It was the weekend, early in the morning. The Midtown High School bus headed to the New York Museum of Natural History.

Peter sat by the window, resting his chin on his right hand as he watched the scenery speed past outside.

*If my memory is correct, today is the day Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man,* he thought. While visiting a radioactive science exhibit, he would be bitten by a radioactive creature, transforming him from a school nerd into Spider-Man.

As Peter pondered this, a loud "crack" interrupted his thoughts as something struck the glass window. A brightly colored butterfly had landed on the glass, its wings spread in a striking display.

Peter placed a hand on his chest and gazed at the butterfly with a slight frown. *Butterfly wings? That doesn't seem like a good sign. Hopefully, nothing unexpected happens today. I hope the butterfly effect from my arrival in this world doesn't cause any major changes.*

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Gwen said from her seat beside Peter, leaning over to admire the butterfly as well. Her injuries had mostly healed, allowing her to join the school trip.

"It's a monarch butterfly," she said, pressing her hand gently against the glass. Her fingers lined up with the butterfly's orange wings, which shimmered in the sunlight.

"Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect, Peter?" Gwen asked, turning to face him.

Peter was momentarily surprised but nodded. "Yeah, I know about it."

Having spent so much time in the hospital, Gwen was unusually chatty that day. "They say a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas."

She pulled her hand back and added, "When I was a kid, I used to wonder if butterflies knew the impact they could have—would they still fly?"

"I think," Peter paused before continuing, "they would still fly."

"Why?" Gwen asked, curious about Peter's reasoning.

"You can't stop them from flying unless you're willing to tie their wings," he replied.

Gwen was taken aback. She had expected Peter to dive into a scientific explanation, not offer such a poetic thought.

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"Okay, Peter, that actually makes a lot of sense. I used to imagine myself as a butterfly, just drifting on the wind. But who knows? Maybe we are all butterflies in a way."

Just as she finished speaking, the monarch butterfly took off from the glass, fluttering away.

Watching it go, Peter shook his head and said, "Maybe we're all just tiny specks of dust on its wings—insignificant in the grand scheme of things."

Gwen gave him a puzzled look before commenting, "You're different today, Peter."

"Am I?" Peter asked.

"I can vouch for that!" Harry, sitting in the row behind them, leaned forward with a grin. "Today, Peter is like a poet. Before, he was all about science."

Gwen shot Harry a disapproving look. "Were you eavesdropping on our conversation, Harry?"

"No, it's not eavesdropping if I'm sitting right here. Unless I plug my ears, I'm going to hear you," Harry said defensively. "Besides, we're friends. I thought we were honest with each other."

"So," Gwen said with a mischievous smile, "is that why you invited Peter over to your place but not me?"

She had already given Harry a hard time about inviting Peter's family over while she was stuck in the hospital.

Harry laughed nervously and quickly retreated back into his seat.

"It's strange. So many people at Midtown High were affected, yet the media seems to have completely forgotten about it. It's like it never happened, and it's only been two weeks," came a voice from the front of the bus.

Peter turned to see a blonde girl recording a video on her phone.

"That's Liz Allen, the student body president," Gwen explained, noticing Peter's interest.

"Hey, Gwen, can I interview you?" Liz asked as she approached with her phone. "Gwen Stacy, the last person seen at the scene of the football game incident. She even fought the spider monster! Come on, Gwen, say hello to everyone."

"Uh..." Gwen hesitated, raising her hand awkwardly before putting it down again. "What are you doing, Liz?"

"Like you see, I'm making a video to uncover the truth. I've been planning this for a while, and it's definitely going to get a ton of likes," Liz said confidently, pushing the phone closer to Gwen.

"So, Gwen, can you tell me what really happened that night? What did you do?" Liz bombarded Gwen with questions, leaving her flustered.

"I... I don't remember," Gwen stammered, looking toward Peter for help. But Peter just lifted his book to hide his face, pretending to read.

Gwen shot him an exasperated look. *So Peter can be a bit devious, too!*

"Sorry, I just don't remember," Gwen repeated to Liz.

"But some people saw you fighting the spider monster. They say you hit him with a piece of equipment. How did you do it?" Liz pressed on.

"I really don't remember," Gwen insisted.

"Come on, you must have felt something during that moment! Can you share what was going through your mind?"

Gwen finally snapped, "Liz, are you a reporter now?"

"No, I'm a video blogger. I release a new themed video every week. But hey, maybe journalism could be a good career for me after college," Liz replied with a shrug. Sensing that Gwen wasn't going to say more, she turned her attention to Peter.

"Hey, Peter, you're Peter Parker, right?" she asked, positioning her phone toward him. "You were falsely accused of killing Josh. How do you feel about that?"

Peter was left speechless. He realized that sometimes the most challenging people to deal with weren't superheroes like Iron Man, but persistent reporters

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