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Mary Jane was furious.
Maybe furious was too strong of a word. Annoyed, in contrast, felt not strong enough. Concerned, however, almost felt like it was the perfect middle ground for what she was feeling. Stepping out of her car, she wasted no time in slamming the door and hurriedly storming across the parking lot towards the brick building encased within a metal, decorative fence. She was on a mission, and there was absolutely nothing in the world that would have been able to stop her.
She had considered herself lucky. Ever since May had started school, there hadn’t been hardly any notes or calls home about her daughter’s behavior. Considering the almost manic ball of energy that May had proven herself more than capable of being over the years, that had felt like a solid win. Certainly, there had been enough horror stories relayed to her over the years to make MJ feel more than relieved about that.
None of that relief, however, was anywhere to be found as she moved along the sidewalk, and up to the gate for the school.
She’d gotten the call while she’d been at a modelling shoot. Thankfully, it had been nearly over. No matter what, she would have left as soon as she had gotten that call. But the timing had at least prevented her from losing out on a part of her pay. As tight as things could get, even with both herself and Peter working, that was a risk neither of them could afford to take. Not when they both had May to worry about.
And considering all the work Gwen had gone through in order to get her that job, one of the last things she wanted was to make her look bad by flaking out on shoots. But then again, being called into May’s school for something was far from what she had wanted either.
Pushing her way through the lobby doors, MJ yanked on the handle to the school’s office. From the moment she entered, she could feel every set of eyes in the room fall upon her. Whether or not it was from knowing exactly why she’d been called in remained to be seen. Depending on what her daughter had done to warrant a call home, she could only hope it wasn’t that serious. After all, May hadn’t gotten into any trouble at all so far. Surely that had to be worth something.
“Mrs. Parker?” One of the secretaries called out, grabbing MJ’s attention as she signed herself in on the office’s book. Looking up, she saw the same woman gesture towards the principal’s office. “He’s expecting you.”
Not a good sign.
Finishing her signature, MJ didn’t linger. Moving towards the door, she turned the knob and made her way inside. Just as it had been in the main office, two sets of eyes turned to look at her. This time, however, one of them belonged to her daughter.
There wasn’t a single shred of innocence in May’s face. As far as her mother could see, at least. In fact, without hearing what had happened, Mary Jane could almost tell that, whatever had happened, her daughter had very clearly done something. The way her clothes were stained with a good heaping of grass stains didn’t do the younger Parker any favors either. In fact, it almost looked like she had been through a hurricane of some sorts.
If the signs Mary Jane had taken in the office had been discouraging, this was certainly no better.
“Mrs. Parker, please, come in, have a seat.” Staring at her from behind his desk, Principal O’Riley hardly looked pleased about the situation at hand any more than May did. Closing the door behind her, MJ quickly took a seat beside May.
“Can I ask what this is about?” she asked, the words having hardly left her lips before she turned her attention onto her daughter. Despite the way she looked disheveled, it was clear that May hadn’t been crying at all. That much was reassuring that she wasn’t hurt. The dirt and crumbled look of her clothes notwithstanding. Compared to the way it had looked when she’d last seen it that morning, May’s hair hadn’t fared much better either.
“Well, it would seem that May got into a fight with an older student today. From what I’ve been able to gather, she was the one who started all of it.” The principal offered, more than showing his unhappiness with the circumstances.
“Nuh-uh! That’s not true!” May immediately protested. If her principal’s voice had been full of unhappiness, then hers was brimming with fire well beyond her tiny frame and years.
“May!” Already fully in mom mode, Mary Jane gave her a look that made it clear she was far from happy. Normally, that would have been all it would take to have the youngest Parker back down. Instead, however, it seemed almost completely ineffective.
“But he started it! He was making fun of Courtney! He made her cry!” Refusing to waver, even in the face of a very angry mom, Mayday virtually demanded to be believed.
