Chapter 3: Tonight, the Universe Will Shine for Him (Please Collect!)
After leaving the old gymnasium, Hawk walked towards the parking lot.
He didn’t know what was happening behind him.
However, even if he did, he wouldn’t have paid attention to it.
Although Spider-Man is known as the number one IP character in American comics, to be honest, Hawk wasn't familiar with Peter.
Even though he was in the same grade as Peter.
By the time Hawk arrived at the parking lot with his single-shoulder bag, the door of the last orange school bus had already opened.
A bearded driver in a school uniform was bored, slumped over the steering wheel, fiddling with a portable radio.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Hall,” Hawk said politely as he got on the bus. “Any special news today?”
The bearded Mr. Hall looked extremely fierce.
But actually, Mr. Hall wasn't fierce at all.
Quite the opposite.
He was a good person.
“Still the news about the Quantico building collapse; they say it was a terrorist attack.” Mr. Hall, who was fiddling with his radio, looked at Hawk as he got on the bus, then checked the time on his wristwatch and said, “Hawk, you’re two minutes later today than yesterday.”
Hawk shrugged.
“Sorry, I got delayed by a shower today.”
“Good thing I know you take my bus home every day, otherwise I would have driven to the school gate. Sit down, we’re leaving.”
“Okay.”
Hawk remained polite, carrying his backpack, and walked towards the back.
Mr. Hall had already started the car and was about to close the door to pick up people at the school gate.
Just then.
Peter darted out from afar, almost squeezing in from outside just as the school bus door was about to close.
Mr. Hall was startled.
“Ho-ly…”
Perhaps thinking that swearing was impolite, Mr. Hall swallowed his words, then looked at the panting Peter who had squeezed in, and then at Flash Thompson and his three followers who had also run over outside.
Flash Thompson and his cronies did not get on the school bus; instead, they stood outside, watching Peter get on.
Mr. Hall’s gaze swept over Peter, who was on the bus, and Flash Thompson, who was outside, then he frowned at Flash Thompson and said, “Hey, are you guys getting on?”
Flash Thompson glanced at Mr. Hall, said nothing, but just turned around and left resentfully with his three followers.
Bullying classmates is one thing; bullying in front of school staff is another.
He was a bully, not a stupid bully.
Peter was not stupid either, so after Mr. Hall closed the door, he thanked Mr. Hall.
Mr. Hall glanced at Peter and said nothing.
He knew what was going on, but as long as there was no bullying on his bus, it was fine.
As for other places?
He was just a school bus driver; he couldn’t manage it, nor was it his responsibility.
Peter also stopped talking, instead turning around to find a place to sit, and then he saw Hawk sitting by the window at the very back, thought for a moment, and walked over.
“Thank you.”
“…”
Hawk, who had been staring out the window, lost in thought about the early morning of the next day, came back to his senses and looked at Peter standing in front of him, expressionless: “I didn’t help you with anything, you don’t need to thank me.”
After saying this, he turned his gaze back to the window, no longer paying attention to Peter.
He didn’t know if the current Peter had mutated yet.
Most likely, he hadn't yet become the Spider-Woman he remembered.
However…
Even if Peter mutated, he didn’t want to deal with Peter.
To be precise, he didn’t want to deal with any Super Heroes.
“Super Hero” sounds good, but in reality, it’s closely linked to various disasters.
Before he had his cheat, he never thought about rushing to deal with these Super Heroes; he just wanted to live longer. Having been reborn, he at least wanted to live to a ripe old age.
If possible, he wanted to study hard, improve every day, and strive to live a more carefree life.
Now that his cheat was online, Hawk’s original intention remained unchanged.
However…
From initially wanting to live a more carefree life, it changed to, if possible, living longer and living even more carefree.
But no matter which one, the prerequisite for achieving this goal was consistent.
One sentence.
Don’t get involved in the Super Heroes’ messes.
Therefore, even after he enrolled and learned about Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, he had no intention of proactively getting to know them.
But Gwen was different.
No way.
Gwen was their eleventh-grade student assistant, but dating the universally recognized number one girlfriend in American comics, Gwen Stacy?
Hawk had no such thoughts, at least not right now.
He wasn't qualified to talk about love yet.
Peter looked at Hawk, who had turned his head back to look at the scenery after saying that, opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, he thought about it and chose to keep quiet, turning around and sitting down on the seat to his right.
Soon.
The school bus drove to the school gate, and as Mr. Hall opened the door, students waiting for the last free school bus also boarded one after another.
The quiet environment inside the bus quickly became chattering.
An hour later.
Jackson Heights arrived.
Mr. Hall, who opened the door, smiled and bid farewell to Hawk, who was already standing at the bus door.
“See you tomorrow, Hawk.”
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Hall.”
Hawk also politely said goodbye, got off the school bus, and then walked towards an old five-story apartment building with a mottled orange exterior wall not far away.
The ownership of this old apartment building belonged to the New York City Housing Authority.
Hawk’s apartment was on the fifth floor, and although it wasn’t large, it had one advantage: he could easily access the apartment’s rooftop via the fire escape outside the window.
Soon.
Back home, Hawk placed his backpack on the table, then took out the plastic bag containing his washed clothes from the backpack, found two hangers, opened the window, and went up to the apartment rooftop via the fire escape outside.
After Hawk hung his clothes on the rooftop, he walked to the railing of the rooftop, leaned his hands on the railing, and looked up at the planes occasionally passing overhead, preparing to land at LaGuardia Airport not far away, or taking off from LaGuardia Airport.
He would count planes while enjoying the breeze.
This was one of his few hobbies for relaxation.
But recently, he had added a new hobby.
Stargazing!
Night fell.
Hawk sat on the ground, leaning against the apartment’s ventilation shaft behind him, enjoying the summer evening breeze while looking up at the starry sky that appeared after nightfall.
The starry sky was vast.
Stars twinkled.
Perhaps it was an illusion.
Starting about half a year ago, Hawk always felt that as he persistently continued to punch ten thousand times every day, he had a sense of connection with the vast starry sky.
This feeling was even stronger today.
The constellations that were still somewhat blurry when viewed with the naked eye last night were exceptionally clear today.
Pegasus!
dragon!
Cygnus!
Andromeda!
Phoenix!
…
Lacerta!
…
The forty-eight constellations symbolizing the forty-eight Bronze Saints were now in Hawk’s eyes.
It seemed.
Tonight.
The entire Universe would shine for him!!