SPIDER-MAN 2.0
It was in their fifth period that they saw the man of the hour. The class was called Chemistry.
Ava personally thought that he looked a little plain, with his brown hair and brown eyes, but knew that underneath he was hiding a genius mind and an amazing alter ego hi. She shared a glance with her brother, before quickly winning their impromptu rock paper scissors competition.
Awesome, she thought with a grin, looks like my new seating partner is gonna be the man of the hour.
A quick compulsion spell had the teacher changing the seating arrangement for the two new students, which had her sitting next to Peter, and Andrew right behind her. She held a closed fist behind her and smiled internally when Andrew gently bumped it.
As the class started, Ava turned to her partner and smiled at him. “I know you already heard my name but I figure I should introduce myself properly. I’m Ava Nerada.”
She held out her hand and he shook it. “Peter Parker. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
She spent the rest of the class period asking him curious questions about the subject, and becoming more and more amazed with it. It was kind of like making potions, but with different ingredients. It looked interesting but also really complicated; she could practically feel Andrew losing interest behind her. His interest was more in Numbers- Math.
“So really all I have to know is the elements and their charges? Then it’s as simple as swap and drop?” She asked, going through a few practice problems with Peter.
“Pretty much, yeah.” he replied. “Of course, the teacher gives you a sheet of the periodic table and cation and anion charges, so really you only need to know how to figure it out from there; but it would be easier if you could memorize it. I did.”
“Wow,” she gasped. “Seriously? But there’s so much, it couldn't have been easy.”
He then went on to explain a few tips for studying, that he had learned in psychology. Which of course led to her asking about psychology, which led to him explaining that.
Lyla might actually be interested in that, she thought to herself.
The bell rang for lunch, and as Ava and Andrew walked along the hallway, they realized Peter was walking beside them.
“Oh, you have lunch too? Can we sit with you, you could explain more about Psychology to me. Only if you have enough room, of course!”
He smiled. “It's no problem, honestly. Maybe we could talk about Star Wars instead?”
Ava tilted her head, Andrew speaking from behind her. “What’s Star Wars?”
Peter’s mouth fell open, a shocked look overcoming his face. “You don’t...You haven't even heard of it?”
They shook their head, and Peter threw his hands in the air. “What kind of world do we live in? We have to fix this. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Ned and MJ.”
★~★
Izzy pouted at the teacher, feeling a small trail of annoyance wash over her. Why was the teacher telling her she couldn’t go the the bathroom? She had to go.
“It’s a bodily function, Ms. Detras. I can’t help it. Besides, isn’t it morally questionable to look at a child who very clearly needs to go and tell her that she can’t? I have to go.”
“Don’t give me an attitude, Ms. Nerada. And for the last time, sit down and write down the question on the board.”
Izzy frowned, resisting the urge to jinx her teacher; only because her and May made a bet on who wouldn’t be able to make it through the first day without magic and May had been sure that Izzy herself wouldn’t be able to do so. Her bet was on Ava, personally. Her magic was like a lifeline for her.
Izzy scoffed. Just because I’m not using magic doesn’t mean I’m playing nice, she thought pettily. She turned and started walking towards the door.
“Where do you think you’re going? If you step out that door I will call your mother.”
First of all, Mom wouldn’t care because school was literally just a learning experience the family could or could choose not to have. And secondly, she would more than likely get angry that Izzy had to go to the bathroom, and was told no. So whatever.
She was a free spirit by nature. Izzy literally didn’t think she could get through the day without rampaging.
“Stop it right now!” The teacher yelled one last time.
Izzy didn’t even bother to reply, just taking up her stuff and leaving to go home.
★~★
May looked at the assortment of children around her, trying to hold onto her very thin patience. She would have to borrow some of her siblings hands to count on fingers exactly how many times someone had come up to her and talked to her like she was stupid.
Once again, she pointed to the piece of paper that said boldly: I am Mute not Deaf. I can understand you.
“Oh, my bad!” Said the girl that had come up to her, her friends tittering behind her. “My name’s Meridith. What’s your name?”
Begrudgingly, she wrote down: May.
The girl- Meridith, smiled. “That’s a nice name. Do you sign?”
May frowned. Yes, of course she did, she just didn’t sign in a language that was in this world. She should probably look into learning one. She shook her head.
Meridith frowned as well. “That sucks. Well, if you need any help in this class, I’d be glad to help you.
May nodded, fully intending to ignore her. She wasn’t really interested in friends, she just wanted to play hero with Ava and Spider-Man. And anyone else who was interested. And learn a new sign language.
She also wouldn’t mind seeing if there was a swim club. She knew there was a basketball club and football club, but seeing as she was literally a mermaid, as they were called by humans, she figured swimming would be the best sport for her.
She’d have enough time for that. At least, she figured, they’d stay a whole school year. At most, however long it took for her family to decide it was a good breaking point from this world.
May tilted her head, scribbling down a few more notes.
I can learn from this world, she thought to herself. That wouldn’t be so bad.
She resolved to ask a teacher about the swim club later, and with that last thought, focused on the lesson in front of her.
★~★
Alora did not like the people in her school. She had decided that after the first few ginger jokes. How humans could judge someone literally on their hair amazed her. They never did that in her world.
A tall boy, named Jason, cracked another joke in a whisper behind her- that of course her enhanced hearing could pick up. She didn’t know whether to hate or love being a werewolf half the time but right now she knew that she hated it.
Jason told another joke and the girl’s giggling behind her quickly set her off. She turned around, staring into a smug face framed by curly brown locks. The bastard knew what he was doing.
She took a deep breath. Calm.
She always had to be calm. Controlling her instincts was like controlling the tide- impossible. But she could stop them before they even started. She just had to remain calm.
She knew that if she let herself get into an argument with the boy right now, she would lose control, and the consequences would be bad. Her parents trusted her to be around people, to interact with them without losing her cool. She would not betray them.
Rolling her eyes, she went back to doodling on her paper. If they became a problem, then she’d take care of them. Right now though… They were insignificant.
What was important right now was the art class she had next period, and how excited she was for it. Smiling to herself, all thoughts of Jason or annoying girls off her mind, she started doodling on the edge of her paper.
At least that was something she could look forward to, other than the superhero gig she planned on doing with Ava.
★~★
“...So basically what happens after that is Harry…”
“...So then Stacy decided that she’d had enough of her boyfriend cheating on her…”
“...wow dude, that’s almost as gay as I am…”
“...you wanna eat that? Cause I can fit a…”
“...And then Darth Vader reveals that he was…”
Andrew opened his eyes in time to catch Ned rambling about Darth Vader's secret identity being revealed, Ava following along with wide eyes. Despite having been raised to rule the kingdom in their parents stead, she still managed to be a big goof underneath her tough exterior.
He knew well enough that most people would think Ava was a bitch. Many children of the courtiers had thought that when they were younger. The sharpness of her eyes, the hard set to her face, her serious tone she took on most of the time.
Of course, being her twin, he didn’t look much different. Still, from a young age he had learned to be the bridge between his sister and her peers. He had learned to smile and prod and joke and when the time was right for those things.
He had learned the things that would make him the perfect right hand man for her. General of her armies (though she was more than capable of fighting alongside them) and her advisor.
Over the years he had seen her shoulder so much weight. She learned when others were playing, trained when others were relaxing, and studied when others were sleeping.
It was nice to see her laughing, playing around, free for a while from her duties.
Andrew smiled to himself, taking a small bite of the confusing (what was it even supposed to be?) food. Dad was really smart to think of this vacation.