bookbashuk Chapter 10 Aunt May's Guest
Chapter 10 Aunt May's Guest
Chapter 10 Aunt May's Guest
"Hey, Mei, I'm home!"
Peter carefully carried the cake box into the house, afraid that the jostling would deform the cream. This time, he didn't choose to swing back on his web—after all, between ensuring the cake's safety and experiencing the New York swing, as a novice Spider-Man, he wisely chose the former. Fortunately, the cake shop wasn't far from his home, and walking back wasn't too much trouble.
Aunt May was busy in the dining room, where elegant tableware was already set. She looked up and smiled at Peter: "How was your first day of high school?"
"That's great!" Peter placed the cake box on the table. "I've made two new friends, the clubs are super fun, the school has its own TV show, and... in short, everything is fantastic."
In fact, aside from those two classmates he was barely acquainted with and the detective club, he had almost no particularly deep impressions of school life—after all, when you spend most of your energy being the friendly neighbor Spider-Man, high school life seems much less interesting. But obviously, he couldn't tell Aunt May this.
"Is this some special day?" Peter deliberately changed the subject, pointing to the cake. "You actually went to the trouble of ordering a cake?"
Aunt May took the cake and inspected it. "Oh, nothing special. It's just my old friend Anna's birthday today. She just moved back to New York; before that, she moved to Pittsburgh to take care of her niece who lost her mother." Her eyes softened as she took the cake to the kitchen to distribute it. "I was on my way to pick them up; they should be here soon."
Peter nodded. No wonder Aunt May was so concerned—a friend who cared for an orphaned girl who had lost a loved one; the experience was exactly like the Parker family's. He went into the kitchen to help, and Aunt May added as she plated the food, "By the way, that girl, like you and Gwen, is a freshman at Midtown High School. You might have met her before."
"Uh, I don't pay much attention to girls." Peter scratched his head awkwardly. "Even if I've met them, I probably wouldn't remember them, since not many people exchange names with me."
"You child," Aunt Mei shook her head helplessly, "you've never had many friends growing up. You should be more outgoing."
"I think I'm pretty sunny!" Peter immediately retorted. "I made two friends on my first day of school, and they promised to come over and build Lego together."
"Really?" Aunt Mei's eyes lit up as she placed the freshly baked pancakes on the table. "You'll have to tell me in advance so I can prepare dinner for you."
"They'll definitely love my aunt's pancakes—"
Before she could finish speaking, the roar of Uncle Ben's old car came from outside the window. Aunt May took the tray from Peter's hand: "Would you like to go greet our guests, Peter?"
"No problem!" Peter walked toward the door, his super hearing already picking up a light, quick footstep approaching. He immediately opened the door just before the knocking could sound.
The red-haired girl standing outside the door was clearly taken aback when it suddenly opened. She was wearing a white T-shirt and light-colored denim shorts, her fiery red hair blazing like a burning sunset. Her hand, raised halfway in the air, froze in place, her radiant smile still frozen on her face.
But the next second, she regained her composure, braced herself against the doorframe with one hand, and winked at Peter:
"Face it, Tiger." A sly smile played on her lips. "You just hit the jackpot!"
Gwen Stacy was hunched over her computer, searching for drum tutorials. Her visit to the school's rock band today had thrilled her—several high school bands were performing in the gymnasium at Midtown High School, and unlike the ballet she'd trained in since childhood, the unrestrained feeling of rock music was simply captivating.
"Dad's probably going to say I'm a 'good-for-nothing hippie' who doesn't understand the free spirit of rock and roll at all," she muttered as she closed the webpage. Just as she was contemplating whether to bring her father dinner from the police station while he was working overtime, she heard the door open downstairs. Gwen ran downstairs in surprise and found that her father, George, had come home early, even having taken off his uniform jacket and placed it on the back of the sofa.
So, today is a peaceful day in New York? And Sheriff George Stacy was able to leave work on time?
"Thanks to Spider-Man, he stopped the bank robbery in time this morning, stopped a carload of robbers with high-tech weapons this afternoon, and also saved my daughter." George opened his arms, intending to give his daughter a hug, but Gwen froze, not moving.
"Seriously? A bear hug?"
Sheriff Stacy added awkwardly, "What, can't Daddy have a hug? You fell asleep as soon as you got back from London last night, and I hadn't even gotten up this morning. We've been apart for the entire summer."
Gwen smiled wryly and hugged her father. Mentioning Spider-Man, she suddenly remembered what happened that morning: "Why does the Daily Bugle always smear him? He was clearly doing good deeds; he even saved us."
