I was buzzing. I’d finally figured it out. A way to make money from my superpowers. The plan had come to me in the middle of last night, and it was fool proof. I was going to buy a burner phone, stick posters up everywhere, and have people pay me for random errands. I’d have to specify weekends only, but it was a start. It was Friday and I’d finished all my homework so I was free to put up all the posters I’d made today. I couldn’t get permission to go out this late, but I could stick to walls so it’s not like they could stop me getting out the window. There was only one problem. Eric.
He'd had tons of homework to catch up on, so he was working away at his desk listening to music. I couldn’t just hop out the window whilst he was here. And I couldn’t go to the roof either, apparently they were supposed to keep it locked and all the security guards had gotten into trouble when I’d gone up there. They locked the doors and had someone watching the floor at all times now, for ‘safeguarding’ purposes.
I frowned. I’m pretty sure he’d mentioned something about basketball. Maybe I could introduce him to Quinten? Heh, that was a great idea. I jumped up and tapped him on the shoulder. He paused his music and glanced up at me.
“Hey man, you need to take a break. You’ve been working for hours” I said.
“Uh ok? Did you have something specific in mind that we could do?” he asked. I grinned.
“I’m glad you asked” I replied.
-
We strolled down the corridor, I’d texted Quinten for the first time in a while, and he’d actually responded. I guess distance really does make the heart grow fonder. He was in one of the study rooms on the common room floor. He hadn’t mentioned who else he was with, but it wasn’t too difficult to guess. We came to a stop outside the room. I could hear the sound of voices inside, and the door was slightly ajar. I knocked and the voices paused. A head peeked round the door. It was Rachael. Her curious look instantly turned to a glare when she saw me.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“Shouldn’t I be asking that. Where’s Quinten?” I asked.
“Why?” she responded back.
“I wanted to introduce my roommate Eric” I said pointing to him. She glanced at Eric and instantly her face flushed red.
“Hi” she managed to squeak out, as she brushed her hair out of her face. Eric gave a small wave back. I frowned, looking at Rachael’s expression.
“Uh… you going to open the door?” I asked.
“Sorry, sorry” she said, opening the door and stepping back. I stepped inside seeing Quinten’s group of friends gathered around a game of monopoly they’d set up on the floor.
“Room for two more?” I said grinning as I stepped in. Everyone groaned when they saw me, but Quinten quickly shushed everyone.
“Everyone, this is Eric. He’s my roommate. He got here a bit late so he doesn’t really know anyone. I brought him over to introduce him” I said.
“Hi everyone” he said behind me. Everyone greeted him back.
“We have room for two more, right guys?” Quinten asked.
“Yeah, it should be fine” Rachael said enthusiastically. Keiko and Jada looked apprehensive, but I guess Rachael’s word was enough to sway their opinion. Eric sat down next to Quinten, and I saw my chance.
“Wait a second guys, I left my phone back at our dorm” I said, “You can start without me.”
“Gladly” Rachael said rolling the dice. I shot out of the room and ran straight back for my dorm. I burst inside threw on my hoodie, slipped into my shoes, and threw on the balaclava. I grabbed my bag, opened the window and peered outside. It was high, but I’d be fine, right? I took a deep breath and climbed out onto the exterior wall. I closed the window again and crawled across the building avoiding windows. When I was close enough, I leaped to the next building over landing on the wall. Now, where to put the signs? Storefronts would be good. Streetlights too. Maybe even on a couple parked cars. I felt my heart leap as I slipped and quickly focused on gripping the building. I looked from side to side then down. It wasn’t that far down so swinging wouldn’t be that dangerous. I’d been sort of itching to do it again since last week Sunday. I steeled myself, tightening my bag straps, and then I jumped, I sailed through the air my heart in my mouth. Before I reached the ground I threw my hand out, sending a web out that stuck to the building. I felt it go taught again, and swung my entire body forward as I arced over the ground.
I let go with intent this time zipping forward over the street. I let myself float through the air before sending out another web and swinging around a building above a road. My heart thumped loudly in my chest, but I felt in control. I sent out another web and pulled myself forward, before landing on the side of a building. Woah. I didn’t want to sound arrogant, but this was kind of easy. I looked down. I was pretty high up, but if I fell there were tonnes of places I could send a web to.
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I steeled myself and jumped again, shooting a web at a building further down the road. People shouted and pointed at me as I swung through the air, and I let out a roar of laughter. Instead of just letting go I flung myself upwards with a burst of strength and flipped through the air before sending another web out and carried on swinging. This was fucking amazing! I swung through the city, soaring over everybody with a chaotic grace as I somersaulted through the air, the static shocks in my head warning me of any incoming obstacle years before it reached me.
I came to a stop on a huge building steadying myself against the wall. The fear kept me glued firmly to the wall, but the adrenaline cursing through my veins amplified my excitement measures beyond any fear. I stared out over the city of New York, a warm sense of fulfilment washing over me with the sunlight. The feeling was spectacular. I hopped off the side of the building, letting out a cry of joy as I fell through the air. I shot a web and let go near the ground, pulling myself onto a building with a web. I sat on the side as people stared up at me. I quickly searched for phone stores. Great, there was a cheap one close by. I hopped off the side of the building and swung away.
