Zoey Kalligan held her books tightly to her chest as she scuttled through the large crowd of people in the hallway of Super City High. It was her first day back from winter vacation, and everyone was scrambling not to be late. People jostled her left and right, but she managed to shove her way through the sea of bodies, and reached her own classroom - chemistry. She let out a breath of air, put her bag and books down on the lab table, and sat down.

Super City was a fairly normal school. It had a gymnasium, experiment labs, a musty, dusty library, state-of-the-art computer labs, and teachers that could be dated back to the crustaceous period. The thing that made Super City just a little bit different was the students themselves. It was not irregular to see people flying into school, instead of driving or taking the bus. When little Molly Mingledon couldn't reach the top shelf, all she had to do was stretch her hand up, and up, and up until she could touch the ceiling, and grab whatever she needed from the top of her locker shelf. Each student at Super City had something very unique about them. They all had super powers.

It was much too early to be at school, Zoey decided. She put her head on her arms, letting her dark hair fan out across the table, closing her bright blue eyes, and breathing evenly. She hoped she wouldn't actually fall asleep, but it was nice to imagine. Her eyes ached with tiredness. She had stayed up too late the night before completing homework that she had left for much too late. She didn't want to hear Miss Margo tell her about molar mass and properties of compounds and other things like that. She wanted to sleep. Preferably for the rest of her life.

"Hey, wake up," said a voice next to her, nudging her. Zoey yawned and sat up. She looked around, focusing as her friends Mark Mettin and Dana Harris sat at two other chairs at their four-person table.
"I'm up, I'm up," said Zoey.

"It's too early for anyone to be awake," said Mark, rubbing his eyes.

"Agreed," said Zoey. "I'm only looking forward to one thing today, and it's my new Home Ec. class."

"For me, it's my Hero class," said Mark. "Combat! It'll be awesome. Learning fun ninja skills and then beating the crap out of the bad guys and then soaring off into the sky like... some hero, I guess."

"Since... that's what you'll be," said Zoey.

"Yep," said Mark, grinning.

Mark's power was flight. He discovered it at age ten, when fell from the shed in his backyard. When he was six, Zoey remembered vividly when he had fallen from the shed the first time and broken his arm. She remembered with chilling clarity the crunch that had resounded in her mind when he had hit the ground. From age six to ten, Mark would go no where near the shed, terrified of heights. However, at age ten, Mark was dared to get back up and stand on top of the shed again. Mark climbed the tree, with a terrified look on his face, and slowly put his feet on the shed's roof. He stood motionless for a moment, and then took a step forward.

He fell. Zoey heard his scream and threw her arms in front of her face, hoping it would drown the sound out. However, this time there was no thud. There was no crunch. She could hear Mark hyperventilating three feet from her, and she dared to peek out at him. He was floating less then a foot from the ground and breathing heavily. He drifted upward, angled himself, and put his feet on the ground. He fell over immediately, and Zoey ran to him as everyone else stared in amazement.

"Are you okay?" she had asked.

"I can fly!" was all he said.

"Well you all know what I'll be," Dana said miserably. "Stupid maid my entire life... stupid boring power..."

"Please," said Zoey. "Yours is so much more efficient then mine and I have a boring one too. At least you don't have your mother nagging you every day to pick up your rooooom and this is a meeeess." Dana shrugged.

"I guess," she said. She looked a bit happier, and Zoey smiled.

"Well," said Mark, "I personally intend to eat at your restaurant at least once a week." Mark grinned at Zoey, who laughed.

"Thanks," she said. Then their teacher, Miss Margo, came through the door pulling a cart filled with beakers, labeled jars, masking tape, and Bunsen burners.

"Welcome back guys," she said very enthusiastically. "Today we're gonna prepare for our lab on Wednesday! Now, we're doing two days of preparation instead of one because this lab is VERY important. It's your first lab grade for this quarter, so I want you to pay very close attention." The class settled in to listen to their teacher ramble for two days. Everyone was leaning against their hands or had their head down on the tables. Zoey was staring off into space, doodling on the paper she was supposed to be taking notes on.