“Even if that’s the case, there was no need to resort to violence! You should have told one of your teachers, and let them handle it.” Principal O’Riley chimed in. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, MJ could already tell the longer the conversation went on, the more annoyed she would get with his voice. Let alone how there was clearly a disconnect between what he thought had happened, and what her daughter was telling her.
Just from what she had heard, May seemed convinced she had done the right thing. If she felt that strongly about it, then MJ already knew she needed to at least hear the entire story.
“May, honey, I need you to tell me what happened. Calmly. Can you do that?” Nothing was left open for debate in MJ’s face. Despite how worked up she was, May could recognize that a million miles away. Grateful that someone was at least willing to hear her out, she forced herself to take a very deep breath. For the explanation she was about to give, she needed it.
“We were at recess playing hopscotch, and the second graders came over and started making fun of us. We told them to stop, but they didn’t wanna listen! They made Courtney start crying, so I screamed at them to leave us alone! Then one of them pushed me down, and started laughing at me!”
“So you didn’t start it. You were defending yourself and Courtney.” One of Mary Jane’s brows instantly arched. Compared to how the principal had worded things, it certainly sounded like what May had done had been purely out of self-defense. Something that should have instantly raised a few brows towards the older student.
“Yeah!” May insisted with a nod of her head. Just seeing the possibility that her mother did believe her was enough to bolster her spirits.
“Mrs. Parker, despite whatever might have happened, we have a very strict ‘no violence’ policy here. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask that you take May home, and I’ll also be giving her a detention.” While Mary Jane might have been moved by her daughter’s version of events, it was clear that Principal O’Riley’s response was very much the opposite. No sooner had he spoken those words did he find himself directly under Mary Jane’s gaze. And far from a happy one at that.
“Excuse me?!”
“Mrs. Parker, I realize that-”
“No, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.” Mary Jane quickly cut in, her voice sounding as outraged as May had been at being accused of starting what had happened.
“You’re telling me that my daughter defended herself, and you’re punishing her for it? Are you giving the boy who pushed her the same punishment?”
“As far as any of the teachers on duty saw, May was the first one to escalate things. So I think we have to set a precedent.” From the way that he was talking, it was obvious that O’Riley had no clue who he was dealing with. If the way that Mary Jane was staring at him was anything to go off of, however, he wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
“So your precedent is punishment for self-defense? Do you think she should be ok with being pushed down too?” MJ answered, giving the man her full attention now. Beside her, Mayday’s confidence continued to build as she hung on every one of her mother’s words.
“Mrs. Parker-”
“Don’t give me that!” Cutting him off, Mary Jane had no intention of giving him space to talk. Not after what she had heard so far. If this was what May had been dealing with before she had arrived, then the principal had already had enough time to talk.
“All I’ve heard so far is that another child bullied my daughter, and you want to let him go without any consequences whatsoever. How in the world does that sound right to you?!” As far as she was concerned, MJ knew there was a right answer to the question. One look at O’Riley made it clear that it was an answer he didn’t have. In fact, every passing second seemed to make him more and more uncomfortable with the situation. Especially when he was spending it all underneath MJ’s gaze.
For MJ, it was more than just that. After all these years, she hadn’t ever forgotten the things that she had seen Peter go through when they’d been younger. Every one of those years had carried with them a wish that she had spoken up more often. She had done so more than once, but for every time she had gotten the bus to stop and let him on, there had been others she hadn’t stepped in.
If she could help it now, she wouldn’t allow May to be punished for trying to do not only what she could have done, but what she should have.
“I…” O’Riley stammered, trying his hardest to find something to say. For someone who typically was used to having his word be considered as law, the last thing he had been expecting was a parent arguing with him. And especially over something he all but had considered a closed and shut deal.
