Autumn struggled to find Heidi in the press of bodies moving from the junior high to the high school. In the middle of the first class, the junior high principal had announced an impromptu assembly at the high school auditorium. Autumn was pretty sure she knew what the assembly was going to be about.
She didn't find Heidi until she reached the auditorium. Heidi was sitting next to the red-haired girl she had seen the day before. Autumn waded through the press of students and sat in the seat next to Heidi. Heidi flashed her a welcoming smile as she sat down.
"Autumn, this is Aria," Heidi introduced the other young woman. "Aria, this is Autumn."
Aria made a half-hearted wave at Autumn, avoiding eye contact. Her long red hair hung in a concealing curtain around her face, like she was hiding. Autumn had a feeling that it was her normal mode of behavior.
"It's nice to meet you," Autumn told her with a smile. She looked at Heidi quizzically. "So did you ask her if she is interested in music already?"
Heidi's answering grin was answer enough. "Yeah. She said she would have a look with us after school. I haven't convinced her to try her voice out yet, but I'm sure she'll come around. I really want my third vocalist."
Autumn chuckled wryly. If Heidi wanted it, she would almost definitely get it. "My mom was sad that she didn't get to meet you last night."
"Sorry about that," Heidi replied solemnly. "I like the new outfit."
Autumn beamed at the praise. "Thanks. I still have a long way to go, but at least now I have no doubt that it will happen."
While she had lost a lot of weight overall in the last month, it was most noticeable in her face. Her cheekbones were more defined, and her neck actually separated her head from her body.
She turned to face the front of the auditorium as Principal Wiley called for everyone's attention.
"Good morning, students," Principal Wiley began as the large room filled with silence. "It has come to my attention that certain forms of behavior are believed to be acceptable in this school. I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not the case and never will be while I am principal here. The behavior of which I speak, is what law enforcement refers to as hate crimes. In case there is any ambiguity as to what constitutes a hate crime, I will define it for you. A hate crime is any crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically involving violence. Any student caught assaulting another student based on such criteria will be expelled. Any students caught verbally abusing or bullying another student based on such criteria will be suspended the first time and expelled on any subsequent occurrences. There will be zero tolerance for such behavior, and I mean zero. So before you open your mouth to make a thoughtless comment, take a moment to think about your future and how an expulsion would look on your records. While you're thinking about your academic future, you may also want to think about what having the death of a fellow student on your conscience for the rest of your life will be like. The latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control put the possibility of suicide for LGBT youths at twice the rate of heterosexual students in schools where they do not feel safe. This will not be a school where anyone has to feel that death would be preferable to going to school and interacting with their peers."
Autumn noticed that Aria's shoulders were shaking with silent tears. Heidi put a comforting arm around Aria.
"EUDAIMONIARISCHA," Heidi whispered to the weeping Aria. An arcing halo of light briefly illuminated the two of them, accompanied by a loud boom that shook the large room.
Teachers looked around in alarm as the lights flickered. Half of the students were on their feet, looking around like they expected an earthquake. Principal Wiley didn't look alarmed. She stood calmly, watching Heidi with a keen eye, as if she somehow knew that Heidi was the source of the disturbance.
Aria's shoulders stopped shaking and she absently tucked a wave of hair behind her ear, giving Autumn the first true glimpse of her face. As Aria wiped her tears away, Autumn marveled at how pretty she was beneath that curtain of hair. That anything or anyone could make her want to hide such stunning features was a crime in itself.
The students close to them were all staring at Heidi curiously. Many of them had probably heard the powerful whisper before the event. The younger students who went to the junior high already knew that Heidi was odd. News about Heidi's involvement in the previous day's conflict had yet to circulate among most of the students due to how few of them were still at the school so late in the day. If it became widely known that Heidi had single-handedly taken out half of the cheerleading team, she would stand out even more.
"Did she just use magic?" Autumn heard one of the students whisper.
"That's what it looked like to me," another student replied in a shaken voice. "Did you see them glow?"
"Yeah, I saw that too," a girl said weakly.
Heidi glanced back at them, and Autumn realized that she was in full god mode. All of the students behind them recoiled as her powerful gaze pushed at the bounds of reality. A palpable wave of relief rippled through the row of students as Heidi turned her supercharged gaze away.
The rest of the assembly meeting passed in a blur as Principal Wiley outlined a plan for an LGBT student support group and listed the names of counselors whom students could feel safe confiding in, including herself.
As they left the auditorium, dozens of eyes followed the three of them. Autumn had a feeling that Heidi's supernatural abilities were going to be public knowledge in the not too distant future.
Whatever Heidi had done to Aria certainly had an impact. Aria no longer looked like a beaten dog. When they parted ways, Aria left with her head held high and no trace of fear.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Autumn asked hopefully.
"Undoubtedly," Heidi replied with a smile as the god-like presence finally faded away.