Page 2 of The Not So Super Hero
And like every day before, Zane stripped down for a shower, finished it in less than 10 minutes, then planted his ass on his futon in nothing but his black boxers.Turning on the TV, he got comfortable, then realized what was missing; his hoagie.The hoagie sat on the stove, shimmering like a bright star for his grumbling stomach on the kitchen counter.
Ugh, getting up was so tiring, though.
For a very brief moment, Zane pondered, his blue eyes darkening when he raised his hand.He sat still, devoid of any emotion, yet his eyes filled with so much that a person couldn’t possibly pinpoint one.Taking his bottom lip between his teeth…
Zane dropped his hand and got up to retrieve his food before sitting back down.With his hoagie now in his hands, Zane was content, watching movies, eating, crumbs dropped all over his chest and bed while he chewed, and his day ended the same way it always did, the same way he hoped for it to always be.
Simple.Easy.Mediocre.
Sadly, we didn’t always get what we want.
CHAPTER 2
Baileyneverlikedhisnickname; Bad Luck Bailey.Yep, that was him in a nutshell, the simplest explanation ever to sum up him and his life.He was a walking catastrophe.He was an accident waiting to happen.People learned to expect the unexpected when in his vicinity.
After Bailey had the encounter with that custodian, Zane Levitt—whose name he only knew by seeing his nametag—he thought he was safe.That had to be the worst thing that would happen on his first few days of school, right?What could possibly go wrong!?
Simple answer, everything.What made the poor boy think he could go a day without trouble was unknown, because Bailey never went a day without catastrophe.However, after a long life of misfortune, he learned to be optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
As per his usual shit luck, Bailey’s phone died.Somehow, the charger fell out of the wall.Because of his dead battery, his alarm didn’t go off Monday morning.Bailey awoke five minutes before his first class started.He hadn’t the time to do much of anything other than throw on some jeans and a t-shirt.Bolting out the door, he forgot everything except himself and a notebook.He had forgotten his schedule, which had the classroom number he couldn’t remember, yet he remembered the building and professor’s name.And where the hell was his wallet?His phone?His dorm keys!?
Bailey patted himself down, finding that his wallet was missing, or rather left forgotten in his dorm, which meant his campus I.D.that he finally found yesterday after cleaning out his car was gone as well.Not that it mattered, since he didn’t have his keys to get back into his dorm anyway, so hopefully his roommate, Ryan, was there.He didn’t even have his phone to call him!
Bailey took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks with the urge to yell.Then sighed.He would not be that late, so it was better than not showing up at all!
Sometimes Bailey hated himself, or his luck really.Even when he desperately tried to make everything right, it never worked.He once had two umbrellas in his car, three jackets, two scarves, a laundry basket of extra clothes, and even food.A week later, someone broke into his car to steal everything on—because it wasn’t bad enough—cold rainy day in the middle of August, which meant he was in shorts and a short-sleeved top.
Yeah, the universe hated him.A lot.
Bailey ended up having to ask a stranger where his class was.Upon entering, the professor gave him a warning glare.Then, after taking a seat, the girls behind Bailey grimaced and mentioned an awful smell.He sniffed only to discover it wasn’t his armpits the smell was coming from.Frowning, Bailey picked up his foot.He had stepped in dog shit on the way to class.Well, at least it was one shoe and not both.His first day was off to a great start.
While Bailey’s professor lectured, he spoke of his plans for the class, what he expected, assignments to come and tardiness.He glanced towards Bailey during the entire talk about tardiness and attendance.Such attention caused him to sink low in his seat.He desperately wished the class to be over so he could run back to his dorm and at least brush his teeth.Until he remembered he didn’t have his keys, so if Ryan wasn’t there, he would be fucked.
No use crying over spilt milk.He would find some way to fix things he always did.
Class couldn’t end soon enough.When it finally did, Bailey left as quickly as he ran to it.Unlike the day he arrived, Bailey got into the dorms with ease without his campus I.D.He made it back to his dorm to find Ryan walking out the door.
“Wait!”Bailey called, running full speed down the hall.
“Hey man,” Ryan greeted Bailey, who was gasping for breath.“You make it to class ok?”
“I was late, but at least I made it,” Bailey sighed, kicking open the door.Ryan announced he would be back later and wished Bailey luck throughout the rest of his day.
Was it sad that they only knew each other for a little over a day and Ryan was already well aware of Bailey’s bad luck?That was sad, wasn’t it?
Bailey finally got to do his bathroom routine.He had time to fix his unruly dirty blonde hair, successfully putting it into the proper comb over he preferred.He fixed his glasses, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth, and cleaned off his shoes.After checking his backpack for his belongings, multiple times to be safe, Bailey deemed himself ready for his next class.Though deep down, he knew something would go wrong.It always did because that was his luck, or lack of luck, more like it.
It wasn’t all-bad though!Even with the shit going on, Bailey was pretty upbeat.It was his first day of college at Ringgold University; one of the best Mutant Studies schools in the world.Bailey was thrilled about getting his acceptance letter.He thought he wouldn’t make it.For once, the world cut him some slack and allowed him to go to his dream school.
He was having the first of his major classes in a few minutes.Unlike this morning, Bailey made it on time and found a seat in the middle.
“Hey, I know you!”a familiar voice shouted from the left of Bailey.
The student worker who had let Bailey in the day that he met the evil custodian smiled at him.She was a lovely young girl with fiery red hair, cute freckles against her pale white skin, and bright green eyes.“You’re Bailey, right?I let you in on Saturday.”
“Yeah, thanks for that.”He chuckled, then patted the seat next to him as an invitation.
The girl happily took it, retrieving her books for the class.“The name’s Amery Lloyd.”
