I'm making the Marvel Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 7 New Friends on the First Day of School

Chapter 7 New Friends on the First Day of School

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, and thank you for earlier." After shaking hands, Amadeus's gaze fell on the stun gun on Peter's wrist. "This looks ingeniously designed. If you don't mind... could I take a look?"

"Of course, no problem, here you go." As Peter removed the device, he subtly sized up his new classmate. He began to suspect that this was no coincidence—if this Amadeus Zhao was really the seventh-ranked genius in the Marvel Universe, why would he be sitting quietly in high school? A person like that should be pursuing a doctorate at an Ivy League school by the age of fifteen.

He had a vague premonition that his high school life was about to be filled with "superhero" drama.

"The internal structure is simpler than I thought. Perhaps I should make one for self-defense." Amadeus examined the device carefully, a sheepish smile on his face.

So, Amadeus was at least smart enough to replicate his own stun gun? Very well, I have a little more evidence for my hypothesis.

"Based on my middle school experience, these kinds of things only make them beat you up more." Peter took the stun gun, secretly regretting that he couldn't modify it for a web-shooter—at least not with the battery specifications he could get his hands on. "The best way is to train harder, become strong enough that they won't dare bully you, like me. I was a bullied kid in middle school, but I practiced martial arts with my uncle, and the beatings I took decreased year by year."

"Alright, guys," Gwen's voice cut in at the opportune moment. She gestured to the surrounding students who were still watching, "Are you planning to chat here until dark? I don't like being stared at like a monkey in a zoo."

"Got it. Oh, this is Gwen, my childhood friend, neighbor, middle school classmate, and guardian angel—the kind who chases away bullies or takes me to the infirmary."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Gwen abruptly interrupted their desire to continue their conversation. "If we keep talking like this, we'll never be able to leave, Peter."

"Oh, right." Peter quickly changed the subject, gesturing unconsciously with his hands: "We were just discussing club recruitment, want to go check it out together?"

"Sure, we're all freshmen anyway."

As the four walked towards the square, various clubs were bustling with recruitment. The booths of sports and social clubs were crowded, but the three boys ignored the familiar recruitment tactics and tacitly avoided the mainstream club area. They headed towards clubs more suited to nerds.

"There really is a board game club." Peter looked at the deserted booths, a stark contrast to the bustling activity in other parts of the campus. "And...it looks so empty. I thought everyone really liked Dungeons & Dragons."

"Role-playing games are good for casual gatherings, but not for regular club activities." Harry shook his head and walked away, clearly uninterested in long-term role-playing.

Peter looked at Harry thoughtfully. He had been shocked by the name Amadeus earlier, but now he realized: why was it Harry Lyman and not Harry Osborn who was standing next to Peter Parker? Thinking back to the appearance of the white Osborn, the two did indeed look somewhat alike, given his preconceived notions.

Could Harry be the young master Osborn who was hiding his identity?

This is brilliant—a world's seventh genius disguised as an ordinary student, and an Osborn heir living in anonymity. While unconfirmed, Peter has already accepted these premises, after all, he is Spider-Man himself. Even disregarding their personal circumstances, the potential storylines involving these two students alone are captivating enough.

"I'm already bursting with anticipation for how 'exciting' my high school life will be over the next four years," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Gwen, who knew Peter well, raised an eyebrow, understanding that Peter didn't really mean he was looking forward to high school life: "Is it because there's no Lego club at school? Or is it because you lack fellow nerds and feel like you'll be an outsider for another four years?"

"I don't think I was isolated in junior high..."

"Wait, Peter, you like Lego?" Harry's eyes lit up, interrupting Peter, "Really?"

"My God! You actually have that one!" Amadeus exclaimed, and Peter was also taken aback—the $500 Lego set was far beyond his means, and he certainly couldn't ask his Uncle Ben for it.

Ironically, the cost of his two spare Spider-Man suits plus all the equipment was less than the cost of one of Harry's Lego sets.

"Wow..." Gwen looked at the two who had suddenly become very friendly, then turned to Peter, "Looks like I should leave—a rock band is more to my taste. I won't disturb your Lego meeting; I don't understand it anyway."

"Okay, see Gwen later. Oh... no, I have something to do after school today, so I might not be able to go home together? See you tomorrow, probably."

