"Hi. I'm Mary Jane Watson. I'm looking for Peter Parker." I said. I was led to the back of the room.
"Who are you?" A young man replied. He had long brown hair and was wearing glasses. "More importantly, what are you doing here?"
"My name is Mary Jane Watson." I answered. "I assume that you're Peter Parker."
"I am." He confirmed. "So, what are you doing here Mary Jane Watson?"
"I want to join the paper as a reporter." I told him. I imagined that he was making some assumptions about me. He was probably thinking why a pretty redhead would want to work in print journalism.
"What makes you think that you have what it takes to work for The Midtown Mirror?" He asked. Yes, he had definitely made some assumptions about me.
"Well, for starters, my mom was a reporter." I responded. "I know that I'm a bit late, but I only started here yesterday."
"Why didn't you come here yesterday?" He questioned.
"Because my sister was picking me up from school." I explained. "I know that I can do this. All that I am asking is for you to give me a chance. Just one chance. I can show you some of my work from my old school."
"I don't care about your work from your old school." He said. "Though, I suppose I am interested in what you can do. So, here's the deal. You have one week to come up with a good story. While I would normally give feedback before you write the article, but I won't here because you say that you already have experience. It'll be up to you to find something newsworthy for me."
"You don't believe in me very much, do you?" I asked him. I wasn't sure why. It seemed like he just didn't like people.
"It's not that I don't believe in you. It's that I don't believe in giving free passes. I had to earn my way to this position and you'll have to earn your way onto this paper." He said. "Now I have to get this issue finished before 2nd period, so you need to leave."
I walked out of the room and that was when I noticed Harry was in front of me.
"Hey, you're that new girl, aren't you?" He replied. "I'm Harry Osbourn. I imagine that you've heard of me. How are you enjoying the school?"
"It's fine." I declared. I wondered if I should tell him what just happened.
"So, what are you doing?" He asked.
"I was trying to join the paper. It seems like the editor is a real pleasant person." I stated.
"Oh, Pete. He's been having a little bit of a hard time ever since his uncle died." Harry explained.
"Oh." I remarked. That would explain why he seemed kind of detached. It made me for bad for making my own judgments of him. Of course, being a reporter, I was naturally inquisitive, so I wanted to know more. "How did he die?"
"It was a carjacking." Harry stated. "You know you still haven't told me your name yet."
"I'm Mary Jane Watson." I answered. 'So, what sport do you play?"
"Hockey." He answered. "My dad's not bring a fan because he says that I have too good of a smile to get my teeth knocked out."
"I thought it was very rare for hockey players to lose their teeth." I commented. It was really just a stereotype.
"It is." Harry replied. "Only one player has lost a tooth this season in the whole district, but he won't listen to that."
I couldn't help but think that he did have a really nice smile.
"But it's just one more thing that I do that my dad doesn't approve of." He added.
"Your dad owns Oscorp, doesn't he?" I asked. I didn't want to act like I knew that already because I didn't want to seem like a stalker. I imagined that someone as pretty as him probably dealt with them before. He looked like the kind of guy that you just want to run your hands all…whoa do not go there. I am not having sexual fantasies about a guy that I've known for about two minutes.
"Yeah and we're going to be going there in a few days." He replied. "He probably won't be there. Well he might be there, but we probably won't be seeing him. His office is something that the tours never go by and he doesn't particularly gave about them. Plus, he has a lot of secrets that he doesn't seem to want anyone to know about."
So, apparently, Norman Osbourn was a jerk that didn't like people. I supposed that I shouldn't have been surprised by that. I hadn't ever seen him smiling in any of the pictures that I had seen of him. Everyone knew who he was. He was a giant in his industry, just like Bill Gates and Tony Stark were.
After school, I went home and found my dad was there. We were going to be getting some Chinese for dinner. Neither of us really cooked. My mom always did the cooking growing up and Gayle had done some, but she wasn't here anymore either. She was living in her own place now.
"So, what happened at school today?" He asked me.
"Well, I went to the paper and I had a nice chat with the editor." I stated.
"So, are you going to be on the paper?" He questioned, probably since my statement didn't clarify it.
"Well, he told me to write an article. I haven't quite decided what I want to write about. He didn't really give me a topic or even tell me what kind of article he wants me to do."
"Well maybe you could write a review of your sister's play." He suggested.
"I can't do that." I replied. "I don't think that I would be able to be objective about it. I know a lot of other people have said that she's really good, but that doesn't mean that it would believable coming from me."
"Well, I'm sure that you will find someone. You have the same drive that your mother did." He told me as I food arrived.
Dinner with him was nice, even though it did seem kind of boring. It wasn't that we weren't close, but it always seemed kind of weird with just the two of us. I had been that way since Gayle had moved out and I wasn't sure what would make it better. We sometimes went out to eat, but even that could get uncomfortable at times.
"So, what do you know about Norman Osbourn?" I asked him.
