chapter three; max ernst

It turned out that Peter was in a selection of Maggie's classes, she had just been a little too nervous to notice. He mentioned that he had seen her in Algebra that morning, and had caught her in the hall before she darted into her next class. He informed her of this this in sixth period when he, Ned and herself were tucked up in the centre of the room in Spanish class. 

"Sorry I didn't see you, I was really nervous, I guess." She muttered, and Peter smiled a little. Ned sat between them, his head moving back and forth, a small grin on his face. "D-Do you know if we have any other classes together?"

"Can I see your schedule?" Peter asked nervously, and Maggie pulled it out of her jacket pocket, handing it to Ned, who handed it to Peter. The brunet boy's eyes scanned the piece of paper, before he sat up a little straighter. "You have gym with us on Thursday and Friday, and you have Chemistry with Ned every other day."

"Sweet! We can sit together, I don't want to be by myself again this year." Ned exclaimed, and Maggie smiled a little. Ned wasn't too confident, but he was definitely more 'out there' compared to Peter, who was more timid and reserved. It had only been an hour since they'd met and she had already noticed that he was funny and loud, he talked too fast and he hated too much mustard on his hot dogs. 

Maggie didn't know how to respond, so she settled for an eager nod, which made the boys smile widen a little. Peter handed her back the schedule just as the teacher walked it, and Maggie took it, avoiding the flush in her cheeks when their hands brushed. She hadn't made contact with many people for years, especially a boy who was somewhat attractive. She couldn't deny that he was cute, but her general fear and embarrassment kept her from properly allowing herself to address it. 

"Buenas tardes a todos!" The woman wrote her name on the board at the front of the class, Señora Fernández. 

Maggie shoved her paper back in her pocket and composed herself, crossing her arms and awaiting the lesson with the familiar sickening whirling in her stomach. 

☆★

"Magnolia!" The enthusiastic voice of May Parker made Maggie jump in surprise. The curly haired girl's 'o' shaped face transitioned into an awkward smile as she turned to see the woman in the cereal isle. 

"Hi, Ms Parker." She responded shyly, and May chuckled. Even at the supermarket, she still appeared stylish. A striped shirt tucked into a pair of white jeans was enough for the middle aged woman to attract stares. Maggie could barely relate, her broad shoulders were tucked into a teal sweatshirt and a ripped pair of blue jeans. Unconscious insecurity flooded through her, even for reasons as ridiculous as the fact that May's trolley was half full compared to her overflowing basket. "H-How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good." May could see that Maggie wasn't the best at small talk, though she didn't mind all too much. "How was your first day? I reminded Peter to find you at lunch."

"Um, it was pretty good, he invited me to sit with him at lunch and it turns out we have a few classes together." Maggie replied, still uneasy. She wasn't expecting to run into anyone she knew, and she hadn't mentally prepared herself for any conversation. She was tired and a little antsy, so she was trying her best, though she didn't know how well she was doing. 

May smiled. It was warm and comforting, as if she understood why Maggie was so on edge. "What about extra curricular?"

"Peter and Ned took me to the big wall with the sign up sheets, so I chose a few to keep my dad happy." Maggie said, and it was true. She'd rather go home at the end of the day than stay longer at school voluntarily. "I, uh, signed up for the Arts club, homecoming committee and Ned convinced me to go for Decathlon."

"Really? That's great! They're going to Washington in a few weeks, I'm told." May mused, remembering something Peter must have said. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. Are you heading home?"

"Yeah, I'm just sorting out shopping so my dad doesn't have to." Maggie responded, gesturing the the heavy basket she held in her hands. "I just need to get it bagged up and I can walk home."

"Where abouts are you? I could give you a lift if you wanted?" May offered, and Maggie pursed her lips into a thin smile, politely shaking her head. 

"I live in the Baustine Apartments. I don't want to be a nuisance or anything." Maggie declined, and May raised a brow, though her smile widened. 

"That's a down the road from our building!" May chuckled, and Maggie swayed back and forth, not really sure she should burden the lovely woman. Though her father always told her not to trust strangers, she didn't really see May as a stranger, also because Peter seemed pretty normal. Besides, if she was some crazy person, their conversations wouldn't have taken place in an art gallery and in an unintimidating isle in the supermarket. 

Maybe Jack the Ripper liked cornflakes in the morning?

"I don't want to cause trouble, thank you for offering though." Maggie replied, and May frowned a little, knowing that the street wasn't awfully close. "I can walk home."

