Ch 9
"What is this crap?!"
Sigh. Peter was currently trying to convince the Daily Bugle's editor J. Jonah Jameson that this picture was indeed of Spider-Man saving a woman from a band of thugs.
"Terrible. Robbie! Run this on page one." Page one?! His first picture ever and it was already front page worthy?
"Alright kid. I'll hire you if you continue to bring in more of these pictures. Don't let me down. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Bring me more photos - here, I'll give you 150 for the lot of them." Peter frowned. He was expecting something along the lines of 300-500 dollars.
"That's a little low." He said suggestively.
"Fine! 200 dollars-"
"250!" Peter called out.
Jameson stared at him for a moment, looking a little comical. He unfroze and threw his arms up. "Fine! Come back tomorrow with more photos! Oh, by the way, run by the city council meeting and take pictures of the council members arriving - for some extra pay. Now get out of my office," Jameson said. He picked up the ringing phone and started yelling at some guy on the other line.
Peter was a little less than satisfied, but he supposed this would do for now at least. He hoped he'd get a permanent job there, otherwise it'd be a while before he found anything other than cleaning dishes.
..---....---....---..
Mary Jane was fed up. She couldn't stand the diner manager, the customers complained non stop, the working conditions were awful, and cities trash as co-workers was driving her insane.
"Hey baby, what's you say you and me-" MJ rolled her eyes and ran out of the kitchen with a tray before some low life could hit on her. She set the tray down and smiled. This is where being an actress comes in handy.
"Is there anything else you need today?" She asked the plump woman receiving her three plates of food.
"What! I asked for extra frosting on these cinnabuns, there's only the regular amount! I refuse to pay for this, get your kitchen to remake it and remake it right!" The lady flung the plate across the table." Mary Jane held her hands behind her back. It was all she could to do keep herself from punching the woman. Now, because of some lady who could use a little lightening up, MJ would have to stay behind and explain to Enrique, her boss, why the customer had thrown food everywhere and she had to stay 15 minutes late to clean it up. The people in the booth next to her looked like they could have a refill. Another one of the workers had gotten down and was cleaning up the mess, for which she was grateful. It was Frank, the one guy who agreed with how terrible the workplace was here. He was about her age and he was a kind person, at least, the kindest you'd find around here.
"...developed eight arms...incredible! I mean...yes...of course... we'll recover them..." She overheard one of the customers on a cell phone. Must be talking about some zoo animal. She plopped another drink down on the table and the man didn't seem to notice. She checked her watch. 10:34 am. Only three more hours...
---
Peter was frantically trying to make it to his job at the cafe on time for once. He was webslinging as fast as he could from one side of New York to the next. After spotting the cafe hundreds of feet below him, he swung into an alley and quickly changed into his regular clothes. He ran into the store and saw Gwen giving someone a sandwich and the guy who's shift just ended, leaving. Gwen looked up and smiled brightly.
"Hey Pete, your just in time, Steve was just leaving,"
"Great," Peter said. If there was one thing that was frustrating about his job it was that he had to constantly leave the cafe for ten or twenty minutes at a time if there was a crime around.
The door rang and Peter turned around to see a burly man of about 50 walking up to the cash register. He looked stern, and was wearing a cop uniform. Cops always made Peter nervous, now more than ever. He always wondered if they had somehow pinpointed who he was and were there to take him in or something.
"Gwen!" The man said, and to Peter's utter surprise, she turned around and hugged him, smiling. For a one fleeting instant, he came to the conclusion that it was her... boyfriend, until-
"Daddy!" She exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"Well I'm on my break, aren't I allowed to see my only daughter during the day?" He said, kissing her cheek.
"Oh, sorry, daddy, this is Peter Parker. He's going to NYU also." She said, "Peter, this is my dad, George." She said.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Peter said, shaking his hand.
"Ah, got tired of Sam, Gwen?" Captain Stacy said jovially.
She playfully slapped his shoulder, "Dad, that was a long time ago, and Peter and I aren't together." She said, eyeing Peter questioningly at those last words.
