Washed the Spider Out

Climbed Up the Waterspout

Peter soon came to the conclusion that this was the worst Monday ever. If he thought getting through science class was bad, it was a walk in the park compared to the other periods of his normal school schedule.

After the hero trudged out of Mr. Connolly's class, splashing his face with cold water in the restroom, he slouched at the thought of his next lecture: Advanced Placement calculus. While this may seem like hell on earth to most, the student normally loved math with a passion (What a nerd), dumbfounding his classmates as he traversed through difficult equations. However, today was a completely different story when the male entered the seminar hall. By now, half the school knew about Peter's dilemma.

"Look at Parker! He's ignoring Ms. Nelson's lecture!" The quiet gossip floated around the hall.

"Maybe he's finally trying not to be a loser." Another kid snorted under his breath.

Peter did his best to pay attention, but soon enough he found his head sinking to the top of his desk from exhaustion. He couldn't help but wonder if Ms. Nelson turned up the AC System in the cramped room; the hero's shivering made the chair and desk tremble along with him, turning more heads. His cheeks flushed, both from sickness and shame. It was humiliating being seen like this. Especially in his favorite lesson of the day....

Ms. Nelson, after what seemed like an eternity, dismissed the student population, all except poor Peter. "Mr. Parker? May I have a word?" The elderly teacher motioned for the boy to come to her desk. His classmates that were leaving only gossiped more, spreading rumors on how the top student had turned into a troublemaker.

The unwell boy hesitantly stepped up to his teacher's desk, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Ms. Nelson, I-"

The calculus instructor put a hand up to silence him. A gentle, sincere smile parted her wrinkles. "I heard from Mr. Connolly, Peter, that you are not in your element. As my top student, I have no choice....."

Peter's heartbeat accelerated. Detention? Referral? Principal's office?!

"....But to send you home and hope you get well soon."

Deep down inside, this made Peter feel relieved. However, the studious, much more dominant half protested. "Ms. Nelson, I can't, there's so much I have to do-"

"You're off the hook for that. Don't worry, okay? I just need my ace performer back in class soon in one piece." The teacher smiled. "Now get moving....or do I have to call security?"

Peter couldn't help but weakly chuckle at the pure irony of what his teacher mentioned, sighing in defeat and taking his leave. Upon stepping outside the doors to his school, the male furrowed his brow.

It was pouring.

The streets were nearly empty because of this; and today of all days, in the rush he had forgotten to bring an umbrella. The hero was already cold, and this wouldn't help his situation in the slightest. The student groaned, dragging his feet to the back alleyway.

For now, he planned to swing home and take a long nap before patrol.

Peter trembled violently as he slipped into his suit, dawning the mask. Suddenly, the built in AI system (Which he had named Karen) in the costume, courtesy of Tony Stark, piped up. "You're back early. I wasn't expecting you until approximately 3:35 pm." A very feminine, augmented voice spoke.

"Got kicked out of class..." He replied, slurring his words together. He took to the air, feeling alarmingly more tired after every web swing. "M'going home for now until patrol..."

Karen fell silent for a moment, only speaking again when Peter was close to his apartment. "I can imagine why. The vital scans show your temperature as 101.4 Fahrenheit and climbing." The machine noted, a hint of worry in her voice. It made the hero wonder if Stark had taken the time to program emotions into her. The thought of it made him shudder even more, which silenced the suit.

He finally stumbled into his apartment, removing his Spiderman wear. Peter closed the window, his teeth chattering as the wind howled outside. Trudging to bed, a fit of hoarse coughs escaped the boy's mouth; his legs almost failing him when he got under the covers.

With that, he was out like a light.

However, more than a storm was brewing in manhattan as the Spider rested.