Emma was seriously good at climbing. Like seriously seriously good. Just watching her do practice runs on the speed course was like watching a magician at work. She’d grab a hold and already be reaching for the next before it looked like she even had a firm grip. She just glided up the face of the wall effortlessly. She was amazing.

“You know, for someone who’s not competing, you’re watching the speed course practice real intently” Micah said.

“What? I can’t watch?”

“You weren’t watching earlier”

“Oh, leave me alone” I said. Micah chuckled. “I mean there’s nothing wrong with watching a good climber. Emma’s just good”

“Yeah, no doubt about that” he responded.

I turned back, watching as she prepared to do the course again, then glanced at the time. 17:06. I cringed. If the school had phoned Dad, he’d probably called me by now. There was no point staying here till five thirty like usual. It’d just make things worse in the long run. I just had to bite the bullet now.

“Hey Micah, I think I’m gonna go”

“Already?”

“Yeah”

“Well see you tomorrow man. Oh, and if you ever need any help with anything again, just let me know” he said with a smile.

“I will” I responded.

As I turned away, my smile faded. Feelings of guilt and shame swirled through my head as I made my way towards the changing rooms. I hadn’t told him what had happened at school earlier. I didn’t want him knowing I’d chickened out basically right after he’d offered me helpful advice. It was probably for the best that he didn’t know. Sure, I felt a bit bad deceiving him, but I didn’t want him to feel responsible for what had happened. It’s not like it was his fault the faculty at my school was incompetent. It wasn’t my fault either. It’s like they went out of their way to do the worst thing possible. Ok I hadn’t been the best equipped when I’d gone to Mrs Phillips, but surely she could’ve done more. Or taken it seriously. She hadn’t seemed all that interested in the situation now that I really thought about it. She’d cared more about my lates and attendance than anything else.

I finished changing and went to put my bag on my back before pausing. Well, I guess there was no time like the present. With a sigh, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. Peering at the screen anxiously I watched, waiting for the notifications to appear.

One missed call from Dad. Well… that wasn’t too bad. Right? Now for the important decision; did I call him back now or just go home? I shook my head. That shouldn’t have been a question. If he thought I was avoiding him I was finished. I didn’t want to get grounded for a month.

I clicked on the notification and let the dial tone ring in my ear, slightly nervous. After two rings Dad picked up.

“Yu?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you at the climbing gym?”

“Yeah” I mumbled.

“Come home quickly, we need to talk”

“Ok. I’m on my way now”

“Good. Talk to you later”

“Bye dad”

With a small sigh, I hung up, before walking out the changing rooms. I trudged slowly through reception saying by to the staff, before making my way through the streets towards my bus stop. Slumping onto the seat, I stretched out, groaning. I was tired. So tired. Actually going to school for the whole day on top of climbing was some serious stuff. And tomorrow was going to be even longer. I sighed, resting my head against my hand. I didn’t want to go. I wasn’t built for school. Classes were so boring, and I didn’t even have anyone to really talk to.

I perked up as the bus turned the corner, slowing down and easing into the stop. I stood up and got on, taking a seat towards the back. It was slightly warmer in here, though something smelled like cheese. I glanced out the window, thinking to myself.

I guess it wasn’t all bad. I had something to look forward to tomorrow. The charity costume event. My costume was amazing. Sure, there were a couple holes, but it kind of added to the charm. A grin spread across my face. I was going to blow everyone else out the water. I could see it already. The excitement, the interest, the questions about how I’d made it. People would actually try to talk to me for once. Maybe if I came up with a long-winded story about how I’d researched the materials the real Spider-Man had used in his costume and designed my suit around that, it’d make me look cool. Actually, that’d probably make me look like a dork. And a try hard. The bus came to a stop and I chuckled to myself as I stood, making my way off the bus.

I made my way down the street, quickly reaching our apartment building. Humming to myself I walked straight through the lobby and into the lift. As it ascended, I stood still, a small knot of dread building in my stomach. It wouldn’t be that bad. Just a few lates and absences. Dad was probably more disappointed than mad, so the punishment wouldn’t be too bad. At the very least I’d probably get to keep my phone. I didn’t want to take the emergency nokia to school. I actually wanted pictures for tomorrow. The lift came to a stop, and I yawned, stepping out into the hallway before making my way to our door.

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I pulled out my keys and opened the door slowly, listening for the sounds within the apartment. I didn’t need to. Ryo and Dad sat in the hall playing with Ryo’s action figures. They both looked up to me, before Ryo jumped up grinning.

"Dad and me were playing with Icon and Pride. Do you want to join in?"

"Maybe later. I think Dad wants to have a talk with me first" I said. He glanced back to Dad who nodded and stood.

"You keep playing Ryo. Yu let's talk in the kitchen" he said. I nodded and followed him, looking to the floor. We came to a stop, standing opposite each other, silent, as the sound of Ryo playing pretend rang out through the house.

“Do you have anything to say?" Dad asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry"

"That's a good start. Anything else?"

"N-no" I said, glancing up at him. He nodded, before sighing and taking off his glasses.

"Is there any reason you wouldn't want to go to school?"

"No" I replied, thinking back to Thomas. Dad stayed quiet for a second, a mixture of emotions on his face.

"I'm disappointed. I can understand being late, it's not a short walk and the bus isn't exactly reliable. But skipping classes? Leaving during lunchtime? That's unacceptable" he said.

"I'm sorry"

"Good. You can expect no videogames or climbing for the next week. And give me your phone. I'll give you the nokia. Use it for emergencies" he said. Crap. I reluctantly handed over my phone, sparing a glance at Dad. He looked just as serious as ever.