---
After MJ finally got out of work, she decided to go by the audition office to see if they had any more openings. She wasn't sure how she'd done on the last one, so she thought it was a good idea. She realized that she was on the same street that Peter's cafe was on, so she thought, well, why not get some coffee there?
It was weird, all of the sudden she wanted to see Peter all the time. She'd never been like that with anyone else before.
---
Gwen's dad had just left with a take-out coffee, and Peter began to feel nervous. He wasn't stupid, he could tell that Gwen was trying to flirt with him. She kept giving him weird looks, like she was waiting for him to say something about it.
"Peter?" She said. Oh crap. Here it comes. He didn't konw why he felt so afraid fo what she could say, maybe because he knew he'd have to turn her down. He loved Mary Jane.
"Uh, yeah Gwen?" He said, trying to sound oblivious.
"Can you give me a hand with this?" She said, gesturing to the food that needed to be put into the display boxes.
"Oh, sure," He said, slightly relieved. He put some of the things away, and when his shift was almost up, she came back to him.
"Peter... I... well, I really like you... and well, my dad and this big company are having a dinner party to celebrate a new breakthrough in some technology advance... and I don't want to go alone, could you come with me?" She said.
Yep. She was asking him out. Or was she? They could go as friends, couldn't they?
"Yeah, alright Gwen, sounds fun." He said. He raised his eyebrows slightly when she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. Luckily, she didn't notice, or just decided not to question it.
---
MJ was walking toward the cafe, when she looked up and squinted. It couldn't be, could it? She looked through the window and saw Peter, and a girl. Some blonde girl who worked there, she supposed. Peter seemed to be gathering up his things, when she put a hand on his shoulder. He picked up his coat, and she came back over again, this time, she said something to him and kissed him on the cheek. MJ immediately froze right there.
Peter has a girlfriend?!
Since when?
No, I would've known, it must just be a close... friend...
Don't be stupid MJ. You were too late, you let him go.
Why am I so bothered by this?
As she walked away from the cafe and out of sight, she whispered the barely audible words to herself, the realization dawning on her.
"Because I love him..."
"What is this crap?!"
Sigh. Peter was currently trying to convince the Daily Bugle's editor J. Jonah Jameson that this picture was indeed of Spider-Man saving a woman from a band of thugs.
"Terrible. Robbie! Run this on page one." Page one?! His first picture ever and it was already front page worthy?
"Alright kid. I'll hire you if you continue to bring in more of these pictures. Don't let me down. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Bring me more photos - here, I'll give you 150 for the lot of them." Peter frowned. He was expecting something along the lines of 300-500 dollars.
"That's a little low." He said suggestively.
"Fine! 200 dollars-"
"250!" Peter called out.
Jameson stared at him for a moment, looking a little comical. He unfroze and threw his arms up. "Fine! Come back tomorrow with more photos! Oh, by the way, run by the city council meeting and take pictures of the council members arriving - for some extra pay. Now get out of my office," Jameson said. He picked up the ringing phone and started yelling at some guy on the other line.
Peter was a little less than satisfied, but he supposed this would do for now at least. He hoped he'd get a permanent job there, otherwise it'd be a while before he found anything other than cleaning dishes.
..---....---....---..
Mary Jane was fed up. She couldn't stand the diner manager, the customers complained non stop, the working conditions were awful, and cities trash as co-workers was driving her insane.
"Hey baby, what's you say you and me-" MJ rolled her eyes and ran out of the kitchen with a tray before some low life could hit on her. She set the tray down and smiled. This is where being an actress comes in handy.
"Is there anything else you need today?" She asked the plump woman receiving her three plates of food.
"What! I asked for extra frosting on these cinnabuns, there's only the regular amount! I refuse to pay for this, get your kitchen to remake it and remake it right!" The lady flung the plate across the table." Mary Jane held her hands behind her back. It was all she could to do keep herself from punching the woman. Now, because of some lady who could use a little lightening up, MJ would have to stay behind and explain to Enrique, her boss, why the customer had thrown food everywhere and she had to stay 15 minutes late to clean it up. The people in the booth next to her looked like they could have a refill. Another one of the workers had gotten down and was cleaning up the mess, for which she was grateful. It was Frank, the one guy who agreed with how terrible the workplace was here. He was about her age and he was a kind person, at least, the kindest you'd find around here.
