The Weight of The World ｡ Peter Parker [1]

4 - Field Trip [Part 1]

The weekend had come and gone, my time spent studying and getting constant updates about Gwen's blooming love life with Flash Thompson, something I was not particularly thrilled about. After our movie marathon on Friday night, Gwen had not stopped talking about Flash, saying how they had a wonderful time at the ice rink in Central Park. Mary Jane had called me every other minute, confirming our suspicions of their relationship. Flash Thompson was clever, but in more ways than one, he was a bully. He went out of his way to harass younger students and Peter Parker, every chance he got. I didn't like Parker but that didn't mean I had to like the way the school's bully treated him. So, of course I was worried about Gwen spending too much time with Flash. 

It was early Monday morning and I waited by Mary Jane's locker, watching as she piled notes into her backpack. "Did she call you last night?"  

Mary Jane nodded, curling her red hair behind her ear as she glanced over at me. "About ten times. Did she call you?"

I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. From our stance near her locker we could see Gwen and Flash down the corridor, flirting rather heavily. I could see Gwen twirling her hair around her finger, a classic move. "About ten times too. She's really into him, huh?"

Mary Jane just shrugged. "I don't know what she sees in him, honestly."

I couldn't agree more. "I mean, he's rather cute, in that I run around a field all day catching balls and tackling other boys sort of way, I suppose."

"Rather interesting conversation topic, ladies." 

I twirled around seeing the familiar grin of Harry Osborn, leaning casually on the locker next door to Mary Jane's, he looked somewhat out of place standing in Midtown High's hallowed hallways. I had forgotten completely about his transfer. "Harry!"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, gesturing at the books I clutched to my chest. "Studying hard, as always, Parsons?"

I shifted on my feet, "Always such a delight seeing you."

Harry's grin widened as his eyes drifted over to Mary Jane, who had quickly fallen quiet. The moment of silence was short lived before I nudged my friend in the ribs, watching as her mouth slammed shut. "Hi, I'm Mary Jane." She gushed out, offering a shy smile. 

I almost dragged her away from Harry Osborn by her red locks. I knew the look that passed through his eyes, knowing very well what was running through his little boy brain. "Harry Osborn. You must be the charming redhead, Pete can never stop talking about."

I watched as Mary Jane's cheeks turned the exact same shade as her hair. "Oh gosh, I don't know about that..." Her quiet voice drifted off as her eyes landed back on me, reading my mind. She gave me a little nervous smile. "Are you coming on the field trip with the class?" She asked him, changing the subject very quickly. 

Harry nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, I guess so. Where's this field trip going?"

"We're going to New York Hall of Science," Peter popped up behind Harry, a friendly smile plastered on his face and I almost groaned aloud. "General Techtronics Laboratories East's new exhibition. There's a demonstration of safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials." 

Harry nodded blankly. "Right, sounds super exciting."

Mary Jane let out a giggle and I rolled my eyes across at her. "It's actually a world class exhibition, something scientists worldwide marvel over and we're lucky enough to get the opportunity to see it first hand. It is super exciting, Harry." 

It was Peter who spoke up next. "She's right, you know."

Harry just shrugged, slinging his backpack's strap higher over his shoulder. "You nerds were made for each other." He muttered out, stepping pass the three of us. We followed him into the courtyard and across the carpark were the classic yellow school bus waited for us all. 

I slid into a spare seat, the hard material bitting at my thighs as I heaved my backpack onto my lap. When I looked up Mary Jane was seated in front of me, right next to Harry. She gave me a quick apologetic look and I shook my head at them both. Harry gave me a wink as his arm slid across the back of the seat, brushing her shoulder. 

The bus was filling up quickly, Gwen and Peter seated behind me. 

"Do you mind if I sit here?" 

I glanced across the seat and found Cindy Moon's small smile, her dark eyes watching me. "Not at all, Cin." The tiny girl nested in beside me, shoving her own bag between her feet as she pulled out her phone. 

Cindy Moon was a star player on our school's hockey team, quite the athlete actually. Not only was she amazing at sports, she was clever too. It was rumoured she had an eidetic memory but by looking at her, you would never know. We had shared classes together since middle school but strangely enough, had never been that close of friends. We shared brief conversations in the changing rooms or waiting in line at the cafeteria but we ran in different social circles. "How's hockey?" I asked politely.

She glanced away from her phone, "Yeah, good. How's...your studies going? Still in the honours program?"

I nodded, fiddling with the strap of my bag. "Yeah, tough competition though."

"Oh, you mean Parker?" Cindy commented, a smile touching her lips. Apparently the whole entire school knew my rival was Peter Parker and that we both struggled to reach the top spot in our classes, and right now he was currently in the lead. 

I gave her a blank stare. "Right, yeah."

Cindy shuffled down further in her seat, running a hand through her dark hair. "He's actually nice, you know."

I snorted, rather unattractively too. "Did he pay you to say that?" 

Cindy shook her head, smiling slightly with my question. "I hated Hector once upon a time too, but now look at us." I pursed my lips as I glanced across at her, already shaking my own head. Hector Cervantez was her boyfriend, another hockey star in our school. They had been dating for months now but her parents didn't know, they didn't approve. 

"That would never happen," I laughed out. "Not in a million years."

Cindy just smiled. "You know, you should never say never." The bus's engine roared to life underneath us and soon we were exiting the school's parking lot and heading towards New York Hall of Science. Heading towards the very destination that would change everything. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 

So, as stated this is a two part chapter, how exciting! Over the years with the movies and the comics, the way Peter has gotten his powers do differ a little. So, I'm following what I know from the few comics I've read, which is very different from The Amazing Spider-Man movies. So, keep calm and don't hate. Anyway, thank you to the lovely readers that support TWOTW, it's rather crazy how fast that little read number is increasing some days. Please, as always leave your wonderful thoughts below.

-tinkertaydust