1: Senior Year

H E R  B R E A T H I N G  W A S relaxed and focused as she cut through the air, dashing past cars and people while leaving a streak of green and blue lightning trailing behind her.

She glanced at the digital timer on her wrist which had the initials, C•L on it and watched the digits go up from two hundred miles an hour and almost to six hundred.

She was in a green sweater and sweatpants of the same color when she then noticed a young girl crossing the road while on a skateboard, oblivious of the impending doom as a bus was headed straight for her.

For the girl, it all happened so fast before realizing that she was already on the other side of the road but just in time to see the familiar green blur zoom past and disappear down the road.

It was Natasha, who finally ended her morning 'jog' by stopping at her home.

"Morning!" came Jenna, who appeared from the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom!" Natasha responded, moving over to the fridge and taking out a bottle of sparkling water. "I'm still getting faster!"

She showed her the timer.

"You're almost as fast as Carol!" Jenna exclaimed, handing Nat a plateful of pancakes, "so, how about you keep your glucose levels up if you want to beat her, plus I don't want you passing out on your first school day of the year."

Having had breakfast and taken a shower, Natasha was then brushing her golden brown hair which she had decided to cut short just right over her shoulders, which actually helped in stopping it from clasping whenever she was using her speed.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she turned to the left where she had pinned a drawing of her in a super suit, the drawing Lucas had made for her and branded her as 'Viper' - a name which came to catch on towards the end of Sophomore year.

Her pet snake of the same name was still around, slithering in its cage as she fed her before kissing her mom goodbye and heading off to school.

⚡

Waking up to the beats of Lizzo's Truth Hurts, Cassie's morning started as she yawned before picking up her phone and scrolling down.

She texted Natasha, telling her to wait so they could go together and then went on to get herself ready by setting the phone down and letting the music go on.

Cassie's room was like the inside of her mind, with portraits of famous music artistes ranging from some pictures of Drake, Juice Wrld, Cardi B and even Madonna then to other big profiles like Will Smith, Tom Cruise and her very own personal favorite - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

She was clearly a pop fanatic plus a lover of all genres and always loved to speak her mind.

Her parents were also heading out and her dad had offered her a ride to school which she gently refused, arguing that there was no way a senior would be showing up at school with her parents; classic Cassie!

⚡

Over at Mac's, Lucas was just done polishing the racks at the Plasma TV section when his dad walked in, marveling at the job he had done.

"You keep up like this and my job will end up leaving me for you, kid!" he joked, "you better head out now. I don't wanna be the reason you run late for school!"

⚡

"Hey!" called Natasha who appeared behind her best friend.

Cassie turned and they were both smiling at each other, having not been together since Christmas.

"Ready to be seniors?" came Lucas who met up with them just as they approached the entrance of North Atlanta High.

"I don't feel any different though, " Natasha started when the school bus passed by them.

"Oh, I can feel a lot of change already!" blurted Cassie excitedly.

There was laughter as the three of them turned to see Daniel, the shortest kid in school, hit the ground face flat from the bus.

"What's the matter, Danny boy!" came the husky voice of Ben, responsible for having tied Daniel's laces together so that he fell when he tried to walk.

"I guess some things never change," sighed Lucas.

The year was 2029, or as Natasha and her friends would put it—senior year, with only one more year remaining to finish high school.