"...developed eight arms...incredible! I mean...yes...of course... we'll recover them..." She overheard one of the customers on a cell phone. Must be talking about some zoo animal. She plopped another drink down on the table and the man didn't seem to notice. She checked her watch. 10:34 am. Only three more hours...
---
Peter was frantically trying to make it to his job at the cafe on time for once. He was webslinging as fast as he could from one side of New York to the next. After spotting the cafe hundreds of feet below him, he swung into an alley and quickly changed into his regular clothes. He ran into the store and saw Gwen giving someone a sandwich and the guy who's shift just ended, leaving. Gwen looked up and smiled brightly.
"Hey Pete, your just in time, Steve was just leaving,"
"Great," Peter said. If there was one thing that was frustrating about his job it was that he had to constantly leave the cafe for ten or twenty minutes at a time if there was a crime around.
The door rang and Peter turned around to see a burly man of about 50 walking up to the cash register. He looked stern, and was wearing a cop uniform. Cops always made Peter nervous, now more than ever. He always wondered if they had somehow pinpointed who he was and were there to take him in or something.
"Gwen!" The man said, and to Peter's utter surprise, she turned around and hugged him, smiling. For a one fleeting instant, he came to the conclusion that it was her... boyfriend, until-
"Daddy!" She exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"Well I'm on my break, aren't I allowed to see my only daughter during the day?" He said, kissing her cheek.
"Oh, sorry, daddy, this is Peter Parker. He's going to NYU also." She said, "Peter, this is my dad, George." She said.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Peter said, shaking his hand.
"Ah, got tired of Sam, Gwen?" Captain Stacy said jovially.
She playfully slapped his shoulder, "Dad, that was a long time ago, and Peter and I aren't together." She said, eyeing Peter questioningly at those last words.
---
After MJ finally got out of work, she decided to go by the audition office to see if they had any more openings. She wasn't sure how she'd done on the last one, so she thought it was a good idea. She realized that she was on the same street that Peter's cafe was on, so she thought, well, why not get some coffee there?
It was weird, all of the sudden she wanted to see Peter all the time. She'd never been like that with anyone else before.
---
Gwen's dad had just left with a take-out coffee, and Peter began to feel nervous. He wasn't stupid, he could tell that Gwen was trying to flirt with him. She kept giving him weird looks, like she was waiting for him to say something about it.
"Peter?" She said. Oh crap. Here it comes. He didn't konw why he felt so afraid fo what she could say, maybe because he knew he'd have to turn her down. He loved Mary Jane.
"Uh, yeah Gwen?" He said, trying to sound oblivious.
"Can you give me a hand with this?" She said, gesturing to the food that needed to be put into the display boxes.
"Oh, sure," He said, slightly relieved. He put some of the things away, and when his shift was almost up, she came back to him.
"Peter... I... well, I really like you... and well, my dad and this big company are having a dinner party to celebrate a new breakthrough in some technology advance... and I don't want to go alone, could you come with me?" She said.
Yep. She was asking him out. Or was she? They could go as friends, couldn't they?
"Yeah, alright Gwen, sounds fun." He said. He raised his eyebrows slightly when she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. Luckily, she didn't notice, or just decided not to question it.
---
MJ was walking toward the cafe, when she looked up and squinted. It couldn't be, could it? She looked through the window and saw Peter, and a girl. Some blonde girl who worked there, she supposed. Peter seemed to be gathering up his things, when she put a hand on his shoulder. He picked up his coat, and she came back over again, this time, she said something to him and kissed him on the cheek. MJ immediately froze right there.
Peter has a girlfriend?!
Since when?
No, I would've known, it must just be a close... friend...
Don't be stupid MJ. You were too late, you let him go.
Why am I so bothered by this?
As she walked away from the cafe and out of sight, she whispered the barely audible words to herself, the realization dawning on her.
"Because I love him..."