Slow and Speedy Win the Fight

9. The Spotlight

Haresa

I felt sort of bad for Sheldon. At the same time, he was just as dangerous as I had remembered him.

The scene replayed in my mind as I made my way to the next class. Ms. Morgan seemed to have been dealing with it but I still was feeling uneasy. He had the power of invisibility and was searching for me. There was no way I could feel at ease if he could be popping out of any corner if I wasn't careful enough.

I made my way to the lunch table with my hood over my head still.

"Haresa!" Rudra waved his hand towards me and I lifted a finger to my lips.

His expression instantly dropped into a look of confusion. I quickly made my way to him.

"The paparazzi have been after me all day ever since I got name-dropped in the Blanc drama." I sat down next to him and began to take out my lunch from my bag.

"Yeah, he just suddenly left the industry like that, it's so weird." He waved his spoon as he talked.

I twisted open my container and the aroma of curry instantly hit my nose. "I wish they didn't bring me into it."

"I heard people talking about you being the new hero to look up to."

"Ughhhh, I don't need that right now." I poured the curry into another container that had rice. "I'm just trying to survive high school... and Sheldon."

Rudra's eyebrows shot up and he covered his mouth with a hand. "What? He didn't do something today?"

I mixed the contents of my container aggressively with my spoon. "He freaking just attacked a paparazzi and broke the guy's camera?"

He swallowed before he spoke. "What? How?"

"So, the guy, he can turn invisible."

"Sheldon?" Rudra's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"No, no, the paparazzi. This was in the hallway by the way. And they snuck up on him and tried to get his picture. Sheldon seemed to have just been on attack mode and broke the guy's camera."

"And the paparazzi had permission to go around the school taking pictures?"

My spoon hovered in front of my face and I lowered it in thought. "I didn't see him wearing a visitor's tag..."

"That seems like a felony right there."

"I'm just... so done with publicity." It was second nature to constantly check my phone but being bombarded with my face plastered on every site made it hard to escape the already negative feelings I was experiencing.

"Well... I think it's cool you're famous. Like you probably get to go to so many cool things."

"With my dad? No. Not really." I shook my head. "It was more frequent when I was a kid since I wanted to go."

He tilted his head to the side. "You don't get invited to stuff anymore?"

"No, it's just... not something I'm interested in anymore."

I continued to eat my lunch and that was when I saw Mr. Dunson approach me.

"Haresa, how have you been?"

I instinctively looked around me, paranoid that the paparazzi would jump out at a moment's notice. "The paparazzi have been after me all day and I'm having a bad time Mr. Dunson. I saw one appear out of nowhere. I don't know whether I'm safe from them."

"It's okay, Ms. Morgan is handling it. She's in the office with that one paparazzi guy right now. I think he's the only one that can turn invisible. So just try to calm down a little. No one can hurt you here."

I took a deep breath and tried to relax my shoulders. "Thanks, Mr. Dunson."

"No problem but I have to talk to you about GSA stuff for a moment."

"Sure, what's up?"

"This is about your hero duties. Do you want to talk somewhere more private?"

"No, it's okay." I glanced at Rudra. "Rudra knows about most of the hero stuff so I'm comfortable talking about it here. I don't think anybody else will eavesdrop either."

"Okay, just clearing it up. Anyways, I was told that Sheldon was joining the club and I was wondering if you were okay with that knowing what Ms. Morgan told me. I know this is a safe space for other students but it's also a safe space for you."

I felt my stomach turn but I put on a brave smile and formed the okay sign with my fingers.

"It's totally fine. He isn't the type to destroy safe spaces I think and it's my job to keep villains in check so..."

He nodded. "Alright, but if any issues arise, let me know asap."

"Got it, Mr. Dunson."

Mr. Dunson turned his head and directed his attention to Rudra. "Also, how are you doing Rudra?"

Rudra gave a smile. "I'm doing good."

"You're going to show up to the GSA meeting too?"

Rudra gave a shy fist pump. "You know I will!"

"Great, see you all there then."

Mr. Dunson walked away but stopped every few seconds to make small talk with students he recognized. I exhaled and shoved another spoonful of curry into my mouth.

"Are you really sure you're okay with Sheldon being there though?" Rudra gave me a side-eye.

I nervously tapped my spoon against the container and shrugged.

"It's my duty as a hero to keep an eye on villains. I'll be fine."

"Mmhmm, and I like women," he replied sarcastically.

"Rudra, it's fine. Really."

"Okay, if you say so."

I didn't pay any mind to his words and quietly finish my lunch. I was a hero. Small things like this shouldn't bother me at all.