located a perfect victim. "The answer, please, Miss Lee. Class, pay attention. We are about to be enlightened"
Lucy groaned, amazed again at how Linda Lee really didn't know her way around at all . Why didn't she say she was sick to her stomach? Or her nose was bleeding? Or she'd suddenly felt dizzy? She gave her friend a hopeless but sympathetic glance, the glance of an unhappy spectator at a hanging.
"Five billion," Linda Lee said, "two hundred seventy-one million, nine thousand and ten."
Nigel blinked. The audacity of the girl, pulling a figure like that out of thin air. Or . . . was it thin air? It, somehow, sounded . . . right. Feverishly, he flipped through his answer book.
The bell rang, the girls stampeded toward the door. Only Linda Lee was still awkwardly piling up her books. "Move it," Lucy urged. "Let's get out of here before Nasty makes you stay." Poking and prodding, Lucy finally got Linda Lee to her feet and on the way to the door.
At his desk, Nigel had found the answer. "Miss Lee!"
"Awww . . . sheeeet," Lucy said.
"Miss Lee, have you been going through my drawers?"
"Gawd," Lucy muttered, "not without rubber gloves." She gave Nigel a blinding smile.
"Miss Lee, how did you know the correct answer?"
"Ahhhh . . ."
Lucy clutched Linda Lee by the sleeve. Poor little sheep among the bison.
"I ask you again, Miss Lee. How ?"
"I guess I just—guessed."
"It's this freaky weather we've been having," Lucy put in, shoving Linda out the door. "All these storms, sir. It ionizes the atmosphere. Shock waves, electromagnetism. It makes people smarter, uh, for a second." How about that? Nice going, Lucy, she congratulated herself. She gave Nigel another flashing smile. "Well, we gotta run, sir. Ta-ta!"
She shepherded Linda Lee down the corridor, whistling and shaking her hand at the close call.
"Thanks," Linda Lee said. "I should learn to be careful, or else I'll—" She caught herself and stopped.
Lucy looked at her curiously. "Or you'll what? Say, how did you know the answer?"
"I'm not sure. Six-dimensional geometry—I could never do it in my head before . . . but . . . it just came to me."
"Six-dimensional geometry? What's that? Never mind, don't tell me. Just let Mother Lucy give you some advice—You keep showing off like that, and nobody, but nobody , is going to like you.
ChapterTen
Despite Lucy's friendliness, Linda Lee couldn't help feeling lonely now and then; and it was more then now and then that she thought of her parents, Alura and Zor-El, and of her dear friend Zaltar. Sometimes, remembering that last hour on Argo, and thinking of what would happen to all of them if she didn't return with the Omegahedron, she came as close as she ever did to despair. But she was made of pretty strong stuff and generally pushed away those feelings before they got a grip on her.
The odd thing was, what often hurt the most was her vanity! Then, again, maybe it wasn't so surprising. After all, her true self was a tall and stunning blonde, seventeen-year-old woman, both bright and brave. As plain Linda Lee, nebbishy, shy, uncertain, she even felt shorter. It could really get on her nerves. Understandable, right?
Linda Lee, née Kara, AKA Supergirl, thought so, and consoled herself one day with a haircut. She was in the bathroom, scissors in hand, happily wearing her very own blue and red Supergirl outfit, right down to the knee-high red boots, when she heard Lucy coming into their room. To be precise, she heard Lucy charging into their room. Lucy generally entered rooms with the same noisy enthusiasm with which she played field hockey or softball.
"Hey, Lii-inda," she yodeled, banging on the bathroom door, "you in there?"
"Yes, I am."
Lucy sat down on her bed and began digging mud out of her cleats. Clucking, she glanced across at Linda's side of the room. It definitely made Lucy uncomfortable to see that neat, clean bed and that neat, clean, bare wall. She scraped some of the junk off her bed onto the floor
Lucy groaned, amazed again at how Linda Lee really didn't know her way around at all . Why didn't she say she was sick to her stomach? Or her nose was bleeding? Or she'd suddenly felt dizzy? She gave her friend a hopeless but sympathetic glance, the glance of an unhappy spectator at a hanging.
"Five billion," Linda Lee said, "two hundred seventy-one million, nine thousand and ten."
Nigel blinked. The audacity of the girl, pulling a figure like that out of thin air. Or . . . was it thin air? It, somehow, sounded . . . right. Feverishly, he flipped through his answer book.
The bell rang, the girls stampeded toward the door. Only Linda Lee was still awkwardly piling up her books. "Move it," Lucy urged. "Let's get out of here before Nasty makes you stay." Poking and prodding, Lucy finally got Linda Lee to her feet and on the way to the door.
At his desk, Nigel had found the answer. "Miss Lee!"
"Awww . . . sheeeet," Lucy said.
"Miss Lee, have you been going through my drawers?"
"Gawd," Lucy muttered, "not without rubber gloves." She gave Nigel a blinding smile.
"Miss Lee, how did you know the correct answer?"
"Ahhhh . . ."
Lucy clutched Linda Lee by the sleeve. Poor little sheep among the bison.
"I ask you again, Miss Lee. How ?"
"I guess I just—guessed."
"It's this freaky weather we've been having," Lucy put in, shoving Linda out the door. "All these storms, sir. It ionizes the atmosphere. Shock waves, electromagnetism. It makes people smarter, uh, for a second." How about that? Nice going, Lucy, she congratulated herself. She gave Nigel another flashing smile. "Well, we gotta run, sir. Ta-ta!"
She shepherded Linda Lee down the corridor, whistling and shaking her hand at the close call.
"Thanks," Linda Lee said. "I should learn to be careful, or else I'll—" She caught herself and stopped.
Lucy looked at her curiously. "Or you'll what? Say, how did you know the answer?"
"I'm not sure. Six-dimensional geometry—I could never do it in my head before . . . but . . . it just came to me."
"Six-dimensional geometry? What's that? Never mind, don't tell me. Just let Mother Lucy give you some advice—You keep showing off like that, and nobody, but nobody , is going to like you.
ChapterTen
Despite Lucy's friendliness, Linda Lee couldn't help feeling lonely now and then; and it was more then now and then that she thought of her parents, Alura and Zor-El, and of her dear friend Zaltar. Sometimes, remembering that last hour on Argo, and thinking of what would happen to all of them if she didn't return with the Omegahedron, she came as close as she ever did to despair. But she was made of pretty strong stuff and generally pushed away those feelings before they got a grip on her.
The odd thing was, what often hurt the most was her vanity! Then, again, maybe it wasn't so surprising. After all, her true self was a tall and stunning blonde, seventeen-year-old woman, both bright and brave. As plain Linda Lee, nebbishy, shy, uncertain, she even felt shorter. It could really get on her nerves. Understandable, right?
Linda Lee, née Kara, AKA Supergirl, thought so, and consoled herself one day with a haircut. She was in the bathroom, scissors in hand, happily wearing her very own blue and red Supergirl outfit, right down to the knee-high red boots, when she heard Lucy coming into their room. To be precise, she heard Lucy charging into their room. Lucy generally entered rooms with the same noisy enthusiasm with which she played field hockey or softball.
"Hey, Lii-inda," she yodeled, banging on the bathroom door, "you in there?"
"Yes, I am."
Lucy sat down on her bed and began digging mud out of her cleats. Clucking, she glanced across at Linda's side of the room. It definitely made Lucy uncomfortable to see that neat, clean bed and that neat, clean, bare wall. She scraped some of the junk off her bed onto the floor
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