Tarantula (Spider-Man)

Interactions

   Valerie couldn’t summon any appropriate speech when her father rings her doorbell that next morning,

“I thought I’d take you to school.” he tells her, “Dear, don’t lean on the doorway, you’ll break it.”

She takes her back off of the door, crossing her arms, “Uhm...well, alright. Let me just get ready. ...come in?”

He follows her in, while Valerie walks into her room to change, “Gee, this sure is a nice place you got yourself.”

“Yeah, Oscorp got it for me. Very convenient, since it’s pretty close to work.”

“That’s kind of what I want to talk to you about-”

Valerie steps out, now dressed in a striped polo and khakis. Her father gives her a strange look, and she responds by raising an eyebrow,

“What? I’m not in a mini skirt and tube top am I?”

“You remind me of a female Rene Lacoste.”

“Who?”

He chuckles, “Before your time. Shall we go?”

They take the elevator down to the lobby floor, but the elevator makes one more stop at one of the lower floors,

“Hey Stan.” she greets the elderly gentleman.

“Valerie, how are you?”

She nods, “Rather well, and you?”

“Oh, I’ve been alright. Say, you hear about Spider-Man and Tarantula taking on the Lizard last night?”

“Yeah, I saw the emergency broadcast.”

“Sounds like something straight out of a comic book.” her father dismisses.

“I agree. They should get on that.” Stan smiles.

Valerie waves goodbye to Stan as they part ways.

“Who was that?”

“The school librarian, he lives in the same building, pretty cool, huh?”

Her father pauses, “Valerie, you aren’t spending all of your time in the library by yourself-”

“I’ve already read most of their fiction section, I checked. And even I’m not interested in reading twenty-year old editions of National Geographic.”

“I just want to know if you’ve made any friends is all.”

“Yes I have, Dad. Don’t worry.” she assures him.

“That’s good. That’s what your mother and I’ve been worried about. You’ve never seemed to have a life outside of work or school.”

“Isn’t that what every parent wants?”

He shrugs, “It’s best to have a balance.”

They wait for a train in the station, along with hundreds of other passengers,

“This is nothing like BART, much more crowded.” her father comments, shrinking into himself as he’s squished into an equally crowded train.

“It empties out when we get past the downtown area.”

She’s right, and the train has mostly cleared out by the time they reach the Midtown area.

“Why did you guys choose a school so far away from my apartment?” she asks.

“Because the schools near you are very...posh. And we know how you fared in a school like that.”

“Hey, I met Steph at Sacred Heart.” she defends, while also showing an expression that telegraphs she agrees wholeheartedly.