Avi2112
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Chapter 219
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 09:30:31 +0000 UTC"So, are the rumors true about you interning at Watson Tower? Or are you just lying?" Beth asked, her blue-green eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Beth, shut up," Betty snapped, giving her cousin an annoyed look. Then she turned to Penny with an apologetic smile. "Sorry—my cousin can be a little too straightforward sometimes." Her eyes kept darting to MJ in worry.
"It's fine. I know she works for the school paper," Penny replied with a wry smile.
In fact, both Betty Brant and her cousin Beth were quite popular around school. Not only were they part of the school newspaper, but both were undeniably pretty. Penny had heard her friend Ned countless times switching his "future girlfriend" pick between the bob cut brunette and the long-haired blonde every other week.
"So… is it true?" Beth pressed again, eyes wide with interest.
"It's true. She is not only interning at Watson Tower, but she even inve—"
MJ started to brag, pride in her voice, but Penny quickly squeezed her hand under the table.
She didn't want anyone at school knowing about her Microbot invention. She really hated being the center of attention.
MJ blinked at her in confusion, but after a glance at Penny's face, she stopped talking.
"Oh, are we talking about internships?" a familiar, bold voice rang out as Liz slid into the seat beside Penny, her breasts jiggling freely as she sat down.
"Yes! Liz, Penny's actually interning at Watson Tower," Betty said, glancing at Penny with newfound admiration.
"Oh, that's a given. She is our little genius, after all," Liz said with a grin, leaning in to ruffle Penny's hair.
Penny let out a nervous, awkward laugh.
"Wow, I thought me and my sister interning at the Daily Bugle was crazy enough," Beth said, jaw dropping slightly.
"Which—again—thank you, by the way, for asking your brother to get us those internships," Betty said, reaching across the table to take MJ's hands gratefully.
"It's fine. You girls are my friends—and you are both talented. So stop thanking me already," MJ said, smiling at them with a soft, sincere expression.
Penny's brown eyes sparkled as she looked at her redheaded friend. She knew MJ was genuinely kind. Just bringing her to this table, for example—most girls would think twice, too worried about their own reputation to be seen eating with "Puny Parker."
But not her. Never her.
MJ had this special kind of charm—something effortlessly radiant that made people gravitate toward her. She was really beautiful, inside and out.
"Is something wrong, Penny?" MJ asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah… n-no, nothing," Penny stammered, blinking rapidly. She had been staring without even realizing it, her cheeks now burning red.
"Well, you can speak here freely, don't be shy," MJ encouraged her warmly.
Penny wanted the ground to swallow her up from embarrassment, but the other girls at the table were clearly waiting for her to say something. Panicking, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Ah—I was just thinking that Gwen's also doing an internship at Oscorp, so… um, that's something too, I guess," she added with a nervous laugh.
"True, I completely forgot about Gwen Stacy," Beth said, nodding thoughtfully.
"Well, she could have joined you at Watson Tower, but she was more interested in Oscorp and their genetics lab," MJ said with a sigh.
"Oscorp, huh… my stepbrother works there," Liz said casually, sipping her juice.
"What? Liz, you have a brother?" Betty asked, eyes wide. "Why have we never heard about this before?"
"And more importantly, he works at Oscorp?" Beth added, clearly intrigued.
Even Penny looked surprised. Liz always came off as outgoing and open, but she rarely shared anything personal about her family.
"Yeah, it's no big deal," Liz replied with a shrug. "MJ already knew, though."
MJ nodded silently but didn't comment.
"So tell me about this mysterious brother of yours. Is he handsome? What's his name?" Betty asked in a swoony voice.
"You're asking the wrong questions. Is he a scientist at Oscorp? An engineer?" Beth asked eagerly.
Sigh. "His name's Mark Raxton, and he looks… okay, I guess. He is an assistant researcher or something over there," Liz said flatly, looking away. "Okay I don't want to talk about him anymore."
"He must be good-looking!" Betty declared with a confident nod.