"Hmm?" Gwen smiled faintly. "Why use a question?"

"That's it? Call me if anything comes up," Peter added. "Um, make some good friends, you know, new school and stuff, that's about it."

"Don't worry, smart kid, I'm definitely more popular than you."

After watching Gwen wave goodbye and leave, Peter turned around and met Harry and Amadeus's mischievous gazes and malicious smiles.

"What's with those expressions?"

"Are you sure they're just neighbors?" Harry winked.

"Of course! We're still very good friends!" Peter quickly interrupted, but Harry ignored him and turned to Amadeus: "What do you think?"

"He's too timid in front of Gwen."

"I'm not a coward."

"So it's because that girl named Gwen is too controlling?"

"Okay, I chickened out." Peter decisively chose to avoid the topic. "Weren't you guys talking about Lego? How did it go?"

"Bang! Just what I was saying," Harry interrupted, "My place is a bit...inconvenient. Amadeus lives with a host family. So we don't have anywhere to build Lego. Could we build it at your place, Peter? Your family won't mind, will they?"

"No problem, just schedule a time." Peter gave a positive answer: "In fact, Aunt May will be very happy; I can bring my friends home to play together."

As the three chatted, they passed by one club recruitment event after another. Unsurprisingly, after lingering for a short while in front of the anime club, they left together, none of them daring to openly sign up.

Harry was drawn to the tennis club, while Peter and Amadeus struck up conversations with upperclassmen from the astronomy and geology clubs. In the end, however, both of them, short on cash, chose to decline these clubs.

"Astronomy requires expensive equipment, and geology isn't really a science at all," Peter finally sighed.

"Completely agree, geology is practically metaphysics," Amadeus chimed in.

Harry, who was looked down upon by the tennis club, looked at them speechlessly and tentatively asked, "I'm still very interested in science. Is geology really that bad?"

"Yes!"

After the two little geniuses spoke in unison, Peter seemed to realize something: "Wait, is that girl... cosplaying as Sherlock Holmes?"

At a nearby stall where few people were lingering, a beautiful Latina girl, wearing a classic dark Ulster coat and a standard deerstalker hat—the same style Gwen had given Peter—was waving a club seal in her hand: "Detective Agency recruiting! Interested? Just answer the introductory question to join? Anyone interested?"

"What do detective agencies usually do? Do they handle school assignments?"

Peter inquired with some interest, but the senior seemed rather discouraged by his words: "No, almost no one in the school commissions the detective club to do any serious reasoning work. All we do is find time to hold book club meetings and design mystery puzzles and such..."

"I'm in." Amadeus answered instantly as he approached the booth, explaining to his companions' astonished gazes, "Isn't it great? We don't have to do anything at all; we just need to read a few books and answer a few questions to get credits."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disappoint you, but!" The senior student, upon hearing Amadeus's explanation, unmistakably expressed her dissatisfaction: "You have to pass an entrance test. For example: A wealthy man who loved cipher games passed away unexpectedly. His will was locked in a five-figure safe, but no one knew the password. There was only a calendar on top of the safe, with March 15th circled..."

"31415," Peter and Amadeus said in unison.

"March 15th. Oh, Pi Day!" Harry realized in a second, looking at Peter and Amadeus: "You guys are quick on the uptake."

Yes, if it were across the Pacific Ocean it would probably be 12315 (China's consumer hotline), but this is America, so it can only be Pi Day.

"Alright, I think the three of you should be able to join the detective agency. This is our club's form. After filling it out, just tell them Jessica sent you when you get to the club room. I'm the club president."

The three nodded silently and walked a short distance before starting their discussion.

"The club president is personally recruiting people?" Harry muttered to himself. "Is this club reliable?"

Peter does know a detective named Jessica Jones, but unfortunately, she shouldn't be a high school student anymore.

The three continued walking when Peter suddenly stopped in front of a large screen, looking at what was projected on it. It showed various part-time jobs at Midtown High School, and one of them, a job maintaining the website for the Daily Horn, particularly interested him.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Peter said, looking away. "I just saw something interesting."

PS: In the 616 main universe, Jessica Jones and Peter Parker were indeed high school classmates, but they are not in the universe of this book.

(End of this chapter)