𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄, peter parker

four - mr book bag

oo. FOUR

NADINE GOT THE NEWS BEFORE SCHOOL HAD EVEN BEGUN, FROM NONE OTHER THAN RAYMOND HOLT HIMSELF. It was definitely the last thing she was expecting to hear when he called and asked to speak to her, early in the morning.

    "A classmate of yours, Peter Parker, his relative was murdered last night." said Uncle Ray, effectively shutting Nadine up. "His uncle, Ben Parker. There are no relations to the suspect, but it's better to be wary."

She couldn't help but be shocked — she'd seen Peter's uncle Ben just yesterday, he'd been angry and scolding the boy, but even then he seemed to be lighthearted.

What could have possibly happened in that time?

    "They're looking, it's within the 13th precinct, but I'm confident they can find the suspect." He continued, his police voice put on.

    "And— and Peter? Is he okay?" said Nadine, finally. Her voice seemed lost, but the worry she felt for the boy was ever present.

    "Yes, the shooter was gone when he arrived." replied Uncle Ray, but somehow, Nadine guessed that Peter wasn't okay.

    "Okay... thanks for telling me, Uncle Ray." She responded, before exchanging goodbyes and hanging up the phone, one of his uniformed officers already on the way to drop her at school — in her Uncle's words, the officer was in the neighbourhood.

He was protective, always had been. Given his treatment in the police force, he never could trust them to protect his family, so he took it upon himself. Always acting as if it was his sole responsibility — as much as Nadine appreciated it, she couldn't help but worry for him.

It was the main reason he always offered to send someone, or himself, to pick her up and take her to and from school.

The police car arrived outside of her building, buzzing through the intercom to announce their presence — luckily for Nadine, it was her favourite officer, Stan. He always brought snacks, and he drove the fastest.

    "Morning," greeted Stan, already holding out a sugar strand donut, before taking off towards the school.

They arrived in almost no time, with Nadine just wiping the crumbs off of her knitted jumper. She really needed to ask where Stan got the donuts from, because they were better than any she'd had from anywhere else.

    "Thanks, Stan!" she said, before clambering out of the passenger seat and making her way towards school.

Margot was stood by their locker, and joined Nadine's side as soon as she walked over. They were absolutely buzzing, almost shaking, and somehow Nadine suspected it had to do with the blonde-haired girl staring from across the hallway.

    "I can see you have something to tell me but can I please, please, please go first?" Margot rushed out, fingertips fiddling with the they/them pin on the leather lapel of their jacket.

    "Yeah, of course." responded Nadine.

    "Gwen invited me to her house, and for dinner with her parents!" they said, eyes wide and grin wider.

It took more than a moment for the news to register, but once it had, Nadine almost yelled in excitement for Margot. It had been a long time coming, and she honestly wasn't even sure how they'd managed to speak to Gwen without actually throwing up, but she couldn't be prouder.

    "Are you kidding? Margot, that's amazing! Oh my god, I'm so happy for you! Is this like... a date date? Or a, let's hang out before I actually invite you to a date." rambled Nadine, almost buzzing as much as Margot was.