Unlucky

One | Midtown

On any normal Tuesday morning I would be up bright and early, hurrying around the kitchen and preparing myself breakfast in haste to get ready for school.

Today wasn't one of those days. It was already 7:30, and it took me about fifteen to twenty minute to get ready, and ten minutes to get to school, which would put my arrival at school at around 8:15, not including procrastination. In other words; I was late for school, and still lying in bed.

I glanced at the clock, wondering why my alarum hadn't gone off before noticing it was unplugged, the pronged end lying carelessly next to the foot of my nightstand. Groaning, I picked up my phone and unlocked it, wincing at the brightness of the screen before my eyes adjusted. Seven missed texts from my sister Felicia. The most recent few reading:

Sis: Wake up Gwen.

Sis: You need to go to school.

Sis: I packed your lunch for you.

Today 7:23

Flinging my bedsheets off myself, I leaped to my feet pulling my brown hair into a bun after running through it with a brush. I changed out of the gray sweatpants, and black shirt that served as my pyjamas, changing my bra and underwear as well. I got dressed in a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, black high waisted jeans, and an oversized black hoodie the pocket of which I jammed my phone into.

I gave myself a hurried once over in the mirror, making sure I didn't look like a homicidal maniac. My shoulder length brown hair had been brushed not seconds before (the discarded brush still lying on my bed) and I had taken a shower last night. I glared at my reflection, wishing I had woken up sooner.

I walked into the kitchen, grabbing the sack lunch Felicia had packed for me and taking an inventory: a warm bread roll that would no doubt be cold by lunch (still thoughtful of Felicia however). I peered into the recyclable wax paper bags to see strawberries, carrots, and next to those a small can of soda, and a bag of m&m's with a note taped to it Holding a toaster waffle in my mouth, I pulled on my black soft leather doc martens, and walked out the door. The walk to school usually only took a few minutes and I followed the same route every day. I walked to the nearby subway station, and rode the rest of the way to school.

A few months ago I had transferred to MSST from a public school, and so far I was managing to stay out of trouble. The Homecoming Dance was coming up and Felicia was encouraging me to go. I was hesitant to, I had never liked dances, but Felicia made a good case.

My sister had dropped out when we moved, but her career as the Black Cat had been going well. The Black Cat was a criminal persona in a black suit whom Spider-Man had been chasing ever since his appearance four months ago, to no avail. Mostly Felicia brought home a necklace or two, but they were always gone in a matter of days, replaced with money for us to use. At first glance Felicia and I looked nothing alike. She had dyed silver hair (it used to be brown) and sea blue eyes, while I had brown hair and brown eyes. We were both beautiful, or that's what people told us (it wasn't that I didn't like the way I looked, just, saying it out loud made me feel vain).

I blinked out of my thoughts, absentmindedly liking a picture of a cute cat on tumblr. The train stopped, and I got off, walking down the stairs and around the corner. To actually get to MSST you had to cross the football field, go up a flight of stairs and cross a small street before entering the building.

I quickened my pace and walked across the street, dodging a boy with curly brown hair, and a boy with dark hair, who were both talking about Star Wars. I believed their names to be Peter Parker and Ned Leeds. It was the second boy, the shorter one whose name I was unsure of. He was a tad pudgy, with tanned skin and dark eyes. He always seemed to geek out about Star Wars in public more often while Peter was more reserved. 

Peter Parker had been my neighbour for the better part of my life (we moved in when I was four), and we may have been friends for a while; I couldn't quite recall, or maybe I just didn't want to. He never really seemed to notice me though, which in my mind was a good thing. He only ever really looked at a few things, his books, Ned, and Liz Allen, the most popular girl in school, who just so happened to be drop dead gorgeous.

In my first class, Physics, we were learning about gravity equations and work and power, the homework for which I had already done. Ms Warren, the teacher, was a strict looking woman with short dark hair and eyes, but she really wasn't outside her classes. She was a really nice person, something I had witnessed personally when I first came to MSST. Chemistry was next, and I found myself sitting next to Peter Parker, who was glancing impatiently at the clock, all the while mixing up something of his own in one of the side drawers on his desk.

I was starting to notice Peter in a good deal of my classes, Physics, Chemistry, English, History, Maths, P.E. As I thought about it, I realised I had every class with Peter, and I frowned.

'How have I not noticed this before?' I wondered, casting a quick glance at the boy. He was waiting anxiously, peering from time to time at a paper hidden under his notes, leaning over to mix up some sort of chemical on his own, maybe an extra credit project. Peter Parker was strange to say the least. He was dork but very quiet about it, not quite enough that everyone didn't know however. He only ever talked to Ned, and occasionally, Michelle, my friend. Whenever he was anxious or worried he would tap his foot, and continuously glance at the clock, just as he was doing now. When he was stressed he had alway messed with his hair, not noticeably, well I had noticed, but he would flick a stray curl one way or the other, run a hand through his hair.

Peter Parker was one of the most interesting people in my classes, but that wasn't saying much. If he was angry he would let out little sighs of frustration, grumbling under his breath, which usually occurred after an interaction with Flash Thompson. Peter smiled a lot when he was happy, stared off into the distance when he was sad, he pretended to take notes even if he was already done which was why so many pages in his notes book were scribbled on, so he always took forever to find a page blank enough to use.

The rest of my classes before lunch blended together, and when the lunch bell rang I was the first out the door, making my way to the lunch room.

I walked into the cafeteria, scanning the room for my only friend, finding her sitting at a table with none other than Peter Parker and Ned Leeds. I walked over, sitting down next to MJ and pulling out my lunch. MJ was about the same height as me, with curly dark hair and caramel skin. She was always reading, and hated social interaction, which had been part of the reason we became friends.

"Hey." she greeted me, glancing up from her book. MJ was a very avid reader, and she had an endless list of books to recommend, all of which I had either already read, or was going to in the next few days.

"H'lo." I replied, and she returned to her book. I pulled out my phone a few seconds after it buzzed, and saw a text from Felicia.

Sis: Love you Gwen. You mean everything to me.

Today 7:21

I love you too, more than anything.

Today 7:22

The messages confused me, as Felicia wasn't one to send random, much less cryptic texts, but I pocketed my phone anyways, turning to MJ. We chatted about nothing in particular for the remainder of lunch, ignoring Peter and Ned who were talking quite loudly about Star Wars. When lunch ended, I popped the last of my sandwich into my mouth, and stood. The next few classes, English, P.E, and the free period for electives, all went by extremely fast (I had already completed my homework so they were all pretty boring).

As I walked to my last class, I heard sirens wailing, and looked out the window just in time to see a parade of emergency vehicles rush past. I walked into my History classroom, and not mere moments later, the P.A. system crackled to life.

"Gwendoline Hardy to the principal's office please. Gwendoline Hardy to the principal's office please."