[BOOK 2 OF THE HAVOC SERIES]
❝i don't like you because
you're spider-man. i like
you and you just happen
to be spider-man.❞
in which lena santos just
wants a break, but nick
fury has other plans for her
and her friends.
[ spider-man: far from home...
┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐ chapter six SCHOOL SUCKS └────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┘
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───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
LENA USED TO FIND the new school year exciting. She'd look forward to the routine that going to classes provided, even if she did dread the idea of homework and exams. She'd been one of those weird kids who'd actually liked school— seeing her friends every day, getting exercise during her daily commute, and being involved in extracurricular activities were always things she enjoyed.
But now, as the first day of her repeated senior year arrives, she feels nothing but dread upon opening her eyes that morning. The overcast sky and chilled temperature match her mood. Normally, she'd travel to school by herself or with Graham on the subway, but now, Happy insists on driving them for added security.
They hear the crowd before they see them. News vans clog the street in front of Midtown School of Science and Technology, so Happy has to park around the block just for them to be able to exit the car. The voices of journalists and protestors fill the crisp morning air, cramming Lena's gut with nerves.
They'd texted each other where they'd wanted to meet up so they could walk inside together, so within a few minutes, their entire group is standing together on the sidewalk.
"Hey," Ned greets them, climbing out of his Lola's vehicle as well. "You guys ready?"
"No," Graham admits. His eyes are locked on the side of the school building, his hands gripping tightly onto the straps of his backpack. "I mean, I'm never ready to go to school, but now it's even worse."
"I saw some police cars up the road," MJ says, holding her phone out to them. Lena peers at the screen to see a photo of a police blockade that appears to be stopping traffic except for school buses— not that it matters anyway, because most New Yorkers walk or take the subway. The traffic could easily be avoided.
Lena wonders if it's too late to drop out of high school and become a hermit in Happy's apartment.
"We'll be here with you the entire time," Cindy assures Lena with a squeeze of her arm.
"I think they're making everyone else go through security checkpoints, actually," MJ replies.
Lena's stomach drops. "So we have to go inside alone?"
"We've got this," Peter says, his voice sounding more confident than his face looks. He's clearly trying to seem nonchalant, but the tightness of his shoulders gives away his own fears about confronting the ginormous crowd at the front of the building.
Eventually, they have no choice but to do exactly that. Lena still hadn't been prepared for what she'd see even if she could hear it from around the block. Trash litters the grass in front of the school's main entrance— papers, ripped-up posters, plastic wrappers, and cardboard blow around in the brisk breeze that makes her pull her denim jacket tighter to her body. News anchors relay information to humongous cameras. People shout over one another to be heard, straining to see the action through the mob. A few police officers and Midtown Tech security guards keep the spectators back, barely managing to clear enough room for the teenagers as they approach.
