July 4th, 2021. 8:03am. Peter Parker's camera.
We're greeted by a sleepy-looking, bed-headed Peter Parker. His glasses have been placed wonkily on his face. We see the acne on his chin has improved slightly overnight.
"Morning," he croaks, supressing a yawn, "Today... is July 4th. I have officially been fourteen for a whole day. Still don't feel any different."
Just before the recording cuts off, we hear a distant voice calling out: "Peter-"
July 4th, 2021. 8:05am. Peter Parker's camera.
We're following a set of feet walking down the wooden stairs of the Parker residence. This leads us in front of the front door, where Peter turns to pass through the living room and into the kitchen. Ben and May greet him at the table.
"Christ, d'you sleep with that thing?" Ben laughs, pointing at the camera.
"Morning, Pete," May smiles warmly. Peter takes his seat at the table quietly before switching the camera off.
July 4th, 2021. 9:14am. Peter Parker's camera.
Peter looks starkly different to how we last saw him - clean, showered, hair dried and styled messily, dressed in a loose-fitting striped t-shirt which made his arms appear even skinnier than they already were. He's sat at his desk and leans into the camera, speaking low, short of a whisper.
"So, today's July 4th, obviously," Peter begins, barely audible, "And we're going somewhere to celebrate. Someone down the street from us invited everyone 'round. May wants me to 'dress smart'. I don't know why, but I really hate..."
Peter's voice trails off after a knock on his door. "Can I come in?" we hear Ben ask.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Peter responds, his voice cracking. He clears his throat as Ben walks in. Peter now ignores the camera completely.
"You okay?" Ben asks.
"Yeah," Peter answers bluntly.
"Sorry, I thought I heard you talking to someone, that's all."
"Oh, yeah, I was just - just talking to... I don't know, talking to the camera," Peter begins to reach for it to turn it off.
"Oh, no, it's fine!" Ben reassures, Peter stopping mid-movement. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've just been on the phone to Andy now, he was asking 'boutcha. I told him we'd got you a camera for your birthday, and he seemed pretty interested. I think he's into photography himself, and he seems keen on everyone getting their picture taken. You should take it along to show him."
"Uh... sure," Peter nods, looking a little bewildered before reaching again for the camera. "Yeah, okay, I'll just... charge it up, then."
July 4th, 2021. 1:57pm. Peter Parker's camera.
The camera turns back on, pointing down at some clothes laid out on Peter's bed. We see a short-sleeved, navy button-up shirt, as well as a pair of black trousers and a belt.
"This is what Aunt May wants me to wear," Peter explains. You can hear the disapproval in his voice. "I think it's a little much for a barbeque in the back yard. Oh well, if she insists..."
July 4th, 2021. 2:05pm. Peter Parker's camera.
A hand covers the lens before it moves back. Peter has propped the camera on a set of drawers. We see Aunt May, her back facing us, fixing Peter's the collar of Peter's shirt. She's dressed smart, with clear effort put into her appearance.
"I swear, you boys... you can never dress yourselves properly," May scoffs as she mocks her nephew.
"That's what your here for," Peter gives it back, momentarily smirking at the camera as if looking for approval. May finishes with the shirt's collar, brushing it down.
"There we go," she says, satisfied, "Look at yourself in the mirror."
Peter steps back and looks in the full-body mirror between his drawers and his closet. He scoffs loudly. "These clothes look... way too big on me."
"Well, just tuck your shirt in!" May suggests, "Besides, you'll grow into them. Now, I have to make sure your uncle has done his tie correctly. Go freshen up in the bathroom before we go."
May turns and walks past the camera without acknowledging it, perhaps not realising it was there or even that it was recording. Peter goes to pick it up and points at himself in the mirror. It's true; the trousers fit him just fine, but the shirt looks a little big on him. Peter frantically tucks its ends under his belt, which ends up making him look slightly scruffy. "That'll do."
July 4th, 2021. 2:12pm. Peter Parker's camera.
We're now looking into May and Ben's bedroom. We see Ben, buttoning his shirt up in the mirror while May checks her phone.
