Peter & Bucky Are Pals

Chapter 10

Peter was only mildly surprised to find Hill waiting for him in the kitchen the next morning, a warm bowl of oatmeal on the table. He’d had a sinking suspicion that they were being serious about accompanying him to and from school; he was proved correct. He sat down, shoveling oatmeal into his mouth with a muffled “fanks!” before nearly spitting it back out, having forgotten to check if it was cool enough to eat. His tongue felt like it’d been boiled, and his eyes watered copiously. Hill patted his head, trying to hide her amusement.

“Ow,” Peter mumbled, sucking air in through his mouth in attempt to cool his tongue.

“Good morning,” Hill said pleasantly, and Peter groaned.

“I’m thuffering.”

“Thorry,” Hill replied, her eyes twinkling. Peter pouted at her, stirring his oatmeal slowly.

“Where’s yours?” he asked after scooping another spoonful and blowing on it.

“I already ate mine,” said Hill. Peter stared.

“How?”

Hill shrugged. “Magic.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, and she laughed.

“I put mine in the freezer to cool it down.”

“I feel so betrayed.”

Hill patted his shoulder. “Eat. We leave in ten.”

Peter blew on his spoonful of oatmeal again, looked at it suspiciously, then ate it, relieved to find it agreeably warm.

“Work around the edges,” Hill told him. “They cool the fastest.”

“Huh. Smart,” Peter said. He scraped spoonfuls from the perimeter of his bowl, gulping them down quickly and succeeding in not burning his tongue again. He finished exactly ten minutes later, and placed his bowl in the sink before trotting after Hill to the elevator.

The air was brisk as they stepped out of the lobby; Pete shoved his hands in his pockets. Hill was wearing a light jacket, presumably having checked the weather before leaving. Peter should be more like her, he thought.

“What’s your first class?” she asked.

“Today’s Tuesday… Math.”

Hill nodded. “What are you guys working on?”

“Just logarithms and stuff. It’s really easy as long as you know the properties.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s alright,” Peter said, shrugging. “Sort of boring.”

“Because it’s too easy?” asked Hill.

“Yeah,” Peter replied, slightly hesitant. “I mean… I think I could’ve taken Calculus this year, but I’d have to test out of Precalc and I was sort of too lazy to do that. Or, well, I just didn’t really want to. I would’ve had to talk to the head of the department, and she’s scary. I don’t think she likes me.”

Hill narrowed her eyes.

“Oh god, now you have that avenging look on your face, which I guess is appropriate given your occupation, but please don’t talk to the department head! It’s fine. I’ll take Calculus next year.”