Hanging by a Thread 🕷 Peter Parker

two

Peter

Peter was late to Biology the next day. Again.

When he finally rushed into the classroom ten minutes after the bell, Peter learned that Alexandra had been right about Ms. Lewandowski being extremely upset with him. He earned himself an hours worth of detention after school. He sat down at his desk and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

Alexandra leaned forward from her desk behind Peter and whispered, "Told you so."

Peter hated that she had been right. He hadn't meant to be late for class, really, but he couldn't help it. On his way to school, there had been a mugging he had to stop as Spider-Man. An old lady's purse was at risk, he couldn't just let the guy get away! Besides, she had thanked Spider-Man by buying him a churro. Peter was pretty sure that it was the same woman he had given directions to, because she had bought him a churro as well. And Peter liked churros. If there was a churro involved, he could pretty much guarantee that he would be there.

Throughout first period, Peter was bored. Biology was really easy for him, (well if he was being honest, most classes in school were easy for him; even P.E.!) and he didn't want to have to learn things that he already knew. He propped his head up against his hand and stared out the window for the duration of the class.

Yes, he knew school was important. He'd learned that lesson several months earlier when Mr. Stark had taken his suit away. But still, he couldn't help himself when he was bored out of his mind.

Peter imagined himself as Spider-Man, swinging from the rooftops of New York City with Iron Man at his side. Only when Ms. Lewandowski said his name did Peter snap out of his day dream.

"Mr. Parker," She said, her voice was cold. Peter looked up.

"Hm?" He asked, looking up.

"Did you hear the question, Mr. Parker?" Ms. Lewandowski asked him.

Peter glanced up at the board. What was the question? They were talking about the different classes and families of animals, and it looked like they were talking about what family an octopus belonged to. Well, that was easy. "Phylum Mollusca." Peter answered.

Ms. Lewandowski eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. "That is correct, Mr. Parker," She told him. "It's amazing, most students wouldn't have been able to answer a question when they were day dreaming. I think you should take care to actually pay attention next time, Mr. Parker."

The other students laughed quietly and Peter couldn't help but blush a bit. Alexandra poked Peter's shoulder and he turned around. "Good job, though," She told him. He smiled, though it wasn't real. He hated this. He wished he could be out as Spider-Man right now, although he knew school was important.

It wasn't that Peter didn't like school; he did, a lot. He loved to learn, he always had. Peter just—didn't like learning things he already knew. Sometimes he wished he'd signed up for more difficult classes at the start of the year. But then, on the other hand, being in classes where Peter already knew most of the material meant less homework to worry about, which in turn meant more time for him to be out as Spider-Man.

It was a win-win situation.

When the bell finally rang, Peter leapt up and headed for the door. Alexandra was right behind him. She caught up with him and ruffled his hair. "Hey!" Peter exclaimed, whacking her hand away. Alexandra laughed a bit.

"Aw, how much time did you spend on your beautiful hair this morning, Pete?" She asked him.

"I didn't spend any time on my hair," Peter defended. Alexandra looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe like ten minutes." He muttered. She laughed and ruffled his hair again.