Bruce dismissed the screen as he reached his locker. Another student was already there, leaning against the metal door with a smirk that could cut glass.
Selina Kyle.
"Morning, Bruce," she said, her voice carrying that perpetual edge of amusement.
"You're blocking my view of the incoming freshmen. Some of them look positively lost."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too, Selina. And I'm pretty sure you were blocking my locker first."
"Was I?" She didn't move. "Didn't notice."
Selina Kyle was one of the few people at Gotham Academy who didn't treat Bruce like royalty.
Scholarship student from the East End, brilliant in her own right, and completely unimpressed by wealth or status.
She had sharp features, dark hair usually pulled back, and green eyes that saw far too much.
She was also a kleptomaniac, though she thought no one knew.
Bruce had caught her lifting wallets and phones from other students at least a dozen times over the past three years.
He'd never reported it. Instead, he'd quietly returned the stolen items to their owners and kept tabs on her.
'Future Catwoman,' he thought, not for the first time. 'If the timeline holds, she'll become one of Gotham's most skilled thieves. But right now, she's just a kid stealing to survive and for the thrill of it.'
"You going to move, or should I just climb over you?" Bruce asked with a grin.
Selina pushed off the locker with exaggerated slowness. "So impatient. You know, for someone who has everything, you'd think you could spare a few seconds."
"I don't have everything," Bruce said, opening his locker and swapping books. "I don't have my locker space, apparently."
"Funny." She watched him with those calculating eyes. "You hear about the assembly this morning?"
"Something about a school trip announcement."
"Yeah. Headmaster Grayson is apparently very excited about some cultural exchange program the Wayne Foundation is funding."
Selina's smirk grew. "Wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Bruce kept his expression innocent. "The Foundation funds a lot of programs. I can't keep track of all of them."
"Right. And I'm sure it's pure coincidence that we're apparently taking a trip to some tiny town in Kansas called Smallville."
"Kansas has excellent educational opportunities," Bruce said seriously. "Very... wholesome."
Selina snorted. "You're a terrible liar when you want to be. What's in Smallville, Bruce?"
"Corn, mostly."
"Uh huh." She studied him for a moment longer, then shrugged. "Well, whatever you're planning, at least it gets us out of Gotham for a week. This city gets claustrophobic."
She walked away before Bruce could respond, melting into the crowd of students with practiced ease.
Bruce closed his locker and headed toward the auditorium.
Selina was right about one thing. He had orchestrated the entire school trip through Wayne Foundation funding.
A "cultural exchange program" between Gotham Academy and Smallville High School.
Gotham's elite private school students would spend a week in small-town Kansas, learning about rural American life.
Smallville students would visit Gotham for a week in return, experiencing the big city.
It sounded wholesome and educational.
The Foundation's board had approved it immediately.
Headmaster Grayson had been thrilled at the opportunity.
But Bruce had exactly one reason for setting it up.
Clark Kent.
The auditorium was already packed when Bruce arrived. He found a seat near the back, ignoring the empty spots students tried to save for him closer to the front.
Better to observe from a distance.
Headmaster Grayson took the stage, a short man with enthusiasm that outweighed his height. "Good morning, students! I have exciting news to share with you all today."
The announcement went exactly as Bruce had planned.
A week-long trip to Smallville, Kansas, scheduled for next month.
Educational activities, cultural exchange, building bridges between different American communities.
All the usual rhetoric.
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