2 | NANNY ADVICE

ON A TYPICAL DAY, THE FOUR ROSS CHILDREN SAT IN THEIR ASSIGNED SEATS AT MIDTOWN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND LISTENED TO THEIR TEACHERS SPEAK ENDLESS SENTENCES ABOUT THEIR ASSIGNMENTS. For Maya and Ravi, they didn't mind most their classes. But Luke and Emma couldn't stop thinking about their afterschool plans. Such as Luke had dance with his twin sister, and Emma was uploading a new Kitty Couture video to her website. But Maya was in the middle of her unit three chemistry test and was struggling to remember anything on nomenclature that she had learned in the previous week. She knew she shouldn't cheat, but her two best friends were sitting right beside her.

Mary Jane Watson was flying through the test with a proud smile resting on her face as she bubbled in each circle on the scantron. Gwen Stacy was having a bit more trouble, but nonetheless was still flipping through the pages at a faster rate than Maya. The Ross teenager sat with a frustrated look in her eyes and her pencil tapping rapidly against the hard tabletop.

She was on question three.

Time was ticking by and the clock seemed to be mocking Maya as a drop of sweat rolled down the back of her neck. The pressure was getting to her and before she knew it, Peter Parker had turned in his test from the other side of the room. After him went Flash Thompson, then Michelle Jones, then Mary Jane, then Gwen, then Clayton Cole, and after six minutes, the entire class was done and waiting on Maya Ross.

She wanted to curl into a ball and weep. Robotics interested her, not chemistry. It annoyed her to n end how the teacher would just assume everyone learned what they needed to in three days and then move on when Maya was just starting to understand the first part of the previous lesson. As someone still trying to find their place in the world and their purpose, sitting in a chair that made her feel so small and weak did not help Maya's case.

Everyone in her family had a role and place, something they could call their own and that made them unique. Everyone but Maya. And as she started to think about her own environmental issues, her test remained unfinished and untouched in front of her. She had three bubbles filled in, and she wasn't even confident in those.

But she didn't have time to rush and full in random bubbles because the bell rang loudly in the school and bounced off the walls to reach Maya's ears. She was on the verge of tears when she slowly stood up and approached the teacher's desk to hand in her test. While the kids filed out of the room in a rush, Mary Jane and Gwen waited back for her, a look of hopefulness residing on their faces.

But as Maya extended her hand for the teacher to take her test, the woman frowned, "Did you need more time, Maya?" she wondered, a small tilt of her head making Maya debate if she did need extra assistance.

Deciding on her answer, Maya shook her head, "No, uh, I think that's all I know," she replied, watching the teacher place the test on her desk for grading. The woman smiled once again and glanced towards the door, "Alright, get to lunch," she told the girl who didn't hesitate to grab her bag from her friends and leave the classroom by their sides.

Her worries were clouding her thoughts and she couldn't focus on anything her friends were saying. By the time she got to lunch, she had tried to listen to the conversation happening right next to her but struggled, and her face had a tell-all sign of it.

When she neared the table she shared with Ravi, Luke, Flash, and her two best friends, Luke was already staring at her, a hint of concern on her face. The twins had memorized everything about each other years ago because they were all they had. If one was hurting or sad, the other could tell in an instant. And Luke knew something was wrong with her.

So as she sat down, she offered her biological brother a warm smile before pulling her bagged lunch from her backpack. Immediately, a new conversation between Luke and Gwen sparked up while Maya talked with Ravi about how the Lizard Club was doing. Flash, Luke, and Mary Jane started their own conversation, but no matter how interested Maya was in hearing about her brother's day, she was still thinking about her horrible test score, but she knew if she had gotten more time, she still would've failed.

•••

After a long day of school, Maya had never been happier to be at home, resting on her bed with a blanket covering her legs. She deserved a nap, and since dance practice was over with, she didn't see the harm in it. Besides, she figured she had about one and a half weeks before the teacher graded the chemistry tests so she had that much time before she was grounded for thirty-years. That's when Jessie said Luke would be out of the house, so that was always her allotted punishment time.

