𝟎𝟎𝟒 ⎯⎯ I'll Follow Him

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
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     "And you know this guy how?"
     Mary Anne didn't expect to run into Peter after school that day, but there was a lot of that happening recently.  She had been on her way to get a scoop of ice cream — a craving that needed squashing since approximately seven-thirty that morning — when she ran into Peter, who had been in the area doing God knows what.  Before she knew it, they were pressed shoulder to shoulder in the same ice cream parlour they used to frequent as kids.
     Peter was excitedly rehashing his house visit to Dr Connors and not holding back on any details on the new fascination to his old friend.  Mary Anne crossed her leg over the other as she leaned towards Peter, the two looking at some pictures he had taken on his smartphone.  "He used to work with my dad, I guess they used to do some cool experiments together," Peter explained, not taking his eyes away from the screen.  Mary Anne watched him, noting how interested he was in this.
     "Nerd."
     Peter scoffed at her, searching her face for any trace of a joke, but she was serious.  In all this time hanging out with Flash, Sammy and the gang she had become blatantly rude at times.  "Whatever."
     Seeing the way his eyes rolled before he returned to swiping through his pictures made Mary Anne's heart soften.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sure they did some cool projects together back in the day.  Did he say anything about your dad, maybe bring up old memories?"
     Mary Anne had never met Richard or Mary Parker, but she had heard so much about them that at times it felt like she must have known them in another life.  Especially since from the photographs she had seen, Peter was beginning to look a lot like his father.  From what she remembered of Peter's childhood bedroom, he even kept an old briefcase and other oddball things that his parent's had left behind.  She wasn't sure where he stood on those feelings now, though.
     "He didn't say much, but they were definitely working on something together, and I think he might want my help with it," Peter said, finally putting the phone down on the table.  He bit his lip anxiously and bounced his leg up and down as he waited for Mary Anne to say something.
     "Oh wow, you think you're gonna?" Mary asked, bringing a spoonful of her ice cream up to her mouth, letting the cool texture melt on her tongue as she listened to Peter.
     He shrugged awkwardly.  "I don't know, probably."
     "What about school?"
     "I'll just see him after school."
     "Wow, you are so lucky to have a scientist who wants to help you out.  I mean, my dad works in that department and I still have a hard time finding internships," she said, eyeing her cup.  
"Remember when we used to share a cup by ourselves?"