Chapter Eight

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"Can I have a mocha frappuccino with extra whip cream?" a tall, tired-looking man asked

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"Can I have a mocha frappuccino with extra whip cream?" a tall, tired-looking man asked.

His eyes were sunken and had deep under circles that made him look raccoon like. His shoulders were sagged and he overall looked like a deflated balloon.

"Would you like that to be tall, grande, or venti?" Peter asked.

He started typing in the man's order onto the computer.

"Grande." the man replied, starting to get his wallet out.

"Anything else?" Peter asked.

"No, that will be all."

"Okay, your total is $4.45." Peter concluded.

The fatigued man swiped his card on the machine and waited in line for his order with the rest of the tired New Yorkers. Working at Starbucks wasn't bad, sure you have your mean customer here and there. The pay was okay, as long as he could help out May then he would mop bathrooms and deal with rude customers for a lifetime. Suddenly Peter felt someone tap his shoulder gently.

"Hey Pete, do you mind taking my shift? I just got a call from the hospital, my mom.." Stacy said, choking on a sob at the end.

Peter knew how hard it was for Stacy. Her mom had been really sick and the hospital bills kept piling up. He wished he could help her. Stacy was an amazing person, she always was there on time, always cordial to every customer, and never once complained about her predicament.

"Sure. Don't worry about it." Peter said.

He gave her a quick hug and kept working. Stacy usually took late shifts that lasted till eleven at night. It cut into his spider-manning time, but he would just make up for lost time by swinging around the city at four AM. His aunt wouldn't even notice he was gone. She always worked late shifts and even stayed overnight at the hospital.

"Peter, can you close up?" his manager Rick asked.

Rick Garcia was a tall, lean man. He had a buzz cut and always had a cap on. He was a nice gentleman overall.

"Sure Mr. Garcia. Have a goodnight sir. See you tomorrow!" the teen said, waving his boss out.

The door clicked shut leaving the young teen by himself. The spiderling grabbed the mop and bucket from the storage closet. He popped in his ear buds and began listening to some up beat music. He finished mopping the café and locked up the store.

"Shoot! It's already twelve." he muttered to himself.

His goal was to be finished earlier so he would have time to patrol. He stepped into the alleyway next to the shop and changed into his Spider-Man gear. He webbed his bag to the roof of the Starbuck so no one would take his stuff again.

"Hi Peter." his AI greeted him.

"Hi Karen, any crime tonight?" he asked.

This was his favorite part of the day. Sure, he wasn't getting any sleep and was barely surviving on three cups of coffee a day, but it was worth it. You must be wondering 'how does Mr. Stark not see the hours Peter is active as Spider-Man?' It's simple, he hacked the suit and sent Tony reports that insinuate that he patrolled at eight instead of at midnight.

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