"Who knows? Jameson was quite respectful to the Avengers, though." George took a beer from the fridge. "Speaking of which, back when Spider-Man couldn't write with his webs, he communicated with the police using notes. I thought his handwriting looked familiar, but then I realized it didn't match anyone's."
The handwriting looks familiar?
Gwen thought of the sneakers that Spider-Man and Peter Parker wore.
"Could it be Peter?"
"Peter? Peter Parker?" George paused for two seconds, then burst into laughter. "Impossible! Although it's all childish handwriting like a middle school student's, it's definitely not him. I recognize Peter's handwriting."
"Can you let me see? Maybe I can recognize it as one of your forgotten friends—"
"The evidence has already been filed." George suddenly became serious. "By the way, I'm planning to visit the Parker family. Should I change my clothes?"
Gwen looked at her father, frowned, and pointed to herself: "Should I ask you why?"
"We're going to express our gratitude, Gwen. You were in that kind of place this morning... My God, thank goodness Ben was there, you're completely alright, but we still have to say thank you, don't we?"
"To be more precise, Spider-Man saved us."
"But I can't find Spider-Man to say thank you; I forgot this afternoon."
So Gwen could only helplessly comfort her father, "Alright, I haven't had dinner yet, maybe I can get some of Aunt May's signature pancakes. Don't dress too formally, we're just going out for dinner."
George Stacy gave an exaggerated compliment.
"Oh, Mei's pancakes, I absolutely love Mei's pancakes."
Stacy and her father got up as they talked and went to the Parker's house to knock on the door. George knocked back and waited for someone to open it. After a while, Ben Parker opened the door. George was about to say something, but he seemed to hear lively laughter and conversation coming from behind Uncle Ben.
"George? I didn't expect you to be off work so early." Uncle Ben patted the sheriff on the shoulder enthusiastically. "Mei Gang was just saying we should invite Gwen! Plenty of pancakes, come on in."
"Looks like you have guests now, Ben. Perhaps I should..."
"It's alright, it's alright. No one ever feels that they should only host one friend instead of two."
The Parker family has guests? Gwen followed her father curiously, ignoring his expressions of gratitude and Uncle Ben's polite replies, craning her neck to see who the Parker family's guests were, only to see an unexpected figure in the dining room—
"Mary Jane Watson?!"
The classmate she met at the rock club today was actually the new guest at the Parker's house?! Gwen's scalp tingled instantly—they had talked about so much, but they hadn't mentioned her father's opposition to her playing rock music! If Mary Jane let it slip, she'd be in big trouble!
In contrast, Peter, who was left bewildered by the interrogation of socialite Mary Jane, didn't seem so miserable.
How can I remind Mary Jane not to tell anyone about this?
"Hey! Gwen!" Mary Jane's cheer made everyone turn around. Peter took the opportunity to make way as if he were escaping, placing Gwen between himself and the red-haired girl.
Aunt May looked at them in surprise: "You two already know each other?"
"We're classmates," Mary Jane said with a bright smile, and the awkwardness shifted from Peter to Gwen, who could only awkwardly reply, "Yes." Then Aunt May began to complain about why Peter didn't make more friends.
"It's a wonderful day to see all my friends together. I'm even happier that the children have gotten to know each other. George, this is my Anna, my good friend from high school. Anna, this is George, our neighbor, an honest and kind sheriff."
Sheriff George also politely expressed his friendliness to Aunt Anna.
"I'm so glad to have met you all, especially Gwen's friends. I'm so happy she's made such good friends..."
Gwen felt like the Sword of Damocles was about to fall over her head, and unfortunately, this wasn't something she could easily discuss over a phone. Left with no other option, Gwen decided to take the initiative and start the conversation herself.
"We are here today for club recruitment—"
"We met at the dance club entrance!" Gwen interrupted Mary Jane, while Peter chose to remain a quail, keeping his head down and cutting his pancakes.
After only a brief moment of surprise, Mary Jane quickly replied, "Yes, that's right, exactly."
The adults didn't seem too concerned about the children's little secrets, continuing their small talk. Gwen leaned close to Peter's ear and said smugly, "See? I'm better at making friends than you, aren't I?"
"Then have your new friends lie with you?"
Gwen's white sneakers landed firmly on Peter's instep. Peter forced a smile, nodded, and then let out a long sigh.
Mary Jane's lines are also the lines she says when she first meets Peter in the comics.
I don't know why Marvel is giving Mary Jane such terrible storylines...
(End of this chapter)