Certified Superhero (Misfits #2)

7: i'm not a workaholic

Diana was surprised when I beat her to the table for breakfast. She was already dressed in her best professional attire. I swear, she showed off sometimes by always being so professional. I hadn't changed out of my pajamas yet or taken a shower after last night's short patrol.

"I made you breakfast." I slid a bowl of cereal toward her and the carton of milk.

She gave me a sarcastic smile. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably starve." I took a bite of my cereal and spoke through the corn flakes. "By the way, Rory called and said the office is closed today. A waterline or something burst so they have plumbers working on it all day. We'll be good to go in tomorrow probably but we get today off."

"For real? A day off?"

Take that Diana. I am an excellent liar and my excuses are perfect. "That's what I said. Too bad you have to go to class."

"Do you not pay attention to anything I say about school?"

I wasn't even fazed by her question. Cool as a cucumber just like always. "I really don't like school, but I listen to you most of the time. Why?"

She mixed her cornflakes with whatever pure-sugar cereal she had bought for herself. "I finished finals last week. It's a new semester with a new schedule." I gestured for her to continue with my spoon. "I don't have class until three today."

It took a little too long for my brain to compute what she was saying. "So... Freetime?"

"Freetime."

For as long as Diana and I had lived in Nova City, and we were coming up on six months now, we had never had days off together. She was either studying or working or attending class and I spent most of my time at work thinking about being a superhero, planning to be a superhero, or actually being a superhero. During our little downtime, we talked about all the things we would do when we got a weekend off. Now squeezed onto a full metro car leaving Queen Plaza's main station, Diana would not shut up about the plans.

"You know, I've always wanted to visit the old Opera theater in Cloud Terrace? Even back in Summersville I thought it would be a cool vacation spot. I read that it's built from an old steel mill. And there are ghosts." Of course, there were ghosts. "Or the parks in New Star? I always walk past them on my way to campus, but they look gorgeous. The district has so much greenery and all these cool modern art installations that my classmates never stop talking about. I have so many things planned for today! Where are you taking us first?"

I hated to kill her excitement, but I had plans too. "I think you'll know it when we get there. It might not be as exciting as New Star parks and haunted opera houses, but I think it's going to blow your mind."

My destination blew no one's mind. Twenty minutes later, I ushered Diana off the last stop on the metro line, at the edge of Stones, my usual stomping grounds. I hadn't seen it in the daylight before, and Diana had never seen it in person. The light didn't make it any more impressive.

If anything, the buildings looked even more rundown. The mortar between the brown bricks of the buildings was grimy and chipped off at the corners. The buildings looked like squat old ladies compared to the glitzy skyscrapers in Queen Plaza. There was a diverse cast of people bustling on the sidewalks but none of them even looked up when we got out of the metro station.

"Please tell me that there is a hidden tourist trap here and that you did not just drag me across the city on our one day off so you could do more work."

I didn't say anything.

She held her head in her hands. "I can't believe I'm friends with a workaholic."