Sun poured down generously on Gotham this particularly bright spring morning. Being a coastal city surrounded by water, the residents of Gotham didn’t see beautifully sunny days nearly often enough. Lennon sat in her Trigonometry class, fully regretting being stuck inside at that moment. Daydreaming of driving wildly in her cherished Porsche roadster along the cliff-ridden coasts of Bristol, she didn’t hear her teacher speaking to her right away.

“Lennon!” the math teacher said sternly.

She finally turned towards him, but with a blank face, blinking incomprehensibly. “Uh, yes, Mr. Mar?”

“I already asked you to put problem number 12 from last night’s homework on the board. Please,” he said this with sarcastic emphasis, “do it now.”

A pained look crossed Lennon’s face as she realized she never did her homework the night before. She grinned sheepishly and told her teacher the same.

Unmoved, Mr. Mar replied, “Then work it out on the board right now. You’re not going to lunch till you’re finished.”

Reluctantly, Lennon grabbed her textbook and went to the blackboard to put up the problem. She heard some students snicker and a girl in the front row whispered to her friend, “Guess Daddy can’t get Lennon dear out of doing homework.” Lennon didn’t hide her annoyed stare before she began to work.

As the bell rang ten minutes and two pieces of chalk later, she proudly pronounced, “Done!”

Mr. Mar dismissed the class and as the students quickly filed out for lunch, he checked Lennon’s work. “Perfect. I’m impressed, Miss Johnson. But next time...”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I know. ‘Do my homework.’”

The teacher nodded.

Lennon hurriedly grabbed her books and backpack. While she ran out the classroom door, she said, “Sure thing, Mr. Mar. See ya.”

Before Lennon could take even two steps, her best friend grabbed her by the arm. “Babs! How nice of you to ambush me,” she joked.

“Sorry, but this is important,” said the redhead, almost whispering. “You’ll never believe what I heard from my father.” Barbara Gordon’s father was the Commissioner of Gotham City’s Police Department. Babs always had juicy tidbits of information for Lennon about the goings on of the police, which Lennon soaked up attentively. Babs knew Lennon’s unique situation gave her best friend a strong affinity for all things involving justice, especially since she first told Lennon of the vigilante called Batman some years ago.

“What is it, Babs?” Lennon asked.

Babs looked around, as if someone were trying to listen in on their conversation. She whispered carefully, “Dad and Batman suspect that there’s a new vigilante in Gotham.”

Lennon was almost speechless. “What? Who?”

“They don’t know. There’s only one piece of evidence, it's a—“

Lennon looked up to see why Babs stopped speaking so quickly and smiled widely as she saw her boyfriend, Dick, approaching them. Dick Grayson was fairly tall and extremely good-looking with jet-black hair and bright royal blue eyes. At school he got teased for being a goodie-two shoes rich boy, since he was the ward of the prestigious multi-billionaire, Bruce Wayne. Lennon knew that there was a wild streak in him, though, that most didn’t see. That’s what initially drew her to the high school senior.

“What are you two conspiring about now?” he asked jokingly.

“Who? Us?” replied Lennon innocently with a wink.

Dick grinned back at her and reached to gently pull her into a kiss. Lennon involuntarily flinched as he touched her cheek, her eyes downcast. Dick immediately pulled his hand away, but then slightly turned her chin, finally seeing the bruise that Lennon tried so carefully to conceal with make up. Lennon looked up at him, and Dick smiled so that she wouldn’t see the pity in his eyes. He gave her a warm hug and kissed her gently.

Babs watched the exchange somewhat sadly. She couldn’t help but be slightly jealous of Lennon, since had gotten her first boyfriend before Babs. Still, she knew that Lennon more than deserved someone who could make her as happy as Dick did.

As the couple parted, Babs only half-heard Lennon going on about the wonderful sunshine to Dick. She pondered what it would be like to have a boyfriend of her own. Suddenly, someone put their hands over her eyes from behind. “Wha?!” she cried out, startled.

“Guess who,” a medium-deep voice answered.

Babs knew it could only be one person. “Grant Garrison,” she stated. The hands let go of her and she quickly spun around to see the ruggedly handsome face with a crooked grin on it. Babs smiled back as she admired the tousled golden brown hair that fell in his green eyes.

Lennon and Dick gave each other a knowing look. They noticed Babs and Grant eyeing each other since the beginning of the school year. Lennon whispered in her boyfriend’s ear, “They’ll be together by the end of the week. I guarantee it.”

Dick smiled. He grabbed Lennon’s hand and as the couple walked off, he called out, “Come on, you lovebirds. All this sunshine must be getting to you. Let’s find the rest of our gang and scrounge us up some lunch.”

Babs and Grant both turned bright red and quickly hurried after Lennon and Dick, each hoping it wasn’t just the day’s warmth affecting them.

P A N T H E R E T T E