"Nathaniel Miller! Where the hell have you been!" his mother screamed from the kitchen. He was lucky that he had packed an extra sweatshirt to hide the minimal (and in some places not so minimal) glass damage. His mother was a no-nonsense person, and she hated when he got home late.
"Mom, please. I told you. I've been doing extra assignments for Professor Parker to get my chemistry grade up, it's no big deal."
He headed in the direction of his room before she caught him by a sweater sleeve.
"Nathaniel, you need to remember to tell me these things more than once, okay? You know I work a lot more now, and there's no excuse for no communication when you have a perfectly good cell phone."
He pulled the cell phone from his pocket, seeing a flurry of panicked 'mom' messages awaiting him.
"Jeez, cool off okay? I can't use this when I'm in the lab. it interferes with," a lie was being born on the tip of his tongue "Rays and lasers and stuff."
His mother gave him a look, filled with doubt and disappointment. "Rays and lasers? You used to be such a good liar, and look what you've been reduced to." she scooped her son up in a hug, cradling him like a little boy. "I'm working tonight, so there's pasta salad in the fridge. e good."
"AND WHO IS THIS SPIDER-MAN? WE FOLLOW UP WITH POLICE IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS!"
"See, I was called to the scene of a bank heist, and we were at a loss due to the fact that he had a hostage. But then, this guy came in! Looked like an angel! Flew right in through that door, knocks the guy flat!"
"Ma'am, what do you have to say to the person, erm, Spider-person, who saved your life tonight?"
"I just want to say, thank you. I owe you so much. Please continue to help others like me, thank you."
Nathanie turned the tv off, finishing the bowl of somewhat sour pasta salad. He rinsed his spoon under the cold water of the apartment's crappy sink and saw his reflection in it. In on life, he was Nathaniel Miller, high school senior, unrecognized talent. in another, he was the Spider-Man, a new hero for New York. But, why did he not feel at place in either identity?
Bzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzt.
He raced for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Good job, Spider-Man."
He laughed. "Professor P? You saw the report?"
"Pfft, Miller of course I did, every goddamn New Yorker saw that news story. You're making quite a name for yourself, aren't you?"
"Of course. Hey, can you send an email to my mom when you're not busy? something along the lines of 'Ma'am, I have a doctorate in science and phones are bad for the lab equipment.'"
"Well, if you insist? Why, is Mama Miller getting suspicious?"
"Sort of."
"Haha, well. She'll see something in her inbox tomorrow. Get a night of good sleep, Nathaniel. I'll see you at school tomorrow."