“What kind of look?”
“Like, a look. I can’t explain it.” Miles took a second to think about that moment in class. The way he was feeling, Chamberlain’s searing eyes. “I mean, you know how every time my spidey-sense starts buggin’ out and I run to see what’s going on and I never find anything?” Ganke nodded, and Miles continued. “Well, what if it’s coming from inside the classroom?”
“You mean…”
“I mean, what if it’s him setting it off?”
Ganke looked at Miles sideways, then closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “Look, Chamberlain’s definitely out of his mind. Like…out there. The mess he says in class proves that for sure. Plus, you know he probably eats stuff like cottage cheese, and anybody who eats that crap gotta be evil, not just to people around them, but also to their own taste buds and butts, because I hear cottage cheese makes you—”
“Ganke.” Miles put his hand up, waving the rest of that sentence off. Nobody wanted to think about Mr. Chamberlain that way.
“I’m just saying, I love you, but, bro, you’re reaching. And I get it. You need an excuse to get over the fact that you just blew it with Alicia.”
Miles pushed a gust of air from his nostrils, slapped his hands to his face and massaged his brow line. “I guess. Maybe you’re right.”
“Except…maybe not.” Ganke floated the orange paper over to Miles’s bed. “At least not about the Alicia thing.”
Ganke nodded mischievously as Miles grabbed the paper and held it up to his face.
THE BVA SENIOR CLASS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT, PRESENTS: THE SCHOOL GHOUL FEST
Miles slapped the paper down. “Ganke, we never go to this.”
“I know. Just figured it was worth a shot since you keep acting like your Super Hero days are over. Since you’ve decided people don’t need saving no more. And I feel you, why should you be responsible for looking out for so many strangers just because you have superhuman strength?” Ganke dramatically turned away.
“I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Come on,” Ganke pleaded, now turning back to Miles. “The city needs you, especially on Halloween. And even though this might be an opportunity to try to fix it with Alicia”—he pointed to the paper—“this is who you are. What you do.” Ganke put his arms out, palms up, and pretended to shoot some web. “You’re Spider-Man, whether you like it or not.”
“Ganke…don’t.” Miles’s tone shifted. He reached over and grabbed the invitation, skimmed the details. Judge, a sko-low who grew up in Flatbush, was deejaying. If he was controlling the music, it was guaranteed the party was going to be live. Miles studied the invitation again, as if it were some kind of code to cool. Or girls. Or cool girls. Like Alicia. Or…just a damn good time as Miles Morales. Not Spider-Man.
After a few moments, he lay flat on his back, the party invitation slipping from the mattress and sailing down to the floor. He’d always heard great things about the Halloween party. And Ganke was right, they’d missed it their freshman and sophomore years and, afterward, were forced to stomach the weeklong social media exhibition of selfies and group shots. Not to mention everyone talking about the yearly Halloween prank. Ugh. Miles always acted like it didn’t bother him. That he was unfazed by the fun on everyone’s faces. But the truth was, it got to him. A little.
But Ganke didn’t press the issue, not about the party or Miles’s “retirement.” Just let it rest until out of the blue, Miles’s alarm clock went off. Ganke flinched.
“Dude, you’re already awake.” At this point, Ganke had pulled a thick textbook from his bag and set it on his lap. He had also kicked off his shoes and was smelling the insides. Seriously, why?
“I know, but I set it just in case I fell asleep so I wouldn’t be late for work. Which, by the way, I wish I didn’t have to go to, because I’d rather be at the poetry event.” Miles couldn’t believe he’d just said that, but he needed more than just redemption with Alicia—he needed the extra credit. Miles sat back up, swiped both hands down his face as if he were wiping the tired off, then grabbed the notebook with his failed sijo attempts from the corner of his bed. “How am I supposed to work to keep some of the weight off my folks, and do stuff like extra credit? It’s hard to do extra anything, y’know?” Then, after a pregnant pause, Miles simply asked, “If I don’t go to this party, would you go without me?”
“Depends. Are you not going because you have to watch over the city dressed in tights and a mask?”
“No.”
“Then, yes.”
Miles hmph’d and glanced down at the invitation on the floor, a corny graphic of blood dripping and ghost emojis above the text.
“Okay.” He randomly lobbed the word in the air as if it were obvious what it was connected to.
“Okay…what?” Ganke was clearly confused.
“Okay, I’m in.” Miles sighed.
“In…?”
“Come on, Ganke. You know what I’m talking about.”
“The Halloween party?” His mouth twisted into an uncertain frown. “You sure you don’t think you should, you know…” Ganke did the awful web-shooting impression again.
“I just need to…not…be…all that,” Miles said awkwardly. “Look, we goin’ or not?”
And just like that, it was settled.
While Ganke, now bubbling with excitement, blabbered on about ideas for costumes, Miles got dressed for work. As he zipped up his backpack and wiggled his feet into his sneakers, he asked Ganke as casually as possible, “By the way, what about you? You going to the poetry club event?”
“Not sure yet. I mean, I want to because, you know…I got heat. But I also got chem homework.” He tapped the book he had resting on his lap. “Nothing like a little chemical bonding to round out the night.”
“I wish,” Miles replied, smirking. “Well, if for some reason you end up there, can you just apologize to Alicia for me?” Miles tossed his notebook in his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He headed toward the door, but stopped at Ganke’s desk and flipped through their mail. There was a letter with his name on it. Miles slipped it into his back pocket.
“Yeah, yeah, I got you.” Ganke thumbed up. “If I go, I’ll tell her.”
“Thanks, man.”
And as Miles pushed the door closed behind him, Ganke yelled, “That you love her!”