Make Way for the Spiders

I woke up at five in the morning. School didn't start until seven thirty, but I didn't want to take any chances.

I brought my clothes into the bathroom, and took a quick shower. I wrapped the towel around me, and dried my hair. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time, trying to figure out what to do with the red mess on my head.

Natural waves? Straight? Curled?

Finally I decided to straighten it, and I pinned my bangs back with a black flower barrette. Then I put on foundation, black eyeliner, black mascara, natural colors for eye-shadow, and light pink blush. To finish it off, I applied clear lip-gloss lightly on my lips. Nodding in satisfaction, I put on my nylons, and slipped my dress on, struggling with the zipper. After five minutes, I finally gave up, and went into the kitchen area to seek my mothers help.

She was reading the paper. Where she got it, I had no clue. On the cover was Spiderman himself, swinging from a web. Mom looked up when I walked in, and smiled.

"Well, don't you look fancy," she complimented.

"So do you," I chuckled. "Seriously, are you going to work, or are you going to get drinks with friends?"

She was wearing black slacks, and a cute, dark purple top.

She stood up, rolling her eyes, and motioned for me to turn. She zipped the dress up the rest of that way, and I thanked her. "You're early," she said, looking at the clock. "It's not even six fifteen."

"What time are you supposed to be at the office?" I asked her.

"Today, seven. But the rest of the time, I don't have to be in until eight," she told me. "You need to hurry up, because I want to meet your principal."

I nodded, rushing into my room to grab my beige purse that landed on my hip. I filled it with pencils, high lighters, and red pens, then grabbed a folder and notebook. I crammed my flats into my purse, and pulled my heels on.

"Ready!" I called, walking into the main room to see Mom standing by the door.

"Did you eat?" She asked.

"Crap! No," I said, and she nodded.

"We can stop by Starbucks," she said. "I didn't eat either."

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

When we got to the school, it was six thirty five.

Apparently, the school wasn't even a block away, and Starbucks was right in between the apartment and school. We met the principal, Mr. Black, who was a big, burly man, with a mean look in his eye. He gave me my locker information, and schedule. All honors classes.

Whoopee.

Mom had to leave shortly after getting there, rushing to get a taxi. Mr. Black wanted to tell me about the rules of the school, so when the first bell rang, I was relieved to be saved.

"Come, I'll walk you to your first class." He said in his booming voice.

I nodded, and picked up my purse, folder, and notebook.

"What's your first period?" He asked.

"Um... Honors Government, with Ms. Greene," I told him. He nodded, and began walking down the hall, not even bothering to see if I was following. He led me to room 24, and knocked, not waiting for a reply, before barging in.

I followed hesitantly, looking around the classroom. I felt a familiar warm chill run down my neck to the bottom of my spine, and looked around. Everyone was staring at me, interested in the new girl.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Greene," Mr. Black said, although he didn't sound very sorry. "This is Ms. Siebert. She's new, just moved here from Arizona."

I looked at Ms. Greene, who was young, and blonde. She wore a black pencil skirt, with a white blouse. She was pretty, and her glasses made her brown eyes pop.

"Well, hello dear," she said, smiling kindly at me.

"Well, I'll be going then," Mr. Black said. "And Ms. Siebert, welcome to New York."

I smiled and thanked him, before he left. "How about you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Ms. Greene said.

I began fidgeting, playing with my hair. "Um... my name is Rayne." I saw a guy in the back row staring at me, and looked away. Ms. Greene smiled at me. "Do you have a nickname you would like for us to call you?" She asked.

I laughed. "People usually call me Cherry. Or Red," I told her, and she chuckled.

"Alright, Red it is," she grinned, writing something down. "It shouldn't be too hard to remember your name. Why don't you have a seat next to Peter over there." She pointed to a chair next to a guy with gorgeous brown hair and light blue eyes, that sat in the third row. He looked at me, interested, as I sat down. The tingling on my neck became more noticeable, but I just shook my head, ignoring it.

I would have to ask Spiderman about it later. Maybe it had something to do with the spider powers.

Ms. Greene handed me a book, and a list of supplies that she wanted me to get for class. I just smiled politely, already wanting the day to end. The whole hour, we just took notes that she had written on the board.

When the bell finally rang, I started to pack my things. I dropped a pen, and the boy who sat next to me, Peter, handed it back.

"Your name's Rayne, right?" he asked. I furrowed my brow a bit.

Why did his voice sound familiar?

I nodded, and stuck out my hand. "And you're Peter, right?"

He smiled, shaking my hand. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "What's your next class?"

I looked at my schedule, and groaned. "Spanish," I told him and he chuckled. We began to walk out of the classroom, and I started paying attention to the lockers, trying to find mine.

"I take it you don't like Spanish?" Peter asked.

"I like learning about the culture and stuff, it's just that the teacher that I had in Arizona gave us homework every night, and a test every Friday," I explained.

Peter nodded in understanding.

"Aha!" I shouted, when I saw my locker. I entered the combination, and it opens in the first try. Success!

Peter opened the locker to my left and began pulling out books. "Let me see your schedule," he said, holding out his hand. I gave it to him, and he looked it over. "We have Government, calculus, gym, and chemistry together... Study hall... And lunch," he told me.

"Sweet," I grinned. "At least I know someone."

"I'm on my way to English, which is down the hall to your Spanish class. I can walk you there if you like," Peter offered, and I grinned.

"That would be great!"

