Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

Intruders

After lunch, Dick took the liberty of showing me to the rest of my classes, which I was secretly very grateful for. Even if I didn't trust him completely, I could sense he wasn't a threat. He was very kind, introducing to me to a few of his other friends along the way. I tried to swallow down my nerves to be friendly and appear less like the frightened squirrel I was sure I looked like. My brain committed each new face to memory, saving it in case I needed it later. I was surprised my phone case didn't have a dent in it from my relentless nail.

After my final class of the day when the bell rang, I was mildly surprised to see Dick waiting for me outside of the classroom door leaning against the lockers. The nervous pit in my stomach had returned when he noticed me exit the classroom. Dick gave me another warm smile before tagging along my side.

"Do you need any help getting to a bus or a cab?" He asked, opening the door for me. The school's front yard was swamped with students, all ready to head home after a long first day at the academy.

"No, but thank you." I declined politley.

He shrugged. "If you insist. I'll see you tomorrow! It was nice meeting you, Jackie." He told me kindly. A Lock of his hair brushed gently across his brow, and I waved before I disappeared into the crowds.

I walked through the crowd of students, exhaling with sweet relief. My first day of school was over, and now I could go back to The Cave where I felt safe. I spotted Artemis near the front gates, mindlessly twirling a pen over her knuckles without hardly looking. I approached her, pleased to know she'd been waiting for me.

"How was class with Amelia?" I snickered, referring to the urgent text she'd sent me during fourth period.

She groaned and tugged at the neck of her white shirt, unbuttoning the tight collar and loosening the scarlet tie.

"Please don't remind me. I thought she was bad at first, but holy hell that girl is annoying."

I thought back at lunch and the way Barbra had been gagging and how Dick had obviously lied to get out of going on vacation with her.

"Oh I believe it." I chuckled.

I suddenly felt my stomach churn a little bit. I could feel someone watching me. I lowered my voice. "Is he looking over here?"

Artemis looked around. "Who?"

I shook my head and shoved away the strange feeling, convinced I was just imagining things. "Never mind."

When we exited the school grounds, I took a glance at where I'd left Dick. He was just waving bye to someone before climbing into the backseat of a slick, black car. With a start, I realized it was nearly identical to the car Dinah had driven that day when she rescued me.

Artemis walked me the three blocks to my disguised Zeta Tube after school. Artemis insisted it was on the way to her house, but I wasn't sure if she was fibbing and Dinah had asked her to. Either way, I was glad she was with me. I felt more comfortable with Artemis here.

Because she was a friend, and maybe also the fact that she carried a compound bow in her backpack.

I too was not shy of a few weapons myself. I no longer carried a gun, (because the Justice League didn't really do guns) so instead I carried a pair of taser sticks, a few of different kinds of knives, a grapple gun, and an emergency signal on the inside of my backpack. Handy, right? Just as they had this morning, my senses felt like they had been shot with caffeine. I was careful to observe the crowd of people that surrounded us.

This area of Gotham was very different. Shopping bags swung on the arms of lavishly dressed ladies, and others pushed around pudgy little toddlers in strollers. There was an open park nearby with green grass and tall pretty trees. The streets seemed a bit cleaner too. Big potted plants could be spotted flanking the doors of apartment lobbies.