I'm Not Sure the Boy Wonder Fell for Me

When Wednesday came around, the rain was light, so it was most likely to stop soon. Everybody was busily preparing for the field trip to Marshall’s Dairy Farm. That is, everybody except Amanda. The previous day, she was called down to Sister Margaret’s office. Awaiting her was the head nun herself along with the head guard on the grounds. She sat down and they stated their case.

“Amanda, I’ve been talking with Officer Smith here,” she nodded towards him. “He feels that this field trip will put you in danger. We both agree that you should remain here at the school tomorrow.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “Sister, I know I’m in danger, but I have to go! I promised Amelia that I’d go, and plus, I need to get out—“

“Ms. Chase, if I may.” Officer Smith cut in.

“By all means,” she said.

“Ms. Chase, Catwoman can get to you if you leave the school. It will be much safer if you remain here; that way, you won’t endanger yourself and the other girls.”

“You don’t understand!” she stood up and leaned on the nun’s desk. “I need, no, I have to get out. Sister, I can’t just live my life in fear because of some threat. I can’t and will not be a prisoner in my own school!”

“I’m sorry, Amanda,” Sister Margaret stood up. “Our decision is final. Tomorrow, you will remain here.”

And that was that. Amanda stormed back to her dorm and broke the news to Amelia. Expecting a similar reaction, she took it very well. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mandy,” she frowned. “But I’ll have Pammy to keep me company, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”

So with that reassuring statement, Amanda sat glumly in her dorm as every girl hustled out the door to the bus. She watched as Amelia and Pamela walked arm in arm out the door and onto the bus, an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. When the bus was loaded up, Brother Gus started it up and drove off down the lawn. When it disappeared, Amanda collapsed onto her bed with nothing to do but school work. But since she couldn’t focus on working, she grabbed her sweater and left the room for the library.

The library in the school wasn’t very big, so its collection of books was reduced to hundreds of religious texts and many books for homework. When Amanda opened up the glass doors, she saw Sister Annick seated at the front desk, flipping through her copy of the Bible. She looked up and nodded at Amanda. Amanda nodded back and went to scan the shelves for something good to read. The classic section held the most promising entertainment for her, so she scanned those particular shelves. She ran her finger along the spines of those books until she stopped at one she was familiar with. Amanda plucked it off of the shelf and silently read the title in her mind: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

She sat down at a table and thumbed through the pages, the memory of the first time she read the book flooding back to her. She was twelve, and it was a boring Saturday. Amelia was sick with a cold, so she was resting in the infirmary. Amanda had sat down at one of the old rickety tables and leafed through the book’s contents, skimming any page she stopped at. She read through the reunion between Dr. Manette and his daughter Lucie, the love triangle with Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, their journey to France during the Reign of Terror, and finally Carton sacrificing himself for Darnay and Lucie. That last quote really stuck with her, and it always echoed in her mind: It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. Now she leafed through the book once more and felt Sydney Carton’s last words fill her soul. The fact that he was willing to die for the one he loved during the worst time in France showed just how brave he was. She thought it was sad that dying was the best thing he thought he could do.

She heard a sound from the library doors and looked up. Her jaw dropped when she saw Catwoman waltz in with one of her goons. Sister Annick stared in horror and started to scream for help, but the goon chucked a pellet of knockout gas at her. She passed out on her desk as Catwoman walked over to Amanda. She stopped and drummed her fake claws on the table.

Setting the book aside, Amanda slowly stood up and said in a shaky tone, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for you, silly kitten,” she joked. “My patron wants to see you immediately; in fact, he wants to meet you so badly that he caused the biggest disturbance in the city so there were fewer guards here at your precious school. Pretty clever, if you ask me.”

“You should leave. Now,” Amanda demanded. She refused to be the victim again.

Catwoman laughed. “How do you expect to stop us from carrying you off?” As she said that, her goon walked over and attempted to corner her.

“I picked up a few tricks when the Joker held me hostage,” Amanda took a step back and prepared to fight.

“That may be,” Catwoman took a step forward. “But I’ve been doing this longer that you have, and believe me when I tell you that I always have a backup plan.” As soon as she said that, she threw a pellet on the ground. Smoke instantly erupted and filled Amanda’s lungs. She coughed and doubled over as her head began to spin. She grew dizzier until she passed out on the floor, her last memory being tossed over Catwoman’s goon’s shoulder.

***

Meanwhile, at Marshall’s Dairy Farm, Pamela was laughing it up and Amelia at her side. They listened as Farmer Marshall talked about the process of caring for the cows and how to make homemade goat cheese, and he showed them how it was done. Pamela laughed at all the wise cracks Amelia made despite them not being funny. She wondered how the Chase girl could even stand being around Ms. Tallis every second of every day.

Luckily for her, she was freed from Amelia’s company when she made the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well. “I’ll just wait for you by the bus,” Pamela had insisted. “You don’t want to miss out on milking a goat, do you?”

“Are you sure?” Amelia asked worriedly. “I don’t mind—“

“I’ll be fine. Now go,” Pamela urged her. Eventually, Amelia left her alone and she quietly made her way to the main road. When she reached the road, the van was waiting for her. She knocked on the door three times and Spade opened it up. He moved aside so she could get in and glanced around for any followers.

“Geez, what took you so long?” he demanded as he got into the driver’s seat.

“That Tallis chick would not stop talking,” Pamela complained. “How that Chase girl stands living with her is beyond me. Speaking of which, has Catwoman apprehended her?”

Spade nodded. “Yes, she just called in a minute ago. We’re all going back to the hideout to wait for Batman and Robin. Do you have that cataphrenic stuff ready?”

“Oh, do I,” Pamela mused as she took out the small vial. “This plan is purrrrfect! That bird boy won’t stand a chance when I get through with him!”