Not Your Sidekick Read Free

with the sting of disappointing them.
    Jess closes her eyes.
    Her older sister Claudia had already been in the Meta-Human Training Program for two years by her seventeenth birthday when she got an offer to join the Heroes’ League of Heroes when she graduated. The Trans had thrown a huge party to celebrate.
    When Jess turns seventeen, it’ll be official. She’s not special.
    Jess groans. She roots around and finally finds her DED on the floor, half under a sweater. She grabs the slim, square device by the wrist strap and looks at the small screen to see if she has any new messages, but the screen is dark and unresponsive.
    Great, she let the battery die again.
    It takes her another minute to find the charging dock on her cluttered desk. Jess plops the device onto the dock and it buzzes as it syncs with her desktop projector, which hums to life and throws multiple projections into the air—holopages from the Net, a half-finished homework assignment, pictures of Captain Orion, and a series of text messages from Emma and Bells. As the DED connects to the Net, it updates with new messages, and Jess is bombarded with rapidly scrolling notifications. The buzzing continues until Jess flicks the DED screen.
    Jess scowls at the largest open holopage, which is projected above her desk. She’d been reading it and rereading it before she left, checking the fine print to see if there was any way she could qualify as a meta-human.
    NORTH AMERICAN COLLECTIVE META-HUMAN REGISTRATION
    Section 4.2 Power Classification is determined by the total duration the citizen can utilize their meta-ability actively per twenty-four hour period.
    CLASS-A - More than two hours
    CLASS-B- One to two hours
    CLASS-C- Twenty minutes to one hour
    CLASS-D - Less than twenty minutes
    Section 4.3 Meta-Human Training Requirements
    The North American Collective understands that the meta-gene expresses itself in various and numerous forms and appreciates the documentation of all abilities. However, only abilities listed in Section 3.1 are currently accepted for application for Meta-Human Training. If you would like to register with a meta-ability not listed in Section 3.1, read subsection 3.1a and 3.1b on abilities that are not accepted. If your ability does not fall under the Unacceptable category, proceed to fill out the petition under Section 15.2.
    Jess brushes aside the holopage, and the text disappears in trails of blue light. Ugh, registration. Jess doesn’t even have one of the “unacceptable” abilities, like Emma’s cousin, who can make his breath go minty fresh with just a thought, or her neighbor down the street, who can change the color of his fingernails. Well, three of them.
    They’re still considered meta-humans, though, and are registered, even if they didn’t go through the training process to qualify for the League.
    The holopage has re-formed after Jess’ outburst, and she flicks the correct place to close it. All that’s left hovering in the air are her messages from today.
    From: Emma 1:22pm
    hey are u ok? are u having a down day?
    From: Bells 2:40pm
    YOU DIDN’T RESPOND TO EMMA SHE THINKS YOU MIGHT BE SICK I HOPE YOU ARE OK I GOT YOUR HOMEWORK ALSO THE PIC PEOPLE CAME THRU AND I PLACED YOUR CUTIE ON THE CLASS PAGE AND HER HAIR LOOKED FIIIINE YOU MISSED OUT AM SENDING YOU HOLO
    Warm fondness for her best friends distracts her from her disappointment. She clicks to open the attachment, and the DED projects a hologram. The likeness is indeed, very cute. How do French braids even work?
    To: Emma 5:23 pm
    i’m fine, just didn’t feel like school today <3
    To: Bells 5:24 pm
    thanks Bells it doesn’t beat the braids she did in september but this is pretty, i’m sad i didn’t get to see it in person
    From: Emma 5:25pm
    u sure, i can pick up bells and come over later?
    Jess chats with her friends until they’re reassured and she has caught up on what she missed today and then