"I wish I was in Hero class," muttered Mark. "I bet everyone would rather be in Hero class."

"Not everyone can be a hero," Zoey murmured back. Mark yawned. Zoey began to draw a pretzel.

-

Zoey entered her English class forty minutes later, yawning herself. She dropped her Winter Book essay in to 'Turn In' bin in the front of the classroom and headed to her seat. She sat on the very far right, three rows from the front. She sat down and dropped her bag next to her seat and pulled out her notebook.

English was not, in any way, Zoey's favorite subject. She couldn't see any point whatsoever to "finding hidden meanings" in literature. She didn't understand why any author would put two meanings either. She enjoyed reading, but she did not enjoy the analysis part. And that was what English class was.

Mrs. Hank, the English teacher, called them to attention, and everyone sat down immediately. Everyone knew that her power was Persuasion, and they all knew that, unfortunately, there was no winning an argument against her. So students generally just accepted what she said the first time.

"Hey kids," said Mrs. Hank happily. Everyone groaned back at her. "Cheery today," she commented. The sarcasm was dripping from her tone. "We're getting a new book today! You can give us back Great Expectations, and you're getting 1776 instead!" Zoey sighed and pulled out her Dickens book.

English dragged as Mrs. Hank gave a non-spoiler synopsis of 1776. Zoey wanted the day to hurry up, so she could just get to Home Ec. already! She nearly ran from the English wing when the bell finally rang. She met up with Dana in the hallway on the route to Geometry. Zoey couldn't deny that she was excited for Geometry. Her class was full of interesting people who made the class more fun. Mrs. Evans was also a wonderful teacher, who actually made some parts of the class not-boring.

Zoey sat down, and prepared to laugh as Mrs. Evans walked into the classroom amidst happy yells of "JULIE!" She laughed, and told the three boys to call her 'Mrs. Evans'. The boys insisted on calling her 'Julie' anyway, and Mrs. Evans just laughed along with everyone else.

"So, you divide this by two, and the result is...?" Mrs. Evans trailed off, hoping for an answer. Three hands shot into the air, and Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes in amusement. "Justin?"

"The answer would be forty-two. Right, Julie?" Justin said, winking at Mrs. Evans. She laughed.

"It would," she said. "And it's Mrs. Evans to you."

"Of course, Julie." Zoey chuckled along with everyone else in the classroom.

Zoey watched the clock as it ticked closer and closer to her least favorite class of the day - gym. She had lunch right after gym, so it was a give-and-take deal, but she dreaded it every single day. Mrs. Evans told everyone to close their books, and Zoey took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare. Zoey was not athletic. She wasn't particularly clumsy, and wasn't too bad when it came to hand-eye coordination, but she just did not enjoy playing sport games. She didn't enjoy having to run a mile in a specific amount of time. She didn't enjoy the boys throwing dodge balls at her so fast that she would get the wind knocked out of her if she didn't avoid every single one. Dana and Zoey walked to gym together.

"Alright!" called Mr. Nroma. "For the next four weeks, we'll be focusing on a less demanding sport. This sport is more of a test of your hand-eye coordination, and less of 'Let's Burn Over A Thousand Calories in An Hour'. Badminton."

Zoey silently cheered. Badminton was always her favorite section of gym. She wasn't wonderful at it by any means, but at least it was fun to play with her friends. Dana was also in this class with her, so Zoey knew she'd always have a partner. Zoey and Dana also got along with a couple other girls in the class, so they formed a little group. Zoey and Dana changed quickly once Gym was over and hurried to lunch. Mark rarely beat them there, and today was not one of those rare occasions. Zoey and Dana dropped their bags on their usual small table and sat down. The three of them were the only people sat there. Mark was there less than a minute later, and he was raving in seconds.

"Holy CRAP!" he said. "I had Combat last period and holy crap, it's going to be the best class ever!" He was grinning from ear to ear.

"That's great," said Zoey. "Let's go get food." Mark sighed. Dana giggled and stood up, and Zoey and Mark followed suit. Mark hurried through the line, wanting to sit back down and tell them his stories quickly, but Zoey and Dana took their time. Mark was back at the table long before Zoey and Dana sat back down.

