Make Way for the Spiders

Seven

"So, how was school?" Mom asked, when she got home later that night.

"Better than expected," I answered.

"Oh?" Mom looked surprised. "And why is that? You make a friend? Or did you meet a boy?" 

"Mom!" I groaned, turning away to focus on the food on the stove. "Peter is just a friend."

"His name is Peter, huh?" I could hear her smirking, but I refused to turn to face her. "So, how'd you meet him?" Mom asked. 

"We have a few classes together, and his locker is next to mine," I told her. "But we're only friends, so don't be getting any ideas."

She laughed, and I finally turned to face her. "Who said I was getting ideas?"

I just rolled my eyes at her, and started to stir the soup.

"Did you make any other friends?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I talked to a girl named Gwen. She lives in this building," I said. "But... I don't know. There's something about her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were talking in gym, and I guess she noticed that Peter and I were friends, so she 'warned' me about him." 

Mom sat down at the kitchen table, suddenly intrigued. "Why would she warn you about him? Rayne Seibert, are you going after a bad boy?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "He's not a 'bad boy', Mom. He's quiet, and kind of nerdy, but in the cute sense." My eyes widened at what I said, and started talking before Mom could say anything. "But like I said, we're friends, and I'm not interested."

"Well, what did this Gwen tell you about him?" Mom asked. 

"She said that he was secretive," I said, "which is understandable. Everyone has secrets." Especially me. "And she said that they used to go out, and then out of the blue, he just dumped her."

"Well, there's the problem," Mom said. "She's jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "I saw her hanging out with the most popular people in school. And she's blonde. There's no way she could be jealous of me." 

"You could always dye your hair blonde." Mom winked at me, and I chuckled.

"I think I'll keep it red," I said.

We were silent for a bit, and after a while, Mom went to her room to change into more comfy clothes. When she came back, she was in pajama pants, and an old t shirt. Her brown hair fell in waves, and framed her face perfectly. "So what are you making for supper?" she asked.

"I'm using Grandma's recipe for taco soup," I told her.

"Mm, I always loved that recipe," she said, sitting back down at the table. "How much longer 'til we eat?" 

I skewered my lips to the side, and looked at the clock. It was five. "Maybe.... fifteen minutes?"

Mom nodded, then pulled out her laptop, typing random things.

"Your first day, and you already have to bring work home?" I asked.

Mom shook her head. "No. You know how Frank was telling us about that Spiderman the other day?"

"Yeah...?" I looked at her confused, not sure where she was going. 

"When I was on my way home earlier, I saw a store getting robbed. He showed up, and beat up the robbers. I didn't get a good look at him, though, so I thought I'd do some research," Mom said, not looking up from the screen. "Oh, look at this picture!"