Film to Pen: A Fan-Fiction Experiment (Spider-Man AU) Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The next morning I got ready for another new school. My record for shortest time spent at a new school was half a day. In the fourth grade I got a teacher to quit and was kicked out when I brought a spider's egg sack to class and it hatched all over his desk when he confiscated my pencil bag for coloring during lecture. Apparently he was a humongous arachnophobe. I didn't have any books for this school yet so I packed my backpack with only a notebook (for doodling), my personal project folder, and a sack lunch Paco handed out to all us kids as we left. The twins turned right at the corner and I followed Wanda and Hey to the left and presumably to the high school. Or not, sometimes other kids in group homes had lead me off wrong roads then ditched me so I'd be late. Or just lost, with some of them it was hard to tell. I never did get lost, though I was often late. In the hall kids were buzzing every direction. My first room was English literature. I got there no trouble since I'm used to commotion. The teacher started by saying the usual speech on how she hoped I would feel welcome and asked me some of my interests. "I like to free climb, and practice kickboxing," I say. Sure, I am interested in those things and could say what my real hobbies are, reading comics and researching random stuff on the internet, but I find introducing myself this way gives me more space. The teacher said my hobbies were interesting and asked me to sit down. When she told us to turn to page fifty in the textbook, I just sat there wondering how long it would take her to realize I hadn't been issued one yet. My record was three months. But it wasn't to be beat this time. The teacher remembered after a minute and brought one over to me. The rest of the morning classes went the same way, as expected. Lunch things seemed usual as well, but quickly went very wrong. When I entered the cafeteria people stared, I was used to this. But when a boy sauntered up to me and asked "Did they hit you with their canes?" I had no answer. My blank stare told him he needed to clarify he said, "The old folks you knocked off with the roof tiles". Some kids near enough to hear gave him stop now gestures, but others were getting up. Closing in on me. My mind was spinning over what he meant. Somehow my injuring Mr. Tipton had been told and expanded in normal rumor fashion all over the school, but the only people who could have talked were the Garcia kids. This was bad, one of the worst people to live with are tattle tales. I learned that fast at the group center when I first went in to the system. What was worse was how close the boy now was to me. "Why else were you climbing on the roof who do you think you are Spider-Man?". I gritted my teeth and tried to push past him, but he didn't budge and the others packed around tighter. So I used a classic swipe, not even really a kick. Just to unbalance him and hoping I'd topple the whole group like dominos. Unlucky for me he went forward instead of backward. Taking us both down instead. My head still buzzing a bit from hitting the floor I heard a kid say "Look she does think she's Spider-Man!". Pushing the boy off me I saw I hadn't zipped my pack all the way and my Spider-Man folder had spilled all over the cafeteria floor. Pictures from newspapers, articles, and maps dated by year of activity splayed out for all around to see. "Spider Girl is better," said another voice. Laughter echoed around me as I scooped up what I could I ran out. The buzzing in my head seemed to grow louder as I darted through the hall to the exit. Vaguely I heard Hey shout at me as I passed, but I payed no attention. In the school yard I climbed the fence swiftly, jumped down and landing on my feet I immediately continued running. No real direction in mind, just trying to put as much distance between me and the school as possible. Before I had been teased, whispered about, and shoved around, but the Spider-Man file was my biggest secret. I hadn't even shown it to my brother. And now it was all over the new school. So I ran unconcerned about punishments for running out in the middle of a school day. I was crossing a street when the buzzing in my head stopped and I heard Hey behind me. But he wasn't as fast as I was. A truck was barreling towards him, without realizing I had changed direction I kicked off a passing car and grabbed Hey, using the momentum to pull him back to the sidewalk with me. He stared at me with big eyes still dazed with shock. "How'd you do that?" he asked. I shrugged, "I do parkour". Shaking his head he said, "Okay, but why did you leave school? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in? I overheard your caseworker talking about how close you are to juvie if you don't shape up,". All my nerves were still tingling but that sent my gut writhing. Ms. Wilt had warned me before for other infractions, yet nothing I had done really could send me to juvenile detention. Although if nobody else would take me in. If I was just too much trouble to be bothered with. It might be all that was left. Acting unconcerned I said, "If you didn't eavesdrop then I wouldn't have run,". Hey gave me a quizzical look then his eyes cleared. He said, "That's Wanda. A real gossip. I think it's how she survives from place to place. Only been here half a year and already she knows everything,". I grunted and started heading down the street. Still not sure I believed he was innocent. Denial was a second language of confronted gossips.
"Where are you going now?" he asked.
"Back," I reply.
"How do you know that's the right way? I am barely sure where we are now, and you were running faster,".
"I never get lost,". I shoot over my shoulder not stopping for him to catch up.
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