As Luck Would Have It

9) Job Search

"Work hard today," Peter said to his aunt as she prepared to leave their apartment, "I'll see you when I get home."

"You're still going out to do what asked, right?

"I will certainly try," he assured, "but you never know what's going to be thrown at me."

Peter and May had talked about a couple of places to find jobs the previous night. Peter had suggested the idea of Del Mar's, and May thought it was a great idea. She understood Peter's hesitation on the matter as well, but thought that if he had a chance to prove to Del Mar how good of a worker he was, maybe he would make peace with what happened.

May gave a quick kiss to the top of his head as she exited the apartment, "Bye, I love you."

"Love you too May, bye" he said as the door shut in front of him.

An hour later, Peter slipped into his suit, getting ready to make his rounds. He kept a small piece of paper with a list of jobs in his back pocket, but he hoped that he would find other options as he swung through the city. He pulled his mask on before opening his bedroom window. Why can't saving people be a job, he thought stepping outside, police and firefighters do it all the time. I guess it's because they go through extensive training, and I don't think I have time for that. In that case, let the job search begin, he whispered to himself as he leapt into the air, shooting a web-line to his right.

The first stop he made was to Citi Field, home of his favorite baseball team the New York Mets. He thought that his heightened abilities would be an excellent skill to have to be a ball boy during games. He thought it would be an easy job, getting to watch games for free, using his spider-powers to an extent, and maybe get great perks. As he entered the stadium, his heart was pounding rapidly. He had never been this excited about something since the day Tony Stark gave him an upgraded suit before doing battle with the Avengers.

The line of other applicants wasn't too long, maybe about a dozen or so. People of different ages, genders, and races came out to invest in the opportunity to be a part of the Mets organization. Peter was second to last in line, and he started a conversation with the gentleman behind him. He was tall and had a charming smile. His hair waved up, kind of how a skateboarder would fix his hair. They discussed their reasons for trying out, Peter's obviously being that his aunt wanted him to find a job because he isn't focused enough on his future. The stranger explained he dreamt of being a chimney sweep but couldn't because he didn't have a chimney to practice on at home. "I guess we've walked similar paths" Peter responded, seeing the stranger's situation paralleling his.

Soon enough, Peter's name was called, and he was star-struck to find that Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson would be hitting the balls to him. Peter grabbed a supplied glove and his reaction time was crisp, catching the ball every time. The tryout leaders thanked him for coming out and asked him to take a seat along with the rest of the applicants. Peter was feeling pretty confident about himself, figuring that he had the job in his pocket.

As he took his seat, the applicant he had conversed with was settling into his position. Granderson accidently hit the ball in the wrong direction and was zooming toward the seated applicants. Peter prepared to make a complementary catch, when suddenly the outstretched arm of the stranger casually caught the ball with his bare hands. Peter was in disbelief, his eyes wide open from what he had just witnessed. The stranger continued to make bare handed catches with every hit ball. The leaders thanked him and asked him to take a seat.

He took a seat next to Peter, who couldn't help but ask, "Where did you learn how to catch like that man."

"Oh, I took up juggling in 2012 and just gained a great hand-eye coordination" the smiling stranger explained. "I didn't know it at the time, but I once even juggled plutonium cases by accident."