╔══════════════════╗

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
iii. NEW GIRL

╚══════════════════╝

  BEING THE NEW GIRL should've sucked, but for Riley, it might've been one of the best things to ever happen to her. A true blessing in disguise, Riley was relieved to have the opportunity to start fresh in a new place where no one knew her, her name, or the accident that haunted her for the past 13 years, even if it was temporary and under unusual circumstances.

  Growing up, her coworkers at S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't necessarily adore Riley because of her age and how quickly she moved up the ranks. As an adult, they found it insulting to work alongside a child, who should have been grouped with the other child agents instead. She was intrigued by this fresh start because maybe now, she'd get to learn what it's like to work with people her age; people who didn't hate her for stupid reasons. Sure, it would only be for a few months, but a taste of a different life she'd always pondered was better than nothing.

  Riley didn't know what to expect. She was thinking high school would be like Clueless or even Mean Girls—not Jurassic Park.

  Because, honestly, being the new girl just meant that everyone stared at you like you were a goddamn dinosaur: fascinated, but also a little uncomfortable and confused.

  Riley wondered what high school kids were like. She didn't have many friends growing up, never mind ones that were her age. The closest she ever got was the Maximoff twins, and they were in their twenties. Hell, Riley didn't know many people growing up that liked her enough to bother trying to be her friend.

  Maybe Riley was just an optimist, but it wasn't terrible. She liked being able to tell who liked her and who didn't. It made work relationships a lot simpler. Besides, she didn't care about her old colleagues. She really just cared about the Avengers now, give or take a few remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that survived after the HYDRA infiltration in 2014.

  Riley was a little worried because she wasn't sure how to get "in" with kids her age. She didn't know what real teens were like. She was pretty sure none of these kids had even been shot before or nearly killed by the Winter Soldier on numerous occasions, so what was she supposed to bond with them over?

  Riley had enrolled at Midtown High just a few months following the beginning of the fall semester, which meant that everyone knew everyone except for her. She felt like she had repeated the phrase, "Hi, I'm Riley. It's nice to meet you," so many times that her own name was starting to sound foreign in her mouth.

  Don't get her wrong, she enjoyed socializing and meeting new people. Part of her career was networking and befriending people for future reference, like Dr. Helen Cho, for example. But those people were typically well-distinguished adults: spies, doctors, lawyers, soldiers. Who would've thought that talking to teenagers would feel like such a chore?

  Luckily, her classmates were more concerned about her cooler counterpart instead of the oh-so mysterious new girl. Valor's appearance at the local donut shop robbery was the peak of everyone's conversations. She would've never thought that this many people cared about the Avengers and their whereabouts, especially after the whole Sokovia Accords ordeal.

  Seriously, Riley thought the entire world hated the Avengers with the way Secretary Ross spoke about them.

  BANG! The door to Riley's third period English class slammed shut, drawing the classroom's attention instantly, like a magnet. She snapped her head toward the door, tense after the unsettling noise, as a boy walked in. Riley recognized him immediately, probably because he was the only person she was supposed to worry about. This was—

  "Mr. Parker," greeted Mrs. Steinfeld, their teacher. She was an older woman with frizzy hair and glasses so big you could see her crow's feet through the lens. She rubbed her temples, annoyed, but not entirely surprised by Peter Parker's late arrival. Riley wondered if that was a normal occurrence for him, "would you like to explain to me why you're late to my class?"

  Riley studied Peter, curious. She had yet to understand why Tony liked this kid so much, but she was hoping she'd find out soon. To her, Peter Parker seemed like the most ordinary boy on the planet, excluding his ironically extraordinary powers.

  His chestnut hair, curly and messy, bounced as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Ignoring the rosiness of his cheeks, his pale face was wrinkled with nervousness. Was he always so awkward? "I... uh..." Peter trailed off. He walked toward the educator, whispering something in her ear.

  Mrs. Steinfeld's eyes widened with a flurry of worry. "Why in the world were you held up speaking with the police!?"

   Riley noticed how he clenched his jaw as the classroom erupted with whispers, gossiping about their classmate. It was clear Peter didn't want Mrs. Steinfeld to announce this to the class, but she was indifferent. Peter sighed and hesitantly explained, "Well... I was a witness at the donut shop robbery this morning."