-
I trudged out the store earning a few stares. It had been harder getting a burner phone without ID than I’d thought. It was also kind of funny how many people assumed you were robbing them when you wore a balaclava. Thankfully the third shop, as dingy as it was, had given me a cheap phone almost immediately. I didn’t know exactly just how much that said about the establishment, but I had my new phone now. I pressed a few buttons checking the number. Perfect. I pulled out all the pieces of paper, found a post box and got to work. I pulled out the double-sided tape and stuck one onto the storefront. Then I hopped onto the wall above the shop and pulled myself away with a web.
I swung through the air, keeping close to the ground as I looked for places to put the posters up. I slapped a few onto random windows facing inward and put the rest through the streets. Halfway through the pile I realised I was going to need a lot more. I could just make more tomorrow. I was caught off guard by a sudden group of people shouting at me as I swung past them. I stopped on a building and turned back to look at them. They all pointed to the top of a building where a woman stood on the edge of the building. Uh… I didn’t want to deal with this.
I went to web away but paused. If the situation was what I thought it was, I couldn’t just let this woman jump. I sighed. I shouldn’t have come down this street. Sure that sounded bad, but everybody below us probably expected me to save her somehow. What if I messed up? I shuddered. Let's not think about that. I pulled myself up the building with a web before clambering up the side. The cries of the people below didn’t stop. As I got closer to the top the woman’s face came clearer. She had blonde hair and was wearing a messy shirt with white trousers covered in stains. She was sobbing, mascara running down the sides of her face. She must’ve been in her late twenties or early thirties. When she saw me shock passed over her face and then she screamed.
“STAY BACK!! I’ll jump!” she shouted her voice hoarse. I stopped. Geez. I glanced back down at the people below. They were still shouting up at us.
Well, what now? I couldn’t just leave. I looked back up at the woman. Dammit. I carried on climbing up.
“STOP!” she shouted. “Stop! Please… just leave me alone.” Her sobbing grew louder and I felt a pang of guilt. I stopped and looked back down at the ground. I wasn't supposed to be here. This didn't feel right. I glanced back up and a shoe bounced off my head. What the?
“Hey man!” I shouted back, “What the hell’s wrong with you?” She froze at the sound of my voice.
“I- I told you to stop” she said. I kept climbing as she stared at me confused. I clambered over the edge as she stared at me, sniffling.
“Uh… can you not jump? Please? I’ve got things I have to do and I kind of don’t want this on my hands” I said nervously. I paused. “Can I say that? Is that weird to say?” I said, panicking slightly. She stared at me her mouth wide open. "I take that back, that was weird. Sorry I've never done anything like this before. Please don't jump. I don't want anyone dying or anything like that."
She carried on staring at me her expression completely shocked. I'd fucked up hadn't I?
“You’re just a kid” she said. I froze this time.
“No... No” I replied deepening my voice.
“I’m sorry. For the shoe” she said, her voice distant.
“Don’t worry about that, just step back from the edge” I said. She didn’t move. “Please?”
She let out a little chuckle which slowly turned into a hearty laugh then quickly dragged into a sob. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it.
“A-are you okay?” I asked, unsure of what to say.
“Of course not” she replied through sobs, trembling. There was a buzz of static in my head, a shift like something absolutely horrible was about to happen. Then she fell. I reacted instinctively, leaping over the edge and shooting out a web for her. It stuck to her torso and I pulled her up towards me, her body surprisingly light. She crashed into me and I grabbed her mid air, flipping as her upwards momentum changed our trajectory. We flipped wildly, my heart hammering in my chest as her screams filled my ears. I couldn't see, her hair in my face. Something. I needed to do something. I held the woman tighter with one arm and reached out behind me for the wall. I felt a spike of panic as my arm flailed in open air. Shit. I couldn't tell where the wall was. I clamped my mind shut in fear. We were going to hit the ground. Time slowed, and the buzz in my head came to life. I felt the static in my head grow, warning me of the incoming ground, of my proximity to the woman, of the crowd beneath us and the buildings around. I could feel everything. Before I'd realised it, I shot out a web. I felt it go taught and then we swung above the street, the wind racing past my ears. We were close enough to the ground now. I let go of the web and grabbed the woman with both arms, raising her slightly. I landed on the ground, cracking the asphalt underfoot. I breathed heavily for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what I'd just done. The woman held me for dear life, her entire body trembling with fear.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t want to die. I didn’t- I-“ she broke into wracking sobs again. I held her tightly with one arm as I brushed her hair out of my face. I set her down, and she lost her balance, her knees giving out. Before I could say anything a small group of people swarmed us. I jumped out of the crowd and landed on the side of a building. I breathed a sigh of relief seeing a police car arrive. Suddenly there was a burst of applause and cheering. I looked down to see they were cheering me. The small crowd that had gathered at the base of the building were cheering for me.
The realisation caused a sudden rush of embarrassment and I instantly webbed away, the crowds cheers growing louder. I carried on swinging for a while, a weird feeling passing through my chest. I got so distracted one of my webs missed a building and I crashed onto a roof. Ow. I stood up dusting myself off, then felt my legs give out from under me. I caught myself on the ground and stood back up. I stared out over the city for a few seconds, completely silent. That had felt weird. In a good way. I’d never had anything like that happen before. I definitely wasn’t doing that again, but... it felt nice. I didn't know why. I guess I just felt appreciated. I pulled off my bag and reached into it. I only had one flyer left. I stared at it for a few seconds then shrugged and walked over to the edge of the building, flipped off the side and caught myself on the wall with a hand. I slapped the flyer on the window next to me, then swung away. I yawned. Today had been weird. It was time to head back.