𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

lviii. midtown high: where we shape heroes

chapter fifty-eight
midtown high: where we shape heroes

    SHE COULDN'T see where the crowd started and where it ended. As soon as she arrived at the front grounds of Midtown School of Science and Technology, Nina was frozen in the backseat of the car. The parking lot that used to always be filled with students arriving, chatting and groups of friends slowly making their way up the stairs and into the school had turned into an organised separation between fans, the press and protesters. The police had to keep them apart, allowing students to walk through the aisle between the lot of them, frowning and murmuring at each other▬startled at how they all eyed each and every one of them with interest, until they realised they weren't who they were looking for, and grumbled in protest. 

    She didn't want to get out of the car. She watched all of the reporters and paparazzi and their flashing cameras▬watching them speak with their microphones like the first day of Spider-Man's senior year was the most troubling breaking news the city could offer. She saw Betty Brant amongst them all, chatting for the school news and she took a deep breath, doing her best to not get angry at someone who was also her friend. 

     But when one noticed her startled stare through the dark haze of the vehicle window, it was a flow-on effect of exclaims, points and then the flashing cameras started. Nina winced a little at their sudden exposure, but she was already starting to get used of them. She didn't know how she felt about that. 

     The flashes forced their way through the window, and she saw her stark reflection stare back at her as they took their photos. The person she saw, she did not recognise at all. She was tired, she was scared and she was so unsure of what would happen the moment she stepped out. Nina almost looked sick, and gaunt▬she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to go outside. She was light-headed. 

     That was when a hand rested on her back and she glanced over her shoulder.

    "You okay, honey?" asked her mother, very concerned. She had decided to take the car trip with her to school, and even though Nina didn't want her to bear witness to how the crowd would react, she refused to let her little girl go here alone. 

     Nina couldn't be truthful to her. She shook her head. But she did not cry. She couldn't let those people outside see her cry. "I'm scared, Mom," she admitted. "If I go out there, and I frown, they'll hate me. If I go out there, and I smile, they will think I love the attention." She glanced down at her clothes▬she didn't wear the simple target-bought jumpers today. She tried her very best to look nice▬to look pretty, hoping that they would be satisfied, and say something nice instead of find everything to judge and dislike. Nina had done her makeup, she had straightened her hair▬and yet, she was terrified. She didn't recognise herself, but she was starting to hate the reflection underneath it all. 

     Her mother pursed her lips and leaned forward, kissing her gently on her forehead. "Do you want to go home?"

     Nina shook her head. "No ... no, I don't want to go home."

    She heard her mother sigh and squeeze her in a swift hug. "You are the bravest person I know, honey," she said to her. "But you shouldn't have to be brave▬but ... But that brave girl will go out there, and she will put on her brave face. Like she always does. But when she gets home, I will be here, because I'm your mother, and I will keep you safe."

    Nina nodded. She stayed in her mother's hug for a second longer before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Nina turned back to the flashing cameras, took a deep breath, and then opened the car door. The cameras grew wild▬she could barely hear what everyone was saying to her as she stepped out in front of her high school. She closed the door behind her and flicked her hair out of her face, eyes squinting at the amount of flashes.