Luthor family’s new world order

chapter 3: midvale middle (part 2 of 2)

“The locker rooms smell like straight up-”
It didn’t take Kara long to realize how universally despised “P.E.” was, though she could not understand why. Didn’t people like to run and jump? To play and put their strengths and skills to the test? Was competition not in the blood of every human? Didn’t they want to get stronger and healthier? Judging from the either tired or irritated or apathetic looks everyone else was wearing, it didn’t seem so. And then Kara remembered something. She wouldn’t be able to fully exert herself in this class. As one who already had physical abilities beyond that of a normal human, if Kara wanted to fit in, she would intentionally have to play without her fullest potential. That was going to make this class very boring indeed. Without even meaning to, she was already heaving an unhappy and wistful sigh, wishing for the planet she had been forced to leave behind and all of those who had been on it. At least there, she would’ve been able to run wild and free!
“Ouch!” someone shrieked in the distance and Kara turned around in time to see a small pileup of students. She had no idea what had happened, just that everyone was thoroughly ticked off.
“Alright everyone, come on! Get up!” the coach instructed sharply and all the students, grumbling, crawled to their feet before they continued to loop the gym. Kara followed them halfheartedly, feeling more like she was walking than running because of how slow she was supposed to move.
Her fifth class was a computer class, which she was grateful for because although Krypton had quite a bit of technological similarities with Earth, there were a few things Kara still didn’t understand about human electronics. This class was highly beneficial and enlightening to her, helping her get used to life on Earth.
But while the teacher stood at his computer, droning on and on about “Micro softs” and Words and Excels and Powered Points, Kara could already see half of her peers on something called “YouTube” watching little movies on their screens instead of listening to the teacher. This concerned her to some degree, but she instinctively already knew that it was best if she did NOT draw attention to herself, so she just keep her eyes focused on her keyboard (she didn’t know why it wasn’t in the same order as the English alphabet). The kid in the seat next to her was clicking rapidly on his mouse, playing some kind of game with lots of colorful square shapes. At the moment, he was building a large building of stone. Kara thought it was really impressive.
After the computer class, Kara headed onto a Home Ec class. Jeremiah and Eliza had spoken privately with the school principal in order to get Kara into it. The normal student did not need to take such a class, but because Kara was so new to Earth, they insisted on having her take it anyway. And it wasn’t a normal Home Ec class either. It didn’t just teach students how to raise a family or a child, and it didn’t just teach them how to manage a house or bills. It also taught them how to interact with other people and how to exist and work in the world at large. It was a class geared towards students who were not always good in social situations and, for someone like Kara, this was a Rao-send of a class.
“And we’re the first school in the country to employ it!” the teacher said proudly.
“First?” Kara’s face fell just a little. In her mind, “first” implied “only” and it saddened her to think that only one school in all the world had a class that taught confused people how to truly be human, and to be happy and successful while doing it. Life on Earth could be hard! And Kara wished that a class like this could’ve been opened to every single human on the planet. But apparently, only Midvale Middle agreed with her on that.
Kara’s final class of the day was choir, music. Alex had signed her up for it.
“It’s an easy class and it’s fun enough. We either goof off or make fun music and most of the kids there are pretty cool,” she had said when she first got Kara to sign up for it. It was the fourth and final class they had together. At Eliza and Jeremiah’s behest, the Danvers sisters shared the first three classes together before Kara went to her next three alone and then they would finish the day together.
“Alright, class, today, we’re going to sort you into vocal parts!” the choir director clapped her wrinkly hands. Only a few students were listening and even fewer looked interested.
“I thought you said this class would be fun!” Kara whispered nervously to her sister.
“It is, the teacher is just a dingbat!” Alex whispered back with a snort. “As soon as she shuts up, it’ll get fun!”
“Dingbat?” Kara echoed back, having never heard that phrase before.
“Nothing,” Alex replied with a half smirk before gesturing for Kara to hush.
“Who thinks they’re a soprano?” the director asked. A few hands went up.
“Alto?” different hands went up, including Alex’s. Seeing this, Kara was quick to raise her hand too.
“Not yet!” Alex hissed, quickly shoving Kara’s hand back down.
“But I don’t-” Kara began nervously, trying to raise her hand again.
“You will! Just trust me!” Alex hissed back, still holding Kara’s hand down.
“Tenor?”
“Base?”
“Uncerta in?”
“Ok, now raise your hand!” Alex instructed and, uncertainly, Kara did.
“Excellent,” the director said. “Now, will all of you who raised a hand for “Uncertain” come forward?” she asked, beckoning everyone up to her piano. A small fraction of the class, Kara included, obeyed.
“Alex!” she whispered worriedly, but Alex only pointed to the piano. Kara could only obey.
What followed was the director instructing each undecided student to sing along with whatever she played on the piano. Each person sang for about 20 seconds. It was over in five minutes.
“Good!” she muttered once everyone finished. Kara had gone last. “You have a lovely voice,” she said.
“Thanks,” Kara replied shyly.
“Are you a trained singer?” the teacher asked next.
“No,” Kara admitted, ducking her head. The teacher looked genuinely surprised, but she only nodded politely.
“You’re Alex’s new sister, aren’t you?” she added a second later.
“Yes,” Kara nodded, suddenly worried, hoping the woman wouldn’t ask too much about her past.
“Well, it will be lovely to have another Danvers singer with us,” she instead said. “Alex is a wonderful Alto.”
“Oh, ok,” Kara gave her an awkward smile, not knowing what that word meant. The teacher only smiled back before dismissing everyone back to their seats. The rest of the day was devoted to warmups, which were easy enough, though they were kind of strange. Alex took them deadly serious, so Kara tried to as well, though quite a few other students were goofing off or making stupid faces as they raised and dropped their voices comically. Kara’s first day at school really had been very interesting…