Clark, I'm Too Ashamed to Expose You

His parents still hadn't agreed to let him join the football team tryouts.

Clark trudged out the door, shoulders slumped, backpack slung over one. He glanced around.

On the dirt road in front of the farm, tire tracks pressed clearly into the earth. At this hour, the school bus was probably already nearing the school.

"I can't show anything unusual in front of people, but as long as no one sees me..."

A smirk tugged at Clark's lips. He hoisted his backpack and vanished in a flash, tearing into the endless cornfields at speeds faster than a bullet, kicking up a fierce gust of air.

From above, the green waves parted swiftly, as if struck by Moses' staff.

Whoosh!

The only delay came when the school bus driver stopped to chat with someone whose car had broken down, asking if they needed help.

Otherwise, the bus rolled smoothly along and pulled up right on time in front of the town's high school.

Students filed off the bus, trickling in twos and threes toward the campus.

After stepping off, David glanced at a weathered sign in the distance, its meteorite emblem faded and peeling from years of wind and rain.

Welcome to Smallville — Global Meteorite Capital

Over a decade ago, a meteor shower had struck this town, bringing disaster—and opportunity.

The townsfolk had tried to cash in on the "Meteorite Capital" gimmick, hoping to turn Smallville into a tourist destination and boost the local economy.

But one look at the main street—narrow enough to cross in a few strides—and the squat, low-rise buildings everywhere told the real story.

David looked away, shoved his hands in his pockets, and strolled toward the campus, where cherry blossoms were blooming in the spring air.

"Meteorite Capital... Clark's gonna have a rough time here."

Those so-called meteorites were actually Kryptonite, fragments that had arrived on Earth alongside the Son of Krypton's spaceship.

"Everyone knows Kryptonite is Superman's fatal weakness. Touch it, and at best you're weak and in pain; at worst, dead."

A tiny green rock could bring the God Among Men—whose strength could shift tectonic plates—to his knees, powerless.

As he'd grown older, David had noticed just how much Kryptonite littered this town. Exaggerating a little, you could probably kick two pieces out of your way just walking down the street. Future villains gunning for Superman wouldn't have to worry about where to find it.

Chloe and Pete got off the bus behind him and caught up. The three of them walked into campus together.

"Hey, morning, Chloe. Pete."

Clark, wearing jeans and a classic thick blue flannel, popped up out of nowhere, clutching a few books and trying to look like he'd been there all along. He greeted them.

"Didn't David say you were behind us?"

Chloe's Weirdness Radar went off. She looked puzzled.

How had Clark, who'd missed the bus, made it to school before them?

"I took a shortcut. Left way early. David didn't see me."

Clark remembered how David's one comment that morning had derailed his plan.

Even without David's reminder, his parents probably wouldn't have agreed anyway. Still annoyed, he slung an arm around David's shoulder, grinning as he ribbed his stone-faced younger brother.

"You know how it is—David never really pays attention to me."

"Really?"

Their suspicion didn't fade. They both looked at David.

They distinctly remembered David saying Clark had run into trouble trying to get their parents' permission for the football tryouts and was stubbornly still pushing for it.

"Whatever."

David swatted Clark's hand away and walked ahead into campus.

He started thinking about the Kryptonite he'd collected before. Maybe he should pick out a small piece to carry around.

Just in case a certain Son of Krypton decided to use him as a cover story again.

Clark, who'd just pulled his little stunt, breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

David, as his brother and someone who lived under the same roof, knew everything about his differences.

Other people might not know how he'd pulled it off, but David definitely did.

Luckily, David didn't call him out. Then again, his younger brother had always been mature for his age.

Clark smiled faintly, watching his brother's back.

Even though David had discovered that his older brother was impossibly strong and faster than sound, while he himself seemed perfectly ordinary, he'd never once shown jealousy.

Still, being different didn't come with many perks.

Clark's smile faded, and his brows drooped again.

"Hss..."

Suddenly, Clark's strength drained away like it had been sucked out of him. A wave of weakness and nausea hit, and he stumbled, collapsing to the ground. His books scattered everywhere.

Whitney walked past, arm around his girlfriend Lana, shooting Clark a contemptuous look.

Lana saw him fall and took the initiative to stop and help him pick up the books. Glancing at the one in her hand, she smiled.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche?"

"Clark, do you see yourself as an ordinary person or a Superman?"