"Ugh, right, he is your step-brother. That makes sense—otherwise, you wouldn't be so bad at science," Beth teased with a snicker.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's not talk about her stepbrother anymore, okay girls?" MJ cut in firmly, putting an end to the topic.
Penny noticed it immediately—talking about her brother was definitely making Liz uncomfortable.
"So Penny, how many other interns are there? Do you have your own office space?" Betty asked, shifting the conversation.
"Yeah, and can we come visit?" Beth added, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I… don't really know about the other interns," Penny replied awkwardly. She really hadn't interacted with anyone else there. "And I do have my own space, but I am not sure if visitors are allowed. I would have to ask," she added with a wry smile, glancing down. Truthfully, she was just politely turning them down—she didn't want any of the school girls coming to her lab.
"She's working on some pretty classified stuff, so visitations probably aren't possible right now," MJ said with a wink at Penny, clearly helping her out.
"Ugh, why are we talking so much about boring stuff like that? Let's talk about clothes, shoes, shopping—literally anything else," Liz groaned.
"Hmph. You don't understand, Liz. We have to start thinking about our futures now," Betty said seriously. "Beth and I will probably start working at the Daily Bugle after school. She is great at reporting, news and stuff, so she will definitely land a solid job there. And I will probably end up doing a secretary job at that place," she added with a sigh.
"Yeah, so it's smart to make connections early. We are not going to college, so this is our last real chance to meet people who could help us later," Beth said, nodding.
"…Who said I am not thinking about my future?" Liz muttered quietly, looking away.
Penny glanced around the table, seeing the group in a new light. She hadn't realized that even popular girls like Betty, Beth, and Liz were already worrying about the future.
"…What to do in the future, huh," she murmured, lost in thought.
"The topic got a bit heavy all of a sudden," MJ said with a light smile. "Anyway, I was talking with my brother about your family situations. And he has agreed to set aside a fund for me to use, so I will be able to help any of you who want to pursue higher studies." She said it simply, like it was no big deal.
"Whoa, really?" Beth asked in surprise.
"Thank you—thank you so much, MJ. B-but that's way too much—" Betty stammered awkwardly.
"It's not charity," MJ clarified. "It's just a loan. You won't have to pay me—or us—back anytime soon. And even if you don't, it's not the end of the world," she added with her usual easygoing smile.
"But still, that wouldn't be right. We should pay it back," Beth said, crossing her arms.
"Y-yeah," Betty nodded, though she still looked unsure.
Sigh. "Look, paying back doesn't always mean handing over money," MJ explained patiently. "My brother said major corporations that do this kind of investment things rarely care about getting their money back. Not directly, anyway."
"So what, they want our organs?" Beth asked, eyes wide in alarm.
"You idiot," Betty muttered, knocking her on the head lightly with a sigh. "She means favors."
"Exactly," MJ said with a chuckle. "Think of it like an unwritten IOU. And I trust you girls to help me out if I ever need something in the future… whatever it may be." Her smile was warm, not threatening in the slightest.
"That doesn't sound so bad," Beth said, considering it.
"E-even without that kind of deal, I would help you no matter what, MJ. You're my—our—very good friend," Betty said, reaching out and taking MJ's hand.
"Thanks, Betty," MJ said, patting her hand affectionately.
"College, huh…" Liz muttered with a sigh, staring off.
Penny smiled wryly to herself. She already knew Aunt May had been talking with Aunt Madeline and MJ about her college plans. Even Luke had been encouraging her to reconsider going to college instead of jumping straight into a job at Watson Labs.
"Okay so, do we have to meet your brother for this deal?" Betty asked with a mischievous smile.
"Nope, he has handed everything over to me," MJ replied, smiling casually.
"And what if we insist on making the deal with him directly?" Beth added with a smirk.
"You just want to interview my brother," MJ replied flatly, giving her a deadpan look.
"I m-mean, just one interview! I will only ask the prewritten questions, I promise," Beth pleaded. "It would look amazing on my resume to have a one-on-one with someone like him."
"E-even I wouldn't mind meeting him once," Betty said, a bit shyly.
