I'm Not Sure the Boy Wonder Fell for Me

At 2:13 a.m., Amanda jolted awake out of her bed. The dark room at St. Catherine’s was still and quiet so even the slightest noise would be heard. The soft snores coming from Amelia’s bed rose and fell as she wiped her dampened brow with the sleeve of her nightgown. Nightmares were plaguing her; she had no idea why, but she was. For three months, dark dreams of malevolent laughter and fear prevented her from sleeping for a full night. Amanda flicked her bedside lamp on and sat up in bed. Gazing out the window, she saw half the moon hanging in the sky, tiny dots of stars scattered across the night sky.

She rose out of bed and went to stand next to the window. The lawn at the school looked dark and sinister, especially with the statues of saints scattered about. Amanda pressed her forehead against the cool glass and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. A year had gone by since she had experienced the twisted world of being a criminal. The Joker had somehow controlled her mind so she became his dead sidekick, Harley Quinn. However, the Dynamic Duo had saved her from losing herself and she returned to her school. She had started dating Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s ward, who was also Robin the Boy Wonder.

She had told Dick about the dreams when she first started having them. He asked her if she wanted Bruce to arrange a doctor’s appointment for her, but she said no. She hated worrying him with things like that, so she stopped telling him. Despite the fact that her troubles happened a year ago, Dick had never really forgotten. He was protective, but he always knew when to give her some space. Amanda only saw him once a week and sometimes she had spent the weekend with him and Bruce and his Aunt Harriet.

She smiled at the thought of the other family she had. Her parents had died when she was young and she had come to St. Catherine’s when she was nine. Amelia and some of the nuns became her family at that point, until she met Dick. They had known each other for less than a month when they started to fall in love; with all the obstacles they encountered, both she and Dick had still remained together.

Amanda went back to her bed and turned her lamp off. She stared up at the ceiling in the dark for what felt like forever, but eventually, she drifted off.

***

“Mia, have you seen my white blouse?” Amanda asked from the closet.

“Is it under your bed?” her roommate replied from the comfort of her bed.

“Why would it be there?”

“I don’t know. Leave no stone unturned.”

Amanda emerged from the closet and saw Amelia sprawled out on her bed with a copy of Wuthering Heights in her hand. She appeared lost in the novel as Amanda walked over and bent down to check under her bed. Sure enough, her white blouse was bunched up underneath.

“How did you know it was under here?” she asked astonishingly.

Amelia shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m psychic.”

“Maybe.” Amanda folded the blouse and placed it neatly in her suitcase. It was Friday, and Alfred was coming to get her to spend the weekend at Wayne Manor. “I’ll miss you this weekend, Mia.”

She rolled her eyes in a sarcastic manner and said, “Once you’re with your beau you’ll forget all about me.”

Amanda tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sat on the end of Amelia’s bed. She lowered Mia’s book and said, “Amelia, you’re my best friend. Of course I’ll miss you.”

Her friend sighed and said, “I know, Mandy. It’s just— you go to see Dick every Friday and I know you don’t always stay over there the whole weekend. I just want us to have some girl time one of these weekends, you know.”

“Oh, Mia,” Amanda squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that. Tell you what, when I get back this weekend, we’ll spend some real girl time, okay?”

“When? We have class all week.”

“Are you forgetting the field trip on Wednesday to that dairy farm?”

“Oh, yeah,” she grinned. “Yeah, we’ll definitely hang out then.”

“Great,” Amanda smiled.

Just then, there was a knock on their door. “Come in,” they both chimed. The door opened and Sister Monica walked into their room. “Hello, girls,” she smiled. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Wayne’s butler is here for Amanda.”

“Okay, I’m all set,” Amanda hugged Amelia and whispered. “I’ll see you Sunday night.”

“Okay. Have fun with your boyfriend,” she giggled. Amanda rolled her eyes as she put on her coat and grabbed her suitcase. Sister Monica escorted her down to the main entrance where Alfred was waiting.

He smiled as he said, “Ms. Chase, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Same here, Alfred.” She bade goodbye to the nun and walked out the door behind Alfred. He loaded her suitcase in the trunk of the car as she slid into the back seat. He slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. As the car pulled away from the school, he sighed. “Are you alright, Alfred?” she asked.

“Yes, Ms. Chase, I’m quite well,” his eyes looked tired through the reflection of the rearview mirror. “I’ve just been kept very busy this past week.”

“Is it because of Batman and Robin’s nighttime excursions?” she guessed playfully.

He chuckled. “Something like that. The Dynamic Duo have been kept very busy with unknown crimes recently.”

