TROUBLE, peter parker

xi. meet me at the back of the library

"...bridge. Much of what occurred is merely speculation at this point."

Maya walked out of her bedroom into the living room to find the TV still running with the news and her father's sleeping form sprawled out on the couch. She took his TV dinner off the coffee table and was about to walk it over to the sink when she realized it was Captain Stacy talking on the news.

"However, several eyewitnesses to the crime, as well as our own preliminary findings, have positively placed two individuals at the scene," said Stacy.

Maya blew out a sigh as she placed the TV dinner in the sink, still listening in but having lost the visuals.

"Which is why this morning, I am issuing and reissuing arrest warrants," Captain Stacy continued, causing Maya to run back to the TV area, sliding a little on her socks as she tuned in, "for the masked vigilantes known as Spider-Man and Knives, respectively."

Many murmurs came from the crowd, and as much as Maya would've loved to stick around and find out whether they were in appreciation or contempt, she'd had enough.

She grabbed the remote and shut off the TV with a sigh. Her father turned a little in his sleep and she readjusted his small blanket.

"Have a good day at school," he mumbled, half in and out of sleep.

"Good morning," she said back, swinging her backpack on. "Get a good morning's sleep."

"Will do," he hummed.

She grabbed an egg sandwich from the refrigerator that she had prepared the night before as she made her way out the door and to school.

Several notebooks were precariously being held in Maya's left hand as her right hand reached up to grab books from the top shelf of the school's library. She heard footsteps approaching her direction and spun around quickly to see who was walking into her proximity during her free track.

Spinning around was a terrible choice, seeing as the book slipped out of her reach and one of her notebooks slipped from her grip out of panic from the book falling over her head.

The approacher's concentration did not lapse in one bit as he walked up in front of her; his hands shot out, the first catching the book above her head and the other following shortly after to reach down and stop the notebook from hitting the ground. As quick as they came, the hands offered the books back to Maya.

"Thanks, Peter," she said, smiling and clearing her throat as she took the notebook and book into her arms.

"Yeah, no problem," he said. He scratched the back of his neck as he glanced around the library and back at Maya. "Journalism club teacher said I might be able to find you here."

She nodded and beckoned her head over to the tables out in the open available for students to work at.

"I'm right over there. I have notes to prepare for debate and I have to do a bit of writing for the school news and figure out some layout stuff."

They made it to her table, which a few other students were at. Compared to the few items they had out, her workspace was a lot messier.

She had some papers out—printed out articles that were annotated for important information, research notes, nonfiction books, previous school newspapers, a phone open to a Google search and in desperate need of charging, and a notepad with chicken scrawls all over the yellow pages.

She set her stuff down and sat down on the chair with her backpack hanging on the back. Maya motioned to an open chair next to her that Peter could sit down in, but he opted to stay standing, leaning a fist down on the table, eyes scanning her writing on the yellow notepad.