"Hmph, you girls should stop dreaming. You have no chance," Liz cut in smugly.
"Oh, you mean because of that 'date' you had with him like two months ago?" Betty asked, air-quoting the word.
"It wasn't a 'date'—it was a proper date," Liz clarified, clearly annoyed.
Penny's eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. Luke… and Liz? She hadn't heard about any dates. Does that mean they're dating? Is Liz his girlfriend now? So he's not single anymore? Are they getting married? What about me? Did they already…?
Her thoughts started spiraling into chaos, questions colliding and multiplying in her head.
"So why haven't you gone on another date since then future Mrs Watson?" Beth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who said I haven't?" Liz replied with a pout.
"Ha! I don't believe it. If that were true, you would have bragged about it nonstop," Betty said with a smug grin. "He must've lost interest in a stupid girl like you."
"Th-that's not true! H-he is just been busy lately," Liz stammered, blushing. "B-but we have met a few times since then… and we have done other stuff."
"What? Really? C'mon, tell us!" Beth said, leaning in with sparkling eyes.
"Hey! I am not talking about that kind of stuff in front of his sister," Liz said loudly, glancing at MJ.
"MJ, can you go away for a second, please?" Beth asked sweetly, giving her big, pleading eyes.
MJ snorted. "Why should I? My brother's a shameless guy who dates my friends. Why should I be the one to feel awkward about his behavior?"
"Okay, you can stay and listen then," Beth said, turning to Liz with eager eyes. "C'mon, tell us—have you both had sex yet?"
"N-no… we want it to be special," Liz said, twirling a strand of her blonde hair between her fingers.
Penny exhaled—finally letting go of the breath she had been holding without realizing.
"Huh. How boring," Betty said with a snort.
"Hey! We have done plenty of ot—" Liz began, then quickly bit her tongue and turned red.
"Hey, why'd you stop? C'mon, tell us!" Beth urged, leaning closer.
"Hmph, I told you it was all make-believe," Betty scoffed.
"It's not," Liz shot back, clearly annoyed. "Okay, listen… Last time we went to the movies, his hands were inside my shirt the whole time," she added in a whisper, her face pink with embarrassment.
"Inside as in—you mean, o-oh!!" Betty gasped, eyes wide as everyone leaned in closer to listen.
"So Lucas Watson likes pretty girls with big boobs, huh? Good to know," Beth said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Luke likes pretty girls with… bigger breasts…" Penny whispered, eyes dropping to her own flat chest. She glanced at the others—MJ, Liz, Betty, even Beth—they were all super pretty and their breasts were way bigger than hers.
"Oh, tell us more! Did you guys kiss yet? Is he a good kisser?" Betty asked, flushed and giddy.
Suddenly, Penny stood up so fast her chair scraped the floor. "S-sorry, I-I have to go!" she blurted, grabbing her plate and turning away.
"Penny, what happened?" MJ asked in alarm.
"I-I can stop talking about that if you want," Liz said awkwardly.
"Yeah, we can change the topic," MJ added quickly, concerned.
"N-no, it's not that. Sorry," Penny said over her shoulder, walking faster—just needing to get away. She felt short of breath, not knowing why. She just didn't want to hear any more. She also didn't want to think anymore.
"Penny—" MJ started to follow, but Penny wasn't listening.
Then, all at once—her foot caught on to something.
She stumbled forward and crashed to the floor, her tray smashing beneath her. The plate's hot and sticky gravy soaked into her shirt. Her chest throbbed from the impact.
For a second, the world was still. Penny sat up, staring at the mess on her shirt. The smell of gravy clung to her like shame. Her hands trembled.
Then came the laugh.
Loud. Mocking. Cruel.
"Look! It's Puking Parker! Hahahaha!"
She didn't need to turn. That voice, that over-the-top laugh—she can reconginse it anywhere.
It was Flash.
Why? Penny thought numbly. Why does this always happen to me?
Comments
Orvious
So becoming spiderwoman will definitely boost her confidence a lot.