"Looking smart," Peter compliments. "Silver fox."
Ben glances over and chuckles. "We'll see if you look half as good as me when you get to my age!"
"Why'd we have to dress so smart anyway, Aunt May?" Peter diverts, turning the camera to May who barely looks up from her phone.
"That's what Andy and Jess said: 'dress smart'," May answers monotonously.
"But it's a barbeque. In a back yard," Peter protests.
"Peter, they invited us to their house. You're not going in a pair of joggers and an old t-shirt," May looks up at her nephew, "They want us to dress smart, so we'll dress smart. Speaking of clothes, we're gonna need to start looking at stuff for you pretty soon."
"What, for high school?" Peter asks. Ben walks towards Peter from the mirror, stopping at May's side.
"Gotta dress nice, Pete; impress the ladies."
"Well, a girl spoke to me yesterday when I was only in my pyjamas, so..."
"Oh, so it is serious?"
"No, that's not what I'm - ugh, God, nevermind..." Peter lowers the camera.
"What's this all about?" May asks loudly, "I still don't get it!"
"Doesn't matter," Peter dismisses, fumbling for the stop button.
"Hey, is that thing charge-" The end of Ben's sentence is cut off.
July 4th, 2021. 2:35pm. Peter Parker's camera.
We're walking down the street from the Parker's house. May and Ben walk just a few paces ahead of Peter, looking forward. May seems in a hurry, whereas Ben's demeanour is more easy-going. The clip only lasts a few seconds.
July 4th, 2021. 2:46pm. Peter Parker's camera.
We hear a new voice behind the camera; a man's voice, soft, fairly high-pitched.
"There we go - looks like it works fine!" the voice remarks.
"Yeah, I charged it before we left," we hear Peter reply behind the camera. We're looking at a back yard, slightly larger than the Parker's. Tables have been laid out; some hold food, whereas others are for seating. Other families from the neighborhood can be seen chatting with one another.
"It's pretty nice!" the man remarks, testing the zoom on the buffet on the table, "A little on the older side, maybe, but not bad at all. I mean, if you're gonna go into photography, a lot of what makes a picture look good comes after it's taken - you know, all this editing software that's available nowadays..."
"Are you a photographer, Mr Davies?" Peter asks politely.
"Oh, yeah; I mean, it's nothing crazy. Just a hobby," Andrew Davies turns slowly. We see Ben and May talking to another family. "What about you? You think you'll take it up now your aunt and uncle bought you a camera?"
"Yeah, I hope so," Peter answers, "I mean, it's not what I'd like to do as, like, a career, I guess. Maybe just as a hobby or something."
"Very respectable-" Andy cuts himself off, "Oh, Peter, hold this for a second, would you? The Watsons have arrived, I'd better go introduce them to everybody!"
The camera points down to the floor as Andy hands it over to Peter. "O-oh, alright..." we hear Peter mumble.
"Everyone!" Andy announces as Peter points the camera back up at him. Andy, wearing a light-grey polo shirt, black trousers, and sporting a comb-over, stands next to his wife, a shorter, younger woman with curly ginger hair and a face full of make up. The Watson family stands behind them, smiling. "I'd like to introduce Phillip and Madeleine Watson, and their two daughters, Gayle and Mary Jane! These guys have just moved in next door to the Parkers, so be sure to give them a big welcome!"
Lead by Phillip, dressed in a brown suit jacket with black pants and a white shirt, Peter's camera follows the Watsons as they head over to the Parkers. Ben pats Phillip on the shoulder while May makes inaudible conversation with Madeleine, Gayle, and Mary Jane. The youngest daughter, Peter's age, wears a black tank top and dark blue denim jeans. She glances over at Peter, looking in the lens for a moment before the footage cuts.
July 4th, 2021. 2:54pm. Peter Parker's camera.
A still picture. The Davies family stand in front of their hedge, with Jess holding a young boy in her arms. Lou, their two-year-old, strongly resembles his mother. Andrew stands proudly, at attention, his chest puffed out. Looking at the young Jess with her exaggerated features and the middle-aged Andrew, desperately clinging on to whatever hair he has left, it seems like an unlikely pairing; still, it seems to work for them.
