Spider-Byte. MILES MORALES

Chapter 4: Academia

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Miles walked inside of the main building, taking in the prestigious and busy atmosphere.

As he walked by, he heard many people mocking him and his father and snickering obnoxiously loud.

"Hey, good morning! How you doin'?" Miles cheerfully asked a group of students, trying to start up a conversation and his social life. The students just glanced at Miles and completely ignored him.

Miles tried again with another student. "The weekend was short, huh?" This time, the student replied, but not with a response Miles was hoping for. "That's a copy!" the student mocked.

Miles ran over to another group of students, "Oh my gosh! This is embarrassing. We wore the same jacket." The students stared at him with confusion and disgust. Miles was slowly losing hope as he walked away.

His face lit up when a girl called him. "Your shoes are untied." "Yeah, I'm aware. It's a choice." Miles mumbled, feeling disappointed.

Meanwhile, Melody was on the other half of the main building, gossipping with a group of six girls by the lockers. She just stood there, staring at Miles. A part of her wanted to talk to him.

"What are you staring at, Mel?" "Oh- uh, just that new kid trying to make friends." Melody pointed at Miles. "I feel kinda sorry for the guy..." one of her 'friends', Analysse, whispered about Miles. "He's such a loser already," another girl, Genesis, commented.

"Y'all, leave him alone. You know it takes a while to get a social life when you're new." Melody defended Miles as she took several glances in his direction.

"Why are you defending him Mel? Do you like him or something?" Analysse teased. "What, no! You know, you don't have to like someone who isn't in our circle romantically to defend or simply be nice to them." Melody defended herself, her face slightly burning. "Not Melody trying to defend herself..." another girl, Jessie, laughed.

Melody just rolled her eyes and started to walk away from the group of girls, heading to her first class as the school bell rang.

"So, who can solve for XY?"

"And that is known as a syllogism."

"Read two chapters from 'Great Expectations'."

Miles tried to juggle all of his classes, carrying a huge stack of books as he ran from class to class.

"A take-home quiz on volumetric pressure."

"Five-page essay with your conclusions stressed."

Miles ran to his next class, slightly out of breath. He opened the door to a dark room with light only coming from the projector, which was showing a scientist talking about different universes.

Miles tried to not draw attention to himself as he walked over to an available seat. "Mr. Morales. Moving in the dark. You're late again." his Physics teacher called out.

"Einstein said time was relative, right? Maybe I'm not late, maybe you guys are just early." Miles joked. No one laughed at Miles' joke, except one. The girl from earlier. She let out a small chuckle which made Miles' face light up. He sat by the seat on the opposite side of her.

"I liked your joke," She whispered, turning to Miles. "Really?" Miles smiled at her. "It was smart, so I liked it." She continued, smiling back at the boy.

"I'm-" Miles got cut off as the teacher walked right between the both of them. The two students looked at the screen in front of them.
As the teacher left, the girl slightly glanced at Miles but looked away before he could see her. As she took her notes, Miles glanced back at her.

"A zero?" Miles asked as he looked at his test paper.

An hour had passed and class was over and Miles' teacher asked him to stay back for a few minutes.

"A few more of those and you'd probably have to kick me out, huh?" Miles asked with a smile on his face.

His teacher was not convinced. She could tell that Miles was doing this on purpose. He was trying to quit, and she wasn't going to let him.

"I'm assigning you a personal essay. This isn't about physics, but about you and what kind of person you want to be."

Back at his dorm, Miles sat at his desk and thought about what he could possibly write for the essay.

He leaned back in his chair and looked outside at the city from his window.

The sunset gave the city a beautiful pink sky. Miles smiled at the breathtaking view in front of him.

He was ready to leave his dorm and go to his uncle's house.