Spider-X: A Spider-Man Story

Chapter 8: First Day of School (Cont.)

He can't hear anything except a loud ringing in his ears.

Logically, he knows the woman at the front of the classroom isn't his Aunt May, but it's hard to stop the flow of tears from spilling. He looks at the teacher and sees the woman who raised him after his parents died, who always took care of him, drove him to his first party, supported him as Spider-Man.

The pencil in his hand snaps as he tries to get a hold of himself. The ringing is getting louder. His heart beats faster. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to push away the image of May dying because she helped him.

Peter must have stayed like that for longer than he thought, because the next thing he knows, the bell rings. He winces at the sharp sound, but it snaps him back to reality. Well, this reality.

His hands are seized up from being clenched for so long, so he works them free and picks his backpack up, ducking his head to leave the classroom.

"Mr. Parker."

Even her voice is the same.

Peter takes a deep breath. He forbids himself to cry. He turns to walk back to the teacher. He glances at the name plaque on her desk, Mrs. Reilly.

"Welcome to Midtown Peter," she smiles warmly and it's the same smile Aunt May used to give him when she burnt their dinner and came to tell him they were going out.

Peter realizes she's waiting on him to say something. "T-thank you, Ma-Mrs. Reilly."

"Well, I know first days can be hard, so I got you a copy of the book we're reading. Try to catch up this weekend, hm?" She hands him a worn copy of The Stranger.

Peter takes it, physically fighting the urge to hug her. "Thank you," he whispers.

She smiles again, this time a little questioningly, like she's wondering what's wrong with the new kid, but she doesn't ask any questions.

Peter's grateful, he wouldn't know what to say. He takes the book and leaves, his ears still faintly ringing. The important thing is she's safe, he tells himself. She's happy. In this universe, where Peter doesn't exist, she's alive and safe and happy. She's better off without him.

Peter walks through the halls in a daze, on his way to the cafeteria. He moves through the throngs of students walking the hallways and getting things from their lockers. To his side, one boy is struggling to open his locker, tugging on the handle with all his strength. His fingers slip and he flies back, right into Peter.

"Woah, sorry!" The boy says when Peter straightens him. The boy pushes up his glasses, "stupid locker."

"No worries, man. You need some help?" Peter pulls the locker door open easily. The latch is rusted, which is what made it hard for the kid to open.

"Thanks," the boy says.

Peter spots a flyer in his locker. "There's a robotics team here?"

The boy's face brightens and he takes the flyer out of his locker to give to Peter. "Yeah, you interested in joining? It's not the most popular extra curricular around here, but it's fun."

"Yo, Lawrence!"

Peter's alarm bells go off in time to catch the football aimed right for the boy's head. The kid ducks anyway, even though Peter's got it. Peter frowns. It seems every universe's high school has their bullies.

The conversation in the hallway stalls as people look between Peter and the group of boys at the end of the hallway who threw the football. They're all wearing letterman jackets. The jocks. Judging from their weapon of choice, they're the football team. This little routine seems normal, so Peter throwing a wrench in it messed with their routine, they shift awkwardly, stunned that they didn't hit the kid in the head.