Mary Jane Watson hated her job. As far as she was concerned, apart from teaching, it was the worst possible job in the world.
"I'll take the very-berry twist please."
"Small, medium or large, ma'am?"
"Large please."
Surprise, surprise, Mary Jane thought cruelly. The rather large woman in front of her handed over a credit card decorated by a picture of a kitten playing with yarn.
"Your total is 4.97." She slid the card through the bulky, outdated card reader, and waited patiently as it verified the woman's order. MJ handed back the card, then a receipt for the woman to sign.
"Have a good day." She recited apathetically as the large lady took her ice-cream and waddled away. Imaginary tubas played in Mary Jane's mind as she left. She stared down at the woman's signed receipt, and started doodling away with the pen.
"Hey, MJ?" Liz Allan asked from the register next to Mary Jane's. Neither of them had customers at the moment, and the kiosk would close in a matter of minutes, just as long as no one showed up to make an order.
"Yeah?"
"Dinner tonight?" Liz asked, already taking off her apron. Mary Jane scowled at her, if any customers were to arrive, they would see that Liz was no longer working, and it would mean that MJ would have to take them.
"Sure." A dorky teenager in a fedora walked by, looking at them, and Mary Jane found herself praying that he was just gawking at Liz and her, but sadly, his pink bow tie made him look a tad homosexual. To her pleasant surprise, he kept walking, "Where?"
Mary Jane inspected her doodle, and found it up to par. She began to add the finishing details.
"I dunno, chinese food? Purple Panda Pan-fry?" Liz asked, over enunciating every p-word.
MJ looked down at her neon green wristwatch. The Sparkle-Berry Froyo Parlor, was now closed. She took one last look at her doodle, and affectionately dated it before adding it to the pile of other, similarly drawn upon receipts in the bottom drawer of the cash register.
Every time she drew Spider-man, she got better at it.
Mary Jane didn't like school all that much either, but she enjoyed her electives, and since the new term had just began it meant she would get a handful of new ones. Photography: 101 had sparked her interest, and she was one of the first to sign up.
At the time, the teacher had not yet been announced, so the class had the potential to be even more engaging than it's content suggested, if they got handed a hip new teacher, or depressingly less, if they got stuck with a boring old teacher.
And knowing Midtown High, MJ knew it was a fifty-fifty raffle.
However, it was about one minute before the final bell would ring, and a teacher had yet to make an appearance. Peter Parker was the last student to stumble in, and he was currently opening his messenger bag on the teachers desk. He pulled out a huge stack of papers just as the bell rang.
MJ looked around the class, and all of the other students seemed to be sharing her confusion.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Peter took up a piece of chalk, and started writing on the old chalkboard. In big yellow letters, he wrote his name, and the name of the class. He underlined it all, swiftly, and aggressively.
"Hey guys." He said nervously, "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Peter Parker, and I'll be your photography instructor for the next few months."
Almost in unison, the class made clear their still present confusion.
"We didn't have any real teachers that wanted to teach the course, so I agreed to do it in exchange for a few extra credits. Okay?"
The class assumed a relative hold on the reality of the situation, and Peter started handing out the course syllabus.
MJ stared hard at the syllabus, but couldn't focus long enough to read a single sentence. Peter Parker, her teacher? She'd never had a student as a teacher before, and even with the knowledge that Peter was undeniably smarter than every teacher at their school, she was still a bit unresolved over whether this made class more or less exciting.
"Now I know you might be a little unsure about having a fellow student as your teacher, but I can promise you this will be a fun class." Peter walked back to his desk, and rested an arm on it, "Photography, like all artforms, is personal. No one can tell you what is or isn't art. If you want to take real, practical photos or unique, abstract pictures, it makes no difference to me. Everything you create, as long as you continue to create, will get an A."
Peter smiled at the classes genuine excitement.
"There will be no written work in this class, no explaining yourself, and certainly no tests. Take a photograph a day, of anything, and give it to me the next morning, and you will be graded accordingly." He reached behind the desk and pulled out a box of school owned cameras, "You're welcome to use your own camera if you wish, or even your cell phone if you'd like, but the school has given us 20 or so DSLRs, or digital single-lens reflex cameras to use at our will. They are digital, for better incorporation with your computers at home or at school. So no excuse for sick days, if you aren't going to be in class, email me your photo."
Peter picked up the chalk again, and wrote his email address on the board.
"You can message me at 'parker at dbugle dot com'. That's where I work, the Daily Bugle."
An eager sophomore with her blond hair in a tight pony tail and wearing vintage horn-rimmed glasses raised her hand.
"Yes?" Peter said, lazily pointing at her.
"What do you do there?"
"I run their website, and I also do freelance work as a photographer. Whenever they need a picture of Spider-man, I get them one."
