JAN 2007 - #20

Point of View: Jimmy Olsen and Mary Jane Watson by Chip Caroon

It was a late Friday afternoon. I was supposed to meet Peter and Victor at the Crib.

I was walking along, only a couple of blocks away, when I heard a familiar female voice calling my name.

"Hey, Jimmy! Wait up!"

I recognized the voice, and sighed. It was Carolyn Trainer. She was a girl I knew that went to Manhattan High. I took her to the prom, never really expecting anything to develop. But on senior skip day, something did, just not what I was expecting. Since then, I'd been paranoid every time I saw her.

Being nice, I turned and flashed a fake smile. "Carolyn! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied, falling into step beside me. "So, where're we going?"

"We're going nowhere. I'm going to the Crib."

"That's a bit harsh."

"I'm sorry, Carolyn, but ever since senior skip day, I've been uncomfortable around you."

"Every time?"

"Okay," I admitted, "maybe not every time, but still, my initial reaction to seeing you isn't exactly good."

"You scared we're going too far?"

"What? No! Not like that. Maybe you're going too far."

By now, we were standing in front of the Crib, and I was a bit worried, since if I pissed her off too much, she might make a highly visable scene.

"Me? But not you?"

"Considering I can't remember a lot of what happens when we're together," I mumbled.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. Listen, I'm just confused right now. I have a lot to deal with right now, and thinking is getting complicated. You doing anything tonight?"

Carolyn smiled. It was one of those playful smiles, like she was ready for me to ask.

"Not yet . . . "

"I'll come over. You'll be at your apartment, right?"

"Of course."

"I'll be there."

"I'll be waiting," Carolyn said as she walked away.

I shook my head and turned to walk in. Something just didn't feel right. I shrugged it off, and decided to worry with it later.

Mary Jane was standing behind the counter when I walked in.

"Hey, Jimmy," she said. "The usual?"

"Yeah," I said. "Peter and Victor at the back?"

"As always."

"Thanks." I started walking towards the rear. Peter and Victor always sat at the same place, in the back. At least this time, they didn't look like they were having one of their secret conversations.

"Hey, guys. Mind if I join you?"

"Knock yourself out," Victor replied. As I pulled up a chair, he added, "No Carolyn?"

"Uh, no . . . " Oh, man, why did he have to ask that? I was hoping to put that behind me for now.

"How are things between you?" Victor asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you two together?"

"Not really. In fact, she's starting to scare me."

Victor looked confused, so Peter filled him in. "She took Jimmy to second base, but he blacked out before they got all the way there."

While he said that, I wondered if I really should have told him. But I guess at the time, I really needed to tell someone.

Victor looked at me. "And you don't remember it?"

I shook my head. This was really starting to bug me now. Second base, and I can't remember it.

"At least tell me you got all the way there."

I shook my head again.

"Bummer." Victor took another sip of soda.

I heard some yelling or something. Loud voices, really. I turned my head a bit.

"Oh man, girl fight," I said.

"Hate to be in the middle of that one," Peter added.

"Wait a minute," Victor noted, "that looks like . . . damn. It's Natalie!"

Peter and I stood up fast. My chair nearly slid clear across the floor. We could see the fight clearly now. And I could see who was fighting. Sure enough, it was Natalie, but also Liz Allen. I also saw Flash Thompson half sitting, half standing beside Liz. If I remember the gossip correctly, they're becoming something of an item.

"Down, boy," Peter said. I turned my head and saw that Peter was holding Victor back. "That's one fight you don't want to be in the middle of."

"Dammit, Peter, my girlfriend's in that fight!"

"I'm sure she can take care of herself."

"Natalie! Liz! Stop!" Mary Jane exclaimed. I could only think how I was glad I wasn't in her position, trying to break the two girls up. There's nothing more brutal than a chick fight. Finally she pulled Natalie back and demanded, "what the hell has gotten into you, girl?"

Before Natalie could catch her breath and respond, I heard a large crashing sound. It didn't even take a full second to realize that it was caused by the shattering of the back window.

"Molten Man," Peter whispered.

I mentally kicked myself. This was a great photo opportunity. "Damn, I left my camera at home."

Molten Man reached out to Liz. "You're coming with me," he said.