   "A witness, huh?" Riley's attention snapped toward the direction of Flash Thompson, causing her to immediately roll her eyes. Loud-mouthed, rude, and attention-seeking, she was already anything but a fan of the boy. "I bet Parker was held back 'cause he crapped his pants!"

  The class proceeded to loudly chatter about the donut shop robbery where Valor and the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man fought together. (By the way, she thought that was insulting, personally. She basically did all the work! But Riley figured now wasn't the time to point that out).

  Instead, Riley worked on the grammar worksheet on her weathered desk. She tuned the others out, not looking up again until she noticed Peter Parker sit down beside her. Huh.

  Riley's original plan had been to get to know Peter gradually over time; however, since his assigned seat was coincidentally beside hers, surely it wouldn't hurt to start the process earlier, right?

  Praying that Peter was someone she could chat with easily, Riley wore a friendly smile and turned to the boy. "So," she started, "what was it like being part of a robbery?"

   Peter glanced back at the girl, surprised. It was like she could see the alarms going off in his head, not because he hadn't seen her there, but because he hadn't been expecting her to talk to him. Judging how everyone reacted when Peter walked in and Flash immediately began to harass him, Riley sensed that he didn't have many friends at this school.

   His warm, brown eyes widened slightly. "It was, it was pretty cool," he admitted. Riley wondered why he was so nervous all of a sudden. She was just a normal girl as far as he was concerned. She noticed how he was stuttering through his words because he was just as excited as he was nervous. "Don't tell anyone, but I saw Valor up close. She's really, really cool."

   Riley's eyebrows arched upward, pretending to be intrigued. "Really? No way."

   "Way!" remarked Peter. "She and Spider-Man were like, right in front of me. I've never seen an Avenger fighting up close like that before. It was sick."

   Riley had to bite her tongue, desperately wanting to call out his horrible lying skills. Maybe she was able to see through it because she was trained by professionals. "Dang, that sounds really cool," she admitted.

   "Cool? Nah, it was epic," Peter enthused. Then, he paused. "So, are you new? I've never seen you before."

   Nodding, she formally stuck out her hand. "Today's my first day. I'm Riley."

   "Peter," he replied with a dopey smile. He extended his hand, but instead of shaking it, he slapped it and fist-bumped her. Riley stared at him in surprise for a moment, caught off-guard by this. "It's nice to meet ya. Can I see your schedule? Maybe we have more classes together."

   Shrugging off... whatever that was... Riley pulled out her neatly folded paper schedule, passing it to him without another word.

   Peter Parker skimmed the schedule with his bright eyes. "Whoa!" exclaimed Peter. "We have first, third, fourth, and seventh period together." Riley just knew that Tony had something to do with that coincidence. "I've never had that many classes with anyone ever... except maybe Flash." His thin lips curved downward at the mention of the boy.

   Riley glanced back at Flash as he balanced pencils on his sleeping desk partner's head. "What's his deal anyway? He's in my... our first period, and he's already the most annoying person I've met at this school."

   Peter smiled at this, knowing that most people actually liked Flash Thompson. "No idea, but I like you," Peter declared. His eyes suddenly widened. "I-I mean, not like that, of course! I just met you! I mean, you and I are gonna be great friends! That's all!"

   Snorting, Riley just said, "You are one interesting person, Peter," before going back to her work.

   "You know, I'm gonna take that as a compliment," the boy decided before turning to the worksheet Mrs. Steinfeld had handed to him. Peter glanced back at Riley. "I should take that as a compliment... right? Nah, you know what? I'm gonna take it as a compliment."

   Riley quietly laughed to herself, unknowingly smiling for the rest of the period at her first real encounter with Peter. She was already beginning to understand why Tony liked him. He was an underdog who just wanted a chance like Riley once was. Maybe Tony just had a strange knack for taking random, underprivileged kids under his wing.

   With a new friendship under her belt, Riley's mission was already turning out to be way easier than she realized. Before she knew it, she would be back at the Avengers Facility, ready to fulfill real missions again, ones where she wouldn't have to babysit grown teenagers. Riley could practically taste the freedom on her tongue. Riley would go back to her normal life soon enough and all of this would be one hazy memory.

   She couldn't wait.