Whispers of amazement and disbelief roamed through the room, and MJ found herself particularly interested in Peter's line of work. Peter reached back into his messenger bag and pulled out a fresh, perfectly folded newspaper.
"Here, today's paper." He dropped the newspaper on Mary Jane's desk, and pointed at the caption on the front page, "Photograph by , I can assure you that they're talking about me."
MJ lifted the newspaper and stared hard at the photo of Spider-man sitting on a gargoyle. It was almost impossibly close, as if Peter was right next to the wall-crawler when he took it. She passed it to the student behind her, and turned her attention back to Peter.
"Now, before we begin, I want to tell you guys a little bit about the importance of depth of field."
MJ stood in an elevator, leading up to the top floor of the building that held the Daily Bugle. In her arms, she held a clipboard, and on her eyes she wore non-prescription eye glasses. She was trying her hardest to look official, but her heart raced with fear.
She had no clue what awaited her on the top floor. There could be armed security, surveillance cameras, a password locked door. Still, her mind and resolve were set, and as the elevator toned that she had reached her destination, she readied herself to set foot into the unfamiliar world of journalism.
She was greeted, not by security doors of armed men, but by the bustlings of a crowded office. Ducking her head low, she made her way between cubicles, scanning the room for what she had come for.
She turned a corner, and bumped into someone, their momentum sending them both to the ground.
"God, I'm so sorry- Mary Jane?"
MJ looked up into the hazel eyes of the reason she had come to the Daily Bugle.
"Peter, hey."
Peter picked himself up to his knees, and began picking up the photos he had dropped when MJ had bumped into him. He placed them into a manilla folder as he spoke,
"Wh-what are you doing here?"
Mary Jane started helping him with the photos, and quickly realized what they were of.
"I wanted to talk to you." She said, sneaking a photo of Spider-man under a piece of paper in her clipboard while Peter was distracted.
"Really?" He asked, flustered, "What about?"
He stood up, and politely helped her to her feet.
"Photography class."
"Oh." Peter said, his voice mixed with both disappointment and enthusiasm, "Well I have to get paid real quick, but I'd love to chat with you afterwards."
Peter walked thought the crowded office, waving and saying hi to people he knew as Mary Jane trailed him. He finally stopped at a table, where a pretty, 19 year old was filing paperwork.
"Hey, Betty." Peter waved the manila folder in front of his face before dropping it on the desk, "Photos for the next edition."
"Hey, Pete." She said smiling, taking the folder from him, "Who's your friend?"
"Oh!" Peter turned to face MJ, "MJ, this is Betty Brant, J.J's secretary and manager of all things monetary, for the Daily Bugle"
"Hi."
"And Betty, this is Mary Jane Watson, my neighbor and classmate."
"Love the name." Betty said, writing a check.
"Thank you." MJ replied, honestly, putting her clipboard into her bag.
"Here you go Pete." Betty said, ripping the check from a book and handing it over to Peter, "Cash it in before the eighth, okay?"
"Gotcha. Thanks Betty, have a nice day."
Peter gestured back towards the elevator, and Mary Jane nodded at him. Once they had made their way back down to the street, MJ grabbed the check from Peter.
"Hey!"
"Let's go cash it now," Mary Jane began, "It'll give us more time to talk."
Peter shrugged, and followed her to the bank.
"Name please."
"Uh, Peter Parker." Peter handed his check to the elderly, bespectacled woman behind the counter, and smiled at her charmingly. She didn't even look at him as she took the check.
"Just one moment please."
Peter nodded to the woman and turned to MJ. Smiling at her. Suddenly, his eyes squinted and his frown vanished.
"MJ." He said, grabbing her by the arm and leading her away from the counter quickly.
"Peter?"
He pulled her underneath a nearby table, and put his finger to his lips.
"Shhh..."
"What?" MJ was blushing, and she didn't quite know why. She jumped and screamed as a loud bang filled the bank. Only, no noise came from her mouth, because Peter's hand was pressed against it.
"Alright everyone! Get on the ground, now!"
MJ's eyes widened in surprise, Peter stared at her, and she found his gaze surprisingly calming. He squeezed her hand tight, and slowly took his other hand away from her mouth.
"Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt!"
MJ crawled closer to Peter, and he wrapped an arm around her. They sat in silence, listening to the bank robbers moving hurriedly around the bank. People were whispering, crying, swearing all around them, but they remained still.
Until Mary Jane saw feet in combat boots walk over to their table.
She sprinted out from under the table as fast as she could, and out of her peripheral vision she saw it fly up and hit the bankrobber, dazing him. Peter had thrown it, and was now sprinting after her.
She turned a corner, and almost collided with the back of another robber, who was pointing a gun at the woman who was cashing Peter's check, she was being forced to open a safe.