Liz began crying. "No, Max!" she shouted.

"You will obey me!" Molten Man exclaimed, wrapping his left arm around Liz. Liz started banging her fists against Molten Man's chest and whereever else she could find a place to hit. She quickly stopped, after her hands starting burning.

And then, Flash decided to play hero. "Hey, get off her!" he yelled, charging Molten Man. A second later, he was crashing into my chair.

Victor and I bent down to help him, while Peter ran off, I assume to help the girls, and call for help.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," Flash replied. "I've taken rougher hits in football."

"Flash, a friendly word of advice," Victor said. "When a big guy that doesn't look completely human barges into a public place, and looks really pissed off, don't try to take him!"

"I wasn't thinking clearly."

"That's hardly surprising," I muttered. For Flash, not thinking clearly is standard operating procedure.

"Look, we better hide before he starts coming after us," Victor suggested. "Right now, he seems to be concentrated on Liz and her struggling."

"Good idea." I saw the stockroom behind the booth and pointed to it. "How about that room?"

"Looks good," Victor said, as we each grabbed one of Flash's shoulders and drug him in.

It wasn't too long before we heard someone shout "Spider-Man!" That was followed by sounds of a fight. I honestly can't remember how long we were in there. Any time you're stuck in a place and can't get out, though, time always goes slower.

The only problem was the fight didn't seem to die down. But then, a familiar smell tickled my nostrils.

"You guys smell that?" I asked.

"Something's on fire," Victor replied.

"We gotta get out of here!" Flash exclaimed, running through the door. Master of the obvious, he is.

Victor tried to warn him, but like any bit of intellegent information that Flash has been given, he ignored it.

Not hearing any screams of agnony from Flash, Victor and I came out of the stockroom ourselves.

I looked around. Molten Man was gone, but the building had caught fire.

It was a Friday afternoon, and as usual, I was working at the Crib. With college coming up, I was debating whether I should continue working there for much longer. The job was becoming close to unbearable. The customers were mostly friendly, but there were a few who continually forgot that we waitresses are only human.

Then there were my co-workers. Sure, there were a couple I got along great with. But the rest were either stuck up or just looked down at me.

While Friday afternoon's were our busiest, we always had a lot of time in between orders, and we all had work to do behind the main counter.

Two of the girls, Cynthia and Ashley were talking. Cynthia was one of those rich girls who really didn't have to work, but daddy made her, as a way to get her some experience in the real world. She's a beautiful blonde, I won't deny that. The guys are all over her. But she's also the girl who's going to be the first to get completely wasted at college. I wouldn't be surprised if that little drama queen failed out before the end of one semester.

Ashley was a brunette, about average looking. But she hung out with all the right girls to make her a desirable target as well. Her only problem is that she's too much of a follower, and can't really do anything well on her own.

I've overheard way too many conversations in the halls at school with guys drooling over those two and their clique of friends, it makes me sick.

To make things worse, my boyfriend was sitting in the back, and I couldn't come up with enough excuses to go back there.

"Oh, my gosh, if graduation is moved indoors, I don't know what I'd do!" Cynthia was moaning. "My dress is an outdoor dress, and will completely clash with the colors in the gym."

I wanted to puke.

"Oh, I know," Ashley replied with fake sincerity. Actually, I don't think she even knew what to think.

I figured I'd make my rounds and refill drinks. Anything to get away from this drivel. Grabbing my tray, I first headed to the table in the back that was usually occupied by Peter Parker and Victor Cranston.

As I came up, I heard Victor saying something about a long distance relationship.

"Who's maintaining a long distance relationship?" I asked.

Both guys were quiet and were staring at each other. I was getting ready to say something when Victor finally answered.

"Natalie's going to USC in the fall, MJ."

"That's in LA." I put my hand on Victor's shoulder, in an effort to comfort him. I'm not sure exactly why I felt it would help, since he had probably already been agonizing over this for a while. "That's going to be rough."

"I know," Victor replied.

Needing to change the subject, I looked down at my watch and then looked at Peter. "My shift ends in an hour. Have any plans for tonight?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure you have some for me." Peter smiled. I liked that. It was his playful smile.

"Not really. But I figured that we could go flying or something . . . "

Peter glared at me. He always hated when I brought that subject up.