July 4th, 2021. 2:56pm. Peter Parker's camera.
Another picture. The Watson family stand in front of the same hedge. On the left is Gayle Watson, wearing a white tube top and sandy-brown chinos. Her hair is a stark contrast to her younger sister's; mousy-brown and styled shorter with more emphasis on her fringe, she looks like her father if he'd been put through a gender swap. Next along is Madeleine, dressed in a stunning blue dress. If Gayle is a spit of her father, Mary Jane was a spit of Madeleine. Similarly to her youngest daughter, Madeleine wore her ginger hair down to her waist, curled. Phillip stood next to her, the tallest of the bunch. Well built and well dressed, he made half of a very attractive couple next to his wife. Finally, there was Mary Jane; sweet looking, the youngest daughter, just starting to grow, her hazel eyes sparkling like emeralds in the sunlight. It's clear this is a family that cares about appearances, with each member putting great effort into theirs.
July 4th, 2021. 2:57pm. Peter Parker's camera.
A portrait of the Parkers. Peter stands in the middle of his aunt and uncle, his shirt hastily re-adjusted. Ben and May both look incredibly proud next to him. Despite the time he has spent using a camera over the last twenty-four hours, it's obvious that Peter is still doesn't know what to do when he has one pointed at him. He flashes a wide, toothy grin, squinting in the sunlight.
July 4th, 3:01pm. Peter Parker's camera.
"-what, you just want me to... film the party?"
"...film the party, yes," we hear a woman clarify, smacking her lips as she talks, "Not all in one go though, right? Like, just take a couple of videos."
"Alright, Mrs Davies, for sure..."
"Thanks!" she says, drawing out the vowel, "Just send them to me or Andy on Facebook when you're home."
"Okay, cool..." Peter mumbles, removing his hand from the lens. We hear him sigh as he awkwardly holds the camera up, filming Jess as she returns to her husband and son, who speak to a family Peter recognizes as living in the house opposite the Davies'.
"Pete! Peter!" we hear. Peter turns round, seeing Ben sat at a table with the Watsons. Seeing his uncle wave him over, you can almost hear Peter's heart beating in his chest.
"Oh, God..." Peter winces quietly, stumbling a little as he walks to sit by his uncle.
"So here's my nephew, Peter," Ben introduces him, "I guess you might have seen him around already."
"Yeah, I met them when they moved in, Uncle Ben," Peter scoffs before adjusting his tone, coughing, "Ahem - but, uh, it's nice to see you here."
Visible on camera are Gayle, who is slightly cut off by the left of the screen, Mary Jane, who sits perfectly in frame, and the right half of Madeleine. Off-screen, we hear Phillip address Peter.
"How does it feel to finish middle school, Peter?" he asks. He sounds very well spoken. "You got any idea where you're going for high school yet?"
"Oh, um... well, I'm gonna be going to Midtown, actually," Peter answers. The faces of the free women on camera light up.
"Oh, that's where Gayle and M.J. are going!" Madeleine points, "Maybe you and Peter will share some classes!"
Mary Jane smiles and giggles. "That's cool! Do you know anyone else going there?"
"Uhm," Peter's voice cracks. He clears his throat and starts again. "Um, just my friend from middle school, Seymour."
"Don't worry, I'll look out for you both," Gayle winks, "But after your first year, you're gonna have to defend yourselves!"
"Oh yeah, Gayle's already done most of high school, so this is her last year," Madeleine explains.
"Nice - you thinking of college?" Ben asks.
"Maybe. I'm not really sure what I want to study yet," Gayle shrugs, "I thought about... continuing the family legacy, I guess, but I don't know."
"Family legacy?" Ben asks, intrigued.
"Oh, Maddy here was an actor back in her day," Phillip explains, "Both the girls have shown interest in it, but Gayle doesn't seem so interested now."
"No? Why?" Ben implores.
