Spider-Man: Finding a New Home [Andrew Garfield]

4

4.

Denied Entry

Adalia

For weeks, I have received rejection letter after rejection letter, detailing my denied entry to schools because of the drama surrounding me. I suffer from immense disappointment, and I can only sulk and grieve over my horrible losses. I start to wonder... When will my misery end? When will the world realize I've done nothing wrong? My grades have been nothing short of excellence, and I prove myself to be a goal-oriented student who takes their academic career seriously, yet I've failed to earn acceptance. Naively, I believed universities would overlook my superhero identity, and focus on me as a student, and not as a former Avenger who has been exposed to possibly being responsible for Mysterio's death. But I was wrong; they appear to only care about keeping their universities clean of controversy, thus resulting in rejecting me.

And, as I dash into the cafe MJ works at, finding Peter, Ned, and MJ holding a similar cream-colored letter to mine, makes me want to regurgitate this morning's breakfast. My stomach, in knots, uneases me, and I have to remind myself to breathe through the nausea.

I rush to Ned and Peter's side, and MJ, who's wearing her work uniform, stands across from me behind a counter. We stand together in the middle of the cafe, breathless and wide-eyed, wondering if we'll finally catch a break from the mess that is our lives.

Right now, MIT has our academic careers resting in their hands. MIT will either make or break us...

"This is it," MJ says, her voice full of anticipation. She looks at Peter, finding his eye contact the most comfortable to look at. My eyes find Ned, and the two of us have worry etched on our faces. "Remember, if you expect disappointment, then you can never really be disappointed."

Although I take MJ's advice to expect disappointment, I can't help the tiny voice in the back of my head telling me to be optimistic. There'll be light at the end of the tunnel, right? After several rejections, there must be at least one acceptance letter, right?

Wrong.

"Okay," says Peter, "let's open them in three... two... one!"

My trembling hands grab ahold of my letter, and I tear apart the top of it in haste. I take out the piece of paper inside, and place the torn envelope atop the counter. I unfold the paper, and skim my eyes through the ink-typed letter.

As I read word after word, my half-smile of excitement dims to a frown. My face goes numb, and a tingling sensation erupts all over my body; my hands, arms, and legs. I start to shake, and I find it hard to stay standing; any moment now, my legs will give out on me. I feel lightheaded, and the urge to vomit returns at full force. The hole in my chest erupts in flames, and the burning sensation weakens me. I clutch my throbbing, blazing chest, and grind my teeth together. My vision blurs with tears, and I can barely hear the sound of MJ tearing her letter apart.

MJ appears sullen, but she's neither shocked nor surprised at our rejection. "You see," says MJ with a sigh. She gathers her torn letter, and tosses it in the trash bin. Ned does the same, then folds his arms over his chest with his lips forming a pensive frown. "If you expect disappointment, then you can never be disappointed..."

Peter doesn't say a word, he only stares at the odd-looking witch decorations strung on the walls of the cafe.

Losing my strength, I sniffle, and the tears stream down my face. My sniffling, then, turns into sobs, and everyone stiffens upon the sound. In an instant, Peter, Ned, and MJ face me, concerned about me.

MJ asks me if I'm okay in a soft voice, but I don't respond. If I speak, I'll be an incoherent mess.

The walls feel as if they're closing in on me, and I struggle to breathe. I need to get out of here, and fast.