"God, you guys took forever," he complained.

"Sorry," said Zoey. "So how was Combat, besides being awesome?"

"It was just awesome," said Mark. "There are a ton of seniors. Like five girls and ten guys. And then there's like at least ten freshmen, and they're all like, wildly enthusiastic. It's kind of funny."

"Any sophomores?" asked Dana.

"Two," said Mark.

"Any other juniors?" asked Zoey.

"Nope, just me," said Mark. "I think I like it that way, too."

"Not bad," said Zoey. "Do you know anybody?"

"No one," said Mark. "But it's not too bad. Ooh! We had to demonstrate our powers, if we could. It was so cool! Some of the girls there had some really awesome powers!"

"Like what?" asked Dana, taking a sip of her flavored water. Zoey noticed there was a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

"Well, there was this one girl, I think her name was Kaylee. She was a senior, and she makes whirlwinds! It was neat. She basically made a little tornado for us!" Mark looked wildly enthused. "And then, there was another chick, Sam. She multiplied herself, which was cool. Then she multiplied everyone in the room!! Three times for each of us, and there was barely room to stand! And it was really disorienting at first, but once I figured out what was going on, it was really cool. It was like, seeing from three different directions at the same time. It's hard to explain."

"Cool," said Zoey appreciatively. "I wish I had a cool power like that sometimes."

"Me too," said Dana. She sounded a bit miserable.

"And then," Mark continued, his grin getting wider, "there was this really gross freshman. His power was like, hair growing or something!"

"Ew!" said Zoey and Dana together.

"That's really nasty," said Zoey. "We're eating."

"It was hilarious though!" exclaimed Mark. "He made this one girl grow a mustache! She almost beat the crap out of him, but her power was particularly violent. She make stuff disappear, so she made his clothes disappear."

Dana choked on the pizza she was eating.

"What? All of his clothes?" she asked, incredulous.

"No, she left his boxers. There were ducks on them," he added, laughing. "And that's just the first day! I can't even imagine what's coming next! Mr. Hutchins said we're starting with basic meditation."

"Why?"

"Because we need to use that to 'harness our inner energy' or something," said Mark, using air quotes. "He said that'll only be a few days though. We're starting on actual Combat like, next week!"

"Cool," said Zoey. She was beginning to lose interest.

"I'm taking three Hero classes next year," said Mark.

"Which ones?" asked Dana.

"Identity, Day Jobs, and Costume Design," said Mark. Zoey snorted into her milk.

"Costume Design?" she asked, laughing. "Are you serious? Why not just ask someone to make you one? And don't all super heroes wear tights anyway?"

"Shut up," said Mark, obviously annoyed. "It's a required Hero course! I can't get a Hero certificate without it!"

"You'd think they'd use something like 'Hero Budget' for that," said Zoey. "Not Costume Design. Must be trying to keep the school's reputation up by avoiding bright pink and yellow spandex."

"You know I'd never pick pink and yellow spandex," said Mark.

"Right, pink and purple, what was I thinking," said Zoey, laughing.

"DUH!" said Mark loudly, and Zoey and Dana burst out laughing. "You know how pink and purple are my favorite colors!"

"I think you should just go rainbow, personally," said Zoey, still laughing.

"I concur," said Dana. "You look so fabulous in so many colors. Just wear them all. In spandex."

"You guys know I hate you, right," said Mark, grinning.

"Yep," said Zoey, shoveling applesauce into her mouth. She made a face. "Ugh, this school's food is so bad."

"Why don't you pack?" asked Dana. "You, of all people, should pack! Your homemade stuff is amazing!"

"Thanks," said Zoey. "I don't really know why I don't pack though. Maybe to gain the 'school lunch' experience."

"What, hepatitis?" asked Mark.

"Maybe," said Zoey. "That, or an extra twenty pounds." Mark checked his watch.

"We've got five minutes till the bell," he said. Zoey handed her tray to Mark and smirked when he sighed, rolled his eyes, took it and threw it away with his own.

"Thanks, Marky," she called, grabbing her bag from the table. Mark made a face at her as Dana turned around to hand her tray to Mark, who was on his way back from the trash can. Mark sighed and took Dana's tray as well.

