Monday morning is hectic. First, Eloise wakes up after having slept a total of two hours with a new shiny red pimple in the middle of her forehead. Then, stepping into the bathroom, she goes to brush her teeth, only to discover that she's out of toothpaste. Eloise groans in annoyance before returning to her room, dressed in some loose gray sweatpants and a random t-shirt plucked from the ground. That's when she remembers; today is the start of finals week.
Eloise collapses onto her bed face-first into the pillow. Maybe if she doesn't move for a long time, the bed will absorb her and she won't have to take any finals.
But, alas, the mattress doesn't fulfill her wishes and she still has to get ready and go to school to take her finals.
Eloise only runs her fingers through her hair before throwing it up into a sloppy ponytail that's already starting to fall out as she slips out of her room and into the kitchen.
Her parents have already left for work, so it's just Eloise in the kitchen once again. The only traces of any other people living in the apartment are the distant aromas coming from the coffee maker and the cologne from her parent's bathroom. Her father tends to go overboard with the man perfume, and her mom is addicted to caffeine.
Eloise swipes some bread from the loaf and drops the slice into the toaster. She then grabs a package of M&M's because she desperately needs the sugar this morning.
Once her toast is done, she slabs some peanut butter on it and return to her room where Eloise finishes it off.
She tugs random socks on her feet without checking to see if they match before slipping on sneakers.
Eloise's walk to school is too short and, before she knows it, she's sitting in her first period class, tapping her pencil on the desk anxiously as the teacher passes out the final.
🕸
"I failed."
Eloise looks up from her lunch and smiles grimly at Lucy. "Same." She moves her bag from the seat next to her to on the floor. Lucy sits.
"No," Lucy pouts. "I mean, I actually failed. F. Zero percent. I didn't know any of the questions." Her hands move dramatically as she talks.
Eloise sighs. She hates it when Lucy gets her hopes up, especially after trying so hard, only to be disappointed in the end. It seems like everything she does is like this; her relationships, her school work, her jobs.
Lucy twirls the strands of hair that didn't pull back with the rest of Eloise's hair into her ponytail.
"I'm going to be a nobody."
Eloise frowns at her. "No you're not. Don't say that."
Lucy lets go of Eloise's hair and buries her head in her arms on the table. "I'm so done with school."
"Same here," Cliff says as he takes his seat across from Eloise. "Got a zero. The teach caught someone cheating off of me and automatically failed us. It ain't fair, I didn't even know."
"That really sucks, Cliff," Eloise sympathizes with a prominent frown. "What teacher was that?"
"Lawson."
"Ah," She says, understanding. Eloise had him last year; he's a very strict man who seems to have it out for everyone personally.
Elena and Alev walk over and sit down, too. They both look as drained and lifeless as the rest of the group already seated at their lunch table.
"And this is only the beginning of this week," Elena murmurs as she dunks her chicken nugget into ketchup. "I don't know if I can take this."
Everyone agrees in unison, "Same."
🕸
Eloise thought the day couldn't get any worse, but then it started raining on the way home. Peter and Ned are speed-walking by her side, all three of them shielding themselves with their backpacks over their heads. They probably look weird, but who cares. If Eloise's hair gets wet, it poofs up and makes her look like she has an afro. And she can't pull that off.
Despite her efforts to block her hair from the warm rain, Eloise's hair still dampens and expands. The strands sticking to her temples and the sides of her face curl in a Shirley Temple style and won't stay tucked behind her ears.
Peter and Ned, on the other hand, seem to be having a bit of fun. Eloise is happy that they don't mind the rain too much, but when they jump into puddles in attempt to splash the other one, they end up getting her feet wet, too. Within five minutes of walking together, they all have damp socks and shoes and the bottoms of their jeans are wet.
"Don't some African people carry buckets of water on top of their heads like this?" Ned asks thoughtfully.
Peter shrugs. "We're kind of doing it for the opposite reason, though. They carry the water, we're blocking the water ..." He trails off and gives another shrug.
Ned glances at Eloise sideways. "You look stressed."
She sighs. "Finals started today." She steps over a puddle, but Ned steps in it and splashes the back of her calf. "I feel and look like trash."
Peter purses his lips and quickly scans the overwhelmed girl from her flooded sneakers to her frizzy hair matted under her backpack. "I think you look cute."
Eloise disregards his statement—because she obviously does not look cute—and says, "I can't wait for school to be out for fall break soon."
"When do you guys get out?" Ned asks
"Finals end on Wednesday," Eloise recalls. "And then we have a day for final make-ups, so Thursday's our last day."
Ned nods. "We get out on Friday. We also start finals tomorrow."
