Extraordinaries • {Peter Parker}

Chapter 13

"Lex, I'm leaving!" I called to the back of the shelter, throwing my hoodie on over my head. It was already dark outside and I spent the whole day at the animal shelter.

Since I didn't go to Central Park as often as I used to, I spent the rest of my time at the local animal shelter. I loved it. I loved interacting with all the animals and getting to know each of them.

"Wait, Kara!" my Aunt Lex ran out of the back where we kept the animals. Lex technically wasn't my aunt, she was my second cousin, but she was the closest thing my mom had to a sister, even though Lex was a few years younger than my mom.

She had actually moved to New York two years before my family did; it was one of the reasons my mom agreed to move here.

Stopping in front of the door, I waited for the frizzy-headed woman to reach me. Liz reminded me of a lion. Her frizzy orange hair resembled a mane and her brown, almond-shaped eyes gave her a cat-like appearance.

"What's up?" I asked as she walked my way, and I was impressed. She was wearing three-inch wedge sandals underneath her giant bell bottom jeans. It would have been a disaster if I even attempted to stand in the get-up she was sporting.

I sometimes wondered if Lex was even from this decade. She reminded me of the hippies of the 1970's, besides the drugs part—Lex was an actual major health nut.

When I was younger, Lex would drag me to all the protests that she attended, they were usually ones that dealt with animal rights and environmental issues; and while I acquired a few of the same ideals as her I couldn't compete with her and her passion for a cause, no one could.

Eventually, Lex reached me and jerked her hand in my direction. "I figured I'd give this to you before you go," she said, smiling.
I extended my hand, and she dropped a fifty dollar bill into my hand.

"Lex, I can't accept this," I motioned for her to take the money back, but she waved me off instead.

"Just take it, Kara. You help me out with this shelter more than my actual employees," she said, using her hand to curl my fingers around the bill.

I shook my head, "No it's okay, I like helping. And I'm just a volunteer, so you don't need to pay me," I said.

Lex chuckled, rolling her eyes, "What if you weren't a volunteer?"

My eyebrows drew together in confusion, "What? You don't want me to work here anymore?"

"No, no," Lex laughed, "I mean, what if I hired you?"

My face lit up and I instantly broke into a smile, "Are you serious? Like a job?"

"Yeah, like a job," Lex smirked, answering my question.

If I wasn't so tired, I would've jumped and given her a hug, but I was exhausted. I had spent the whole night working, which was fun but still tiring, and I was still worried about what happened earlier today.

I hoped that everyone would forget about it by tomorrow.

"Thank you so much, Lex," I beamed, shoving the money into my pocket.

"Not a problem, I felt like it was unethical to have you work so hard without paying you," Lex replied, a smile in a brown eyes. "And anyways, you're family, so if I need to beat you I can."

I rolled my eyes at her teasing. "You wish, grandma," I teased back, smirking.

"Hey now, I might be a bit older than you, but I can still take you down whenever I want," she scoffed, pulling me into an arm lock. I laughed as she pretended to jostle around.