The talkative raven in the world of American comics

Chapter 5: The Fate of French Fries

The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the gauze curtains.

Peter sat up in bed before the alarm clock went off.

After successfully catching the murderer who killed Uncle Ben last night, he sat on the rooftop waiting for the police to arrive.

The police acted swiftly, and after arresting the murderer, they quickly contacted the victim's family, namely Aunt Mei and him.

Now that things have settled down, everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.

Peter looked out the window; the sun was shining brightly.

I have to go back to school.

He is still just a high school student.

"But where did Oz go?"

Peter got out of bed to wash up and pondered the whereabouts of the sharp-tongued crow.

He remembered that after returning home with Oz last night, the guy flapped his wings twice and left.

He wouldn't say where he was going when asked, just that he had something to do and needed to leave.

Recalling the scene of Oz leaving, Peter wondered if the guy had gone to the docks to make fries again.

Everyone says pigeons eat French fries, but how could a crow eat French fries?

And do you really think there will be fries at the dock in the middle of the night?

"puff--"

Peter spat out a mouthful of white foam, then rinsed his mouth, placed his hands on the bathroom mirror, and stared at himself.

His expression wasn't particularly positive; in fact, he looked somewhat haggard.

He knew that he couldn't get over Uncle Ben's death in just one night.

On the contrary, this matter will linger in his mind forever and will never be forgotten.

"Lift your head and keep walking."

Peter muttered to himself, "And don't forget what Uncle Ben said, Peter..."

......

......

......

Back at school, Peter felt a lot of stares in the hallway.

He had experienced it before; he had experienced it during an argument with his classmate Flesh.

The opponent attacked him once, and he retaliated after gaining the spider's power.

Peter sighed.

Damn it.

He thought of Uncle Ben again.

I'm reminded of that terrible day again.

Peter selectively ignored the sympathetic glances and went to his cabinet to place his books.

As he opened the cabinet, a very loud voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey, Parker!"

Peter recognized the voice; it was Flesh, whom he had just mentioned.

He sighed and said, "Flash, I'm not in the mood to fight you. Stay away from me."

"Don't be like that, buddy, I just—"

As soon as Flesh's hand touched Peter's shoulder, Peter grabbed it from behind, and in an instant, Flesh's body was lifted up and slammed against the metal cabinet with a jarring sound.

boom!

The loud noise attracted the attention of the students all around.

Encounters with Peter Parker always seem to be dramatic, with large numbers of students acting as spectators at each recent meeting.

Flesh had heard about Peter's recent ordeal, but he wasn't looking for an excuse to settle scores.

He looked into Peter's angry eyes, and the words of comfort he had prepared beforehand got stuck in his throat.

"Will this make you feel better?" Flesh asked in turn.

"..."

Peter remained silent, but the pressure on his hands loosened considerably.

Flesh explained, "I didn't mean to fight you, Parker. I heard about what happened to your uncle, and I feel sorry for you."

Fearing that Peter might not believe his story, Flesh added another sentence.

"real."

"..."

Peter shook his head, said nothing, took out the textbooks he needed, and silently turned to leave.

Peter turned around and saw a blonde girl looking at him with eyes full of heartache.

What beautiful eyes.

Peter thought to himself.

Normally, he would be happy to go up and talk to her, but he wasn't in the mood at all right now!

Whenever my thoughts about Uncle Ben lessen even a little, some small thing or person will always appear to remind me.

Hey Peter Parker, don't forget how Uncle Ben died!

This is so uncomfortable!

Compared to the fact that he doesn't easily think about things in his daily life, Oz's sarcastic remarks are much better.

Because this guy did it purely on purpose.

While Peter was lost in thought, the girl stepped forward and embraced the boy, who was much taller than her.

"Everything will be alright," she said.

The scent of a girl's hair lingered in his nostrils, easing Peter's agitated state considerably.

"What a double standard! He gives you a hard time when Thompson comforts you, but he turns a blind eye to pretty girls."

An untimely voice rang in Peter's ear.

Peter immediately broke free from the girl's embrace and looked toward the source of the sound.

Oz was lounging lazily on the classroom door sign not far away, holding a plate of golden fries in his arms, and even carrying a bottle of cola on his other wing.

If Oz didn't look exactly like a raven, Peter would have suspected that this guy was a fat cat!

Oz took a sip through his straw, burped, and said, "Why are you looking at me? Am I wrong?"

Peter asked, "What are you doing here?!"

"Come speed up your progress, or do you expect me to just keep playing around like this forever?" Oz said.

"What do you mean?"

Oz didn't answer him. Instead, he jumped down from the classroom door sign, clutched the fries and cola he had snatched, and ran towards the classroom next door with his toes pattering like a big black goose.

The comical scene made Peter forget everything else; he wanted to catch up and get to the bottom of it.

Seeing Peter suddenly acting strangely, Gwen Stacy, a girl standing nearby, asked worriedly:

Hey, are you okay?

Peter knew that only he could see Oz's appearance, but his subconscious actions were real.

He casually explained, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, see you later."

After saying that, Peter went straight to the classroom where Oz was.

I don't know if the crow was lucky or what, but the classroom it was in happened to be the one I was going to next, which saved me the trouble of looking for it.

Gwen, who remained where she was, was completely bewildered and couldn't understand Peter's actions at all.

What do you mean, see you later?

Has he forgotten that this class is in the same classroom as his?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside the classroom.

Peter crossed his arms and looked at Oz.

This guy just sat on his desk, slowly eating fries and occasionally taking a sip of cola.

Peter's teeth ached at the sight of his smug expression. "What exactly did you mean by that?!"

"Let me finish my fries first."

Peter couldn't help but cover his face. "You're absolutely insane! Why did I have to run into such a strange crow like you?"

Oz said, "Because you're the one who's worse off."

Peter retorted angrily, "I'm not as pitiful as you make me out to be! I still have family, I still have Aunt May!"

Oz's eyes widened: "So you're planning to send her away too?!"

"Fuck you!" Peter couldn't help but curse.

Ring ring—

The school bell rang on time, and Oz had only one fry left.

Upon spotting a girl, Oz used his mouth to pick up the crispy McDonald's fries and placed them on the table.

"Want one?"

Peter ignored him.

Oz shrugged and didn't eat the fry.

He placed his sharp claws on the fries. "I have to admit, you are very resilient, but the people around you are very fragile."

Click.

Oz stomped the fries in half.

"Just like this French fry."

Peter couldn't understand Oz's words, but subconsciously he turned around and glanced at the blonde girl behind him.

The girl responded to his gaze with a smile.