Luck

Although he was only eight years old, Peter was aware that the things that had happened to him were not common and he often heard people talking about the bad luck he had had in life. He had a picture of his parents holding him when he was a baby, but he, of course, did not remember them, because he had been told that they had died in a car accident when he was just six months old, very soon after that picture was taken. He had no pictures of his uncles, with whom he had only lived a little over a year. The two had died in a mugging on their way back from a dinner party and since they were his last relatives he had been taken to an orphanage. He could not remember that part either, his first memories were of Mrs. Thompson, who always smelled of garlic, the house with the green door and her two Siamese cats. There he spent the first Christmas that he could remember with Michael and Damian, who were then much older than he is now, and who were also in Mrs. Thompson's care. Michael was fat, he had red hair, and he used to hit him in the ribs so that no one would notice the bruises. Damian was blond, freckled, and although he hardly ever hit him, he would take half his food away, so in that house with the green door he was always hungry. They all left when the social worker discovered that the two older boys were smoking some kind of cigarettes that he understood were very bad. The only thing he missed about that place was the cats, he liked the way they purred as they passed between his legs.

In some of the other houses he was in, he wasn't beaten or was beaten more. In some of them he did not go hungry, in one of them there was a dog which he later missed as much as Mrs. Thompson's cats, but in none of them was there anyone who wanted him forever and that really wasn't so bad because he hadn't liked anyone enough to want to stay either.

When Christmas came, if he was lucky in some houses, he would find a present for him, although it was always socks or a second-hand jacket. No one remembered his birthday; that didn't seem serious to him because even he wasn't sure when it was, although he supposed he must have had one, because apparently everyone did.

All these things made people say that he was very unlucky. He never stopped to think about it because there were good things. Since he always got good grades one of his teachers had asked permission to give him a very long test and although he never knew exactly what mark he had gotten on it, he assumed that it must have been very good because after that he was moved to a different school where the teachers were very smart and he had a lot more fun.

The school became his favorite place, and that's when the best came along because when he won a science contest at the school he discovered that the prize was to compete with other kids at Washington and he was very lucky because, they explained, his new school and the expenses for him to travel were sponsored --sponsored meant that someone else paid-- by a scholarship from Stark Industries. In Washington he won first place, and the best thing about it was that he met Mr. Stark, who was super smart and knew a lot more than all the teachers he had ever met before. Mr. Stark congratulated him when he won again and assured him that he would accompany him to Prague, where he would again compete with children from all over the world, because it was good publicity for his company.

He did not win. His project came second, and that made him feel very sad because he assumed that losing was not good publicity for Mr. Stark who had been so kind to Peter. Anyway, Mr. Stark did not get angry with him for not winning, he assured him that all the judges were stupid and needed help to tie their shoes alone, he congratulated him because the girl who had won the first place was five years older than Peter, and he also assured him that in a couple of years he would definitely have that prize in his hands.

Just returning to New York, Mr. Stark took him to his social worker and another lady named Virginia Potts who was his wife.

"You did a very good job, Peter. We're all so proud of you." Gladys told him, Peter merely nodded as he hugged his trophy because he was never sure what to do when people congratulated him. "Mr. Stark and his wife have asked me to talk to you," she told him as everyone sat in the noisy chairs in Gladys' office.

Mrs. Stark smiled at him again and gave him a couple of affectionate pats on the shoulder. She was very pretty and seemed friendly too.

"Do you remember when we explained to you that your school and some expenses were paid for a scholarship founded by Mr. Stark?" Peter nodded. "Well, for Mr. Stark would like you to accompany him to some meetings so that people would know how the children who receive that scholarship benefit."

"Don't worry, honey." Mrs. Stark reassured him as she stroked his hair. "You'd just have to tell some people about your school and the contest you won."

"It would only be a couple of weeks and during that time you would live with Mr. Stark and his wife."

The trophy slipped out of his hands when he jumped to his feet in surprise. Live with Mr. Stark? That was a lot better than winning a hundred contests at once.

"What do you say, kid? Would you like to help us out?"

Peter nodded so quickly that he thought his head might fall off.

The next seven days seemed like an eternity to him, but he was told there was a lot of paperwork to sort out before he could go to Mr. Stark. When the day finally came, he could hardly believe it. They traveled in Mr. Stark's private plane where he had a screen for himself on which he could see whatever he wanted and they also had lots of candy, although Mrs. Stark warned him that he had to eat first.

Mr. and Mrs. Stark's house in Malibu was huge. Bigger than their whole school; so big that during the first week he got lost every time he tried to go back to his room. Because he had a huge room to himself. In his room he had lots of books, games, a big screen and even his own computer. Of course, he could only use those things during the weeks he would be living in that house.

