Annie tried to swallow her irritation. Today was the last day of school before winter break. She just had to make it past one more midterm, help set up for the dance, and then she'd be home free for a couple of weeks.

But everything was going to shit. She had barely heard anything from Normie. The same Normie whose life she had saved. Of course, she checked on him throughout the week, but after her last message, he had asked her for space.

Going through something right now, had been his message.

She had been understanding at first. She knew he was going through a lot. Not only was his life and that of his mother threatened, he had the literal image of his father looming through it all. And then there was their fight about the dance, but honestly, that felt so insignificant in comparison.

But today? Specifically now? His silence stirred up an anger in her. How much time was he going to take? And what about her? Did he just assume he was the only person in the world going through something? Try being stuck between two worlds, she wanted to say.

She breathed deep, trying to focus on her physic teacher's instructions. She prattled on about reading the questions fully before answering, and about the importance of showing their work, writing their names, blah blah blah. Seriously, they have been in this class now for half the year, if her classmates didn't know the drill by now, that's too bad.

Pull it together Parker! She chastised herself. This test was going to be a beast, and being pissed wasn't helping.

Finally her teacher passed the tests out. She dived right in. But the words and numbers seemed to blur into an incoherent mess and her head pounded. Material she once knew like the back of her hand, felt unfamiliar and strange.

Annie gripped her pencil so hard, it broke in half, the top with the eraser flying across the room. Her eyes followed it.

"Parker!" Her teacher snapped. "Eyes on your paper."

"My pencil," she mumbled, but she knew the woman would show no mercy.

"You should've brought a spare. Make due with what you have."

Annie knew she had another pencil in her bag, but the rule was to have a spare ready to go on the desk. Which she didn't have.

Annie wiped her brow; she was sweating, and the walls felt like they were closing in.

Screw it, she thought, and completed the test with the sole purpose of getting out of that classroom as fast as possible.

By lunch time, she felt both better and worse. A quick blood sugar check had shown a high reading, which often lead to confusion, irritation, and feeling like overall crap. She immediately gave herself a correction. While the physics exam felt impossible, she still had the ability to figure out how much insulin to give herself to stabilize her blood sugar. Then she hid out in the library with her head down, waiting for lunch.

Now, during lunch, the pounding in her head was more a dull ache.

"Hey Annie!" Jermaine said, setting his tray down, as Annie pricked her finger for yet another test. "You okay?" He hadn't watched her do a finger stick in some time due to her relying on her sensor.

"Yeah. I knocked my arm coming down the stairs this morning, and my sensor ripped out. I was running late for school, and didn't have time to get another on. So, back to basics," she said holding up her meter and finger-sticker. The meter was a small device that was mostly digital screen. The shape always made her think of a skipping stone. The finger-sticker looked like a clunky pen.

"Ouch, that sucks."

"Wasn't too bad, just annoying." She held the pen-like sticker up to her finger, pushed the button on top, and a loud click sounded. Even after using the sensor for months, she was still almost numb to pinch of the needle breaking her skin. She touched the small bead of blood to the discrete white strip sticking out from her meter.

The number was still a little high, but decent enough for her to eat lunch, which was a relief, because she was starving. The higher the sugar, the hungrier she felt, but eating would only make it worse. It was a cruel thing.

"Damn, that physics test was horrible." He took a giant bite out of his sandwich.

Annie only sighed.

"But I definitely passed," he chewed. "I'm feeling C, C plus. How about you Parker?"

"I failed," mumbled.

Jermaine rolled his eyes. "We both know you didn't fail. I don't think you've ever gotten anything less than a B minus!"

"That's ridiculous," she snapped.

"Hey, sorry, just trying to help. Seriously Annie, you're a science wiz. My mom says your dad is the same way."

Her dad. He was going to be so upset. Her mom also. Annie thought about telling her teacher her blood sugar had been high during the exam. Maybe she'd let her retake it or give an extra credit opportunity. But fessing up to that would get her in even more trouble with her parents. "Why didn't you just get another sensor?" They would demand. "Why can't you be more responsible with your health?" They'd probably demand she add them back on the app, giving them full access to her blood sugars, her body. And maybe, just maybe, they'd limit her activity as Spiderling, trying to police every aspect of her life for that perfect number.

For a moment, Annie wondered what it would be like to not worry about blood sugars, insulin, and needles. She wondered what it would be like to be…normal.

She thought back to her life before T1 Diabetes. Once upon a time, she had no clue as to what a bolus was. She would wrinkle her nose at something pricking her skin. She'd eat without having to do any math.

Her parents had one less thing to worry about. One less thing to monitor.

But, looking back on her life, with all of the web-slinging, the crime fighting, the costumes, the secrets, the reality was, T1 Diabetes or not, her life had never been normal.

"I've failed tests before. And this one is definitely one of them. I didn't really study. Guess I thought me being a 'science whiz' was enough," she said.

Annie knew Jermaine would understand if she had told him about her blood sugar. But he would also encourage her to tell her teacher, and her teacher would tell her parents. And cue them getting all overprotective.

But saying she didn't study enough? That was a normal teenaged experience, and normal was what she was going for, right?

Jermaine nodded. "I get it."

"My parents are gonna kill me. Especially my dad. He really is a science wiz." And so set on her following in his footsteps. Be it in the superhero business or on the civilian side.

"That sucks. But it'll be alright. And I'm here for you."

"I know," she said, her heart swelling. She wished she could tell him about Spiderling. He really was the best and would know exactly what to say.

"What are you gonna do this afternoon?" Today was only a half day, and there was an hour left after lunch, which was kind of dumb. "Why don't they just let you out at lunch time?" Her mother had asked. And honestly, she had a point.

"I'm gonna help set up for the dance tonight. You going?"

"Nah, I'm good. Too many middle schoolers. I'll go to prom though. You?'

Annie shrugged. "My parents want me to go, but, if you're not going, it'll suck. But my mom got me a dress and everything."

"Well, if you go, I guess I'll go. You know, for moral support. Besides, it'll probably be the only chance I'll get to see you before winter break ends."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Your parents are gonna ground the shit out of you for failing that test."

Annie chuckled. "You're not wrong, Grant. We better make the most of that dance."

"You know we will," he said with a smile.

Annie felt something in her chest loosen. Jermaine had a way of doing that. Things were gonna suck, but, with friends like him, they'd work out.