Keep Striving

After the long, crazy winter break ended, that extra day of compensatory sleep seemed magical, sweeping away the exhaustion of travel and the chaos of jet lag.

When the morning light of Midtown High School's first day back once again filled the familiar hallways, Lin Hai, Gwen, Peter, and Harry finally reunited.

"Hey! Morning, guys!" Peter was the most energetic of them all, a brilliant smile on his face as he eagerly wanted to share how he felt with his friends. "It feels like it's been a century! How'd you all sleep?"

"Resurrected." Harry adjusted his cuff, clearly back to being the composed young master of the Osborn family. "My brain has finally rebooted after the consecutive assaults of food, scenery, and pandas."

Gwen smiled and greeted everyone. She looked much better too, her golden ponytail swaying lightly with her movements. "I have to say, being able to get back from Huaxia to my own bed in New York so quickly is one of the best things in the world."

Lin Hai shrugged and smiled. "Just making effective use of resources. But being back at school... yeah, it feels pretty strange."

During the break between classes, the four naturally gathered together and excitedly reminisced about their winter adventures—the magical creatures of Ta Lo, the awe-inspiring Azure Dragon, the food and magnificent scenery of Sichuan-Shu.

Their conversation caught the attention of Mary Jane, who happened to be passing by. The lively, outgoing redhead, curious about everything, came over.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about that's got you so excited? Sounds like you had some incredible adventure over winter break," Mary Jane asked with a smile.

Peter blushed slightly when he saw Mary Jane, but he still eagerly began telling her about it. "MJ! We were just talking about our trip