Coy walked the Fishers to the Grand Atrium. The open space that served as the front entrance to the school. A spiral staircase led to the upper floors. He signed Felicity into the school at the reception desk and issued her a room key and a smart card. 'Mean Girl' was handwritten on the card in permanent marker.

"Felicity, go up and meet the girls. I want to talk with your mother," Coy said.

With a sigh, Felicity walked the spiral stairs to the third floor.

Being strong is good for something, Felicity thought.

The second floor had a locked steel door marked 'Teacher's Dorm.' The third floor was open. Stairs continued to the sixth floor. She looked at the card.

Mean Girl? Is this a joke? Felicity thought.

A commons dominated the center of the hallway open to the stairs. Writing desks and a couch filled the space. Bookcases lined the wall with a row of school pictures above the cases. Each frame had a brass plate with a name and date. The dates started in the late eighties and had big jumps in time. The last one was five years ago. There were twenty-five pictures in all.

The East hallway had even numbered rooms; the West hallway had odd. She had a key marked number six and stopped at that door. Felicity knocked.

Wait, it's my room, she thought and opened the door.

"Hello?" Felicity said as she walked in.

"Bark."

Crested sat on the couch in the middle of the room next to another girl. The dog girl jumped up to the door, tail wagging.

"Hello Poppy. I'm Felicity," She said, resisting the urge to pet the girl's head.

"Honey, you're never going to make it," a third girl said. Felicity turned around. The third girl moved as a blur.

"I just got here," Felicity said.

The girl zipped past to stop before Felicity and almost bumped into her. But, instead, she looked into Felicity's face. "Use code names. A slip could risk a secret identity," the girl said.

The blur of a girl moved around the dorm. She was faster than Felicity could follow. When she stopped, the girl had a dancer's body without extra muscle or fat. Her hair was not blond but not brown and tied with a ribbon. Like a kite, it lifted her hair as she moved to leave a red streak.

"She's Crested or The Chinese Crested," the fast girl said, her hands on the dog girl's shoulders.

"Chinese?" Felicity said.

"Honey, she's Irish. I didn't name her," The Girl said. "I'm Go-Go, the house manager."

A clipboard appeared in Felicity's hands with Go-Go next to her. Go-Go stopped long enough for Felicity to get a better look. The girl wore the school shirt and skirt but with a spandex top and jogging pants underneath.

"Here's the chore list. You're on dishes this week," Go-Go said.

"Am I in the right room?" Felicity said.

"Honey. You're the new one for the third floor," Go-Go said. Felicity read over the chores.

"Crested never gets dishes?" Felicity said.

Go-Go stopped behind the couch. "Never, she's a dog. It's disgusting," Go-Go said.

"Bark?" Crested’s tongue hung out. Go-Go stopped to point at the rooms.

"Gyaru's room. That's my room; this is your room; Crested is over there," Go-Go said.

Felicity lowered the clipboard.

"And on the couch is the Amazing Puddle Girl from next door," Go-Go said. Puddles waved.

Puddles and Felicity were both the same height and thin. They could trade clothes. Except Puddles had a few more years of trained muscle. Long black hair covered half her face. She wore the same gym uniform as Crested with a black body stocking underneath.

"I'm not amazing," Puddles said.

"Honey, not yet. Let's go down to get your stuff," Go-Go said.

The three girls rode the freight elevator to the dorm parking lot with a cart. Karol waited by the car with the trunk open. Go-Go introduced herself, and Crested's tail wagged as she looked up at Karol.

"The Principle said hes not allowed in the dorm." Karol said.

"No. Mama Bear says no boys allowed. She's the dorm mother." Go-Go said.

"Oh, that's a relief," Karol said.

"This is like a girl's college," Go-Go said.

Go-Go zipped the boxes out of the car to the cart. But Felicity grabbed the box with coffee written on the top, and that box went on the cart last. Then, with the cart loaded, Crested sat on the front. Her legs kicked as Go-Go pushed. Felicity and her mom walked behind.

"I talked with Mr. Coy. I'll have to get used to this. It's sudden. I knew you'd leave for college. It's. With everything else." Karol said. The two stopped at the door to Room Six.

"Mom. This is weird, I don't like it ether, but it won't be boring. I'll be fine," Felicity said.

A girl carrying a box walked by. She stopped between them.

"Excuse me," she said. The girl had red hair with a green maple leaf clip to hold the right side of her bangs.

"Pardon us," Karol said as she stepped to the side. "The girl with the tail seems nice."

"Everyone gets a gas mask!" the redhead said.

"Bark."

"I should go," Karol said looking into the room.

Felicity unpacked; she had brought only a few things. She could go home on the weekends for more. The extra uniforms hung in her closet wrapped in dry cleaning bags. Girls from the other rooms stopped by to introduce themselves. Everyone on the third floor had powers, so it was a mix of students from all four years. Felicity needed to find out if asking about someone's abilities was polite. And decided to wait for someone to bring it up.