"Good luck, guys," Eloise says, but then wonders if they need it. They're basically geniuses, but they go to a school that's hard to get into, so she doesn't know how they feel about finals. Do they just breeze through them, or are they stacked with studying?
Pushing the stressful thoughts of finals away, Eloise asks Peter, "So, is Spider-Man out on the town again?"
Peter smiles. "Yeah, and it's about time. I helped stop a car crash and saved a little kid from getting hit by a biker."
Worry fills her chest. "Just don't over exert yourself." The last thing Eloise wants is to have to re-bandage and clean Peter's side wound and see him in pain again.
"I'm, like, 80% healed," Peter says. "See?" He drops his bag and does an adroit flip. He sticks the landing perfectly before he bows.
Under his breath, Ned mutters teasingly, "Show off."
Peter laughs at Ned's remark and holds his bag over his head again. "I was proving my point."
"Still," Ned says. "Show off."
🕸
"There were four more break-ins and two more robberies reported since the robbery on First Avenue. The NYPD are trying their best to catch the felons, but as more break-ins and robberies ensue, police officials are starting to wonder if these crimes are all connected."
Eloise shuts her computer and leans back against the wall, anxiety levels rising. Since Monday, there has been a sudden robbery increase that's ridiculous, even for New York. Apartments, houses, banks, and stores are being broken into and gutted for money. Her apartment building hasn't been hit yet, but even the thought of someone breaking in and stealing everything stays a constant idea in her frazzled mind.
And, to make her worry double, Peter's probably out there trying to bring the criminals to justice.
Eloise runs her hands through her hair and tries to keep calm. Peter's fought aliens before; a robber's nothing. He's an Avenger, after all. Maybe he's getting training from Black Widow or Iron Man and has, like, a black belt in karate or something.
He'll be fine.
He'll be fine.
Eloise grabs her phone and dials Ned's number. He picks up almost immediately.
"Tell me that Peter's not going after the people responsible for the sudden incline of robberies."
Ned's voice, slightly muffled, says on the other end, "He is, actually."
She groans in frustration. "Then tell me that he's going to be okay."
There's a moment of silence. Then, Ned sighs. "He's going to be okay, Eloise. Don't worry."
"I'm trying," Eloise replies, closing her eyes and letting out a breath. "I just- I can't help it. I keep thinking about that fight he had against that mechanical bird-guy and how I thought he died, but then he got up, and how one of these times, he might not get back up."
"I worry about that kind of stuff, too," Ned admits. "But it's Peter's choice to go out and fight those bad guys. He chooses to protect the city, even though he knows that it might cost him his life. And that makes him that much more of a hero, you know."
"I know." Eloise glances out her window at the city. She imagines Spider-Man swinging around, webbing up bad guys and thieves. "Hey, are you busy?" She asks suddenly.
"No. Why?"
"I'm in desperate need of a stress-break from finals and Peter," Eloise explains. "You want to go catch a movie or something? I think that new Pirates of the Caribbean movie is still playing."
🕸
Ned shows up at exactly 5:00, just like he said. He's wearing a cool black pirate hat on his head and an eyepatch. When Eloise tells him how she looks so basic and plain next to him as they wait in the line for tickets, he plucks the hat from off of his head and plops it onto hers.
The two of them, Eloise beaming at her friend who just gave her his cool hat, purchase their tickets and then buy some popcorn and M&M's.
They sit down in the middle of the theater away from the other viewers and wait for the ads to get over with. Eloise is on her phone, just scrolling, when she gets a text from Lucy.
Eloise sighs. It seems like the only reason why they ever talk anymore is for school. She doesn't remember the last time she and Lucy hung out just to have fun or enjoy each other's presence. And even when they talk about topics not relating to school, there's always a text book open in front of them.
Ned glances over at Eloise, swallowing a handful of popcorn.
"What's up?"
"My friend needs help studying," She says, standing. "I guess I'll see you-"
"Hold on," Ned stops her. "When was the last time you took some time for yourself? You're always doing stuff for your friends."
"Because they're my friends," Eloise replies. "That's what friends do."
"Come on," he persuades. "Stay and watch the movie, then go study. It's okay to have a break from everything every once in a while."
She hesitates. The lights dim and the ads on the screen fade.
"It's starting," Ned points out. "You have to stay now."
Reluctantly, Eloise sits. "Okay. But just this one time."
Ned smiles, digging around in his bucket of popcorn. She sighs and pops some M&M's in her mouth, hoping that Lucy will be fine without her. She can study on her own, right? She doesn't need Eloise there by her side; and, even if she does, she's not her only friend. It'll be okay.
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Attached Song: Laying Low by Danielle Bradbery
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