Mrs. Stark told him he could call her Pepper, and Mr. Stark wanted him to just call him Tony, but the first time he took him to his office at Stark Industries everyone was so scared when they saw him coming and called him Mr. Stark with a bow on their heads, so he couldn't just call him Tony.

The meetings that he had to go to and that he was so afraid of turned out to be very easy. Mr. Stark would put him in a chair for everyone to see him, and he simply tell them about his new school, the teachers and his project for the contest. At first he was afraid to talk with so many people looking at him, but then Mr. Stark told him to forget everyone else and think it was just the two of them in the room, and when he did that it was easier.

The first few weeks he only had to do the homework that the teachers had given him for the days he would be away, but when Mr. and Mrs. Stark told him that he could stay with them for two more months they decided to put him with a private teacher so that he would not fall behind in school.

The classes were fun, especially when Mr. Stark was with them and in the end it was he who ended up giving the science lesson. He also liked it when they watched a movie, cooked or made Legos or worked in the lab.

Whenever Pepper was in the house, she would go to tuck him in at night, ask him if he had brushed his teeth and give him a kiss. He liked that a lot, too.

On top of that, for the first time, he had a birthday cake, and presents that they assured him he could take with him when he left. He didn't like the thought of having to leave because it made him feel sad, for the first time he had a house that he didn't want to leave and people who treated him well and he never wanted to say goodbye.

When the two months were almost up, they promised him that he could spend Christmas and the New Year's Eve with them. And that was great, because he had seen pictures and knew that they would have a huge Christmas tree full of lights and with a star that looked like the sun, lots of presents and food. And he could be there. And maybe, if his Christmas wish came true, they would ask him to stay a few more weeks. He knew he wasn't going to be with them forever, he really knew, he just wanted to stay a little longer.

Everything was so wonderful that he couldn't understand how people could say he was unlucky when he was living in the best place in the world, with the best people on the planet and everything was perfect... Until he got sick and ruined everything.

"Honey, don't you think you've had enough candy?" Pepper asked, peeking over the papers she was reading. She didn't seem angry. Neither of them was angry with him. Sometimes she was busy, and he was distracted, but he had never been treated as well as he was then.

"I think is enough for today, kid." Mr. Stark took away the candy and messed up his hair like he always did.

He obeyed instantly and made no protest. He followed Mr. Stark when he asked him to go work on their project with the drone, but shortly before dinner his stomach started to hurt and although he tried to ignore it, after a while it hurt so much that he had to shrink to avoid crying.

"What's up, buddy?"

When he could do nothing but sigh, Mr. Stark knelt in front of him and worriedly touched his forehead. He asked him if his stomach hurt, and before he could say yes, the man was already carrying him to his room.

"You have some fever. Stay in bed while I get you some tea and call the doctor, okay?"

Peter nodded and curled up in the blankets. He wanted to say he didn't need a doctor, but before he could open his mouth, Mr. Stark was gone. He returned only a few minutes later followed by Pepper, who ran to sit beside him on the bed and caressed his forehead, asking him not to worry, and making him sip tea. A doctor arrived before he could even finish his drink. After checking him, she told them that it was just a stomach infection and that in a couple of days he would be fine.

After the doctor left and they made him take a couple of very bitter pills, Pepper and Mr. Stark sat with him, one on each side of the bed, and Peter wondered if that was what parents did with their children when they got sick. Before that day, only if he felt very ill, he was allowed to stay in bed, but no one stayed with him to pet him or simply to keep him company.

Then it happened. He really tried to restrain himself, really. When he felt he couldn't take it anymore he wanted to get out of bed and go to the bathroom, but before he could even straighten up, he threw up on Mr. Stark and the blanket with the image of Iron Man covering his bed.

"It's okay, buddy. It's all right. Let's get you cleaned up so you can get some sleep. Don’t worry." Mr. Stark said very softly to him.

Neither of them seemed angry, they helped him to put on clean clothes, changed the bed and then stayed with him until he started feeling very sleepy. For a moment he thought everything would be fine, that he could still stay with them until Christmas at least. His eyes were already closed, and his head was resting on Mr. Stark's chest, he felt Pepper's hand tenderly squeezing his. They were quiet for a long time, until he was about to fall asleep for real. Then Pepper spoke very softly, as if she were telling someone a secret:

"Tony, I can't do this anymore. I just can't. We can't. I want to get over with it."

"It's about Peter, right? We promised him we'd spend Christmas together. It's just a few more days..."

"After what just happened, I understood that I can't do it. It can't be a few more days. We need to get this over with."

He felt someone kiss him on the forehead, but he was too focused on not to cry to know who it was. Without saying another word, the two of them left the room after tucking him in.

When he was left alone, he could cry, and then he understood why people always said that little Peter Parker was very unlucky.