*Back when the world still moved faster than molasses*

The city of Bulwark Bay was huge! Far bigger in person than any picture could have prepared her for.

The first couple of hours of the trip with her dad in their old pickup truck Milly had been a bundle of nerves with nothing but flatlands all around to distract herself with. Then she'd been bored out of her mind for the following day and a half of driving. But now they were finally here, and she was practically glued to the car window.

Just the roads alone could fit eight cars side by side and were laid out crisscross and lifted overtop of each other like a toy racetrack, missing only the loop-the-loop portions. All the buildings were huge, but some skyscrapers here looked like they really could scratch the sky. Then the shopping mall where even a team of trained survivalists would get lost for weeks by Milly’s estimation.

Every building they passed was more fantastical than the last and built up more and more tension in her stomach as they drew closer to their destination.

“Coming up on it now,” Dad called out. He was a large, muscular man that almost looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of a cowboy comic book. Blue jeans. Beige shirt. A bristly beard that acted as the only thing that kept her from believing he was secretly a superhero. Heroes with secret alter-egos never had beards… she was pretty sure at least.

Milly pried herself away from the window and leaned forward over the dashboard to get a better look as they approached the Bulwark Bay Central Park.

A large gate surrounded by stony walls was the only way in from this side as far she could see. By car at least. The walls themselves were only maybe two meters tall. Easily climbable from the outside, and she could see the looming trees and greenery just on the other side that would make it even easier to get out.

A low chuckle drew her attention back to her dad.

“I see you looking. Already planning how to sneak out?” He reached a hand out to ruffle her hair before she could squirm out of the way. “You know I can still turn this car around, just say the word.”

Despite his playful tone, Milly knew he meant it. He’d been against the idea of sending her off to boarding school and only reluctantly agreed after days of good behavior, chores, and more just to prove she was totally responsible enough to be out of the house for a few months.

“If I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know, Pa.” She held up her phone and gave it a wiggle. It was the first of the big changes in her life after getting that invitation to attend Arkwright Academy on a sports scholarship. She still could hardly believe she was offered one, she was only second-best in her old school.

That was part of why her father drove all the way out here a few days ago. Just to confirm the academy actually existed and was aiming to deliver on its promise. Clearly, it must’ve gone well because now they were both here.

Arkwright Academy was an all-girls boarding school that reached out to students all over the place and promised independence, orientation, and focused education from middle school all the way up to university.

Not that Milly could honestly say she had all that much interest in the studying part, the real draw was the freedom that came with living in the dorms. The opportunity to meet new people. Her own room. Nobody to tell her what to do or check in on her every five minutes.

She loved her dad, but he could be a little much.

Also, it didn’t hurt that it was located smack dab in the middle of the big city! She wouldn’t have to explain herself and bum a ride anywhere, she could just walk right up to a movie theater if she felt like it!

Plus, though she didn’t much like the idea of being limited to what to wear, the school uniforms were cute enough that it was a definite draw.

“Alright, heads up,” he grumbled, keeping his eyes on the road. “I reckon you’ll like this next bit,” he said just before they turned a corner and the trees and bushes made way for an unobstructed view of the campus.

The first thing to catch her eye was the castle.

An honest-to-goodness castle!

Milly could barely believe her eyes. It didn’t even make sense. She was pretty sure there were never any historical castles or even forts in the area. So someone had this built recently? It had to be at least three stories tall and built out of thick stone and steel as though it was meant to withstand a hurricane of cannonballs. It even had whatever those little square brick thingies at the top were called!

She flipped out her phone and started taking pictures. It was a shame her sketchpad was buried somewhere deep in one of her bags in the truck bed.

It took her a while to even begin to consider taking a look at anything else. Fields of grass, a sports field surrounded by a running track, and several auxiliary buildings that she didn’t know the purpose of but shared a similar design to the main building in miniature.

Maybe that’s how they convinced dad to let her stay here. It certainly looked like it would be safe in there even if a couple of Superhumans had a drag-out fight right in the courtyard. Actually, that made sense. Big cities were supposed to be hubs of Superhuman activity, good and ill.

It was a sobering thought. She loved the heroes in her comics, but even their collateral damage happened a lot. Superpowered violence wasn’t something she’d really had much reason to fear in their small town back home, but if it was common enough here then it made sense that the buildings were designed to withstand it.

Dang it. This wasn’t the time to get cold feet!

Dad parked the car next to the smaller building on the left of the main castle.

“This here is your dorm building. You’ll be staying here. Classes are in the big building…” he explained in a strained voice. “Lemme help ya get your bags up there.”

—

It was starting to get dark by the time everything was settled and unpacked. Sadly, the top bunk in the room had already been taken. Dad had been pretty pleased about that, just one less thing for him to be concerned about, taking a nightly fall.

A few more bags and many photos together later, there was nothing else left to do but say goodbye.

“You call me the second anything’s up, ya hear.”

He squeezed her shoulders a little harder than was comfortable while she gave him a hug.

“And every night just ‘cause.” She finished for him. “I hear ya. I’ll be fine, Pa.”

Once he finally drove off, she waved and counted the seconds till the road took him past the treeline and out of sight.

From here on out, she was completely on her own. Finally!

“Aw, that was adorable.”

Milly was startled by the voice and found a tan, raven-haired girl standing right next to her also waving at her dad’s car. She seemed about her own age, even if Milly was a smidge shorter than most.

“Pardon but who are you?”

“Oh! I’m Nikita Krishna, or Niki if you like.” Niki smiled as she pushed a pair of silver-rimmed glasses up a little higher on her nose as she extended her hand. “You are my new roommate, right? I saw you guys move in. What is your name?”

Niki was dressed in the aforementioned cute school uniform. A knee-length plaid skirt of black and royal purple that bled into lilac and pink. A light lavender blouse with a plaid tie that matched the skirt. In addition, she also had the plaid vest that bore the embroidered symbol of the school, a sort of complicated wagon wheel or something.

Now that she saw it all put together, she was even more convinced she wasn’t going to mind wearing that or something similar all year. It helped that Niki wasn’t hard on the eyes either as Niki did a little spin to show the back of th—Oh snap!

Milly caught herself staring and hastily met a snickering Niki’s gaze again. “M-Milly!” Milly forced out and grabbed the newly offered hand.

“A little slow, I see?” Niki giggled as she shook her hand. “That is fine. Do you have a last name, Milly?”

“Second,” Milly replied, then noticed Niki didn’t give her a reply. Like she was waiting on her. “That’s, uh, that’s my name. Milly Second.”

“Oh… oh!” Niki’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh! Geez, sorry. I was giving you a second given your previous—Nevermind! I am rambling. Shall we get going? It is getting cold out.“

“Sounds good to me.” Milly let Niki lead the way. As they were heading up the stairs, she had a curious thought. “Hey, you mentioned you saw us, right? Why’d you wait till now to come introduce yourself?”

“And risk being asked to help carry those shipping containers you call bags up two flights of stairs? No, thank you. I’m not that desperate for a good first impression.” Niki swiped her keycard at their door and gave Milly a little impish grin. “I shall make it up to you, though. Do you like pizza?”

Milly rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? Anyone that doesn’t has got to be a supervillain or something.”

“Excellent! I know this great little pizzeria just outside the park. I will take you tomorrow during lunch.”

“It’s a date!”

Every passing moment, Milly became more and more convinced coming here was the best decision she’d ever made. The only regret she had so far was that she felt way too tired to follow up with her original plan of immediately defying her usual bedtime. Who knew long car rides and heavy manual labor were that tiring?

That was alright, though. She could hardly wait to see what tomorrow would bring.