"Mark's such a good boy," said Zoey, as he sat back down. He rolled his eyes. The bell rang, and there was a massive swarm towards the door. People pushed and shoved their way out into the main hallway, scattering off in different directions. Zoey and Mark said goodbye to Dana as they walked to their Government class.

Gov and Study Hall passed in a blink. Zoey nearly skipped as she headed to her final class of the day. Finally, it was time for Home Ec. She really hoped she wasn't excited for nothing. She wasn't first into the class, and the teacher, Mrs. Luce, directed Zoey to a two-person tabletop with an electric stovetop, a sink, a microwave, and an oven. There was a small plate on the table area, and it was filled with vegetables. There were red peppers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes and celery. Zoey looked around the room. To her right was an enormous refrigerator. It was at least twice as tall as Zoey. She gaped at it, mouth open.

"Have you never seen a fridge before?" asked a voice near her. Zoey jumped and looked around. There was a boy sitting - almost leaning - against the stools they had to sit on. He was tan, with red-brown hair that spiked out and fell into his eyes, which were bright light-brown. He had a smile on his face that was amused, almost mocking, but friendly.

"I have one," Zoey said, feeling immediately like the stupidest person ever. 'Of course I have a freaking fridge!' she thought. 'Was there anything dumber I could have said?'

"Me too," said the boy, laughing. "I'm Rob, and it looks like I sit next to you." He held his hand out for Zoey to shake. She reached out and took his hand. He had a very strong handshake, and she smiled.

"I'm Zoey," she said.

"Cool," said Rob, grinning.

"Alright now," said Mrs. Luce. "Let's begin!" Mrs. Luce was a surprisingly young-looking woman, though she had many wrinkles and white hair. She was short - barely five feet tall - and she leaned when she walked, but there was a fire in her eyes and a youth in her voice that made everyone instantly like her. "Welcome to cooking! First off - is there anybody in this class with a power with cooking?" Zoey stood up, feeling proud. She looked around, and there was another girl in the back with cooking powers. She was small, skinny, and blonde. She looked utterly terrified to be recognized, for her powers or anything else. Mrs. Luce smiled at Zoey and the other girl. "What are your names, girls?" she asked. "And are you talented in specific aspects of cooking, or cooking as a general whole?" Mrs. Luce waved at Zoey to begin. She glanced at Rob, who looked in awe of her, and she flushed.

"Um, I'm Zoey Kalligan, and I - uh - I don't think I'm limited. I can make pretty much anything, and it turns out pretty good." Mrs. Luce smiled, and told her she could sit. Zoey sat immediately and turned to look at the other girl, who looked even more horrified because she now had to speak to the entire class.

"My name is Anastasia Lain," she said very quietly. "And I specialize in p-pastries." She sat down before Mrs. Luce could say anything.

"Well," said Mrs. Luce, "that's helpful! At least now I'll have some people to help me with more difficult recipes, and everyone else will have someone to go to for help besides me if you need it! Now, we're going to go around the room and introduce ourselves. Zoey and Anastasia, you don't have to go again." Zoey looked around and the girl Anastasia was looking away from her. Zoey wondered what the girl's problem was, besides unbelievable shyness. Each student went around the room, stating their names, grades, and ages.

"Hey," said Rob, on his turn. "I'm Rob Clancy, and I'm in twelfth grade. I'm eighteen."

"Zoey," said Mrs. Luce, "what grade are you in?"

"Eleventh," she said. "I'm seventeen."

Anastasia was in ninth grade, and she was fourteen. That explained a lot to Zoey. She was a terrified freshman in a room full of older people who were much more comfortable in the room. Zoey felt a bit sorry for her.

