Dancing Around // peter parker

52

The week passed by uneventfully, of course, beside the strike increase in crime rates, but I didn't allow myself to think too much about that. No one seemed to be disappointed about the game moving, except Ms. May. Peter invited her and she all but painted her face the color of Midtown High, ready to cheer me on. She showed me the sign with my name right next to a number one when I walked towards my apartment, a still gloomy Peter beside me.

I also had the privilege of witnessing Ms. May doing her best to be discreet about Peter's then secret identity. I stood at my door as she kept giving Peter these looks. "What?" Peter finally asked.

"I was just wondering why you aren't at your..." Ms. May looked at me for a moment, before looking back at him, "Your Stark Internship."

"Marina knows," Peter said.

Ms. May's brown eyes widen. She looked at me, the question of confirmation written clearly on her face. I nodded my head, answering her question. "Peter quit, though," I added, before looking at Peter. "You haven't told her yet?"

Peter shook his head. "I didn't know how to bring it up."

I looked at Ms. May, a proud smile on my face. I was going to say, "Isn't that great?" But she didn't hold the same mood as I did.

She looked at Peter with this look I've never seen someone wear. It was like she was both relieved, but yet still worry and concerned. "But you loved doing it. Why quit?" She asked Peter. I felt torn away from the conversation. What first started as a A, B, C conversation, was now a family private matter.

"You were worried," he said.

"That never stopped you before," she said. Peter looked at me. Ms. May looked at me. "Oh," Ms. May said. It made me feel weird.

Afterward, Peter wouldn't look her in the eye and invited himself into my apartment. I awkwardly waved to Ms. May goodbye as she held the poster with my name, and followed Peter into my apartment. Later that day, I asked him what that was about. We were lying on my bed, our notebooks out as I looked through Peter's notes since mine were way too messy. He didn't answer me. Instead, he pretended like he fell asleep and dragged my body down with him. My head hit my pillow with a laugh escaping my mouth. He held me tight, his eyes closed shut. It was cute, so I let him off by not answering my question.

The coach had gotten fired because of the nudes and was replaced with a middle-aged woman who only wore pink tracksuits. Besides the fact that she made us run five miles every morning, she was much nicer and when critiquing our skills, she actually showed us how to improve. I felt more comfortable with her and improved enough in my skills as a goalie that when she told me I could keep the position, I felt like I actually earned it, despite how unhappy Adelaide was.

Cindy and I decided to keep what we knew about Adelaide to ourselves. We excused it with it was none of our business, but also that we didn't really know for sure. Cindy stayed team captain but actually had to start to do everything that was required by the captain. She was busy helping organize the game with our coach, I only saw her during lunch, along with Sally and Frances. She seemed to enjoy being the captain and was really good at it, but I did miss the conversation we use to have on the locker room bench.

On the morning of the game, I told my mom goodbye, reminding her about the game and she brushed me off, muttering some words that she would come and wouldn't dare to break her promise. I met Peter outside my apartment like always, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his snow jacket, one of his earphones in. He held out his hand for me to grab, a smile on his face. He seemed better than that first day after he quitted. He smiled and laughed and started listing to Nirvana and shared his earphones with me voluntarily and sometimes he would crease the back of my hand with his thumb and casually throw his arm over my shoulder.