"You're gonna walk half an hour?" The woman asked softly, a little worried for Maggie, as it was turning evening and when she arrived home anything could have happened. "It's a long way with all that shopping."

"I'll be fine, thanks." Maggie smiled at May, before clearing her throat awkwardly and nodded at her. "I'll probably see you later, through Peter or something."

"If you don't have a way to get to school in the mornings, maybe Peter can catch the train with you." May offered, and Maggie nodded in agreement, knowing that she would have to start finding another way to get to school when her dad would be recovering from another long work night. 

"That actually sounds great, I'll probably get lost on the Subway first time anyway." She replied, inching toward the entrance of the isle and using her spare hand to wave at May. "Bye, May."

☆★

"How was your day?" Edward's voice flooded through the apartment as Maggie pressed the speakerphone button on her device. She had gotten back to the new home around five, as the she had to take a little detour due to roadworks that weren't happening earlier in the day. She didn't mind stopping at the supermarket for her dad, she knew he was far too busy to do so. 

That was how it was currently working in the Prince family. Edward went to work full-time and got paid proper money, and Maggie often sorted out the bills and the shopping, as even though she had a job too, she still wanted to contribute to the household where her father couldn't. She was good like that, she knew what needed to be done, and a lot of the time she was willing to do it, as long as it didn't involve speaking to many people. 

"It was okay. How was yours?" Maggie queried as she began putting groceries away in the small cupboard in the kitchen. She was slowly beginning to get used to the apartment, though a part of her still despised the limited living space. She had no freedom at all, and she felt claustrophobic due to the fact that she was essentially resided in a box with strangers above, below and either side of her. Where ever she went, Marty was trailing at her feet, so she always had to be careful not to trip over him every time she moved. 

"Fine, fine. Adrian's invited us to dinner with his family on Saturday, just so you know." Edward responded, and Maggie's face fell slightly at the thought of having to socialise more than she wanted to. Her sudden silence made her dad chuckle. "But that's not important. C'mon, kid. I wanna hear about your first day!"

"It really wasn't anything special, dad." Maggie chuckled, standing on her tiptoes so she could put the flour away. "I went to school, ate disgusting cafeteria food and went to the supermarket."

"Sounds like fun, tell me more." Maggie couldn't tell if her father was being sarcastic or not. "What about clubs? What did you sign up for?"

"Arts club, homecoming committee and Decathlon." 

"Great! What about friends? Did you make any new friends?"

"I don't know if I would call them friends, but I have a few new acquaintances. All the kids there are so smart, dad. I don't know how I'm supposed to hold up for the next few years." Maggie admitted as she placed the two-minute noodles on the top shelf, making sure they were visible for her father's quick meals when he was too tired to make a proper lunch. 

"Hey, you're smart too. I'm sure you'll be a great addition to all the extra curricular things you signed up for, and you're gonna ace all your projects and exams. If you're freaking out about it, I can always help you, or maybe I could get one of the smarter guys from work to help you out with the math stuff." Edward offered, and Maggie pulled a face slightly. She knew she was being quite teenager-y in that moment, but she couldn't help it. Edward sighed on the other line, and Maggie knew he had to go. "Sorry, kid. Work needs me. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Sure, be safe." Maggie said almost instinctively. She always said that to Edward whenever they were finishing a phone call. Since her mother, it was all she could really say. "I love you, dad."

"Love you too, sweetheart." Edward responded, before hanging up and leaving Maggie only in the company of her dog.

☆★

"Welcome to the Academic Decathlon team for twenty-seventeen!" A bearded man stood at the front of the classroom with a huge grin on his face. Magnolia was cooped up in the back corner, hiding behind Ned, who she was starting to grow closer to since their previous chemistry lesson. 

Just as requested the previous day, they sat beside one another and kept each other company, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Maggie spoke to another person without too much hesitation. For the first ten minutes they sat in an awkward silence, before Ned mentioned the new LEGO set he had gotten as a late birthday present, and Maggie was genuinely interested to hear what he had to say. The boy had responded with a grin and spent the lesson talking about all the things he loved, both teens overjoyed to share a passion for creating things and the Sci-Fi genre. Ned had even asked her about what her life was like at home, and actually listened when she told him. It was comforting, and she hoped to stay friends with him for a long time to come. 

"I'm Mr. Harrington, and I can see we have a better turnout compared to last year already!" The man cheered, and Maggie looked across the room to see two jock-type boys stand up and linger awkwardly. "Yes, boys? It's wonderful that you two are changing up your extra curricular activities this year! It's great to have representation!"

