Make Way for the Spiders

When I had gotten back to my room after my chat with Spiderman, I lay in bed, wide awake.

He was going to help me. I could finally control these stupid powers I was cursed with.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was five in the morning. Had I really been out that long? It definitely didn't feel like it. And now, I was way too wired up to have any hopes of sleep. I lay in bed for another half hour before I heard my mother shuffling around in her room, then crossing the hall to the bathroom.

I heard the water turn on, and knew that in about an hour she would be out. So, I got out of bed, put on a pair of red gym shorts and a black baggy t-shirt with my nickname on the back in red writing-Cherry.

At first, the nickname was suppose to hurt my feelings, I guess. But to be honest, I absolutely love it. I pulled some socks on, and made my way to the kitchen. After scrounging around for half an hour, the only thing I could find was a box of Cheerios and a gallon of 2% milk. I sighed, deciding it would have to do until either Mom or I could make it to the grocery store.

I fixed myself a bowl, and sat down in the little dining area to eat. I heard the water shut off, and in another minute or so, Mom came out in her weekend clothes - an old high school sweatshirt and the oldest pair of sweat pants she owned. Her hair was wrapped in a purple towel, and she looked startled to see me awake. "You look awful," she observed.

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "Gee, thanks," I said, then shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

She nodded, looking at me in pity. "So," she started, "what do you want to do today?"

I shrugged. "I'm gonna go for a jog and stop at the grocery store," I said. "When I get back, maybe we can go sightseeing?"

Mom smiled. "Sounds like a plan," she said, then handed me a wad of cash. "Only get necessities for now. Later this week we'll get everything else."

I nodded, taking the cash and stuffing it in my sock. Then I wandered over to the boxes lining the wall, and opened a box with my name on it. There, on top, was my favorite pair of shoes-my running shoes. I slipped them on, tied up laces, and threw my hair into a ponytail. "Be back soon!" I called over my shoulder, and skipped down the hall to the elevator, pressing the down button repeatedly. Finally it dinged, and I stepped in, noticing another girl was in the elevator too.

She was blonde, and tall. She was wearing black skinny jeans, with a blue flowy top. I shied away, used to being shunned. But, this girl had other ideas.

"Hi," she chirped, sticking out her hand. "I'm Gwen."

I smiled, shaking her outstretched palm. "I'm Rayne," I said quietly.

"You must be the new girl," she said, trying to start a conversation. "Rayne Siebert? I'm an office workie, and I hear all kinds stuff. You're starting school tomorrow, right?"

"Um...Yeah," I said, not used to having conversations with other teens. The elevator dinged, telling us we were in the lobby. "Well, bye!" I rushed, stepping out of the elevator, and making my way outside.

Before I started jogging, I glanced around to make sure I wasn't the only one-I wasn't. I huffed at the chilly air. It was a lot warmer in Arizona.

Then I began my jog around the block. I kept an eye out for a grocery store, but didn't see any. Deciding to go a little farther, I took a left into a less crowded street. There were groups of guys stationed at random places, and too late I realized my mistake.

I hadn't turned into a street, but an alley. The men gave me weird looks, and I boosted up my speed. Suddenly, a man stepped in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.

"Where's the fire, little fire truck?" The man asked.

Ouch. That was a new one.

The man looked to be in his upper twenties, and the stench of beer was so strong, I almost gagged.

I bounced on the balls of feet, glancing at the other men surrounding me. "Fire?" I forced a laugh. "Sorry, just looking for a grocery store, or market or something."

One of the guys behind me laughed. He was in his thirties probably, and looked a lot more sober than the rest of them. "Red, you're going the opposite direction."

"Oops. My bad," I said nervously. I felt tingle run down my neck, and I ducked and spun right before a guy could grab me. The tingle still wouldn't go away, and I back flipped over another guy trying to tackle me. He ran into twenty-ish year old, and they fell to the ground.

"Woah," I gasped. Since when could I do that? I was distracted, and that gave the second man, the one about thirty-ish, a chance to grab me.

