New Friends on the First Day of School

"It's also a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for earlier," Amadeus said, shaking Peter's hand. His gaze fell on the stun gun on Peter's wrist. "This looks ingeniously designed. If you don't mind... could I take a look?"

"Of course, no problem. Here," Peter said as he removed the device, discreetly sizing up his new classmate. He was starting to suspect this wasn't just a coincidental namesake. If this Amadeus Zhao was indeed the seventh-ranked genius in the Marvel Universe, why would he be content attending high school? Someone like that should have been pursuing a doctorate at an Ivy League school by fifteen.

He had a vague premonition that his high school life was about to become filled with "superhero" level drama.

"The internal structure is simpler than I thought. Maybe I should make one for self-defense too," Amadeus said, examining the device closely with a slightly embarrassed smile.

So, Amadeus was at least smart enough to replicate his stun gun? Good, his own deductions had just gained a tiny bit more evidence.

"From my middle school experience, these things just make them fight harder," Peter said, taking back the stun gun. He secretly regretted that he couldn't modify it for his web-shooters – at least not with the battery specs he could get his hands on. "The best method is still to train more, get strong enough that they don't dare bully you. Like me, I was also a bullied kid in middle school, but I practiced fighting with my uncle, and the beatings I took lessened year by year."

"Alright, guys," Gwen's voice cut in at the opportune moment. She gestured to the surrounding students who were still lingering. "Are you planning to chat here until dark? I don't like being gawked at like monkeys in a zoo."

"Understood. Oh, this is Gwen, my childhood friend, neighbor, middle school classmate, and guardian angel – the one who's responsible for chasing away bullies or sending me to the infirmary."

"Hi, nice to meet you both," Gwen said, efficiently cutting off their desire to continue their conversation. "If we keep talking like this, we'll never leave, Peter."

"Oh, right," Peter quickly changed the subject, his hands gesturing unconsciously. "We were just discussing club recruitment. Want to go take a look together?"

"Sure, we're all freshmen anyway."

As the four walked towards the plaza, various clubs were enthusiastically recruiting. The booths for sports and social clubs were crowded, but the three boys ignored the familiar recruitment tactics, tacitly bypassing the mainstream club areas and heading towards clubs more suited for nerds.

"There's actually a board game club," Peter said, looking at the deserted booth, which stood in stark contrast to the lively atmosphere in other parts of the campus. "And... it doesn't seem to have many people. I thought everyone loved Dungeons & Dragons?"

"Tabletop role-playing is good for parties, but as a regular club activity..." Harry shook his head and walked away, clearly not interested in getting deeply involved in role-playing long-term.

Peter looked at Harry thoughtfully. He had been shocked by Amadeus's name earlier, but now he realized: why was Harry Lyman, and not Harry Osborn, appearing next to Peter Parker? Recalling the appearance of the white Osborn, they did indeed bear some resemblance due to his preconceived notions.

Could Harry be the hidden Osborn heir?

This was too exciting – a world-ranked genius disguised as an ordinary student, and an Osborn heir in hiding. Although unconfirmed, Peter had automatically accepted these premises, especially since he himself was Spider-Man. Even setting aside his own circumstances, the potential story lines involving just these two classmates were enough to be captivating.

"I'm already off the charts with anticipation for how 'exciting' the next four years of high school will be," he muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?" Gwen, who knew Peter well, raised an eyebrow, understanding that Peter wasn't genuinely looking forward to high school. "Because there's no Lego club? Or do you feel like you'll be an outcast for another four years because you don't have any otaku buddies?"

"I don't think I was isolated in middle school..."

"Wait, Peter, you like Lego?" Harry's eyes lit up, interrupting Peter. "Really?"

"Uh, yes? What's so strange about that?"

"I've been wanting to find someone to build the Millennium Falcon with! I bought it ages ago, but no one would help me build it. That thing is too big, I can't possibly finish it alone!"

"Hold on," Amadeus interjected into the conversation. "Is it the latest release?"

"No, it's the Ultimate Collector Series, the UCS10179!"

"Good heavens! You actually have that one!" Amadeus exclaimed, surprising Peter as well – the $500 Lego set was completely beyond his financial means, and he certainly couldn't ask Uncle Ben for it.

It was ironic, he thought, that the cost of his two spare Spider-Man suits and all his gear wouldn't even match the price of one of Harry's Lego sets.

