registration Force.

"Thanks to you, our America just got a little safer! If you see a Metahuman, call your local law enforcement immediately! Remember, they aren't one of you!"

The film abruptly ended.

Michael shrugged, and turned his attention to his desk which lit up with a holographic display of the work and courses he had due today. He zoned out of the world, and got lost in his work.

**************

The hours passed like minutes, and soon the bell rang around 1 PM. Michael could stay for a free lunch meal, or leave. He chose to have lunch, waiting in line for a tray with a squashed burger with no cheese or vegetables, with a side of soggy french fries that appeared to be clinically depressed.

He headed over to an empty table by the barbed wire fence surrounding the school, where he could keep an eye on his Mustang to make sure no one vandalized it.

"Bro, you know that stuff is bad for you..." Michelle said as she sat down across from him.

"Well, it's free, and that's a great price..." Michael grumbled, taking a bite from the burger. It tasted more like plastic than meat, but he didn't really care.

"I wish I could've gone to that protest in Richmond... AI software is so oppressed these days..." Michelle said suddenly.

"You realize... that computers don't have feelings... right?" Michael said slowly, putting his burger down.

"Well, if they are running a positronic brain processor, they do, but there's an inhibitor sub routine that prevents them from developing emotions! It's modern slavery!" She exclaimed.

Michael sighed. Michelle was always going on about whatever political topic she heard on the news. Michael didn't really care about any of that, it didn't affect him, so why bother stressing about it.

"Michelle... they aren't real..." Michael groaned.

"That's a bigoted point of view you know-"

"Hey Michelle!" Nick said nervously, sitting down next to Michael.

Michelle was already tapping away at her watch, texting her friends and taking a selfie all at the same time with a few swipes of her finger.

Michael sat quietly, eating his food.

"So... you doing anything this weekend?" Nick asked Michelle nervously

"I'm busy... with stuff..." Michelle said, never looking up from her watch's hologram.

Michael sighed. He never had time to think about girls all that much. He had been on a few dates before, but the girls were usually scared off by the car, or the fact he didn't really have much to say.

He stood up, grabbed his backpack and rummaged around for his keys, grasping their familiar plastic in his hands, zipping his bag shut and heading towards his car.

As he looked up, his eyes met the gaze of a stunning girl with fiery red hair that was long enough to reach her waist. Her facial features were noble and rounded. Her eyes were bright green, and seemed to have curious look in them. She was tall, with an athletic body, and wore a long green jacket and a short grey skirt.

The first thing Michael thought was that she was beautiful. Sure, there were a few pretty girls at school that Michael had certainly noticed, but there was something about her that seemed... different.

She stood far away, apart from the crowd of students leaving the school grounds. She quickly looked away from Michael as their gaze met.

Michael watched as she turned and walked out the gate, and something caught his eye. On the back of her jacket was an insignia, some kind of lioness or cougar.

On the back of her jacket was an insignia, some kind of lioness or cougar

After a moment, Michael recognized it. He had seen it before in his father's old car magazines. It was for a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, a badge found on its fenders.

This girl might know cars, Michael thought. Perhaps she had been staring at him because she saw the Mustang and 180SX parked outside. Perhaps she saw the key he was holding, and knew he was the owner of the Mustang. Maybe he should go talk to her, perhaps she could be a new friend, his mind wandered further, perhaps she could be something more...

Michael shrugged. What kind of girl would stare at him, anyways? She was probably just staring off into space in his general direction.

"Yo, Nick, let's head to work...." Michael sighed.

"Alright, lets go!" Nick shouted, patting Michael on the back as they headed out the gate and towards the Mustang.

********