Tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap.

"Ms. Romanoff, I wasn't aware you had musical talents."

Nyla-Rose sat up at the sound of her math teacher's stern voice, continuing to tap her pencil on the edge of the desk. It's rhythm only got louder as a blanket of silence fell over the class in their search for the welcome disruption.

"I don't, Mr. Wendell, but I'm flattered you think so." Nyla gave him an innocent smile. His face flushed red as she ignored his subtle point at the irritant which was her pencil.

"Ms. Romanoff!"

"Yes?"

"Please stop tapping your pencil."

"Alright, alright."

"Thank you...now. Riley, if you'd please come to the board—"

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP.

—————

Nyla pushed the door of the principals office open with a slight grin and joined the throng of teenagers pushing their way to freedom. There was nothing she enjoyed better than getting kicked out of the last period of the day and spending it with a man of whom would groan loudly every time she entered.

Principal Baker.

It was fun to drive Mr. Wendell insane and it wasn't like she was failing his class.

Tony could teach him a thing or two anyways and since it was so close to graduation, what more did she need to learn?

"Hey, loser!"

A boy with wild, curly black hair held back by a neon green headband suddenly crashed into her, his arms coming up to keep her from tripping over her feet as she cried out in surprise.

"A wave would've be nice, T," Nyla grumbled, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Her best friend snickered and shoved her in the shoulder. 

Tobias Kightley was his name, the class clown and Nyla-Rose's best friend since kindergarten when she'd made him cry by stealing his grilled cheese sandwich and attempting to stop the waterworks by bashing him over the head with it. From there bloomed a rivalry into which grew a friendship based on aggressive physical contact and the mouthwatering need for grilled cheese.

She didn't know how she survived high school with him by her side, but it was scarier to think about not having him at all.

"Hey, quit it!"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just excited!"

Tobias bounced on the balls of his feet, his tall, broad figure looming over the other students as she walked out of the building and down the steps, breathing in the not-so-fresh city air.

"Well, tell me now. I've got a bus to catch."

"I just heard the greatest news and you wouldn't believe it, but it's gotta do with you!"

"Okay!" Nyla called over her shoulder, bounding up the steps of the already full school bus and making her way to the back. When she reached the last seat, she stuck her head out the window. The bus rumbled to life and began to pull away from the curb. Tobias's hazel eyes sparked with evil amusement as Nyla groaned in protest the farther she got.

"That's not fair!" Nyla shouted as he waved goodbye.

"I'll text you!"

"You better!"

—————

"Good afternoon, Ms. Romanoff."

"Hey, FRIDAY!"

Nyla-Rose greeted the AI as she walked through the front door of the compound after a handprint and retina scan for security purposes. The doors closed behind her and she made her way into the kitchen, hauling her bag on the white marble island with a heavy sigh.

"Are you feeling alright?" FRIDAY asked, her voice tinged with as much concern as a computerized system could have.

"Yeah, just stressed, no biggie. What's the 411 on those phone calls?" She picked up a pear from the basket of fruits in the middle of the island and crunched into it.

"The phone calls from Principal Baker that you've asked me to redirect to your personal line in order to keep the amount of trouble you've been getting into away from your mother?"

"Well, yeah if you wanna be specific."

"You have had approximately 11 phone calls from the principal in the past two months, 12 counting today at 1:46 PM. First offense, falling asleep in Mrs. Veras's United States History class. Second offense, attempting to superglue your classmate to his chair in Mr. Martin's class. Third offense, causing a classmate psychical damage—"

"Thanks, FRIDAY!" She interrupted the AI. " I think I get it."

"See that you do."

She stuck her tongue out mockingly at the ceiling as FRIDAY went silent. Her electromagnetic "disapproval" vibes were practically tangible.

"Hey, where's mom them by the way? Did they come back yet?" She asked, moving to dig in the fridge for some food.

"Ms. Romanoff and the others are having a meeting in the conference room. They've just arrived a few hours ago. Should I let them know you're here?" She said pleasantly.

"Nah, they're probably finishing up. I'll go down."

Nyla pulled out a cup of yogurt and grabbed a spoon, tearing it open and making her way to the conference room while humming the tune of "Down by the Bay."

"Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose."

Steve's voice made her pause right outside the door. Nyla had never heard him sound so stressed and his voice lowered so she couldn't hear what he was saying. Pieces of a strained conversation floated through the wood as she realized they were arguing with each other.

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam said loudly.

Nyla remembered that incident and if the situation wasn't so tense, she would have burst out laughing. Her mom's tone was more exhausted than it was irate as she replied.

"We have made...some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

"Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?"

Nyla couldn't hear what her mom said next and just as she leaned in, the door flew open and with a surprised yelp, Nyla tumbled to the floor, her yogurt flying out of her hand and all over the place.

"Nyla?"

Steve was towering over her and Nyla rolled onto her back, putting her hands under her head and giving him a winning smile.

"How you doin'?"

"We have a little mole" Tony shouted as Steve helped Nyla to her feet and gave her a quick hug before rushing out of the room.

"Where's the fire?" She called after him.

She moved to pick up the food and began to spoon what was left of it in her mouth as she took a seat at the table. Sam, Rhodey, Wanda and Vision had trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, one of which she wasn't familiar with.

They always had something to say.

"That's disgusting," Sam said, crossing his arms.

The tense feeling in the room slowly began to subside as Nyla grinned and licked her spoon.

"So? What were you guys talking about?"

"None of your business, young woman," Natasha said firmly.

She eyed her partners meaningfully and they all nodded in understanding as though she wasn't sitting right in front of them.

"Come on. We've gotta go shopping for that dress of yours, remember?" She pushed away from the table and Wanda followed suit.

Nyla groaned.

"Another one?"

"This is for your graduation. Not prom."

"Thank the gods," Sam muttered.

"I was gonna hang out with Tobias later," she said, standing up to follow them.

"You'll have plenty of time for that," Nat reassured her as Wanda herded the girl out of the room.

"No, she won't."

Tony gave Nat a hard look which made her roll her eyes.

"Fine. She won't."

"Aww."

Natasha's attempt at distracting Nyla-Rose from what she just heard was futile as the words ran through her head over and over again. She knew they'd just come home from a mission, but she hadn't seen any reports of it, meaning she wasn't updating herself on the latest news. By the sound of their conversation, the mission must not have gone very well. And Nyla knew exactly who to wheedle the truth out of: Wanda.

—————

Short, sweet, to the point.

Promise the chapters
to come are much longer than these!