"Uh, I don't know. I guess I didn't really feel that enthusiastic," Gayle's body language changes, looking down, avoiding eye contact. "Plus the lessons can be pretty expensive; especially for the both of us."
"You were enthusiastic!" Madeleine protests, "I don't know, I guess this is just a thing teenagers go through, right? Picking up hobbies left and right, trying to find themselves... but M.J. here seems pretty set on it. We're an artistic family; always have been."
"Yeah - Peter, Phillip here's an author. You ever read any of his books?" Ben turns to Peter.
"Uhh, I'm not sure?" Peter replies, making an effort to be polite despite having never seen or heard of a book by a Phillip Watson, "What kind of stuff do you write?"
"Fiction," Phillip replies, "Pretty gritty stuff, I guess. Crime dramas, that kind of thing. Writing has always been a passion of mine. What about you guys, any artists in the family?"
"Well, I had a passion for music a long time ago," Ben rambles, "But hey, playing country songs twice a week in the same bar doesn't pay the bills. I'm a carpenter now. May played piano as a kid, now she works at a hospital. Peter here, though, he's an artist alright - tell 'em!"
"Uncle Ben-!" Peter says through gritted teeth, embarrassed, before relenting. "Uh, yeah, I don't know. I draw, sometimes."
"Really?" Madeleine sounds interested.
"Oh, that's cool! What do you draw?" Mary Jane asks.
"S-superheroes," Peter pushes the words out. Mary Jane nods. "Yeah, it's a little lame. I don't know, I enjoy it."
"No, it's not lame!" Mary Jane responds encouragingly, "It's cool. I wish I knew how to draw. Are you good?"
"Oh, he's great," Ben insists, "He's been doodling ever since he was a little kid; but I guess being an artist is, what, Plan C?"
"C, huh?" Phillip scoffs, "What are plans A and B?"
"Uh, I guess Plan A would be a scientist. I don't know what kind yet, but, I don't know... something like that," Peter answers. The three girls watch him with interest. "And I guess, now I have this, that Plan B is photography. I don't know, in my head, plan A and B can co-exist. I can always do photography on the side."
"That's interesting," Gayle nods, "How long have you had that camera for?"
"Uh, since yesterday," Peter chuckles, "Uncle Ben and Aunt May bought it me for my birthday."
"Oh yeah, I saw you with it!" Mary Jane smiles, pointing. "I wished you a happy birthday, remember?"
"Yeah, thanks..!" Peter laughs, looking down, hiding his red cheeks.
"Well, happy belated birthday," Gayle smirks. "Have you got much use out of it?"
"Uh, yeah. Miss Davies asked me to 'record the party', so I guess that's what I was doing before I sat here..."
"Oh, is it recording now?" Madeleine asks.
The camera is picked up, tilted so that the screen is facing Peter and giving us a close-up of the table. "Oh, yeah, shi-"
July 4th, 2021. 3:45pm. Peter Parker's camera.
We're greeted by a joyous laugh as Peter steadies the camera, pointing it at his Uncle Ben. He's sat on one of the chairs, holding a Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. Ben laughs nervously as we hear the sound of scattered chatter; May's voice can be heard, but it's not clear what she's saying.
"Oh my God, I haven't seen Ben pick up a guitar in... I don't even know how long," Peter commentates excitedly.
"Alright, alright," Ben calms the crowd, "I haven't as much as strummed a guitar in years, let alone performed for an audience, so go easy on me."
There's scattered cheering and applause as Ben begins plucking at the guitar, picking the bass notes with his thumb and strumming the top strings with his fingernails, playing a country-style bassline. With a little southern twang, Ben breaks into song. "If today the sun should set on all my hopes and cares..."
"Oh my God, I remember this one..!" May exclaims from the back, speaking over Ben's singing.
"...one smiling face the Gods would see," Ben continues, smiling and shaking his head upon seeing Peter with his camera, "'Cus she'll walk beside me up the golden stairs... no, they'll never, never take her love from me..."
"Hey! Peter!" we hear a female voice approach Peter.
"M-Mary Jane..!" Peter stutters back.