“Are you going to give the same punishment to the boy who pushed her down? Yes or no?” MJ asked again, hardly allowing him the room to breathe. The entire situation was beyond ridiculous, as far as she was concerned. If she needed to, she was more than willing to run this up the chain as far as it needed to go. But the very last thing she was going to do was sit by and allow her daughter to be blamed for merely sticking up for herself.
“As I said, there were no adults who witnessed what your daughter claimed happened. Just her reaction. It wouldn’t be exactly fair-”
“You keep using that word, and I don’t think you know what it means.” Shaking her head, MJ pushed herself out of her chair and back onto her feet. Behind his desk, O’Riley looked like he was bracing himself for MJ to somehow launch herself over his desk and get at him. The entire idea was utterly insane.
“Mrs. Parker, I…I-”
“Don’t bother.” Refusing to hide her disgust with her daughter’s principal in any way, MJ turned and very gently picked Mayday up into her arms.
“Mrs-”
“I’m taking my daughter home now. And for the record, I will not be expecting her to spend any time in detention. That’s final.” Glaring at Mr. O’Riley, Mary Jane’s expression made it abundantly clear that the conversation was over, as far as she was concerned. Whether or not the man in front of her recognized that or not remained to be seen. After letting him squirm under her gaze for a bit longer, she turned towards the door, and never looked back.
She ignored the way that everyone in the office once again turned to look at her as well. It was obvious that they had been listening, or at the very least, they’d been expecting some kind of a blowup. Knowing that only strengthened MJ’s resolve not to give them anything more than the same glare she’d already wielded against their boss.
Setting May down on her own two feet, she knelt down so that they were at eye-level with one another.
“Honey, go get your backpack, ok? After that, we’re going home.” May didn’t need to be told twice. With a quick nod, she turned and was out the door before her mother had even risen back to her full height. By the time she had, however, another voice came to her ears.
“Mrs. Parker, I really think we need to talk about this.” Principal O’Riley had managed to regain some of his composure, it seemed, and had followed her out to the office. Hearing his voice, MJ had to fight hard to keep from rolling her eyes. The man just didn’t know when to quit.
“I’m pretty sure that I said this conversation was over, Mr. O’Riley. I’m taking my daughter home now.” she answered simply. While she had already resolved not to completely explode, she was far from against giving the man any kind of ground whatsoever. That much was already a foregone conclusion, as far as she was concerned.
“I know what you said, I’m sure you must be angry. But you have to understand, we have rules in place for a reason, and while I’m sure you think May was justified-”
As a matter of fact, I do understand.” In the blink of an eye, Mary Jane had spun on her heel, her eyes filled with the same measure of resolve that had so firmly filled her body.
“I understand perfectly. You would have preferred that my daughter just took what had happened, ran to tell someone, and then hoped that they’d do something. Am I wrong?”
“...No, you are not.” In comparison, the resolve that O’Riley had found vanished just as quickly as it had arrived. Instead, he could only stand and try his best to withstand the fury coming his way. A fury that showed no signs of stopping just yet.
“Mr. O’Riley, do you remember what it was like being in school?” MJ countered, crossing her arms over her chest. It was purely a rhetorical question, but one that she knew he wouldn’t get a grasp of until she continued.
“Of course, I do.”
“Were you ever picked on?”
“Ocassionally.” Another nod from the principal.
“Then you remember what it was like being picked on, and not knowing if someone was going to help you.” Mary Jane didn’t flinch once as she looked into O’Riley’s eyes. As she watched the question wash over the man, she could see something stir inside of them. He had fallen directly into her trap. And there was no hiding it.
“I…” his sentence never had a chance to be born. Not when Mary Jane’s question had ensured it could only falter off into nothing.
“Because I remember very well how those people never got the help they needed. My husband? He lived with that almost every day.” Even with the space that separated them, Mary Jane’s presence made it seem like she was almost on top of him. What her presence didn’t do, her glare more than made up for. The longer that he stood under it, the more that Principal O’Riley felt like he was shrinking in size second by second, with no sign of recovering.
