NABC Chapter 36 Theme Day
Chapter 36 Theme Day
Chapter 36 Theme Day (1)
The hallways of Midtown High School had transformed into a superhero showcase today. Peter, dressed as the Tenth Doctor, squinted as he stepped through the school gates, overwhelmed by a sea of brightly colored bodysuits. A Captain America shield-shaped backpack bumped into his shoulder, while a student dressed as the Joker drew a smiley face on the glass with a marker. Meanwhile, the large screen hanging throughout Midtown was looping a student council announcement: "By vote, all homecoming activities this year will adopt a superhero theme."
Peter found the experience slightly strange but didn't pay much attention to. In the United States, student councils wield immense power, even capable of altering the school's organizational structure. In some schools, student council presidents can even initiate votes to change math classes from required to electives.
This may also be one aspect of the American approach to happy education.
Not paying much attention to this, Peter stuffed his bag back in and looked around curiously. He instinctively felt something was off; his spider-sense was slightly stinging. But after looking around, he didn't find anything. However, when he turned his head, he saw the Dalric shell that Harry had brought locked to his cabinet. Peter smiled knowingly, took out his books, and left.
Kalkin, who had been hiding in the back and dressed as the Hulk, finally dared to follow. He tentatively touched Peter's locker, and disappointed when he found he couldn't open it, he left. He didn't notice Peter quietly returning to glance at him in the distance.
"So it's Culkin watching me. Is he planning to put something weird in my closet to scare me?"
After confirming that no one was actually watching him, Peter muttered to himself as he walked into the classroom. His spider-sense would occasionally beep slightly when he was being watched, but judging from the intensity, the person wasn't a threat.
However, being watched by Karkin every day isn't a good thing. We should find a way to teach him a lesson so he won't think about bullying his classmates.
Peter walked into the classroom, still thinking, and greeted Harry: "I saw your Derrick shell. You just locked it to your locker?"
"Otherwise what?"
Harry shrugged, sitting on a base converted from an electric wheelchair. "I kind of regret dressing up as a Dalric. It's not convenient to move around, and it's hard to put things in there. I should have dressed up as a Cyberpunk. Look, everyone's here in superhero costumes, and I can only... sit in this thing."
"No, no, no, Daleks are so cool, a pepper shaker with armor plates, a laser pointer like an egg beater, and a plunger..."
"Man!" Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. "The more you say that, the more I regret it. And you, what did you bring? Dr. Peter?"
"I didn't bring anything with me."
Peter said half-jokingly, "I'm just wearing a suit that's similar to the Tenth Doctor's. I don't have an exact copy at home, so I'll just have to make do."
"Oh, the one with David Tennant in it, that was really cool."
After an awkward chat for a while, Amadeus still hadn't arrived. With class about to start, Peter took out his phone and made a call. Luckily, it sounded like Amadeus was alright; he just asked, with a slightly stuffy nose, "Hello?"
"Hey, Amadeus, are you alright? You didn't come to school today."
"Oh, Peter, I asked the teacher for leave. I have a slight fever today."
Amadeus's voice sounded somewhat muffled, as if he was indeed suffering from a rather severe cold. Peter hung up the phone with a hint of concern, and Harry asked a question as well.
"Is he alright?"
"He just has a slight fever... he should be fine, right?" Peter said, then looked at Harry. "Do you know where Amadeus lives? Maybe we can go see him after school."
"I don't know, I only know that he was staying with a local family, but he never said where he lived."
"I don't know where you live either. In fact... only you guys know where I live." Peter said, feigning displeasure, and looked at Harry. Harry immediately stammered, and after stammering for a while, he sighed, "I don't have a good relationship with my dad. He's been very harsh on all my friends since I was a child. So, I'm sorry."
There's no need to apologize.
Peter, feeling that this further confirmed that Harry was indeed Harry Osborn, offered a small consolation to his friend, watching Harry watch Spider-Man videos again: "I wanted to ask you this last time, why do I always feel like you're watching Spider-Man whenever you have free time?"
"It's nothing, just homework, you could say that."
As time passed, the scene in the classroom grew increasingly absurd. Girls dressed in Black Widow costumes were collecting homework. And their math teacher—the middle-aged man who always wore plaid shirts—was walking in with a long, rubbery face: "Good morning, students. I'm Mr. Fantastic, and today I'll be teaching you pre-calculus."
"Davies, teacher."
Harry, looking rather resigned, began another boring, or rather, peaceful, day.
With the Avengers gone from New York, the city seemed to quiet down. After class, Peter walked along, glancing at his phone. Even today, there were no special cases that Spider-Man needed to solve. Just as he was feeling much better, he saw Cal King and a student who didn't seem very friendly open his locker. Cal King seemed quite nervous; upon seeing Peter, he immediately patted his classmate on the back, and the two quickly left.
"Hey! Carl!"
Completely unaware of what had happened, Peter went to the cabinet, opened his bag to check if anything was missing, but found nothing; Carl had taken nothing. This made him frown. Was Carl planning to put something in his cabinet to prank him? Or was he looking for something?
"Is he sure he can find something...?"
"Found what? Clever kid? Or what should I call you now? Superman in a Suit?" There was a knock on the open cabinet door. Peter knew who it was from the voice. He took a step back and saw Gwen leaning against the cabinet. To be honest, Gwen wasn't dressed as a superhero or villain at all; she was still in her usual attire. Peter took a step back and straightened the collar of his dark blue suit.
"Hello, I am a PhD student."
"...Doctor who?"
"It's just Doctor, I knew you'd ask that." Peter laughed again before Gwen could even catch the joke, and then closed the cabinet door after confirming that he hadn't lost anything—he carried the spider disc with him and no one would notice.
Wait... will Cal King look for my old suit again?
“Kal King had someone pick my lock, and I suspect they were planning to put something weird in my closet. They dressed up as Thor and Hulk, and did this kind of thing.” Peter then steered the conversation back on track: “So, why are you dressed up as Gwendolyn Stacy?”
"I am Gwen Stacy. To be precise, the theme day has already started before I've even decided who I'll dress up as, and what's worse, this damn theme is going to last for a whole week." Gwen sighed. Peter thought Gwen's blonde hair would be perfect for cosplaying as Supergirl Kara, but she didn't seem to realize it.
After ruffling her beautiful blonde hair, Gwen finally explained why she was there: "Speaking of this themed day, it's Homecoming this weekend. Have you found your dance partner for the party yet?"
"Let me guess, you and your new friends had a race to see who could find a dance partner first, and you were the first one to run over to me, right?"
"Impressive, smart kid. So what?"
Peter could only respond with a slightly self-deprecating smile.
"Nobody cares about Peter Parker, or the Doctor, so Gwen, I can tell you with confidence."
"You've got this in the bag."
(End of this chapter)