"Wow..." Gwen looked at the two of them suddenly getting along so well and turned to Peter. "Looks like I should head out – the rock band is more my style. I won't interrupt your Lego meeting; I wouldn't understand it anyway."

"Okay, see you later, Gwen. Oh... no, I have something after school today, so I might not be able to go back together? We'll probably have to meet tomorrow."

"Uh-huh?" Gwen asked with a half-smile. "Why the question mark?"

"Just like that? Call me if anything comes up," Peter added. "Uh, make some good friends, you know, new school and all, that's how it is."

"Don't worry, smart kid, I'll have better social skills than you."

After watching Gwen wave and leave, Peter turned to face Harry and Amadeus's knowing glances and mischievous smiles.

"What are those expressions for?"

"Are you sure she's just a neighbor?" Harry teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Of course! And... a very good friend!" Peter quickly cut in. Harry ignored him and turned to Amadeus. "What do you think?"

"He's too timid around Gwen."

"I am not timid."

"So, is it that girl Gwen who's too controlling?"

"Okay, fine, I'm timid," Peter said, decisively choosing to avoid the topic. "Weren't you guys just talking about Lego? How's that going?"

"Right, we were just about to talk about that," Harry picked up the conversation. "My place is a bit... inconvenient, and Amadeus is staying with a host family. So we don't have a place to build the Lego. Can we build it at your place, Peter? Your family won't mind, right?"

"No problem, just set a time," Peter answered affirmatively. "In fact, Aunt May would be delighted. I can bring friends home to play."

As the three chatted, they passed by one club recruitment booth after another. Unsurprisingly, they lingered briefly in front of the anime club before leaving together, none of them daring to sign up openly.

Harry was drawn to the tennis club, while Peter and Amadeus chatted with upperclassmen from the astronomy and geology clubs. However, in the end, both of them, short on cash, chose to decline these clubs.

"Astronomy requires expensive equipment, and geology isn't even a science," Peter sighed finally.

"Completely agree, geology is practically metaphysics," Amadeus chimed in.

Harry, who had been overlooked by the tennis club, looked at them speechlessly and tentatively asked, "I'm still very interested in science, though. Is geology really that bad?"

"Yes!"

After the two young geniuses spoke in unison, Peter seemed to notice something. "Wait, is that girl... cosplaying Sherlock Holmes?"

Not far away, in front of a sparsely attended booth, a beautiful girl with a Latina appearance was wearing a classic dark Ulster coat and a standard deerstalker hat, identical to the one Gwen had given Peter. She was waving a club seal. "Detective club recruiting! Interested? You can join if you can answer the entrance exam question? Interested, gentlemen?"

"What does a detective club usually do? Do you guys take on assignments from school?"

Peter asked with mild interest, but his senior seemed to deflate a bit at his words. "No, hardly anyone at school asks the detective club to do any real detective work. We just get together to hold reading sessions, design mystery puzzles, that sort of thing..."

"I'm in," Amadeus said instantly as he arrived at the booth. Seeing his companions' shocked expressions, he explained, "Isn't it great? We don't have to do anything. We just need to read a few books and answer a few questions to get credits."

"Sorry, I don't want to disappoint you, but!" Hearing Amadeus's explanation, the senior clearly showed her displeasure. "You have to pass an entrance test. For example: a wealthy man who loved puzzle games dies unexpectedly. His will is locked in a five-digit safe, but no one knows the combination. There's a calendar on top of the safe, and March 15th is circled..."

"31415," Peter and Amadeus said in unison.

"March 15th. Oh, Pi Day!" Harry realized after only a second of thought, looking at Peter and Amadeus. "You guys react really fast."

Yeah, if it were across the Pacific, it might be 12315, but this is America, so it has to be Pi Day.

"Okay, I think the three of you should be able to join the detective club. This is our club's application form. Fill it out, and when you get to the club room, just say Jessica sent you. I'm the president."

After the three nodded silently, they walked a distance away before starting to discuss.

"The president personally recruits people?" Harry grumbled softly. "Is this club reliable?"

Peter did know a detective named Jessica Jones, but unfortunately, she shouldn't be a high school student anymore.

The three continued walking. Peter suddenly stopped in front of a large screen, looking at what was being displayed. It showed various part-time jobs at Midtown High. A part-time job maintaining the Daily Bugle's website caught his interest.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Peter retracted his gaze. "Just saw something interesting."

PS: In the Earth-616 universe, Jessica Jones was indeed Peter Parker's high school classmate, but the universe in this book is not.