I See Dead People. . . [ BNHA × OC ]

☙ Chapter Two

     No. No. No.

    "Why does it say UA?" Cleo had been the only one to break the silence after Edison revealed his surprise.

    I turned around in my chair to watch Marie send a death glare at Edison. She crossed her arms and moved towards him. "Thomas—"

    "Before you do anything," Edison raised his hands and backed away from her. "Just remember you can't kill me a second time."

    Marie continued to stare daggers at him that said that she would try anyway. "What did you do?"

    Edison rubbed a hand over his forehead and explained himself. "You said Mordecai deserves the best education he can get, so I sent in his application to the school with the lowest acceptance rate. And after they received a letter of recommendation from the greatest mind in history, they let him in!"

    Marie shook her head inside her hand. "Thomas, we talked about this. I trusted you."

    "And I took that trust and ran with it! Look, UA has an acceptance rate lower than anyone in the country. And it's not just for hero academics! They have programs for engineering and designing that would challenge his mind instead of boring the life out of him." Even though I was sure this was more about Edison refusing to admit he was wrong, I did consider his point. I had thought that UA was only for heroes, but turns out, they have more to offer.

    I shook my head (for once not because of a tic). "No," I told him. "I can't go to a school like that. I don't belong there."

    "Mordecai, you already got in. It's not like they can say no; they want you there! I know you, son. Of course, you belong to a place that can handle your talents. Please, don't hold yourself back from doing something extraordinary. That's all I ask." After arguing the topic to death, Edison finally stopped talking and let me and Marie put in our thoughts.

    I looked up to Marie, and she sighed. "I'd never suggest you hold yourself back, but I also don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with. We already applied to the school, so the least we can do is go to orientation." Edison silently pumped his fist in the air in celebration until Marie sent another glare his way to keep him quiet.

    I sat back in my chair and rubbed the edge of my neck while thinking about their offer. I did what I usually did in tough situations, and I thought about what my parents would advise. They were people to never fear anything; not even judgment. My folks were people to be proud of who they were, and I had a gut feeling they would want me to do the same. Going to such a big school was something that I wasn't eager to jump into, but I knew it would help me fight some of my fears. I looked up to Marie and Edison with Cleo and Jack on either side of me. "I'll give it a try."

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    While I prayed that the following week took its time, it instead flew by in the blink of an eye. After getting dressed in the UA school uniform that left me in a grey blazer and dark pants, I felt something was missing. Sure, it wouldn't cause me to stand out, but it just wasn't comfortable. I turned over to my closet full of my only other three outfits that were basically the same. I grabbed a navy blue hoodie off one of the hangers and slipped it on while heading out the door.

    When I walked down the stairs to the front door, I saw Marie, Edison, Cleo, and Jack all waiting for me. Marie was holding up my coat but set it back down after seeing the hoodie I had on. "Are you really going to wear that all day," she asked.

    I gave her a shrug in return while I stood by the doorway. "I get cold." It wasn't a total lie, seeing as my tics are less apparent when I'm warm. Ideally, it would be nice to have the hood to also keep the lights from my eyes, but my black hair proved to be too long for that.