"Your uncle Ben's actually pretty good," she compliments, "He talked about it like he couldn't even play anymore; look at him!"
"Yeah, I haven't seen him play guitar in, like, I don't know... a really long time," Peter stammers, "He sold it years ago, I think. But he's good."
"He sold it?" Mary Jane asks, sounding disappointed, "Why would he give it away?"
"Uh, I don't know. We just needed the money, I think," Peter answered nonchalantly as Ben continued singing in the background, just about audible over the sound of chatter from the crowd. "And I guess he's pretty tired from work sometimes."
"Oh, that's sad," Mary Jane replies sympathetically. "It must have sucked for him to part ways with it."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Peter clears his throat, "But either way, it doesn't seem like he's lost his touch."
"You can say that again!" Mary Jane giggles, "Hey, I'm gonna find my sister. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Uh, alright. See ya!" Peter bids her farewell. He sounds confused.
"...on the morning she became another's bride...I said, they'll never never take her love from me," Ben concludes the final verse of the song with a single strum. The crowd erupts into applause; May can be heard whooping. "Thank you," Ben chuckles, handing the guitar back to Andy.
July 4th, 2021. 3:51pm. Peter Parker's camera.
Immediately we hear a wince from the cameraman. Ben is once again strumming the guitar, only now Andy is singing beside him, holding the beer bottle like a microphone.
"... I see, t-trouble 'long the way," Andy slurs, out of key and out of time. "I see, earth-quakes 'n' lightnin'... I see, bad times to-day!"
While Ben laughs, seeming to see the funny side of the situation, Peter cringes. "God, make it stop..." we hear him whisper under his breath.
July 4th, 2021. 3:51pm. Mary Jane Watson's Snapchat memories.
We see the same performance from a different angle. Mary Jane is stood further away from the act, with the audience, including Peter Parker, in shot. In the background, Jess Davies can be seen looking on disapprovingly, keeping her son close to her. Quiet snickering can be heard from someone as she films Ben and Andy, before, at the last second, she zooms in on Peter, who is focused on filming. There's a caption over the video: "This guy's going to my high school".
July 4th, 2021. 4:42pm. Peter Parker's camera.
The camera switches back on. It pans slowly across the party. We see every family, more or less, is engaged in conversation. Andy sits slumped in a chair.
July 4th, 2021. 5:23pm. Peter Parker's camera.
Suddenly, we're out of the garden and walking back down the street, with the Parkers and three-fourths of the Watsons walking a few paces ahead. We catch snippets of the conversations between the grown-ups; "Still just a kid, probably got tired... Hell, I remember when she was that age... I mean, seriously, how much did he have to drink..?"
Meanwhile, we hear Peter and Mary Jane Watson speaking behind the camera. "Like this?" Mary Jane asks, turning the camera to show the screen to Peter.
"Yeah, you got it," Peter confirms, "So right now you're filming."
"Cool!" Mary Jane points the camera at Peter, giggling cheekily. We see a red-faced Peter move his hand in front of the lens before Mary Jane turns the camera away. "So how d'you, like, zoom in and stuff?"
"Uhh, with this, here..." we hear light tapping on the camera as Peter shows her the controls. The lens zoom all the way in, onto the back of May Parker's shoes.
"Wow!" Mary Jane exclaims, zooming back out, "Yeah, I've never used an actual camera before. I just use my phone, y'know?"
"Yeah, that's fair, I guess," the camera shifts into Peter's hands, "I mean, my phone's camera isn't very good, and they always say the actual cameras are meant to be better, so..."
Peter stops walking, stopping with the group in front of him. "Well, that was a nice afternoon," Phillip Watson shakes Ben Parker's hand, "You guys gonna celebrate any further?"
"Erm..." Ben looks to May for answers, finding none, "I don't know. We'll see. It's a nice day, it'd be a shame to call it quits now."
"Yeah," Phil chuckles, "Well, whatever you end up doing, have a happy Fourth!"
"It was nice to see you," May Parker and Madeleine wave each other goodbye.
"I guess we'll see you around, Peter!" Mary Jane stands by her older sister's side. "I mean, we'll probably see you before we start high school, right?"