There were no more Mean Girls added this year. 'Yet.' as Go-Go had said. The other girls on the third floor were like Puddles. They were learning to use their abilities or on a reserve list to be a Mean Girl. Many had powers like Florida, situational at best. The redhead, Maple could talk with plants.

Maple and Florida stopped by last to have tea. Florida brought a porcelain tea set marked with the school crest. As the kettle came up to temperature, they talked.

"The Junior Hero Program helps new students find a place in the Hero community," Maple said.

"That sounds like a sales pitch," Felicity said.

"I'm a P.A.H.A. junior public relations officer," Maple said.

Go-Go zipped up to take a chair for tea and rattled the table. Florida grabbed the kettle before it tipped.

"Honey, you're also the head of the school's secret police and hall monitors," Go-Go said.

"That's to keep the other floors in line," Maple said.

"Secret police? What kind of school is this?" Felicity said.

"It's not that bad. Most of us keep busy doing work study to get a real job after graduation," Florida said.

"Doing what?" Felicity said. Maple poured the tea.

"Florida is a medical examiner's volunteer. She takes remote premed courses and core high school classes. I work as a crime lab volunteer," Maple said.

"How do any of you have time?" Felicity said.

"We're all on prescription Adenosine reuptake inhibitors," Florida said.

"Umm?” Felicity said.

"We take drugs so we don't have to sleep," Maple said.

Go-Go leaned over to Felicity. "For most of the year, girls from the third floor are exempt from chores. No kitchen, landscape and custodial work around the school. So we have more free time. Third floor rotates in the communication center and some office work," Go-Go said with a smile.

"Chores? Wait. The students do the work here?" Felicity said.

"Yes. Except us. They expect Mean Girls to fight day or night. It's the Hero thing," Maple said.

What did I think being a Hero was? Felicity thought.

"I spend my weekends doing autopsies," Florida said.

"Felicity, you should pick a work study," Maple said.

"I'll have to think about this. Like what?" Felicity said.

"We have a firefighter team, a police team, and the largest, a paramedic team. The students work part-time on weekends or in the afternoon," Maple said.

"But I'm a Mean Girl isn't that a work study?" Felicity said.

"That's the Hero team, its not part of the works study. We can go months with nothing to do. Mean Girls will go out with the Police." Go-Go said.

"I'll have to think about it," Felicity said. Florida looked at her watch.

"I need to get down to the Infirmary," Florida said. Felicity noticed Go-Go force a smile.

"Work study?" Felicity said. That smile. It's high school drama; only I'm here twenty-four hours a day. I'm not getting mixed up in it, Felicity thought.

"Kind of, more that it's my turn," Florida said.

"I'll go with you," Maple said. They packed up the tea set and said their goodbyes.

As Maple and Florida walked out, Felicity looked at the coat racks by the door. The racks had school blazers and hats. Crested's included a pair of cargo shorts with a small tactical vest and a badge lanyard. Felicity picked up the badge, 'Mecklenburg County Sheriff's K9 Poppy O'Neil’. With smart cards for The County Jail, Children's Services, and Animal Care and Control. Go-Go zipped up next to Felicity.

"Honey, she keeps busy," Go-Go said. Her rack had a uniform and a shoe tree on the floor. A dozen pairs of running shoes lay about, some new and some with the soles hanging on by a thread.

"She's done more than me. What about you?" Felicity said.

"I'm a third-generation Hero. My mother and grandmother are the glamour speedsters Go-Go and Go-Go Two. So I'm Go-Go Three," She said as she lifted her uniform off the coat rack. The shirt had patches for the North Carolina Highway Patrol. With a Cadet rocker beneath the state patch.

She held up the shirt to model it.

"You're doing the Police and Hero Programs?" Felicity said.

"The Hero program overlaps with the Police. Mean Girls tend to go into law enforcement. When I graduate, I'll have a Class A Hero license. I can be a State Trooper when I turn twenty one," Go-Go said.

"How far behind am I?" Felicity said.

"Honey, you're here with us," Go-Go said.

"This seems like too much," Felicity said.

"That’s because your new," Go-Go said.

On the third rack, Felicity hung up her blazer and hat. The last coat rack had a blazer, hat, beige sweater, and tactical vest. The vest said U.S. Marshals.

Felicity spent the rest of the day walking around the school. The classrooms were sparse compared to the public schools, set up as lecture rooms. She did find the band room. It was small, with cases of instruments on shelves. It looked odd. Her old school's band room reminded her of a zoo with brass and drums in cages.

The smart card would let her into every door she tried. The teacher's dorm's on the second floor had a deadbolt needing a key. Higher up, the building felt abandoned.

Felicity walked down the basement hall. Go-Go zipped out of a door; the sign said Infirmary. The speedster stopped at the door; her jaw opened when she saw Felicity. She gave a late, forced smile.

"Honey, It's time to get dinner ready," Go-Go said.

"What are we having?" Felicity said. I'm not arguing with her, Felicity thought.

"Ten pounds of London broil with a bushel of steamed mixed vegetables," Go-Go said.

"Let's go," Felicity said.