"Um, we thought this was Mountaineering." One of them muttered uncomfortably, and Mr. Harrington's face fell instantly. He frowned as he stared at the brawny students for a good minute or two. Then, he shook his head, gripping his clipboard. 

"Nope, that's two doors down." He muttered, forcing an optimistic tone and plastering a smile on his face as they trudged out the door, leaving the class of a dozen in a weird silence. Maggie shuffled anxiously in her seat, catching the attention of Peter, who smiled softly though she wasn't looked his way. "Anyway, we're gonna have two different teams that you can sort yourselves into, and the first competition will be this Friday. Come and see me if you want to quit, otherwise feel free to find your teams!"

"Maggie, come with us!" Ned grabbed Maggie's arm without warning, pulling her from her seat. She gasped in shock when she tripped over the leg of her chair and went flying into Peter. Quicker than she could've ever imagined, Peter grabbed her upper arms before either of them could fall. 

Maggie's frantic eyes rested on the brunet boy in front of her, whose mouth was slightly agape in surprise. She looked down at where his hands were, and immediately flushed bright red. "Wow, y-you have good reflexes."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Peter smiled, before briskly removing his hands once he realised he was still making contact with her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Maggie cleared her throat, before they both met each others eyes uneasily. Maggie broke the stare between them first and glanced over at Ned, who was chuckling to himself at the sight of the pair. "W-Who else is in our team?"

"Guys, we're a few short, come join us!" A soft voice called from across the room, catching the attention of the trio, as well as Michelle who had added herself to their group, which wasn't a problem at all. Maggie liked Michelle and her unique personality. She was sarcastic and deadpan, and the few words she spoke were usually worth listening to. 

"Dude, did you hear that?!" Ned hissed over at Peter, who was still a little flustered from the incident a moment ago. "Liz wants us on her team!"

"W-What?" Peter stuttered, his eyes widening and fraction and turning his head so quick Maggie thought he might have gotten whiplash or something. She followed where he was looking and saw a tall girl who appeared older than them. She was stunning, with long dark hair and pouted lips. Maggie felt her heart drop a little, though she didn't know why. This must be Liz Toomes. 

"C'mon, guys." Ned grinned, gesturing for them to follow him over to the group of desks where Liz was sitting with a group of people. "Hey, Liz."

"Hey, you're Ned, right?" Liz asked kindly, before her eyes travelled across the other three, stopping at Maggie. "Maggie Prince? My dad said you started here yesterday."

"Yeah, hi." Maggie nodded, awkwardly smiling at the senior. Liz returned the gesture easily, before looking over at the team who were staring at them.

"This is Betty, Flash, Cindy, Abe, Charles and Blue." Liz introduced them all, all of them waving except Flash, who looked each of them up and down before turning away. "The limit of people on stage is six, but we can have alternates each time."

"Why the hell do you have a shitty drawing on your phone case?" Flash interrupted Liz. Maggie glanced down at him in surprise to see that he was now staring straight at her with narrowed eyes. She froze slightly in shock when she realised he was talking to her, and her eyes flickered down to her phone and she furrowed her brows. Her phone case had a picture of Max Ernst's The Elephant Cubes on it, so she didn't really see a problem. "You have terrible taste."

"Art has nothing to do with taste." Maggie couldn't stop herself in responding, and Michelle released a dry chuckle from behind them. She had obviously caught the reference to the quote, though she didn't say anything when everyone turned to look at her. 

"I heard you didn't speak." Flash taunted, and Maggie glanced back at his small, relatively un-intimidating figure with a frown. "Rumour had it that you were mute."

"J-Just because she doesn't want to talk to you doesn't mean she's mute." Peter defended without thinking, and Maggie couldn't help the tiny smile that appeared on her face. 

"Don't call people that Flash, it's offensive." Betty muttered sensitively, and Flash rolled his eyes. 

"Whatever. Shut up, Penis Parker." He scoffed, before his gaze turned to Maggie again, who shifted uncomfortably. "If she's got a mouth on her, she can use it to stand up for herself."

"Anyway!" Liz interrupted, sliding a piece of paper onto the table, briefly defusing the argument. "Everyone write your numbers on here and the days you're free during the week and we'll go from there."

☆★

LOOK AT HER GO SHE'S WRITING A CHAPTER FINALLY!!!! 

hope you enjoyed this, i just want to hug and protect maggie (i'm probably gonna say this at the end of each chapter tbh i love her sm)

see you guys later! x