Quinn
saw Mr. DeMartino get annoyed as Ms. Li entered with a new student. “Good
Morning students! I have a new student to introduce. Mr. Harry Osborn!”
“Good
Morning!” Harry said as he waved to the class.
“I
trust that you will not treat him any more differently than any other new
student?”
“Of
course not, Angela!” DeMartino said.
“I
was talking to the students, Anthony!” Li shot back. “I know you won’t
treat any students with favoritism, no matter how well connected they are.”
DeMartino
grumbled. Quinn was sure that he wanted the interruption over with.
Harry
took an empty seat next a girl with brown hair. “You know my name,” he said to
her once the Principal had left the room.
“That
I do,” the girl responded haughtily.
“And,
what’s yours?” Harry pressed.
“Mr.
Osborn!” the teacher said. “Introductions can occur after class!”
“Sorry!”
Harry said, not entirely sincerely.
“Sandi,”
the girl answered quietly after the teacher had turned back to the board.
Quinn
had overheard the exchange between Harry Osborn and Sandi. ‘I hope he can
handle what he would be getting into,’ she thought. She also hoped that he
would be able to keep her company.
Harry
found Sandi during lunch. “So, I heard that you are lonely after some friends
deserted you,” he said.
“From
who?” Sandi asked.
“I’m
not sure. He’s blonde. Jeremy? Jamal?”
“One
of those,” Sandi said, with a frown.
“Anyway.
I could be a friend,” he said.
“Sure,”
Sandi said with a slight smile.
Harry
could tell she was plotting something, but he was sure that he could handle
whatever it was.
Quinn
was approaching the library, when Stacy called. “Stacy?”
“Did
you notice Harry and Sandi?” she asked.
“I
did,” Quinn answered.
“Like,
he’s cute, but a friendship with Sandi would rule him out.”
“It
may not last,” Quinn said.
“Are
you sure.”
“Of
course not, but it’s a possibility.”
“And
that they may plot,” Stacy fretted.
“Whatever
it is we can deal with it,” Quinn responded in a reassuring tone.
“Right.”
Anna
had heard Quinn and Stacy’s conversation. “I see someone has noticed the new
boy,” she said as Quinn entered the Library.
“Well,
he’s not just any new boy.”
“But
there would be a reason he’s here rather than Fielding.”
“Probably,”
Quinn responded.
Gerald
was late, again.
‘We’ll
wait five minutes,’ Quinn thought.
“So,
I have started on the speech,” Ben said.
“That’s
cool,” Quinn said.
“So
have I,” Anna said. “Although I was distracted by SpiderGirl passing by a few
times.”
‘Oops,’
Quinn thought.
Gerald
then came running in. “Sorry for the tardiness,” he said.
“It’s
OK,” Quinn responded.
“So,
we’re continuing our speeches?” Ben asked.
“Yes,”
Quinn answered.
That
session lasted for forty minutes before Ben excused himself. “I have to get
home.”
“That’s
OK,” Quinn said. “We’ll continue tomorrow.”
That
afternoon was uneventful. SpiderGirl patrolled the town on until sunset and
then went home.
Quinn
knew that both Daria and her mother often wondered where she was in the
evenings, so she had changed her activity such that she was home more often in
the early evenings. She had considered that was one reason why Ninja Talon had
become active, that she was stepping into that vacuum. She reflected on this as
she got ready for another night of chasing after that new vigilante after 9:30.
At
10:00 SpiderGirl heard a report that Ninja Talon had been sighted near the
creek. She then headed in that direction.
“SpiderGirl!”
Ninja Talon called out. “I knew you would be here!”
“Hi,
Ninja Talon,” SpiderGirl said. “You know I would like to talk. We can’t just
keep this mouse and cat game up forever.”
“We
could!”
“And
I’m sure that you would enjoy that.”
“True,”
Ninja Talon admitted.
“We
need to talk about our goals.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway,”
SpiderGirl said. “My goal is to stop Lawndale from becoming too much worse. Do
we agree on that.”
“Of
course! Some of my friends have been mugged recently.”
“Good.
But why are you now doing your thing?”
“That’s
personal!” Ninja Talon objected.
“I’ll
tell you my reason.”
“That
someone died?”
“I
haven’t told many people that,” SpiderGirl considered.
“Oh!”
the other said quietly. “I’m going to have to be more careful about that.”
“But
we have to trust each other if we do slip up in that area,” SpiderGirl said,
remembering that she had tried to find out if Stacy was Ninja Talon the
previous night.
“That’s
true,” Ninja Talon said. She sighed. “I trust you.”
“You
don’t have to,” SpiderGirl called out quietly. She looked around and saw that
there was no one nearby, nor did she hear anybody.
“As
you said, trust. That includes secret identities,” Ninja Talon said.
“Fine!
You first,” SpiderGirl said. She hoped that Ninja Talon wouldn’t actually go
ahead with it.
“OK!”
Ninja Talon said as she pulled off her mask.
“Brittany!”
SpiderGirl exclaimed, for she saw that the other girl was, indeed, Brittany
Taylor!
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