Mrs. Luce clapped her hands together after the last person had stated his name, grade and age, and she smiled around at the class. "Alrighty then!" she said. "We'll be starting the real stuff tomorrow. Now, don't expect to be cooking anything too big in this class. We'll make simple things, like pizza, maybe pies, and cinnamon buns. Each class also does an ethnic foods project, and you can choose whichever country you want and make something from there. That's the 'final exam'. But we can't start cooking tomorrow. First things first - we're going to spend tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday talking about kitchen safety. Friday we'll begin talking about our first food - and that's the pizza I mentioned before. Now, I'm glad that each one of you has taken this class. This class is about creating things, and having fun in the process. I will not give much homework, after all it's kind of hard to, but every now and then you might have something to bring in or a worksheet. There will be homework Wednesday, and it will be a worksheet about kitchen safety, and that's the only homework you'll have for a while."

Mrs. Luce continued, beginning the kitchen safety, but Zoey ignored her. She knew all about kitchen safety, after all she spent most of her time there making something. She knew what to do. Zoey stared at the board, wondering what this class would bring in terms of new friends. She thought particularly of the boy she was just a few inches from. Rob Clancy. So simple. So classy. She smiled.

"Hey," said Rob, and Zoey jumped.

"What?" she said, confused.

"Class is over in like two minutes, and teacher lady said we could talk amongst ourselves and stuff," he said.

"Oh," said Zoey. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"I noticed," said Rob, laughing. "So you actually have a power to do with this?" He sounded awestruck.

"Yeah," said Zoey. "Not really an intimidating power, I know, but -"

"Are you nuts?" asked Rob incredulously. "I'm very intimidated! I mean, I have to make my own stuff and you'll be right next to me breezing through everything and it'll all be better then mine!" Zoey frowned.

"Do you want to move seats or something?"

"No!" said Rob. "I just mean, how can anybody in this class, except for that pastry girl, even possibly measure up to you? Why'd you take this class?"

"Because I love to cook," said Zoey, now smiling. "And besides, it'll be the easiest A I ever got. Maybe she'll just let me do my own things and cook whatever I'd like. That would be nice. But then again, I guess not, because I cook enough at home." Rob was staring at her, amazed. "How in the world can you find my power this interesting?" she asked. "Did you get stuck with something like toe-nail growing?" Rob laughed.

"No," he said through chuckles. "I make ice. I could freeze you solid if I wanted."

"See what I mean about intimidation?" asked Zoey. "I can freeze you solid versus I can make a soufflé faster then you. I think you win." Rob shrugged.

"Just depends on where you are," he said. "I mean, I'm not going to freeze you solid. I only do that to my little brother." Zoey's jaw dropped.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm kidding," said Rob. "Sometimes I do freeze his feet to the floor, though. That's pretty funny." Zoey stared at him. "What?" he asked. "You don't have siblings, do you?"

"No," said Zoey. "I'm an only child."

"That explains it," said Rob. "He comes into my room at night with snakes and tries to feed them to me in my sleep. I think he can handle his feet frozen to the floor once or twice a year. His power is with reptiles. They listen to him and stuff. It's really gross."

"Ew," said Zoey, wincing.

"Yeah," said Rob. "I've woken up like five times with snakes and lizards on my face."

"Eww!" said Zoey, shuddering.

"I agree," said Rob. "At least you don't have to deal with it."

"Thank God," said Zoey. Rob laughed, and the bell rang.

"Ah, finally!" he said, standing up. "The day is over! You coming?" Zoey laughed and grabbed her bag. They walked out of the Home Ec. class. Rob followed her to her locker, and he asked if she'd mind stopping at his locker so he could grab his English book. Zoey's heart beat quickly, and she couldn't stop smiling. He made her laugh so easily.

-

The next morning, Zoey woke up early for the first time in months. She hurried into the bathroom, and she took a shower twice the length she usually did. She shaved her legs and under her arms. She blow dried her hair, and let it fan out around her shoulders. She made sure her bangs fell just right over her eyes. She picked out her favorite skinny jeans, and a blue tank top, which was the same shade as her eyes. She carefully put on just the right amount of make-up around her eyes and lips, making sure she looked just right. She took a deep breath and let it out.

She sat on her school bus, staring out the window at the snow-covered yards and wet-looking streets filled with cars on their way to work. She yawned. When she finally got to school, she headed straight for chemistry, not stopping at her locker.

"You look really nice today," remarked Dana.

"Thanks," said Zoey. "I felt like being pretty today."

"It worked," Dana said, smiling.