There are three simple rules Nellie Jenkins must follow as she orchestrates an article for the school newspaper on fellow classmate, Peter Parker.
Rule #1. Do not observe the person you are writing about outside of school grounds.
Rule #2. Do not mi...
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September 6th, 2017 Observation 1. Peter Parker has one friend, Ned Leeds.
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Nellie tapped her pen absentmindedly against the cafeteria table, her thoughts spinning around in her head like a twister. She let out a huff, her bangs becoming disheveled from the blast of air from her rosy lips.
"Let me guess, Peter Parker's life isn't as interesting as you thought, huh?" Michelle asked dryly, shooting Nellie an arched brow as she pulled apart the cheap cardboard milk carton in front of her.
"MJ, shut it. I picked him as my subject because he's one of those silent geniuses that everyone underestimates because he never speaks up during lectures. I know there is more to him than everyone thinks." Nellie argued, finally jamming her pen through her messy bun piled up on her head.
Today, she was giving up. Peter Parker was eating his lunch and staring at Liz Allan again for the third day in a row. She decided lunch time was not the time to observe this boy. She wasn't getting any interesting content for her news article yet.
"No," MJ rolled her eyes and chugged the entire milk carton. "You chose Peter as your subject because you have a massive crush on him."
Nellie widened her eyes in disbelief, "That is not true. I do not have a crush on him. I just think he is smart and intriguing."
MJ let out a chuckle along with what Nellie believed was a muffled burp, "Okay, Nel, the boy you find so smart and intriguing is literally drooling over Liz and has peanut butter smeared on his chin. Please, spare me. This is sad."
Choosing to ignore her friend and the judgment radiating from her, Nellie pushed her lunch tray away. She was too busy thinking about how she was going to write an A-worthy article before Winter Formal to eat, and watching MJ chug an entire school milk in under seven seconds was making her stomach all queasy.
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're ditching me for the library again. Lunch isn't over for another 20." MJ pouted, snatching the red apple from Nellie's lunch tray like a wild animal.
Nel's brows furrowed, "Dude, seriously?"
"You were done," MJ retaliated with a chunk of apple in her mouth.
"I'll see you in History. I've gotta go somewhere quiet so I can focus on this article."
Nellie reached for her lunch tray and gave Peter one last glance.
Yep, his eyes were still locked on Liz as she hung up the HOMECOMING banner over the doorway. Nellie really disliked Liz sometimes—not because she wasn't nice or anything, but because of how her skin glistened in the sunlight and her lipgloss always looked perfect. It was no surprise as to why Peter spent thirty minutes each day of the week just staring at her. Liz was a goddess walking among them all, and Nellie couldn't help but envy her just a bit.