“And that will be the last thing my daughter has to live with.” There was a fire hat blazed in Mary Jane’s words, only outshown by the one currently burning in her eyes. As she continued to stand, the words still freshly spoken on her lips, the sound of the office door opening ended the conversation as well as any verbal salvo ever could have.
“I got all my stuff, Mommy.” Backpack securely on her person, Mayday seemed blissfully unaware of the conversation that had just unfolded in her absence. Giving O’Riley one last look, Mary Jane turned away, refocusing her attention completely on her daughter.
“Alright, bug, let’s go home then.” Holding out her hand to her, MJ served the rest of the room with no further sweeping glares. After what she had said and promised, there was nothing that could have been more effective than the sight of her walking out of the office, hand in hand with her daughter.
From that point forward, she didn’t doubt that the school would not want to deal with her again on the subject. And if they did, there was no doubt that this day would be fresh in all of their minds. As it was, Mary Jane was satisfied she had made her point. And now? There were more pressing matters now at hand.
“Mommy? Can we stop for ice-cream?”
It had taken a bit for her to get a response to her text. For Mary Jane, it hardly came as a surprise. Considering the scenes that were all too frequently the star of either local papers or the evening news, there was no reason for it not to be. But rather than being angry, she had almost been thankful for the time in between her sending the text to him, and finally hearing her phone vibrating in response.
<PETER: I’LL BE RIGHT THERE!>
There had been far less time between that text and the sound of someone charging up the stairs to the apartment. When she had finally heard the key being shoved in the door, MJ hadn’t any doubts about who it was.
“I’m here! I’m here!” Peter’s voice quickly filled the living room, coupled with the sound of the door closing behind him. He was out of breath, and while anyone else might have deduced it was from running up the flight of stairs to the apartment, MJ already knew he’d probably set a new record for how fast he’d webswung home.
“Ssshh!” Quickly pressing her finger to her lips, she gestured with her head towards the door to May’s bedroom. It hadn’t been easy, but after all the excitement that had happened, she’d finally managed to get their daughter to sleep. Of course, that simply meant she’d be up even earlier than usual as a result, but all things considered, that was a price MJ was more than willing to pay.
Looking back and forth between MJ and the decorated door, Peter quickly put one and one together. Making sure the door he’d just entered through was locked, he made his way over to the couch, and eased himself down just as fast.
“Sorry. I got here as quickly as I could. Didn’t see your text until after I was done fighting that Rhino guy again.” Considering the images still flashing across the TV screen, Peter knew that the explanation hadn’t been truly needed. But after all the time he and MJ had been married, she deserved it, and he wouldn’t dare try to think otherwise.
“It’s alright. Honestly, it was probably better if I went and got her.” MJ answered, reaching over and snatching the remote off the table, before turning the TV off. She knew the way her tone of voice sounded, even to her own ears, more than likely left no doubt how that entire meeting had gone. Truthfully, she was still more than a bit agitated. All things considered, she’d already given more than enough thought towards whether or not to call the school board and complain.
Doing so tonight, however, was about as good an idea as letting May have an entire can of soda just before her bedtime. And after the last time? That was a mistake she knew neither of them would ever make again.
“How bad was it?”
“May hit one of her classmates. But she wasn’t the one who started it. She says that the other student was bullying her and Courtney. So she stood up for herself. And now they want to give her a detention for it.” As she recounted what had happened, Mary Jane could feel all that annoyance coming right back to her. The hours that had passed hadn’t done much to quell the fury that had ignited inside her. And considering that there was still the matter of what might happen the coming day, there was still no sign of when it would stop.
For all she knew, talking to Peter about it would only make that fire morph into an outright inferno.
“What?” The disbelief in Peter’s voice was obvious. So far, May had been completely fine at school, without so much as a single note sent home with her. To go from that to hearing what he was now was like night and day. Knowing what the reason was softened the blow just a bit, but not completely.