"I thought I told you that I won't do that just anytime."

"You did on senior skip day . . . "

"Those were special circumstances."

"Is that a no?"

"Maybe. We'll see. Actually, there was a nice little place that I was hoping that we'd go."

"Where?"

"You'll see. Just wear something nice, but not too nice."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Something that you'd wear for a school picture, but not as nice as Sunday clothes."

"Gotcha," I said, doing one of my famous (okay, maybe not that famous) wink-and-turn moves.

After checking on a couple other tables, I walked back to the counter.

While I was filling some drinks, I looked up and saw Jimmy Olsen walking in. I figured he would be wanting to join the guys in the back.

"Hey, Jimmy. The usual?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Peter and Victor at the back?"

"As always."

"Thanks." He turned and headed towards the back.

"Ugh," I heard Cynthia say. "What a geek."

"Jimmy's not that bad a guy," I replied, hoping to be able to talk some sense into Cynthia.

"Like you have any taste."

"You self-centered bitch."

Cynthia gasped and stormed into the back. I'm not sure if she was shocked that someone didn't like her, or if someone actually had the guts to tell her what she really was.

I was getting ready to pick up my tray when Natalie Casswell came in.

"Victor's in the back," I said. "Usual table."

"Hey, MJ," she replied. "Usual topics?"

"I don't think so. Jimmy's with them."

"Ah."

She seemed a little distant. I didn't want to ask her straight out if anything was wrong, but I knew I should say something.

"Victor told me about USC."

Natalie sighed. I got the feeling she wasn't comfortable talking about that. "I figured he would. I'm actually surprised he held it for this long."

"I gotta get these drinks to their tables. Want me to bring you anything?"

"Just a Coke, thanks."

I picked up another glass and began filling it with Coke. I set it on the tray and then picked it all up.

However, just as I walked around the counter, I saw chairs flying and two girls start fighting. Then I noticed who they were.

"Damn it, Natalie," I whispered, dropping the tray, and letting the drinks spill. I needed to get Natalie out of that fight.

"Natalie! Liz! Stop!" I exclaimed, jumping between the two. Breaking up a catfight is not one of the easiest things in the world, but I knew that I was the only one who could safely end this one. After what seemed like forever, I finally pulled Natalie back. "what the hell has gotten into you, girl?"

Natalie brushed her hair back. She was trying to catch her breath and either explain herself or apologize. I never figured out which she was going to do, because the large glass window behind the tables shattered.

I saw a familiar golden man standing, looking around and getting his bearings. It was Molten Man. How ironic, I thought. That's the one thing that Natalie was really pissed off at Liz about. At the after prom party, because of Liz's interference, Spider-Man was unable to stop Molten Man, who had hurt Victor. But even then, that usually wasn't enough to set Natalie off. Something else had to have been bugging her.

Molten Man reached out to Liz. "You're coming with me," he said.

Liz began crying. "No, Max!" she shouted.

"You will obey me!" Molten Man exclaimed, wrapping his left arm around Liz. Liz started hitting Molten Man. Not exactly the brightest thing in the world to do, with his skin being all hot and all.

"Hey, get off her!" Flash yelled, charging Molten Man. It took very little for Molten Man to throw Flash into Jimmy's chair.

Suddenly, I was tackled and dragged into the back room. It was Peter.

"I need your phone. I'm going to go get my camera out of your car and then call the cops."

"Be careful," I said, handing him the phone.

He rushed out. I turned and heard sobbing just down the hall. I walked a few steps and turned the corner. I saw Cynthia and Ashley crouched on the floor, hands covering their heads.

"Oh my god, oh my god," they kept chanting.

"Get a grip, girls. He's not coming back here. And it's not like it's the first time you've been in a situation like this. Crazy guys come out of the woodwork in this city." Just then I hoped that irony would not come to bite me in the ass just this once. I mean, I'm sure there are guys who pop out of wood . . . I'm not going to finish this sentence.

"Wait. You smell that?" Ashley asked.

I sniffed. "Smoke."

"The building's on fire?!" Cynthia shouted. She jumped up and starting running in circles. I grabbed her shoulders and slapped her face.

I've been waiting years to do that.

"Snap out of it! Running around like headless chickens doesn't help. Now, we have to get out of here!"