"Well I know that he's one of the donors at the universe and I also know that the dean hates him." He stated.
"Why does he hate him?" I inquired.
"They used to be friends." Dad explained. "But then Norman betrayed him."
"What did he do?" I replied.
"I don't know. All I know is that there was a betrayal and he and Norman aren't friends anymore. So, I heard your class was going to Oscorp."
"That reminds me. I have a permission slip that you need to sign." I stated as I took the sheet of paper out of my bag.
The next day at school, I met up with Gwen during my study period.
"So, I met Harry yesterday. He seems nice." I remarked.
"That's why everyone at school likes him." She stated. "So, did you join the paper as well?"
"Well, in order to get in, I have to write an article." I told her. "I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so challenging, but I suppose Peter wants to put the best staff out there."
"Yeah, I haven't really talked to him since his uncle died. I know it was pretty rough." She declared. "My dad doesn't even know who did it."
I wondered if something like that would make a good story. Maybe I could solve the murder investigation. No, that probably wouldn't work. For starters, I wasn't a detective and even if I could solve it, there would still be the issue of bringing the killer to justice, which I was not equipped to do. There was good investigative journalism and then there was just being stupid and that would be the latter.
"So, are you excited about going to Oscorp? I want to talk to Norman Osbourn and see if he'll let me work for him."
"Harry said that we probably wouldn't even see Norman because he usually doesn't get involved in the tours." I told her. She frowned. "Yeah, and I guess I'm excited about going. Even though we won't get to meet him, it's still exciting to get to see the lab of the richest man in New York. Though, I think that there's more to be seen there than the stuff that is on the tour. It should be very interesting."
"I doubt that you'll get a chance to see any of that other stuff." She replied. "So then you won't be doing anything with the paper today, do you want to do something with me?"
"I guess." I responded. I supposed it would be nice to have a friend outside of school. I wasn't one to socialize that often. I just hoped that her idea of something wasn't going to pedicures or tanning. Her skin wasn't that dark, so I assumed that it probably wasn't the latter. I still didn't want to paint my toes.
After school, the two of us went to some shops.
"So, do you not like to wear skirts?" Gwen asked as we started to look through some clothes.
"I have a few skirts." I told her. "I just like to wear jeans more because my legs get cold when I wear skirts."
"That's why I like to wear knee socks." She stated. "Will you wear one on the field trip? I want to see what you look like in one."
"You know they have skirts here that I can try on." I pointed out. The clothes actually looked a little out of my price-range as well.
"Yes, but I'd rather see your personal style." She countered.
"How about you make a deal? " I suggested. "I'll wear a skirt if you do something for me."
"What did you have in mind?" She questioned.
"I want to break away from the tour to explore Oscorp. I need your help with that." I told her.
"You know that you could get in a lot of trouble if you get caught, don't you?" She asked.
"That's why I plan on not getting caught." I pointed out. "I know that Oscorp is hiding something and I want to find out what it is."
"What do you need me to do?" She questioned. I then whispered it in her ear.
The following day, I was dressed in a white cropped off-shoulder sweater with a burgundy high-waisted pleated miniskirt with a tan belt and black tights. I then headed to the building. Apparently, they wanted us to just go to the building and after the tour, we got to go home. We would also have to write a report on what we learned at Oscorp. I would have to make sure get some notes.
"That looks so cute on you." Gwen stated. I couldn't help but blush.
"So, I fulfilled my end of the bargain, now once the tour starts, I need you to help me get away from it." I explained. "You might also want to know what really goes on at Oscorp before you are in such a rush to work for them."
"I still think that this is a bad idea." She commented. "What exactly are you hoping to find?"
"I don't know…something that will make a good story." I replied as the tour started. I walked behind Gwen. You know I couldn't help but be a little distracted by the way her skirt moved when she walked. I then shook my head and realized that I couldn't get distracted by anything.
Once everyone was distracted by a speaker, I grabbed Gwen's hand and pulled her away from the tour.
"So, I need you to be the lookout." I declared. "You can text me if you see anyone coming."
I began to look around the rooms and I found a door that said restricted area. Surprisingly, it was one that didn't have a camera by it. I made my way to the door that was unlocked.
"I really hope that you know what you're doing." She remarked before I walked inside the room.
I was surprised when I looked inside. It was filled with animals in cages, Most of then were small like spiders, but there were a few others as well. I started to take some pictures. I also noticed some notes and found that they were testing genetic modification on the animals. I wasn't entirely sure what they were doing, but I could tell that it didn't sound good. Suddenly, I heard a growl and it started me, causing me to lose my balance and I knocked over one of the containers. When I got up, I felt something bite me. That was when I got Gwen's text that I needed to get out of there.
So, for starters, Uncle Ben is already dead and no Peter does not have any powers. Also MJ might just be bi if she's fantasizing about both Harry and Gwen. Peter is played by Nick Robinson. Finally, she's about to get her powers. Please don't forget to review.