“Exactly what I thought.” Leaning back into the sofa, MJ studied the ceiling for a moment. It was the kind of situation that would have been right at home on a soap opera of some kind. Only there wasn’t a live studio audience there to give the right cues.
“If she was defending herself, then why is she in trouble?” he asked, already wishing that he had been able to be there. Stopping Rhino had been a priority, sure, but so was May. If he had been there, at the very least he could have heard everything that had gone down. Especially since, clearly, MJ had had quite a lot to say. He could tell that just by looking at her face.
“Because they say none of the teachers saw him push May down. Only her reacting to it. Which apparently isn't enough to go on.”
“So they’re acting like she’s on trial? She defended herself. What was she supposed to do?” It was Peter’s turn to feel outrage flowing through him. As far as he was concerned, the only person who should have gotten in trouble was whoever had pushed May down. Remembering the fight he’d had with Flash Thompson shortly after getting his powers gave even more fuel to that fire. The most he had gotten for that had been a long, uncomfortable discussion with Uncle Ben and Aunt May about it afterwards. What was different about that compared to this?
“I asked them the same thing. Her principal couldn’t give me a straight answer. Other than ‘it’s just policy, Mrs. Parker’.” Opening her eyes, Mary Jane tilted her head to look at him, adopting an overly exaggerated voice as she quoted Principal O’Riley. Between the shoot and racing down to pick up May, she could admit that she was as spent as she had ever been. And with all the time she’d had after she and May had come home, she’d had more than a bit of time to think about everything.
Among other things the incident had made her remember and reflect on.
It had been years since graduation. In some ways, high school seemed like it had been part of an entirely different world. A world that, for all intents and purposes, had ceased to exist. There was no way to go back and change what had happened, but the more she had thought back to the times that she had seen Peter be bullied at the hands of their classmates, the more certain things had become unavoidable. Namely, things she wished she had done differently. And there were more of those than she would have liked.
“Do you remember that time that Flash knocked over those chemicals in Mr. Romita’s class?” she asked, changing the subject suddenly. Despite being taken off-guard, Peter nodded.
“In seventh grade?”
“Yeah.” MJ nodded.
“Yeah. He knocked them over and started a fire, then tried to say I did it. Some people believed him.” It had been a long while since Peter had thought about that memory. But now that it had been brought up, he could recall it almost like it had been yesterday. The entire incident wasn’t a source of fondness, certainly. But after all the time that had passed, much of the sting had certainly gone out of it. As for why Mary Jane had brought it up, however, was anyone’s guess.
“Do you remember what happened after that?” she asked, pressing a bit further.
“Pretty sure it was the running joke for a while at school. I definitely heard about it a lot after that.” Perhaps it was the adrenaline still running its course through his veins, but whatever point Mary Jane was trying to make, Peter had to admit was going over his head. But as he continued to look back at his wife, he at least knew there was a reason for bringing up something that he hadn’t given serious thought to in years.
“I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me something.” he asked, hoping to cut right to the point. Holding her gaze on him, Mary Jane nodded. Just seeing that look on her face made Peter pay even more attention than he already had.
“Do you wish more people had called him out? For making fun of you, instead of just watching it all happen?” There was no chance that he would have been able to not answer honestly. If he’d even had the desire to do so. More than once, Peter had imagined the very scenario his wife was now asking him about. And even if the years had softened some of the pain of those years, he would have been lying if he had said all of the sting had gone away.
It was something that nothing would be able to fully erase. Not even the passage of time itself held that much power. Something like an apology from the man who had caused so much of it didn’t hold that either. Peter was thankful for it, but there was no denying that the damage had already been done. Nothing could change that, and in some ways, Peter knew nothing ever would.
“Sometimes.” he started, letting out a long breath as she let the words come to him. Or tried to, at the very least.
“Only sometimes?”
