Michelle was a very strange person, because she didn't have many friends at school.
Well, that wasn't entirely true.
Peter and Ned counted as her friends... probably?
Michelle would come and sit down not far from Peter's table.
The reason was that Peter and Ned didn't have any friends either.
When they came in, Michelle had even greeted them.
In everyone else's eyes, they were probably members of the losers' club.
A fat guy who loved LEGO, a nerd who did nothing but study, and a girl with a strange personality.
The three of them were practically the perfect targets for every American school bully.
Luckily, that sort of thing didn't happen very often at Midtown High School.
Possibly because someone's not-quite-official godfather had once made a family leave the city.
Seeing Michelle about to leave, Peter instinctively caught her hand.
"Wait."
Michelle jumped. "Peter Parker?"
"Yes, it's me." Peter immediately let go and took two steps back. He pointed at Basil, who was staring at him from outside. "Have you been feeding that owl?"
"Why? Is that your owl?" Michelle had assumed the owl belonged to Peter.
"No, I mean, it seems to have taken an interest in me lately."
Peter looked a little embarrassed. Saying that out loud really was humiliating.
He explained, "It was the one that attacked Flash last time, too."
"Bad Temper attacked Flash?" Michelle folded her arms. "I really didn't see that coming."
"Bad Temper?" Peter's expression was quite a sight as he listened to that strange name.
"Yes. Don't you think it has a weird temper?"
Michelle complained, "It never lets anyone pet its head."
"You mean you know it?"
"More or less." A flicker of secret delight appeared in Michelle's eyes, but she kept it off her face and said casually, "I