"We got her, boys!" he laughed. I reached up to grab his arm, and a familiar strand of web shot out of my wrist. The man yelped, and let me go, clawing at his face. The other guys took a step back, looking around.

"It's that Spiderman," one said. "He's here." They began shouting about how they were going to die, and ran away. I glanced around and saw no one.

The tingly feeling on my neck disappeared.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

An hour later, the elevator dinged to let me know I was on the fourth floor. I trudged down the hall to my apartment door, and tried to open it.

Stupid.

I didn't have a key. I knocked in the door twice, and waited. A second later, Mom opened the door with a key in her hand, holding it out to me. I blushed, and took it.

"I was wondering when you'd get back," she said.

"Sorry," I apologized. "It took forever to find the stupid store."

She smiled. "Did you have fun on your jog?"

I carried the bag of food items to the kitchen. "Um..." What was I suppose to say? "Yeah. It was, uh, good."

Mom smiled, and started helping me unload the one bag. "Ooh, you gonna make ravioli?" She asked, pulling out the spaghetti sauce and mushrooms.

"Why do you always assume that it's ravioli?" I asked.

"Because it's your signature dish!" She exclaimed, putting the sauce in the pantry. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you're right. I picked up lunch meat and bread for lunch, and for supper I'll actually cook," I told her.

"I'm so glad you got your grandmothers cooking skills," Mom muttered, giving me a side hug, then pulling back. "Ew, you smell! Go take a shower!"

I laughed, and took off into the hall, grabbing some clothes on the way.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After our quick lunch, we decided to just stroll around the city, so I put on my light blue flare jeans, and a fitting, black, quarter length shirt. I dried my hair, and it's natural waves came in, so I straightened it a little. I put on light makeup that made my eyes pop a little, but for the most part, it looked natural. I slipped on a pair of loafers, and made my way into the main room, where my mom was waiting.

"You look a little dolled up just for a stroll," she teased.

"And you don't?" I teased back.

She was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and had a green loose top on. On her feet were ballet flats, and her hair was in loose curls. She wore no makeup, as she absolutley hated it, but she never needed it anyways.

"A new start, right?" She asked, holding the door open for me. I smiled. My mom was the best. We teased each other the whole time on the elevator, acting like best friends, instead of mother and daughter. That's how it's been since Dad left us. Her friends and coworkers were never really sure on how to comfort her, and since I didn't have friends anyway, we just turned to each other.

We stepped onto the sidewalk, turning left, just to see where we would end up. We were only walking for ten minutes before we stumbled to a park.

It was small, compared to the parks in our old, Arizona town, but it was still beautiful. There was a crystal blue, man made pond in the center, surrounded by perfect, green grass. Trees lined the whole park, and a few clumps of bushes made themselves known. Benches were spread out all over the place, and parents either pushed their children on the swings, or watched them play on the red and white playground. Mom and I made our way to a random bench, and sat down.

"I think I'm going to like this place," Mom told me, watching as a group of young kids put a little toy sail boat in the pond. I smiled softly, and nodded in agreement. "So, Rayne," Mom said, turning to me. "Tomorrow is your first day of school. What are you going to wear?"

I laughed at her, and shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "I'll find something later."

She shook her head at me, but otherwise let it go. "I talked to Frank earlier," she began, "I invited him to dinner. Is that okay?"

"You know, usually, parents don't ask their kids if its okay to do something," I chuckled.

"True, but you're the cook. If I make you upset, you could poison the food or something," Mom joked. "Well I would love for him to come over," I said. "What time?"

"Around five thirty," she said, glancing at her watch, and pursing her lips.

"What?" I asked. "How long do you need to get the food ready?" She asked, ignoring my question.

I shrugged. "About an hour and a half or so. Why?"

"Well, it's about three thirty," she informed, and I looked at the sky. It was blue, and to the north east, I could see rain clouds. Hopefully, they would pass right over.

"Alright," I said, standing. "Let's go. Perfect food takes time to prepare."

Mom smiled at me, also standing. "Well lets go, then."