“From today onwards I expect you to go to school and be on time. Understood?”

“Yeah”

“Good” Dad said. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour. You can go”

I nodded before walking off to my room dejectedly. Closing my door softly behind me, I slumped onto my bed, groaning. The bed creaked as I rolled over, and the fabric of the Spider-Man costume beneath me tickled my skin. I sat up and grabbed it, holding it to the light. At least I still had this. Furrowing my brow, I stood.

I was an idiot. I hadn’t even tried it on yet. What if it didn’t fit? Standing, I changed out of my normal clothes, pulling on the suit. It took a while but when I was finally done, I looked at myself in the mirror. It was slightly loose around the arms and chest, but for the most part it looked good. Really good. I grabbed the mask and pulled it on as well. Holy shit. Who made this? I poked the large white lenses, bringing my face closer to the mirror. I actually looked like Spider-Man. It was scary how uncanny it was. I needed to take a photo.

Dammit, I didn't have my phone. Well, I could just ask Dad to do it tomorrow. Asking for it now was just silly. I pulled the mask off, accidentally catching myself on the face with something metal. Ow. I glanced at my wrist as I rubbed my cheek. Oh right, these things. I’d tried to take them off the costume, but they wouldn’t budge. Flat metal disks attached at the wrist. I had no idea what they were. Some kind of security tag maybe? But why have two of them? I poked at one. They were probably just useless. I would cut them out, but having holes in the wrists of the costume would probably be a bit too weird. Suddenly in clicked, extending out further, one part clamping on to the bottom of my palm. Huh? That was cool. I pressed again and yelped, jumping backwards as a long strand of silk webbing shot forwards, attaching to my wardrobe door. I cried out, yanking my hand back and the already flimsy door came off its hinges crashing to the ground.

“What was that?!” Dad called out.

“N-nothing” I shouted back.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m okay” I responded. He grumbled a word of acknowledgment back and went silent. I let out a breath before looking back down at the webbing and my now broken wardrobe.

“Holy shit” I mumbled looking around. I quickly drew my blinds shut then fumbled with the web shooter on my wrist as a million thoughts raced through my mind. Finally, I managed to disconnect the web by double tapping the trigger on the bottom of my palm. Stumbling, I fell back onto my bed, and brought my face to my hands.

This didn't feel real. Either this was a really really well-designed costume and my imagination was running wild, or I had the actual Spider-Man suit. I sat up quickly, looking at myself in the mirror. No way this was the actual Spider-Man suit. I mean it had just been lying in the trash and Spider-Man was…

Spider-Man had quit. He’d thrown away his costume and quit.

The memory suddenly felt like a profound realisation, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I grabbed the mask staring at the large white eyes. No. No! This didn’t make any sense. He was just taking an extended break, right? I mean… he had to come back. Who else would save the city? The MDA were useless aside from being prison guards, and there was no way any of those minor league heroes over on Long Island could do half of what Spider-Man could do. They probably wouldn’t even make the trip to the city if he did quit.

I glanced back at myself in the mirror before looking down at the spider symbol on my chest. I needed to take this off. It was disrespectful. I jumped up, pulling at the suit. Struggling to untangle myself from it I writhed, failing to pull it off as the material stuck to my slightly sweaty skin. Crap. I couldn’t believe I’d mutilated the suit in my poor attempt to sew the holes together.

Shit! How could I have been so stupid?! I knew what the Spider-Man suit looked like. No label, a strange think but armoured material, fucking web-shooters! Even if I hadn’t been able to figure it out instantly, I should’ve clued in before trying it on. I finally pulled off, the top part of the costume, stumbling and catching myself on the wall. I lifted my feet and grabbed at the soles, pulling desperately as I panted. I stumbled, losing my balance and crashed to the floor.

“Yu?!” Dad called out.

“J-just getting something out from under my bed!”

“Well try to keep it down”

Right. Ok. I was panicking. I needed to calm down. I wiped sweat from my face, before closing my eyes and taking deep, steady breaths. My eyes flitted open again and I looked up at myself in the mirror, the mask out on the floor in front of me. I picked it up, and stared at it.

What did I do? I couldn’t just keep this. It was Spider-Man’s suit for crying out loud. But it didn’t feel right to just throw it away. Then what? Did I take it to the police? What would they say to me? They’d probably take me in for questioning and ask me how I got it. What did I say, I just found it in some dumpster in a back alley? No shot they believed me. Then should I tell the world Spider-Man was gone for good? I mean there were a lot of people that wanted to know. But what if he wasn’t? What if he had just thrown it away by accident, or it was just an old costume.

Yeah right he hadn't quit. He hadn’t appeared in over a month and I found his costume in the trash. I was reaching.

But even if I was right, wasn’t telling everyone dangerous? If the villains in hiding knew that for certain wouldn’t that cause some serious chaos. But I couldn’t just do nothing. I needed to get this to Spider-Man somehow. I needed to find him and convince him to be a hero again. But that was easier said than done. First, I had to find him.

But who in the world was he? Just some guy? How would I find him? Wait, he’d thrown the costume away in the middle of Astoria, so maybe he lived around here. Or maybe he’d picked somewhere far from his house. He didn’t have to live in Queens just because he’d thrown his suit away here. Dammit. Then what? Was there some kind of cryptic message I could put on the web for him to find? Some clue in the suit? I couldn’t wear this to the costume charity event at school. Could I?

I glanced at myself in the mirror. I mean... I'd get to wear Spider-Man's suit. It did look really cool and I didn’t exactly have anything else to wear. I furrowed my brow. Maybe I could just wear it without the mask.