You're On Your Own, Kid

Orientation

Daisy passed the driving test with flying colours, and next, Coulson promised her that he'd find someone to teach her how to fly.

"I can't do it myself, because honestly? I suck at piloting," he had said. "The school offers a course, but I heard that you only cover the basics. Of course, the Operations Academy has a whole major on it, and Communications has a semester class, but the best bet is to get a seasoned pilot to teach you."

Daisy grinned. "I can't wait."

They painted the Bus in navy, retrofitted it with Fitzsimmons' metal weave curtains and fairy lights, and blacked out the windows in the middle to cover them with computer screens for Fitz. There was a small mini fridge under the computer. It looked very cool.

Fitz and Simmons had hung out with her in the Bus a few times already, settling in and sticking their favourite snacks in the fridge. There was a time that Coulson allowed Daisy to drive the three of them out to the campgrounds behind the school to watch the stars, and they sat inside with their mounds of blankets and the sunroof open.

Daisy had read all about SHIELD and its history by then, and gotten a couple lessons from Coulson on how to hold a gun. She had asked him about having an SO.

"They don't need to be on scene," he had explained when she asked. "Lots of the time, cadets don't see their SO's until break, unless the agent works at the school."

"Are you doing it for anyone right now?" Daisy asked.

"Not at the moment," Coulson replied. "I'm good for a story and a buck but I'm not the best SO."

"Can you be my SO?"

"Nope," he said cheerfully. "If I teach and am your legal parent, I can't be your SO. However, if I was just your legal parent and not a teacher, I would be able to, and vice versa."

"So what you're saying is I have to meet people and ask?" Daisy whined. "Actual people?"

Coulson chuckled. "Unfortunately. But I'll call in a few favours, see if I can talk my friend into it."

Daisy grinned. "Thanks, A. C.," she said. "You're the best."

A few days later, it was orientation day, and Daisy arrived at the school early since Coulson was a teacher, and he let her drive him in the Bus.

"I could get used to this," he said with a smile. "Is this what you feel like when I drive you somewhere?"

Daisy rolled her eyes and parked in front of the high school. "I'll see you later, Dad," she muttered half-heartedly. The corners of her frown twitched when she saw the beam that lit up his face when she called him Dad, and she ran into the building without another word.

She met up with Fitz and Simmons in the lab, where they always seemed to be, and with them was a boy around their age. Daisy recognized him as Grant Ward.

Simmons lit up when she saw her and waved her over. "Daisy, perfect timing!" she said brightly. "This is Cadet Ward. He's one of our specialists this year. Ward, this is Daisy."

Ward shook Daisy's hand gingerly with a slight smile. "Daisy...?"

"May," she replied with a grin. "You can call me whichever you'd like."

Fitz frowned. "Hey! We don't get to call you May," he complained.

"That's cause I introduced myself as Daisy and nothing more," she said, scrunching her nose. Daisy reached for Fitz, who leaned back. "Complain again and I'll quake your ass."

"Please don't," he squeaked.

Daisy ruffled the engineer's curls with a wide grin. "Sucker."

Ward sighed. "I hope this team is good. Agent Hand seemed to think that you're the best of the best this year," he said. "Who's the other specialist? Her?"

Simmons laughed. "God, no."

Daisy frowned.

"She's our communications cadet," the other girl continued. "We're planning on asking either Bobbi Morse or Antoine Triplett."

Ward's eyes lit up. "Trip! I know him. I think Morse is going to DC this year for an internship, though."

Fitz nodded bitterly. "Understandable. Too good for regular SHIELD, she has to go for congress SHIELD," he muttered.

"Be nice!" Simmons admonished. "She's very cool."

"So we're asking Triplett to be our last cadet?" Daisy asked, completely disregarding Fitz and Simmons's words. "Is he here yet?"

Ward shook his head. "He has summer vacation with his grandpa and his dad," he explained. "He'll be back next week."

"Cool." Daisy tapped the table in the awkward silence that ensued. "Do you guys want to check out my car? I finished the reno."

Ward frowned. "You have a car?"

"Yep. Got my license last week," she replied, grinning. "The SHIELD one, so I even learned how to drift safely. And flip."

Fitz nodded. "I watched."

"Me too!" Simmons grabbed her bag. "Shall we?"

Daisy nodded and walked out to the parking lot, where the vehicle was waiting. "I call it... the Bus," she said dramatically. "Simmons said the specialists sit in the back so I made sure that there was extra leg room. I added the curtains and some cute lights and a fridge. The seats swivel. And I added a small drawer underneath the back bench for medical supplies, weapons, and various disguise things," Daisy reported, mostly for Ward's benefit since he's never seen it before. "Also, the hull is made of vibranium and the windows are made from extra-bulletproof glass."

Ward nodded, looking impressed. "Neat."

Daisy squinted at him, but said nothing.

They all hung out in the Bus for a few minutes while Ward and Simmons watched Fitz and Daisy try and beat each other at Super Mario Brothers, and then soon enough the bell rang and they piled back out and walked to the auditorium, where they listened to Director Thompson's opening speech about SHIELD, the school motto, the expectations of high school students and the next months following. She talked about the Fall Formal, cohorts, and then dismissed the assets to find their homerooms and some consent forms for their legal guardians.

Then, the director spoke to the cadets about the added expectations of them being representatives of SHIELD, as future agents, and the things that will be expected of them in the following months. Finding an SO will be expected to be done by the start of September, and any missions will begin in December. Extracurricular courses are available by inquiry at the office, and then she was done. Director Thompson told them to report back to their homerooms as well, and Daisy said goodbye to her team members as she trudged down the hallways to find hers, a classroom on the second floor, sliding into the last empty seat next to a boy who smiled at her as she sat down.

"Hey," she greeted him with a breathy whisper. "Daisy May." He shook her hand, and Daisy felt a little jolt, energizing her.

"Lincoln," the boy replied softly. "Lincoln Campbell."

Daisy smiled. "Nice to meet you, Lincoln."