Chapter 3 | Damn Kids

"Good morning, New York! I hope your day is as great as mine, and if not, I hope it becomes so! Don Amichi here, as always, which means you're in for an unforgettable morning in my company!" came a pleasant voice from the radio while I was chopping vegetables for a salad for breakfast and smiling as I poured coffee. My mood was better than ever, as I could finally relax a bit. Last night was pretty tense, but in the end, everything worked out in my favor. I've got my stand, and though it's not Killer Queen, I'm still happy. "Let's move on to the news! Not a day goes by without his neighborhood! Spider-Man once again helped the police detain a criminal known as Shocker, saving many New Yorkers' bank accounts!"

"Hmm, Peter's not wasting any time," I smirked, placing a plate on the table and then sitting down to eat.

"The recently emerged team named 'Fantastic Four' managed to neutralize the raging Doctor Doom on the Verrazano Bridge. What became of the troublemaker afterwards is unknown. The main thing is, no citizens were harmed during the battle," I mused, ignoring the radio announcer and calmly eating my food, appreciating what I had prepared.

"Stark Industries' revenue reached half a billion dollars in record time," I thought, "The Avengers team will receive even more sponsorship from Stark."

"Not bad..." I said calmly after swallowing my food.

"Charles Xavier expressed a desire to help people with the powers of Mutants at a conference in Chicago. He justified their years of secrecy with the anticipated fear towards the X-Men."

"I'll prepare some meat in the oven tonight," I mused, getting up from the table with plates in hand, washed them, and then dressed in my striped shirt with a blue hue in front of the mirror. Tying my beloved tie, I approached the radio playing in the kitchen.

"And now, the ad..." I interrupted the announcer by pressing the off button, then headed for the exit.

Walking out of the house, I joined the other people on the sidewalk, all of us going about our business. Despite a world filled with gods, superheroes, and villains, it seems pretty ordinary, oddly enough. People go to work, run errands, even with the Chitauri attack led by Loki a few years ago.

At the pedestrian crossing, I stopped due to the red light.

"Hey, asshole, you almost dented my car!"

"Don't run the red light then!"

"Hmm, I can make it," I muttered, looking at my watch among the crowd waiting for the green light.

As soon as it turned green, I crossed the street with a relaxed smile on my face. Today is one of the best days so far, I hope nothing ruins it.

× Midtown School | Principal's Office ×

"Mr. Yoshikage..." the principal began, sitting in front of me at his desk, while I sat in a chair in front of him. I was called to him as soon as I arrived, not even having time to enter the class. He looked quite nervous, probably searching for words. "I called you about Flash Thompson. Understand..." he hesitated, "I wouldn't want the face of this school to have any educational difficulties."

"Hmm..." I pondered. "You're saying I should no longer give him 'unsatisfactory' grades, am I right?"

"Well..." the man hesitated even more, his bald head shining in the office light.

"I won't consider it," I cut off his thoughts. "How is he better than the other students? Because he runs around with a ball?"

"No, you..."

"I had a condition..." I interrupted him again. "Either he solves it on his own, or he gets a bad grade in the journal."

After a few seconds of silence, I continued, "School should teach kids about life, not how to run on a football field. I understand he earns the school's image with this, but that doesn't mean he can be forgiven for a complete lack of knowledge."

Without waiting for the principal's response, I stood up, approached the door, ready to leave. "B-but, still..." the principal tried to hold me back.

Turning slowly, with a hint of anger in my voice due to being bothered over something trivial, I said, "Sorry, but I have a class," leaving the principal with his thoughts.

"..."

"Damn..." the man exhaled when the atmosphere in the office became less tense. "Just one look makes you shiver."

A second later, the principal sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. "And yet you can't even fire him because another elite school would immediately hire him, and he knows it. On the other hand, there's the influential father who will have many questions about his son. How complicated everything is..."

× After Class ×

"I love such quiet places," I smirked, biting off a piece of my sandwich. I'm sitting in a separate room near the gym where they usually leave various physical education items like balls, mats, etc.

I'm sitting on a pommel horse used for jumping over it. Now, most students are in the cafeteria, meaning I can enjoy some quiet time. The door was locked, but I managed to get in thanks to Sticky Fingers' ability. I can literally pass through walls, which is very handy. Like that girl from X-Men, I can't remember her name.

Getting up from the horse, I briefly checked the time and left my unfinished sandwich on it, only to hear someone trying to unlock the door a moment later.

Before I could think, I dived behind the boxes with balls. As soon as I hid, the door opened, and Mary Jane and Harry entered, breathing heavily. Harry sat Mary on the aforementioned horse and began kissing her neck while she tried to resist.

"Stop..." Mary almost moaned as Harry explored her. How did they even get the keys!? Probably Osborn made some deal with the gym teacher; there's no other explanation. And what should I do? Waiting for them to finish is definitely not an option. If I try to leave through the wall, they'll likely notice. Think, think!

"Harry!" pushing the boy away slightly, the girl froze, looking at his almost angry face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just..." scared, the girl tried to say something, but Harry was impatient. "Again?!" By the way, shouldn't Mary be with Peter? Maybe in this universe, the story went a bit differently, and here Mary is in a relationship with Harry.

"Why do you always push me away even when we're alone?!" the young man nearly exploded. He clearly didn't like being distracted from his activity. "I'm your boyfriend! What's wrong with me?"

"Harry, it's not about that..." the girl tried to soften the situation and moved, touching the remaining sandwich with her hand, which they hadn't noticed in their passion, causing it to fall to the floor and attract everyone's attention.

"Is this yours, Mary?" the boy asked with interest.

"No, I didn't buy anything today," the girl replied, scanning the dark room. "Maybe someone was here before us?"

"Possibly," the boy agreed, both scanning the room. "Better check."

The situation got even worse, and so abruptly! Damn kids with their drama! Alright, stay calm. Think, think! I have about five seconds to figure this out!

Meanwhile, Harry started walking toward the boxes with balls. He thought it was unlikely anyone was there, but felt it was worth checking, not wanting anyone to know about him and Mary Jane.

As he approached the boxes and looked behind them, he noticed nothing but the baskets for carrying items and mattresses. Everything was as usual, which calmed him down - "Empty, nobody's here," he said, spreading his arms and turning back to the girl.

"Okay, then..." the girl hesitated. "Shall we go to class? The bell will ring any minute now."

"Alright," with those words, the pair left the room, locking the door behind them.

"That was close..." I exhaled. I had to split my body using Sticky Fingers to hide under two different baskets. This is my first experience with separating myself, but it went more or less smoothly. It's pretty weird not being able to feel a good half of my body without feeling pain, or dying. I'll have to be more careful next time, because my carelessness almost got me noticed.