“It’s complicated. He was a popular guy, and I wasn’t. Maybe someone could have done something, I don’t know. Maybe I could have stood up for myself sooner. At this point? I just try not to think about it too much.”
Listening, Mary Jane was silent for a moment, before reaching over and slipping her hand into his. The moment their hands became entwined, she squeezed gently, and didn’t let go. In her own way, she knew what he meant. Her own issues with her father had been like a cloud that refused to completely leave her. No matter how much effort she put forth to try and rid herself of it, it was never far away at all.
After all that Peter had gone through in school, whether she had seen it first hand or not, she didn’t have to imagine the helpless, angry feeling that had to have come with it. Not when she had lived with her own version of Flash Thompson for eighteen years of her life, and had wished more than once that someone would have tried to stop him.
“I wish I’d done more.” There was a certain way that Peter was used to hearing her talk. All his life, he had heard it, and had grown to love it in ways that even he didn’t fully understand. What he was hearing now was as far away from that familiar sound as anything could be. Coupled with the way that her gaze flickered away from him, as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at him while she made the admission, Peter’s concern continued to mount.
“You did plenty, MJ. How many times did you get the bus to stop for me when I missed it?” Now refusing to relinquish his hold on her hand, Peter turned himself so he could fully face her. Despite the way she had given him the reassuring squeeze earlier, MJ still kept her gaze on some other corner of the room. Any corner, for that matter. The more she felt her husband’s touch remain so lovingly in her own, however, the more she was unable to resist the silent beckon to look at him.
“How many times didn’t I” she countered, still unable to find that confidence that Peter loved so much.
“You couldn’t be everywhere, MJ. It’s ok.” Peter gave her hand another gentle squeeze. And as he met her gaze, he didn’t dare flinch. Staring back at him, MJ could feel him anchoring her against the storm currently threatening to wash her away within her own head. She squeezed his hand again, and didn’t think about letting go. And slowly, she could feel herself coming to shore once more.
For a while, the two of them simply sat there, taking what reassurance and love they needed from one another, in a way that words had no hope of expressing. Once, Dr. Octavius had spoken of how the best way to a woman’s heart was poetry. Sitting there with his wife now, however, Peter knew there was a better way. And it required far less talking or reading. Instead, it was simply making sure that Mary Jane knew he was right there. And he wouldn’t leave. No matter what.
“Do you think that’s why I got so angry at the principal?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between the two of them. “Because she did what I always wanted to?”
Whether or not it was a question that she truly wanted the answer to remained to be seen. But at the very least, it felt good to know that she wouldn’t find any kind of judgment from the man whose arms she was all too eager to be in.
“Maybe?” he answered honestly, wrapping an arm around her as she slid further down the couch into his embrace. For all the good that he had done for the city, he knew that he’d never find work as some kind of motivational speaker, certainly. But maybe that was for the best.
Content to simply melt into her husband’s embrace, Mary Jane closed her eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder. This was the part of life that she wished had come with some kind of an instruction manual. Not just the part of dealing with regrets she knew would probably never truly vanish, but the kinds of situations that being a parent had already thrown at her and Peter more than once already.
If this was what May had in store for them in the years to come, then she could only imagine how many times they’d find themselves in this same position again and again.
“What are we gonna do with her?” she asked, gently running her thumb along the top of Peter’s hand.
“...telling her not to beat people up might be a good place to start.” Something about that sentence, whether it was the way that Peter had worded it, or the way that he had said it, made Mary Jane laugh. Not a huge burst of it, but rather, a snort that made it even easier to smile. Opening her eyes, she twisted her head to look up at him, before nuzzling her way back into his shoulder.
“Maybe we can tell her that tomorrow…I’m kinda proud of her.” No matter where or how that conversation went with May, Mary Jane could be sure of one thing. She might not have gone about it the right way, but their daughter had shown she was more than willing to stand up. Not only for herself, but for her friends as well.
If she knew how to do that already? Then maybe they were doing alright at this parent thing after all.