Arclight 1.1

 It is 7:45AM and Isabela wants the day to end. She runs through the options that would cancel school

1) A freak snow storm in September. Tricky, but possible. Climate change is real!

2) The water main would blow. She had seen it once when the custodian showed them the basement. It was a faded green gear in the corner behind an idle work bench and abandoned carpets. 

3) Violence. Letting the intrusive thoughts win for a brief second she knew it would do it but was also a looming potential since the 90s. 

She crossed this off her mental list

4) Plague. Massive absences. The rumor was that if less than 50% of the students showed up then they could cancel the day. 

She leaned her head against the cold cinder block of her door way and realized that none of these would happen. Good for number three. Both the burden of her position (Teacher but also lunch counter but also ersatz therapist and proxy parent and recess monitor and test proctor and Chromebook helpdesk, etc. etc.) and her extracurricular would mean she would need to intervene. And, not sure how successfully considering she was already "teacher tired" with 10 minutes before opening bell. Her right hip and thigh hurt from where a galaxy purple bruise was developing. She was thrilled that she convinced Drew to make her copies for her and he came in early to put down her chairs and write the welcome message. Not in her voice or hand writing but still got the job done.

"Hey everyone! It is Friday (Yay!) September 17th, 2021. So happy you (and everyone) is back here at school. Does the sign look different? Ms. Orel asked me, Mr. Drew, to write it and always happy to help. Specials today are Art and Music!"

She cracked a brief smile which then withered when she thought about when he would sober up and stop all these favors. He had his own class and life and likely questions as to why she bolted right after school and ghosted on messages in the evening.

The sound of chatter and cloying "HEY!" messages down the hall told her the day and had begun. Showtime. She popped the hood of her sweater out so it nested against her shoulders and tucked her lanyard against the top of her stomach. Pen behind her ear and ok lets go. The disaster needs to wait. 

***

Isabela had been up since 3am, save for a tiny nap on her couch between 5:30am and quarter to seven. When she awoke she realized she had fallen asleep in all her gear. Her inner child lashed out feeling embarrassed. "If Sailor Moon feel asleep in her outfit wouldn't it just go back to normal overnight? Do the Power Rangers need to change?" She had gotten good enough with the hard light to make solid shapes and crystallize it into an outfit but it was patches over workout gear from the thrift store. And a black hoodie, which she shook out and thought of wearing to work but smelled the cigarettes and sweat from it and changed her mind. 

She had spent the time between 10pm and 1am primed along East 22nd and the Tubbs Jones transit center. There was a wrestling show that night and letting out she was able to spook someone trying to force themselves into someone's parked car "Give me a ride, baby! Why the fuck not" he yelled while he pounded at the glass. She made the light flickering off it coalesce around his fist and cut into him as if he was punching through it. "FUCK!" he screamed while they car sped off. The only physical thing she did was drop onto a cop car as it primed itself to approach a group of three women walking past the Salvation Army. Isabela assumed the cop was up to nothing good and they had done nothing. She did not land on her feet but instead her hip on the back where the trunk meets the glass. She heard the officer scream "What the fuck!?" even through all of the vehicle and he scrambled out of the front letting the women walk off laughing at him. She rolled into the landscape around the Wolstein center and popped the disco lights on the squad car to further cover her limp away. The last hour was spent slinking back to her car, a black Nissan Rogue she had illegally parked in a closed surface lot. Cleveland surface parking was big business and she wasn't sure if anyone checked the old cash drop boxes, but she did shove a ten dollar bill into it from the emergency kit in the glove box

***

Drew was trembling and nervous, sweating this question in his head, but, after much internal debate thought to ask it. It would test all limits of their friendship. 

"I am sorry. I don't want it to come off anything weird but you look tired. You ok?" he asked as he caught Isabela in the mailroom. He instantly froze hoping his voice carried the sincerity.

Instead of daggers she looked past him and emptied her teacher mailbox of all the fliers and announcements shoved into it. There was a post it note reminding her to hand these out next week, which did not really feel helpful and instead petty. "I'm fucking exhausted. I can't wait to go home." She then turned to him and did put her hand against his shoulder "And, no, I get it. Thanks for asking. And thanks for helping." The shoulder touch defused his tension, which Isabela did not realize, but she hoped it would cut any antipathy he had. "Please don't be mad at me!" was not a great motto for someone called a vigilante on r/Cleveland reddit. A term Isabela hated but yeah did not project confidence. 

"Ok, do you want me to pull the fire alarm?" Drew pointed over to the lever and then threw up his hand in a shrug.

She shook her head appreciating the joke "No, its just one more hour. The kids are going to watch Netflix. Fuck it"