Robin, Boy Virgin: Original Series

At lunch, Harold and I were sitting at our table. We were both eating this god awful meat stew from the cafeteria.

"I'm gonna be sick," I said, pushing away the cardboard plate.

"Appreciate all food, friend," Harold said, putting his fork in his mouth.

"I do. It's just it looks like this meal was appreciated once already and then brought back up," I said. He made a sick face, but then bravely kept eating his meal.

All of a sudden, I felt something snap at the back of my head and I instinctively shrugged my shoulders up to my ears. Rubber bands, people? I thought, turning around. How freaking juvenile-

"ECH," I exclaimed, reflexively flicking the unwrapped condom off the back of my chair and shuddering.

"What's the matter?" Harold asked.

"Some douche is throwing his spent children at me," I said, shuttering.

"Don't be sexist. It might have been a woman who threw it."

"Ew," I said pointedly.

"Count your blessings," he said and peered at the condom on the floor, "it looks clean."

"Oh okay thank you God so much for letting it be a clean condom that must hit me in the back of the head. I am so blessed. A-fucking-men," I said. Harold chuckled as he returned his attention back to the stew.

"You're shedding, Boy Wonder."

I turned in my seat abruptly. Cora was bending down, picking up the condom with a napkin.

"It's not mine," I snapped defensively. She ignored me and walked away to throw out the condom in the garbage can.

"Batman reference. Clever," Harold commented when she was out of earshot. I threw him a dark look he didn't see while he delicately ate his nasty lunch.

Cora returned to our table.

"Mind if I sit for a minute?" she said.

"Please," Harold invited. Sora smiled at him and sat down next to me. I folded my arms on the table.

"Who are you?" she asked Harold asked pleasantly.

"Harold Song. Batman to his Boy Wonder," Harold said, holding out his hand. Cora laughed and shook his hand.

I reached out and pulled my discarded lunch back toward me, so I'd have something to do during this situation. And by the way, I am in no way Harold's sidekick. If we're going to be any sort of team of superheroes, we're going to be total equals in the Justice League.

"I'm Cora," she replied to Harold.

"Welcome to our high school," he said, gesturing around himself with his fork.

"Thanks. So far it's been a real blast," she chuckled. I poked at my lunch. Out of my periphery, I could see her looking in my direction. "Man, that looks nasty," she commented of my lunch. I looked up at her, my face completely downcast.

"Want some?" I offered.

"Pass. Had my corn chips," she said. I looked back down at my stew.

"So how do you know Robin?" Harold asked her.

"We have Music Composition together," she said. I sighed quietly.

"No kidding? You're a musician?" he asked. I could hear the gears in his mind working, linking "musician" to the "getting kicked out of school for drugs" rumour.

"Well, an aspiring one," she said. I had no idea what her musical creative abilities were like. So far, she'd played single notes and that one arpeggio.

"Cool," Harold said, giving her a smile, but also a frown of seriousness. He looked back down at his food. Although he hid his discomfort at things much better than I did, I could tell he felt uncomfortable at the thought that Cora could be a rock'n'rollin' drug addict (far-fetched and dumb as it might be in real life).

I looked at Cora. She was watching Harold eat, but when I looked at her she looked at me. I suddenly realized despite the weird level of trust I had in her after knowing her for a day, I didn't know actually if she was, you know, actually a delinquent of whom I should be wary.

"Cora, are you a drug addict?" I decided to set the record straight. Harold coughed in shock, choking on the food in his mouth.

"Excuse me?" she laughed.

"Just... there's this dumb rumour. Are you a drug addict?" I asked, rolling my eyes. Harold looked from me to Cora, his mouth frozen in mid-chew.

Cora looked at Harold then at me. "Can he keep a secret?" she asked me quietly.

"Uh, yeah. He's better at it then I am," I said honestly. I glanced at Harold. He was starting to lose his zen and was looking freaked out.

"I'm not a drug addict. Calm down, Harold," she soothed Harold, giggling at his expression. Harold blinked and resumed his chewing. He smiled a small smile, watching her.

"But don't tell anyone okay? That's a good rumour, makes me seem edgy, I want to keep it going," she requested. Harold crossed his heart with his free hand, giving Cora a smile, and then returned his focus truly to his food.

"I'm gonna keep working the room. Maybe grab a yogurt," Cora said, putting a hand on my arm. I could feel her hand so distinctly on my arm, I actually felt like I had heightened super senses. I felt like I could leap ten feet in the air, or lift Cora over my head with just the arm she'd touched. Was Robin, Boy Wonder actually that strong? That seems more like a Superman thing.

"If you score some drugs, share," I replied dryly. She smiled at me, those hard blue eyes glinting. I raised my eyebrows and looked down at my meal, feeling my face flush.

"See you later. Nice meeting you Harold," Cora said, standing up.

"You too," Harold said after her.

I pushed my lunch away again. The flush in my face cooled, but I could only seem to look at the tray I'd rejected a second time.

"You like her," Harold said to me when Cora was out of ear shot. I looked at him abruptly.

"I do not. Take that back," I demanded.

"Yes, you do," he said confidently. What could he have possibly taken from that brief encounter that would lead him to that conclusion?

"I don't even really like her as a person, much less actually like, like her," I informed him.

Harold blinked, looking around the cafeteria in the middle distance, calculating something in his mind.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

Harold looked at me. "This is going to be one of those in denial circumstances," he told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Harold is one of those rare people who has crystal clear insight and normally, it's a quality about him that I appreciate. He can usually make anyone feel better about anything when they're bummed out. But this? He was way off.

"No it isn't," I denied of his denial accusation.

"So you admit you like her, then," he said.

"No. I don't like her. Don't bring it up again," I said firmly.

Harold eyed me for a moment and then nodded and looked at his lunch. "Fine. It'll come out when you're ready." he said, scooping up a forkful of meat stew.

I rolled my eyes and leaned my face against my fist. "Whatever," I grumped.

"This is so gross," Harold said suddenly of the meal. "Let's throw it out and go outside," he said. Thank God.

"That, I can get on board with," I said, standing up.

We threw out our lunches and walked through the cafeteria. I saw Cora standing in line at the kitchen partition, noticeably taller than the other girls, waiting to buy her yogurt. She saw me and gave me a small wave. I held my hand up to acknowledge her wave.

"You totally like her," Harold muttered in my ear.

"Shut up," I said back.