Amanda knew what he was saying was true. Over the last week or so, she read in the paper that there was an unknown criminal causing trouble amongst Gotham City. All they knew was that the criminal never stole anything; they only vandalized. Dick had explained to her that all their attempts of stopping this criminal have been failures. She tried not to worry about it, but the problem they were facing was always on her mind. “I’m sure they’ll stop him,” she said as they rounded a street corner crowded with pedestrians.

“I have the utmost confidence in them,” Alfred smiled. They were silent throughout the rest of the car ride until they pulled up to the gates of Wayne Manor. As she pulled her suitcase from the trunk, it began to rain. Alfred and Amanda hurried into the mansion and were quickly greeted by Aunt Harriet.

“Oh, Amanda, dear! It’s so wonderful to see you again,” she smiled and pulled me into a hug.

“It’s great to see you too, Aunt Harriet,” she replied. Amanda had grown comfortable calling her her aunt since she was like family to her. “Where’re Dick and Bruce?”

“Well, they were here a few minutes ago,” she led me into the living room. “But then Bruce suddenly remembered that he had tickets for a seminar at the museum. They said they would be late.”

“Oh, I see,” she replied as they sat on the couch. For the past few Fridays, Bruce and Dick had to go out and fight crime just as she had came over. Amanda was disappointed because she missed Dick and wanted to see him, but she couldn’t stop him from doing his job. “That’s okay. I’ll see them later.”

“How have you been? Dick told me you’ve had a few sleepless nights,” Aunt Harriet said in a concerned voice.

“I’m fine,” she lied. “I’ve been sleeping more.”

“You haven’t been stressed with what happened last year, have you?”

She shook my head. “No, I’m over that. It just school that’s stressing me out a bit.”

“That’s right. You’ll be out of St. Catherine’s soon,” she squeezed my hand. “Oh, Amanda, do be careful when you go out into the world. There are so many dangers you must look out for.”

“I know,” she replied. “But it’s nice to know that Batman and Robin will be around to protect us.”

“How right you are!” she exclaimed.

Just then, Alfred walked into the room and announced that dinner was ready. They both rose and sat at the empty table. Dinner was a pot roast with potatoes and carrots, which was excellent. Amanda felt bad since she knew Dick was missing out. Aunt Harriet and her continued to make small talk as they finished up dinner and moved on to apple pie. After their meal, Ishe told Aunt Harriet she was tired and going to bed. She pecked her on the cheek and wished her sweet dreams. As Amanda walked up the stairs, she hoped that wish would come true.

***

Robin sighed as the Bat Mobile drove away from the warehouse. He and Batman were too late once again as the criminal vandalized an entire warehouse of priceless jewels that came all the way from Russia. All their technology in the Bat Cave couldn’t help them stop whoever was doing these criminal acts, and the pressure was getting to Robin more than Batman.

“Don’t worry, Robin,” Batman assured his young partner. “We’ll stop this villain one way or another.”

“I know, Batman. But still…” he rubbed his temples. “Whoever’s doing this must have an ulterior motive.”

“They haven’t harmed anyone yet,” Batman reminded him. He added, “And I’m sure the girls at St. Catherine’s will be safe throughout this ordeal.”

Robin chuckled under his breath. ‘’Yes, I’m sure Sister Margaret is doing an excellent job at ceasing any criminal activity.”

Batman laughed. “I sure wouldn’t want to get into trouble with her.”

The Bat Mobile entered the secret entrance under Wayne Manor that led to the Bat Cave. Batman stopped the car and they both got out. They walked over to their poles that would shoot them up to Bruce’s study. “So what are you and Amanda going to do this weekend?” Batman asked as they shot up to Wayne Manor.

“I have no idea,” Robin said loudly over the sound of the lift.

They both came to a stop at the top of the Bat Poles where they stepped out from behind the bookcase as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Alfred was dusting Bruce’s desk when they stepped into the room. He looked up and said, “Good evening, Master Wayne, Master Dick. I trust your seminar went well.”

“Not well enough,” Dick grumbled.

“Don’t worry, Dick,” Bruce assured him. “Alfred, has Ms. Chase arrived?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir. She had dinner with Mrs. Cooper, but went up to bed a few minutes ago.”

“How did she look, Alfred?” Dick asked. Although she hadn’t brought it up in a while, he was still worried about her sleeping habits.

“Ms. Chase looked quite well, Master Dick,” Alfred replied. “Now, shall I fix you two your dinner?”

“Yes. Thank you, Alfred,” Bruce smiled as they walked out of his study. Turning to Dick, he whispered, “Don’t worry, Dick. You’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Bruce. I know,” Dick said as they entered the kitchen.