"Yeah, for sure," Peter nods, clearing his throat, "I mean, you're my neighbours."
"Yeah, we're bound to see you sometime," Gayle smiles, "Nice to see you!"
"And you guys - girls," Peter corrects himself, his voice cracking, "Take care!"
Peter points the camera down at his feet as he walks up the porch steps, following Ben and May inside.
"Nice girls, huh?" Ben asks Peter.
"What?"
"The neighbours. They're nice girls."
Peter sees something we don't. "Oh, Ben, shut u-"
July 4th, 2021. 7:35pm. Peter Parker's camera.
Just like the day before, Peter Parker sets the camera down on his desk, facing him. He looks a little more confident in front of it this time. He's changed out of his smart clothes and back into his striped t-shirt. His hair is a little unkempt after changing clothes.
"So, I've had a pretty nice day," Peter says calmly. It's clear from the tone in his voice that he's still a little embarrassed about talking to the camera, but he's at least making some effort to appear a bit more comfortable. "It was nice to go to the Davies' for a little barbeque. I thought we'd be there for longer, but I guess their kid was getting cranky; plus, the dad had way too much to drink. I need to send him some of the pictures and videos, actually. Anyway, I got talking to the neighbours. The two girls, Mary Jane and Gayle, they're going to Midtown too, but Gayle is a few years older than me. Mary Jane's the same age as I am, I'm guessing. She was really nice to me, showed me a lot of attention," Peter clears his throat, visibly getting flustered, "Yeah, I don't know. They're nice. At least I will sort of know somebody who isn't Seymour when I start. I don't know if that will come in handy."
A knock at the door; Peter turns to face it. "Yeah?"
We hear the hinges squeak as it opens, followed by Ben's voice. "Hey, me and your aunt were thinking of going out to the East River tonight to catch some of the fireworks. What d'you say? Wanna come along?"
"What, like, right now?" Peter asks.
"Well, we'll leave in the next half an hour," Ben answers vaguely, "I mean, it'll probably be packed already, but it's worth a try. It's always nice to see the fireworks."
"Yeah, sounds good," Peter nods in approval, "Let me know when you guys wanna leave."
"Great! Maybe even bring the camera along, if it has enough battery!" Ben says as he closes the door. Peter looks at the camera, raises his eyebrows and reaches to turn it off.
July 4th, 2021. 8:01pm. Peter Parker's camera.
A short, four-second clip. Peter's in the back of Ben's car. We see them pull out of their driveway.
July 4th, 2021. 8:42pm. Peter Parker's camera.
We can just about make out May and Ben Parker, light cast on the sides of their faces as Peter follows them from behind. Peter struggles to keep up as they move through the crowd, keeping the camera tucked close to him.
"You okay, Pete?" Ben asks, craning his neck to look back.
"I'm good!" Peter replies loudly over the crowd's chatter, "There's just so many people!"
"Keep an eye on that!" May nods toward the camera, "Keep it on you, okay?"
"I will!" Peter assures. The footage cuts; perhaps Peter thought it more appropriate to focus on navigating through the crowd with his guardians rather than film it.
July 4th, 2021. 9:14pm. Peter Parker's camera.
The camera is pointed upward at Peter's face. It's not a flattering angle; we get a nice view of his double-chin.
"We've been waiting here for ages," Peter whines, "But there hasn't been any fireworks yet. Maybe we got here too early-"
Right on cue, bright colours light up Peter's face. He laughs gleefully, quickly turning the camera around and lifting it above the heads in the crowd. We see an impressive fireworks display that seems to go on forever, though the crowd never seems to be complaining. A rendition of Star Spangled Banner can just barely be heard, drowned out by the whooping and hollering of the crowd; even the unassuming Peter can be heard having a great time. It's not exactly clear where May and Ben are, but they can't be far.
After so long, the show comes to its conclusion with the final dramatic bursts of fireworks. The crowd show their appreciation through rapturous applause. The camera lowers, and we see Ben turning to Peter, a massive smile on his face. "Not bad, huh?"