The light of the shadow

chapter one

"You are so dead!", Peter yells. I laugh. "After you!"
When his player falls beaten to the ground, I laugh again and give Net a high five.
"That's not fair.", I hear Peter mumble. His controller lands on the ground. I grin at him and get up. My legs hurt from the long sitting. When a turn my phone on, I see 5 unread messages from my Dad. I sigh. He says he is coming home.
"Hey Pete?", I turn around, "My Dad is coming home. Can I stay yours today?"
His face turns serious and he nods in a silent understanding. "I will ask May, but I am sure she will be okay with that."
I sit back down, next to Ned, who has stolen my controller.
"How long have you not seen your Dad?", he asks worriedly.
I shrug my shoulders. "2 weeks."
"Maybe you should talk to him.", he goes on.
I shake my head. "No after his 'vacations' he always gets frustrated and when he is frustrated he drinks. And I don't want to be there when that happens."
I smile at him, hoping he would stop asking these questions.
After a while, he turns to the screen. "Ok, who is ready for the next round?"

After Ned is gone we work on our web shooters. We try to make the case smaller. That means we need a new web fluid, or just a better one, so we created web fluid 3.0. It's still something to work on but we will try it out in science class.

The next day we walk through the corridors to our first class. Net talks about his new Lego Death Star.
I get a message from my Dad asking me to buy groceries and stop listening to their conversation. I am trying to tell him, that I am in school when I suddenly run into Ned.
When I look up, I realise that we stopped walking. Ned keeps talking, but Peter doesn't seem to listen at all. I follow his gaze.
At the end of the corridor, Liz walks by, with some of her friends. She looks beautiful. Her long black hair falls down her shoulders in curls. She is one of the popular girls at our school. With a perfect outfit, perfect home, and a perfect family. Liz has everything I have not. Maybe if I make my hair it will look as shiny as hers. I could wear some make-up or even better clothes. I look at the old shirt I am wearing and the big jacket that hangs on my body.
She smiles at Peter. He keeps staring at her with this dreaming impression on his face, that it starts getting awkward.