Mary Jane quickly clapped her hand to her mouth, and looked behind her. Peter was nowhere to be seen. She started backing up slowly, but she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, and the robber spun around.
"Hey! What are you doing! Get on the ground!"
"Why don't you get on the ground?" Spider-man asked from the ceiling. Before the robber could blink, he backflipped downward and landed square on the armed man's back, forcing him to the floor, and knocking him out. He turned to MJ, "Are you okay?"
She nodded in awe, and confusion.
"I have to stop these men, can you find your way out of here?"
She nodded again. He nodded back and patted her on the head, then sprinted toward the centre of the bank, his fists already clenched.
"Um, can I get one of everything?"
"One of everything?"
"Yes. One of everything."
"You're joking right?"
"No..."
"Liz, can you handle this? I'm taking a break." It was more of a statement than a question, so Liz Allan dropped the cups she was stacking, and took the rather large man's order. MJ walked slowly to the back of the Kiosk, where the majority of the frozen yogurt was kept in large, refrigerated buckets. Then, to her surprise, she saw Peter Parker walk toward the stand.
"MJ?" He asked, and she made her way to Liz's register.
"Hey, Peter."
"What happened to you yesterday? I couldn't find you after the robbery..."
MJ smiled at him.
"I was worried, I-"
"I'm fine, Peter."
"I was worried about you-"
"Peter, I'm okay." She added, eleated, "Do you want some yogurt?"
"No, no thanks, I don't have any-"
"On the house. Thanks for a fun time yesterday." She hands Peter blue, cotton candy flavored frozen yogurt, with red, black and white sprinkles. He stares at it, and his eyes shine slightly for a moment, before smiling up at her.
"I think I know what happened to you..." He pulled a spoon from the metal container on the counter and dug a dollop of blue, red, and black from the cup, "I think someone has a super hero stalker."
He walked away, waving as he went, but Mary Jane was barely paying attention. She looked down at a receipt she had been doodling on for some time, and was surprised to see the face of Peter Parker, not Spider-man, staring back at her.
She crumpled up the receipt to throw it away, but instead put the wad of paper into jeans' pocket. Looking up, she saw that Peter was gone.
MJ didn't enjoy English class. It wasn't that she hated English as a language, or the course as a whole, she just found the teacher, her fellow classmates, and the overall atmosphere of the class, very, very boring.
Now, her boredom didn't keep her from getting all As, but the teacher had on occasion reprimanded her for doodling or falling asleep.
She sighed, and stretched out into her chair, shoving both her hands into the pockets of her rather large pea coat. Her fingers brushed against a sharp angle, and she realized what was inside her pocket.
Looking around the room to be sure the coast was clear, she slowly pulled the Spider-man photograph from her jacket.
She stared at it for a few moments, until a new resolve settled with her. She carefully put it back in her pocket and scanned the room quickly until she spotted Harry Osborn.
"Harry." She whispered, "Psst! Harry!"
"What's up?" He asked, leaning over his desk.
"Do you have Peter's phone number?"
"Who, Parker?"
"Yeah."
"What on earth would you want his number for?"
"He's my photography teacher." She said, secretly dodging the question.
"What?"
"Just-the number, please!"
"Shhh!" The teacher, Mr. Simson shushed them from the front of the room, a piece of chalk held menacingly between the first two fingers of his right hand. Harry and Mary Jane shot their attention back to their work, but after a few moments MJ's eyes crept back off the paper, and over toward Harry.
The boy crumbled up and dropped a piece of paper he had scribbled on, and it tumbled to the ground near MJ's feet. She checked her surroundings, then picked it up, shoving it into her pocket with the photo of Spider-man.
Safely at home, MJ unraveled the scrap of paper and transferred Peter's phone number into her cell's contact list. She typed several alternative versions of hello, before resolving to send just a simple 'hi'.
He responded rather quickly, with a 'who is this?'. MJ typed her full name into the message box, then erased it and opened her phone's camera.
She held it a few feet away from her and threw the camera a peace sign. She sent the picture to Peter.
'Oh. Hey MJ. Where'd you get my number?' He replied.
'Harry gave it to me. So, what's the deal with you and Spidey?' She texted back, quickly.
'Wt do u mean' His text was devoid of proper spelling and punctuation.
'You take his picture right? :P'
'Oh, yes. I do.'
'Have you ever met him?'
'Why are you asking all these questions, MJ?'
'I'm... curious :P Don't you want to help me? ;)'
'How would I help you?'
'Arrange a meeting with him for me.'
Peter didn't reply for several minutes, and Mary Jane began to grow worried that she had upset him. Then, after about a half hour, she received a cell phone captured photograph of Spider-man in a jet black suit, with a white spider across the chest.
'I'll try to arrange a meeting. TTYL' She replied with more questions, but received no answers that night.