Adventures in Babysitting ↠ Peter Parker [1] ✓

07 | Roman Holiday

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
vii. ROMAN HOLIDAY

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   A ROMAN HOLIDAY IS defined as an occasion on which enjoyment or profit is attributed to others' discomfort or suffering.

   It's the one concept Riley Stark truly understood better than anything else in her bizarre life. After all, the idea of others gaining from the pain one may receive is the exact kind of thing Riley had observed not only in her life, but in the lives of those closest to her.

   In the metaphorical sense, these holidays arrive at different times bringing henceforth varying levels of distress. A Roman Holiday can be as extreme as the world celebrating the reversal of a universal Decimation while the war's soldiers coped with their traumas. It can also be as simple as being the victim to a beautifully crafted insult your friends compose for you.

   The scale always varies, but the results are always the same. And as of right now, Riley Stark was on the brink of facing yet another one of these infamous celebrations.

   See, just a few hours after all of the families left Camp Mirkhaven and the sun anchored on the far horizon, Michelle Jones confronted her best friend with an idea.

   "You... wanna go camping... while at camp...?" reiterated Riley, a somewhat judgemental, yet perplexed tone hanging off her voice.

   "Uh-huh."

   Riley furrowed her eyebrows together as she tried to understand the idea. MJ's whole plan was to sneak off and go camping further away from the official Mirkhaven grounds. Technically, it wasn't even MJ's idea—it was Peter and Ned's, and MJ naturally got dragged into it.

   The reason why they wanted to do this tonight of all nights was simple. Every once in a while, the campers would have free days to do whatever they wanted. No schedules, no workshops, no mandatory bonfires—just a full day to have fun and hang out. Tomorrow, July 24th, was a free day for the campers.

   Peter and Ned thought it would be fun to sneak off and do something defiant in honor of their dear friend, Liz Allan, who believed occasional acts of rebellion boosted morale. That way, if they got lost, they wouldn't have to worry about the repercussions of their little adventure.

   Even MJ, the introverted girl who enjoyed the indoors more than she cared to admit, was supportive of the idea. What was even crazier than that was the fact that Riley had, for once, been planning on staying in and relaxing (and also cleaning up the cabin, per her mother's pleading wishes). It was like they switched places.

   "But... aren't we already camping?" Riley asked.

   "Sure, but when you're gone, you won't have time for this kind of stuff," insisted MJ. It warmed Riley's heart at how much her friends cared about her. "It'd be fun! Plus, you still have to talk to Peter, right? If it goes bad, you can fake a stomachache and come back here to cry by yourself in peace, or... whatever it is superheroes do when shit hits the fan."