He smiled, and led the way down the hall.

-_-_-_-_PETER'S POV-_-_-_-_

As soon as the door opened in Government class, a warm tingle when down my neck.

It was a lot like my spidey senses, when I was in danger, but this feeling was one of comfort and security. I looked up to see a girl with bright red hair, wearing a black dress, and in heels.

Her eyes were bright blue, and I instantly realized who it was.

Red.

She didn't notice me, although I saw her fidgeting, playing with her hair, and looking around. Ms. Greene had her introduce herself to the class.

"Um... my name is Rayne," she said.

Rayne.

When Ms. Greene asked for her nickname, Rayne laughed.

"People usually call me Cherry. Or Red."

Red. I chuckled a bit underneath my breath. A second later, Ms. Greene let Rayne sit down, in the seat next to mine. After the hour was over, I started to pack up, and glanced up at Rayne.

Her red hair covered her face as she fumbled around in her bag. I watched as a pencil started rolling off the desk, and caught it before it hit the ground.

"Your name's Rayne, right?" I asked.

A strange look appeared on her face, as if she was trying to place something. But she nodded, and held out her hand.

"And you're Peter, right?" she asked.

I nodded, and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you," I told her, smiling. "What's your next class?"

She looked at her schedule and groaned. "Spanish," she said.

I chuckled at her childish attitude. "I take it you don't like Spanish," I said, smirking.

"I like learning about the culture and stuff, it's just that the teacher I had in Arizona gave us homework every night, and a test every Friday," she explained, and I nodded.

I hated teachers like that.

"Aha!" she randomly shouted, and I jumped at her outburst, but she didn't seem to notice.

She went over to the locker next to mine, and opened it.

Huh. I opened my locker, and took out my books for English and Chemistry. First period and lockers next to each other?

"Let me see your schedule," I said, holding out my hand. She gave it to me, and I looked at her hours.

First period: Government. Second period: Spanish. Third, chemistry. Fourth, Study Hall. Then lunch, then for fifth period, she had English. Sixth, she had calculus, and seventh she had gym.

"We have Government, calculus, gym, and chemistry together... Study hall... And lunch," I said, glancing over the schedule again to make sure I didn't miss anything.

"Sweet," she beamed. "At least I know someone."

"I'm on my way to English, which is down the hall to your Spanish class. I can walk you there if you like," I offered, and she grinned.

"That would be great!" she said excitedly, and I smiled at her enthusiasm. Then I led her down the busy hall of the school, walking her to the door of Señor Lopez.

"See you next hour," I told her, and she hesitated before entering the room.

"Yeah," she said, "see you then."

-_-_-_-_ RAYNE'S POV-_-_-_

Spanish was boring; all Mr. - I mean, Señor Lopez - did was have me stand in front of the class and tell everyone about me in Spanish.

"Me llamo Rayne," I said. "Me gusta rojo, la pizza, y inglés. No me gusta matematicas."

And it went on from there. He would ask a question in rapid Spanish, and I would struggle to keep up. But by the time the bell rang, Señor Lopez seemed pleased, and I sighed in relief.

At least I'm on one teacher's good side. I rushed out to the hall, desperate to find the chemistry room. I looked around, and noticed a tall blonde girl - the girl from the elevator. What was her name?

Quinn? Gwen? I rushed over to her, and tapped her shoulder.

She turned, and smiled at me. "Hey! How are you liking school so far?" She asked.

I shrugged. "It's school," I told her, and she laughed. "Um, could you help me find my next class? It's Chemistry, with-"

"Mrs. Lacefield?" She interrupted, and I nodded. "I have that class too! I can take you there," she chirped, and dragged me down the hall. "So, how are you liking the city so far? Don't you love it? I swear, I could never leave this place." Gwen chattered in my ear, but most of it went in one, and out the other.

We reached the classroom as the minute bell rang, and I looked around for Peter, who was sitting at a table alone. He saw me, and waved me over, so I smiled, and started to make way back to where he was.

"Wait!" Gwen said, pulling my arm. "Why don't you sit with me and my friends? I'm sure they would love to meet you," she said. I noticed how her eyes kept flitting over to Peter, and raised my eyebrow.

"That's fine," I said, "I wouldn't want to intrude. Besides, your table looks full."

And it was. The table she was pointing to had chairs pulled up all around it, and half of the class was laughing at something. Gwen sighed, and let my arm go.

I gave her another smile, before heading over to Peter, who had watched the whole thing.

"So, how was Spanish?" he asked. "Any homework?"

"Luckily, no. All I did was tell the whole class about myself," I said, leaning my chair back on two legs.

Peter smirked. "Hopefully, the same will happen in this class," he said.

I laughed too. "I hope so."

Of course, no such luck.

The teacher didn't even ask for my name, instead choosing to give us a huge packet.

To make it worse, I had no clue what was in the packet. In my class in Arizona, we were at least two chapters behind. If I had any hopes of catching up, I would have to do a lot of reading. By the time the bell rang, I was relieved.

Mrs. Lacefield was awful. I could already tell that she would be my least favorite teacher.

"So, what do people usually do for Study Hall?" I asked Peter, who was packing up.

He shrugged. "Whatever we want. A lot of people just go outside and hang out," he said.

I nodded. "Okay." I started to walk away, but he called me back.

"Today, I have plans for this hour, but do you wanna hang out at lunch?" he asked.

I smiled. "Sounds great."