The Second Day of Theme Day

It's another day of being Spider-Man... Well, today isn't exactly a good day to be Spider-Man, because today Peter Parker needs to go to school with Gwen. It's a perfect opportunity to leave Chameleon hanging. He was probably expecting Peter to come find him this morning, but Peter decided not to go, and instead, he'll go after The Punisher this afternoon, letting Chameleon work for free all day.

Gwen wasn't wearing her Supergirl cosplay to school. Unlike Peter's suit, Doctor Who doesn't really have a uniform; he just wears casual clothes. So Peter could just go out wearing what he had on, while Gwen chose to put hers in her backpack and deal with it at school. Even if it was Midtown High School's theme day, Gwen didn't want to wear a cosplay to school.

But in any case, it was more convenient than Harry's electric wheelchair.

"So, Peter? How many classmates have you met since starting at the new school? Besides Harry, Amadeus, and your senior Jessica from the detective agency... how many others have you met?"

Peter felt a bit awkward facing Gwen's question. There was also Flash Thompson, but considering Flash didn't know Peter Parker, he thought for a long time and honestly replied, "No one else."

"It's the second week of school, and you're telling me you've only met three new classmates?"

Gwen was genuinely shocked. "You've broken your own middle school record, man. How did you manage to meet only three people in your first week of high school?"

I went to college for four years and couldn't even match the names and faces of the girls in my class, let alone having to be Spider-Man. Where would I find the time for socializing? Peter thought to himself, but he couldn't say it out loud. He could only shrug helplessly. "I'm not really sure how to socialize with people. Especially with conversation starters and stuff. You can't just talk about the weather in every situation, right?"

"What about your friends? Harry and Amadeus? Didn't they introduce you to any friends?"

"Forget about Amadeus. I think his situation is even worse than mine. He's an international student, living with a host family, and he was bullied by someone like Carl on the first day of school..." After saying that, Peter thought of Harry. Harry was probably Harry Osborn. He was always watching videos about Spider-Man, didn't have a good relationship with his father, and didn't like bringing friends over to his house. Peter could basically conclude that the only question was Norman Osborn's situation. Had he become the Green Goblin or not? How much did he know about Spider-Man? What were his views?

"Harry... he doesn't have a good relationship with his father. He said his father never liked any of the friends he made growing up. So I guess he's not very good at socializing either."

Gwen opened her mouth, then shook her head vigorously. "What kind of friends have you made?"

"A middle school psychological support group? I'm the therapist, and they're the ones who talk. Something like that."

As they spoke, the two boarded the subway. Peter, as usual, took out his phone and opened a video about Spider-Man. Gwen leaned over and stared at the screen. "Are you very interested in Spider-Man?"

"No, Harry is always watching. I asked him why, and he said it was like homework, so I'm watching too. Do you think Harry's family has anything to do with Spider-Man?"

Not a single word was a lie. Peter was just bluffing his way through with Gwen. Gwen thought for a moment and didn't respond. Peter then opened the next video. "Yesterday afternoon at 2 PM, Spider-Man helped two addicts in Hell's Kitchen avoid being beaten to death by loan shark drug dealers..."

"What's wrong? You don't sound happy?"

"It's nothing. I just feel like... even if Spider-Man saves them, it won't make their lives any better. Some things are better left untouched from the beginning."

As Peter said this, and the subway gradually approached Manhattan, Gwen seemed to have thought of something and told Peter, "I'm going to the police station to see my dad after school today. Do you want to come along?"

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of it. The police won't know you, so they probably won't let you wander around freely."

Gwen smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and changed the subject. The subway arrived at the station at the opportune moment.

A few minutes later, Peter walked to his locker, fully prepared for Carl to have put something inside to scare him. His Spider-Sense didn't give any warning, which meant whatever was inside wouldn't pose a danger.

"3, 2, 1..."

He yanked open the locker door. There was nothing inside. Peter put his bag in and took out his books.

There was one advantage to having the same theme day for five consecutive days: if someone didn't like their outfit on the first day, they could completely switch to a better one. For example, Harry's dull and heavy Dalek shell was gone today. When he walked into the classroom, he saw a Cyberman watching Spider-Man videos again.

"Hello, Doctor."

"Hello, Cyberman."

Harry said, half-jokingly. Amadeus, sitting behind them, seemed to be lost in thought. Peter greeted him as well.

"Hi, Amadeus. You really dressed up as Doctor Banner? I thought you'd dress up as the Hulk."

"I have the Hulk mask, and a green t-shirt underneath." Amadeus took off his mask, revealing a smile, and then put it away.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good. Just a bit of a cold. A day of medicine and sleep should have me mostly recovered."

Amadeus nodded, and indeed, he seemed fine. Peter then moved on to the next question. "Where are you living now? Maybe we could visit, and if you get sick again, we could come see you."

Amadeus was stumped by the question. He paused, seemingly trying to find an excuse.

"Okay, you guys know I'm living with a host family... I don't know if they'll let me bring friends over, so I'll have to ask my landlady first."

After giving what felt like a perfunctory answer, Amadeus shifted the topic to Harry. "Besides, we don't know where Harry's house is, do we?"

"There's a bit of an issue with my dad. He doesn't like me bringing friends home. Sorry."

So, in the end, only Peter Parker's house was freely accessible.

"Since there's nothing much going on these days, why don't we all go to Peter's place to play DND?" Harry looked at Peter and asked cautiously, "Your aunt and uncle won't mind if we're noisy, will they?"

"I don't know, but they're out of town recently. I'll be home alone. If you guys want to come over, that's fine. When are you planning to come?"

"In the next couple of days?"

"Then remember to call me when you're planning to come. If I have something outside, I'll let you know." Peter thought for a moment. He didn't have much to do lately, so he agreed. He could also be free in the evening if needed.

Good social skills were a crucial part of hiding his Spider-Man identity, even though Spider-Man only had two friends.

The group spent a class period like this. When the bell rang, Peter left the classroom and found someone standing by his locker. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the same person who had helped Carl with prying open his locker yesterday.

But today, the person wasn't trying to pick the lock, nor did they run away upon seeing Peter. It was as if they were waiting for him.

Peter frowned and walked over, asking, "What's wrong?"

"I, I don't know. I wanted to ask if you know what's up with Carl. He didn't come to school today..." The guy, who looked like a thug, was meek and timid in front of Peter, as if he were scared of something. He looked around nervously.

"Didn't you call Carl?"

"I did. His mom answered and said he was sick and couldn't come to school, so... I mean, he's been really scared of you lately, so I was wondering..."

Peter, who understood the other person's thoughts, sighed speechlessly.

"I didn't do anything, okay? I'm not Carl, and I'm not going to be a bully. If you're worried I'm going to beat you up, you can rest assured. It would be better if Carl just became a good person, then he wouldn't have to be so scared."