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Bright sunbeams burst through Peter’s apartment window as if the light from his lamp didn’t illuminate his textbook enough. If there was one thing he did not want to do, it was this, studying for his GED exam, but he needed to. The test was in three days and Peter was freaking out. He had already pushed studying behind, getting caught up with a new villain and as a result, he hadn’t opened his book in about a month. He needed to pass this one in order to send his application to City College before the deadline.
Peter never thought his life would end up like this. He had dreams of a collegiate life in Boston. He aspired to study engineering at MIT, or even BU for that matter. He imagined sharing an apartment with MJ and Ned, but all of those hopes were gone. Instead, he sat all alone in his studio apartment, chewing his pencil, as he flicked through pages of his textbook on a quiet Saturday afternoon.
Or rather what was a quiet Saturday afternoon. Some time after he started studying, Peter heard music across the hall. Again. He groaned as his neighbor and her band practiced rock songs in her apartment.
His door vibrated, being hit by the sound waves from the other apartment and Peter knew he had to do something. Normally, Peter didn’t mind the shortcomings that came with his very cheap Morningside Heights apartment but he needed to focus. When the music got too loud during the few times he sat down and studied, he would suit up to clear his head. But this time, he couldn’t. This test was his last chance at a college education this fall semester. A last chance at a normal life.
Before he left, Peter put on a hoodie over his “find ‘x’” t-shirt, zipping it up halfway. He knocked at the door from across the hall. The music slowed to a stop, and he could hear the hushed voices of three? Four girls? The door pulls back and reveals his neighbor. She had dark hair and dark eyes, with a smile on her face, despite him interrupting their practice session.
“Hey, I-”
“Oh my god! ” She interrupted, “You're the new guy right?”
He nodded before answering. “Yeah, I moved in a couple months ago.”
“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you but you always seem so busy.”
“Right,” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, I’m Peter, by the way.”
“Glory.” There was a slight pause of awkwardness before Glory picked up the conversation again, “So, did you need something, Peter?”
“Oh yeah, um, look I really don’t mean to be a bother but I’ve got a test coming up soon, and don’t get me wrong you guys sound great, but it’s just, you know, a little loud.”
“Oh, sorry about that.” Glory looked back then turned with a smirk on her face. “Give me one sec.” She said and before Peter could respond she ran back into her apartment.
After a minute of waiting, Glory comes back out excited. “Ok, Peter, make you a deal.”
Peter raised his eyebrow intrigued but waited for more.
“So, we’ve got this gig Friday night.” He nods. “And we’ve been looking someone to tell if we sound good or not-”
“You do.” Peter tried to break free from the conversation, but to no avail.
“-but no one is free this week. So, I’ll make you this one deal. Listen to one song and give us feedback, and we’ll be silent for the rest of tonight.”
After seeing he wasn’t convinced, she adds, “And the rest of this week.”
Peter sighed. One break wouldn’t be so bad, he thought. “Alright. Alright.”
“Yes!” Glory extends her arm to her apartment, prompting Peter to go in, which he does. Her apartment is also a studio. He’s cautious to avoid stepping on the various cords connected to instruments that were lying on the carpet. Her walls were covered with posters of well known bands and the lower half were blocked by amps and other music equipment. His eyes landed on a small little coffee table to the side with Chinese food displayed out buffet style, to which Glory tells him to help himself.
“Guys, this is Peter, my neighbor and our test listener for tonight. Peter, this is Mary, Jane, and Gwen.”
Mary had long brunette hair and bangs that almost hung past her hazel eyes. Jane had shorter, tight curled hair with similar hazel eyes. But Peter’s eyes loomed curiously to Gwen. She differed so much from the others, mainly in style. When the rest had a usual jeans and t-shirt combination, she had a preppy yet edgy style. She donned a skirt and knee high boots, paired with a headband on top of her loosely curled hair. She must’ve caught him looking because she smirked at him.
“It’s 54, if I’m correct.”
“Uh, what?” Peter asked bewilderedly.
“Your shirt,” Gwen mused. “Find x? It’s around 54.”
Peter absentmindedly looked down at his shirt, “54.49, but you rounded so, um, yeah, you are correct.”
She laughed softly, “It’s a nice shirt. I’m Gwen.”
“Peter,” he let out. Why was he so nervous?
“Nice to meet you, Peter.”
“You too,” she smiled at him, making his heart race a bit. Out of all the times he had worn his algebra pun shirt, she was the only one who actually answered.
“So,” Mary picked up the remnants of their conversation. “I’m Mary, I’m vocals and guitar.”
“So am I,” Jane picks up, placing a spoonful of fried rice onto her plate. “Jane, her sister. More specifically backup vocals and lead guitar and a little bit of bass. Could you tell who’s older?” She joked. “Glory’s on keys, and Gwen’s on drums. Oh, and we’re The Mary Janes, by the way.”
Peter chuckled softly, “What happened to Gwen and Glory in the naming process?”
“We joined after.” Glory speaks up, as Peter helps himself onto the couch with his plate.