Hearing the voice, David turned his head and glanced over.

His eyes swept across Lana's fair chest, where a green crystal necklace hung.

"I don't know."

Turning his head away, unable to face the Kryptonite necklace, Clark looked pained, his words stumbling out.

The "Superman" Lana mentioned wasn't Clark's future hero alias.

It referred to the philosopher Nietzsche's concept of a powerful human—one unbound by worldly rules and morals, surpassing themselves and others, brimming with creativity and strong will—dubbed the Superman.

"Speak of Kryptonite, and it appears."

Sympathetically stroking his chin, David temporarily shelved the idea of carrying Kryptonite on him from now on.

The future Superman was already miserable enough. Facing his dream girl, he couldn't even speak freely with her because of that Kryptonite necklace. Every time his crush showed up, it was when he ended up embarrassed.

"Let's go."

Seeing his girlfriend talking to Clark on her own, Whitney's jealousy flared, but he held back in front of her. He kissed Lana, wrapped an arm around his blushing girlfriend, and left, leaving behind an awkward figure picking up books from the floor.

"David?"

Footsteps approached. Clark looked up and saw David walking over.

His eyes lit up, thinking his brother was going to help him pick up the books.

"Pretty pathetic, Clark."

Tossing out that line, David shook his head and left.

Faced with his brother's deliberate mockery after coming back, Clark was fuming.

Once the books were gathered, the four of them walked into the building. By the lockers in the hallway, hormone-driven boys and girls chatted eagerly, gesturing to flaunt their charm and win over the opposite sex for a date.

"Spring has arrived."

Feeling the school's atmosphere, David remarked.

"You mean the upcoming Spring Dance, David?"

Chloe blinked and asked, "Do you have a date yet?"

"David's never been interested in that sort of thing."

Pete shrugged and invited, "How about you be my date, Chloe? Strictly as friends."

Just to have a companion so neither of them would feel awkward at the dance.

"What about you, Clark?"

"..."

The four chatted as they walked into the classroom.

After a morning of classes, noon came with dismissal.

"David, uh, you go home alone today."

Clark told David to head back first, putting on a serious face.

"I'm going to the field to cheer Pete on during tryouts."

"Cheer Pete on?"

David looked him up and down and snorted.

"I'm not even going to bother calling you out on that, Clark."

With that, ignoring Clark's red-faced urge to argue, he turned and walked off coolly, hands in his pockets.

Boarding the school bus.

David gazed out the window.

Clark wasn't really going to watch Pete's tryouts—he was just lovestruck, using that excuse to head to the field and watch Lana and her squad practice cheerleading.

To that, David could only say—asking for trouble.

On the field, there wasn't just the cheerleading squad, but also the football team. Plenty of dog food and jealousy waiting for Clark there.

On the bus, Chloe sat nearby, hunched over her backpack, quietly writing an article.

It matched her usual style—sharp and biting—about the football team: "Football: Sport or Savagery," set to be published in the School Newspaper.

On the bridge, few cars passed. The School Bus Driver drove swiftly and smoothly.

He didn't notice the broken steel part lying on the asphalt road where a car had broken down that morning.

Psssh!

The bus, running smoothly, suddenly had a tire blow out and go flat.

Boom!

The car skidded out of control, and even jerking the wheel hard was too late. Under the driver's horrified expression, the school bus smashed through the bridge railing and plunged off the bridge.

The school bus hung in midair.

"Ah!"

Sudden weightlessness, bodies lifting up, screams erupted from everyone inside.

David's face changed.

Before the high schoolers' screams could finish, the school bus crashed headfirst into the water, sending up a massive splash.

Glug glug glug.

The heavy, dozen-ton school bus sank rapidly to the bottom.

Fierce, icy river water rushed in through the gaps in the vehicle, flooding up to their knees almost in the blink of an eye.

"Help, help!"

The people inside the bus, ignoring their dizzy heads from the impact, scrambled to their feet, screaming in terror and pounding on the windows.

Chloe's face turned pale with fear as she screamed too, even more terrified—she couldn't swim.

"I don't want to die, someone save me!"

A desperate, horrifying atmosphere spread rapidly through the bus, fear gripping everyone.

"Damn it."

The water reached his waist, soaking his clothes, but David didn't look like he was facing a life-or-death crisis at all. He frowned as he glanced around.