Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

ONE-SHOT LXXIX: First Day of School (Wolfgang)

Set one year after the events of White Phoenix 10

Wolfgang Steven von Strucker-Barnes

My dad dropped me off that morning at school. He looked tired. I remembered he and Mom were up late last night, and even earlier that morning. Mom had said, while making our lunches, that she'd had nightmares. He'd said the same thing, and kissed my Mom on the cheek, smoothing back her hair and speaking Russian in her ear. She'd spent all day in fluffy socks, sweatpants and a large sweater that I suspected was Dad's, her hair wound up in a messy bun. Besides that, she kept yawning. 

I smiled and slung my backpack over my shoulders and went into the school. My first class was maths. I was seven grades below my sister, Emily and two grades above my younger sister, Shannon. I was in third grade, though I was a little smarter than the other students to be in third grade. I was so excited to go to school, and so was my younger sister. Emily, on the other hand, was different. She had large wire-rimmed glasses that framed most of her face that should have been youthful and smiling, but was framed by much hurt and anger, the years of her work for the Red Room and HYDRA weighing down on her like a brick. I hated HYDRA with a passion. Mom and Dad had spoken about it at length, making a promise to not keep secrets from us. Emily was a part of HYDRA too, until 2014, when SHIELD fell at the hands of those loyal to the old SHIELD, namely my uncle Steve, my late aunt Natasha, my Mom, and my uncle Sam. Mom and Dad had practically retired, although sometimes they'd disappear for days or often weeks on 'business trips' to keep helping to make the world a better place. 

I went into my class and was asked to introduce myself.

'Hi, my name is Wolfgang Steven Barnes. I'm 9 years old and I originally come from Sokovia.' After that, the teacher asked me to sit down, so I did, and the day's lesson began. Next I moved to art, which I very much enjoyed. Then history. My homework: write down in 2,000 words or less how the Avengers have impacted our world, for good or bad. I went next to science, where we got to work with chemical reactions. My homework: make a Coke bottle with Mentos, TicTacs, or M&M's. I immediately thought of the secret stash of my sister's M&M's and Pringles, but decided against it. She guarded those candies with her life, and hated when a single container of it was out of place. Next: lunch and recess. 

I went through the line of kids, all getting their food. Taking my tray, I went to sit down, but the tables were filled with a lot of people who basically all looked similar. A group of girls with designer brands proudly showing. A group of guys all on their phones, laughing at memes. The nerdy table, most with glasses and backpacks that screamed 'nerd!' and fandom lovers. I sat down on a random bench and began to eat my food, from home, with a few exceptions from the food line. The package of jellybeans wasn't half that bad. My Mom said school had changed a lot from when she was a kid in the '50's. The attitudes and the social gatherings hadn't changed a bit, though. Dad said school was rough when he was growing up, but he was very athletic, even before he became the Winter Soldier. He had to keep protecting Uncle Steve from bullies, though. I nibbled on the jellybeans and kept an eye on the rest of the class. Just then I heard a voice. 

'You're the new kid, right?' I looked up to see another boy, with dark brown hair, a lot like my Dad's, and grey-green eyes. 

'Um - yeah. You are?'

'Your friendly neighborhood fandom nerd. Sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. Charlie Willis. That's my table, over there.' He pointed to the nerds table. 'You look lost. Care to come over?'

'I'm not lost,' I protested. 'And I'm fine.' But he would have none of it. He dragged me over to the table and introducted his friends. I sat down with them and we shared fandoms and similiar interests. I told them I was the son of two of the Avengers, the Winter Soldier and the White Phoenix. Then our conversation merged into talking about the Avengers and who was their favorite. 

'Who's your favorite Avenger?' one of the boys, Lukas, asked. 'Surely it's one of your parents.' 

'I like Captain America, actually. But I just call him Uncle Steve. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be my Mom. She's my real hero.'

'Yeah, the White Phoenix can kick some real ass,' another boy, named Johnny, said. His older twin brother by four minutes, Jamie, elbowed him. 

'Don't use that kind of language, Johnny.' He stuck his tongue out at his brother childishly, and we laughed. We continued to talk until class started again. Going back to class, my next lesson was home economics, where we baked muffins. To say the least, it was messy, for a bunch of 3rd graders. Then it was geography. My homework: draw a map and label correctly each of the states in the United States of America, including Hawaii and Alaska. The final subject for the day was PE (physical education). We did several exercises, which was - exhausting, but thanks to the latent super serum in my veins, I made it through without a hitch. At the end of the school day, I wandered out with the rest of the kids. 

'See you tomorrow,' Charlie said to me. I gave him a fist bump and he gladly returned it. My Dad pulled up, wearing sunglasses, which was quite new for him, and a baseball cap. He motioned with his head, and I climbed in the passenger's seat. We drove off, towards my older sister's school to pick her up. He took off his sunglasses. I could see his deep blue eyes, struggling to focus on the road. There were lines under his eyes. Yep. Still tired. 

'Good day at school, son?' 

'Yeah. It was fun. Made some friends, learned some cool stuff.' A slight smile crossed his face. I frowned at the speedometer for five seconds. He was slightly speeding. 'Dad, you're -'

'Yeah, I know. I promised not to leave your mother for too long. She's not doing too well. Nightmares kept us both up last night. We've both tried to sleep, but it's difficult. I'm glad you had a great day, Wolf. Pizza and a movie tonight?'

'You bet.'