“So,” Gwen sits back down on her drum chair, after getting up for a canned drink, “What do you do Peter?”
Other than being Spider-Man and thinking about my past life and mistakes? He joked in his head.
“Uh, well I’m just studying a lot.” He looked up to the group, who wait for more. “I’m taking my GED test in a few days and it’s the last time I can take it before one of the due dates for a college I’m trying to get into.”
Even before Peter finishes the sentence, there’s a hesitance and a shift of energy in the room. Peter hadn’t told anyone about this and he suddenly felt self conscious. He hadn’t even had a conversation with people his age after the spell and he can’t help like he’s just ruined it. Well, then again, he thought, you were never good at social interactions before the spell anyway.
“Which college?” Gwen spoke up, offering a small smile.
“City College, the one nearby.”
“Good school, they have a very nice campus. It’s good you’re pursuing a college education.”
He gave a smile back, hearing those words felt nice. He felt a spark of warmth inside—something he hadn’t felt in so long. He noticed how Gwen had this way of lighting up a room, as suddenly all the tension he had built by revealing he was a high school dropout was lightened when she spoke. Peter liked that about her.
“So, what about you guys?” Peter asked.
“Glory and I met at MSM.” Jane says before taking a bite of her dumpling.
“I’ll be joining them in the fall!” Mary added.
Everyone turned to Gwen, who for the first time this evening, seemed a little shy. “I knew Glory from high school.” She nodded as she finished her sentence, but everyone kept staring, awaiting more. “I also just got into Barnard.”
“And we’re so proud!” Glory hugs her, ignoring Gwen’s attempt at nonchalance.
“Yes!” Jane shouted, while Mary grinned.
“Gwen, that's great!” Peter exclaimed.
She bit her lip but still couldn't hide her smile, “Yeah. I’m really excited. They even let me dorm, which is pretty cool since I’m from Queens.”
“Wait, really?” Peter asked. “Where?”
“Forest Hills, are you from Queens too?”
“Yeah!” Peter found himself getting excited. “I’m from Forest Hills too. I, uh, used to live on Ingram Street.”
A flash of sadness passed through her face, but she quickly smiled to hide it. The rest of the group seems unfazed but Peter, after doing the same thing countless times, noticed easily. “I’ve walked past there a few times!” Gwen mused. “Shame we just met now.”
“Speaking of,” Glory cut through. “Peter, I had no idea how important your test was. Don’t waste your time with us, go back and study.”
Peter knew he should follow Glory’s advice, but something in the back of his mind tells him not to. He missed talking to people, and while they weren’t MJ and Ned, they were there. Maybe he couldn’t live his dreams with them at MIT but maybe this was as close as he could get.
“No, no.” Peter shook his head. “We had a deal. One song.”
“Yes!” Gwen and Jane exclaimed at the same time, while Glory smirked.
Peter settled down in Glory’s couch, well, rather her love seat, as the girls settle in. They huddle together whispering to which Peter believed was a discussion on which song to play.
“Okay, I hate singing after eating but here goes nothing.” Mary speaks into the mic. “This is Face it, Tiger by The Mary Janes.”
A burst of reverb electrifies the room with Glory’s synth before Gwen’s drum beat fills in. She does a fill after a few rolls of rhythm and is then met with Mary and Jane both playing guitar. Finally Mary’s voice sliced through the air of instrumentals. “There’s no use crying over pin pricks… ”
Peter clapped immediately at the end, part of him wants to ask for an encore, but knows he should probably do another patrol and then study. So he gives his applause when asked for feedback all he could offer was praise. Ready to leave, he paused as he heard a soft voice at the door.
“Peter?” He turned around. The rest were packing up their instruments and equipment, but Gwen stood in front of him, leaning on the doorway.
“Gwen, hey.”
“I know we all said it before, but good luck on your test.”
“Thanks. You were great on drums back there.” Peter chimed.
“Thanks.” Gwen smiled. He turns towards his door, but stops when she says more.
“I, uh, I’m sorry about your uncle.”
“What?” Peter is shocked. He tried to ponder on how she even knew that to distract from a flood of painful emotions and memories that Peter associated with Ben from bursting through.
He watched as Gwen struggled to find words to say. “You said you lived in Ingram Street and I remembered the name. Put two and two together. I heard about it years ago and I’m really, really sorry.”
Peter bit his lip to stop himself from crying in front of her. The hardest part of his life after the spell was that no one knew what he was going through—all the grief he was going through and here was Gwen who just knew. It felt relieving but he couldn’t tell her that.
“Thanks, Gwen.” He gave her a sad but genuine smile. “That means a lot.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder, a comforting gesture. “Of course.”
A beat passed and just as Peter is about to turn the knob on his door, Gwen speaks out.
“You’re gonna get in.” He turned back, furrowing his eyebrows, signaling her to elaborate.
“To City College, you’re gonna get in. You’re a smart guy, I can tell.” She laughed softly. “It was fun talking to you, Peter. I hope we can do it again sometime.”
Peter smiled, “Sometime.”