Not being in the mood for pranks or sarcastic comments made Jessie seriously concerned about the freckle-faced girl. Even Bertram was worried when his five o-clock insult wasn't given to him. He looked forward to entertaining the delinquent with a rapid comeback, but she wasn't in the mood.

So as her nanny, Jessie entered Maya's room and flipped on the light-switch, making Maya cringe at the bright light and sit up in annoyance. "I was trying to sleep," she remarked, leaning against the headboard while Jessie gently sat on the edge of the bed. "You can sleep when you tell me what's wrong," she urged.

Maya rolled her eyes, "Nothing is wrong. Why do you always assume something's wrong?"

"Well, Bertram isn't shouting insults at you yet, and that's on your schedule for every evening," she explained, making Maya shrug and nod in agreement. "And also, Luke said something was bothering you. He said it was a twin thing."

"Luke also thinks the Earth is flat, is his opinion really reliable?"

Jessie chuckled and patted her leg, "He's your brother, and he looks out for you. If there's one thing Luke knows, it's you."

Maya bit her lip and looked down. She was not going to tell Jessie about the test she had suffered through today, but she needed to tell someone she felt useless. She wanted to know if she's the only one that's ever felt this way. She could name one kid who she knew didn't, and that was Peter Parker - Straight A student with a Stark Internship. She had considered asking him for help more than once, but everyone knew the Ross kids as the rich, spoiled brats who had everything handed to them. If she approached someone like Peter Parker, that facade would wash away, and her life would come tumbling down with secrets exposed.

It was, however, a spur of the moment decision when Maya's words spilled out of her mouth and she couldn't stop. "Have you ever felt completely useless?" she questioned, startling Jessie with the abrupt question. "I-I just feel like I serve no purpose! Like the world wouldn't miss me if I just never existed. Everyone has their thing that makes them who they are and they actually contribute. Like Zuri is a businesswoman, Ravi is a reptile guru, Luke has a future in dancing, and Emma is a fashion critique. Heck, even Bertram has something!"

Jessie sighed and looked at the girl who she knew was strong, but was actually breaking apart. "Maya, you are good at lots of things."

"But it's not about being good. It's about being worth something. I don't want to be known as an heiress of money, I hate when my siblings throw their money around like confetti. And I don't want to dance for the rest of my life. That's all I have, and you know it, too," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest and staring at the comforter covering her legs.

"You aren't just an entertainment mogul heiress, Maya. You're you because of who you are."

"It sounds like you got that out of a fortune cookie. DId Tony take you to China Town, again?"

"That's beside the point," Jessie dismissed with a wave of her hand. "You'll find what you're good at. Man, I've seen you give great advice! The way you handle your sibling's problems is amazing. That's a talent, right there!"

"Giving advice to people my whole life? Isn't that like you and this nanny thing?"

Jessie raised an eyebrow and glared at the teenager who mumbled an apology for her bitterness. "You'll get somewhere, Maya. And if you need help, me and my fortune cookie wisdom are always here."

Maya cracked a small smile and let all that Jessie had said sink in. What she didn't realize was that Luke was on the other side of the door listening to his sister - the light of his life - say that she served no purpose. Determination grew inside him to make her feel like she did, and that was a new plan that he had developed before rushing off to his room to start.

However, the conversation didn't end there when Jessie remembered the girl had a chemistry test earlier that day. "So, how'd your test go? Chemistry, right?"

Maya grinned and folded her hands in her lap like a perfect child and she pulled on her best 'lying face' that fooled Jessie every time. "I think I did well. It was on nomenclature which is basically the naming of chemical formulas using ionic and covalent compounds while also understanding the concept of anions and cations," she explained, knowing that the more logic you use on Jessie will confuse her to the point where she thinks you did well because you memorized the objective list.

"Okay, okay, big words. Let's just call it an accomplishment and go eat dinner."

"Deal, but first, I need to go lower Bertram's confidence."