Kamala was sitting with her friends—Nakia and Bruno were there, along with Miguel and a blue-haired girl who had a look Kamala could only describe as 'distinctively lesbian.' Kamala remembered this girl snapping at her before. She didn't look comfortable, and frankly, Kamala didn't even know why the girl was here, but she kept munching on her sunflower seeds anyway.
"So, guys," Kamala started. "Nakia, if you're the one who brought Miguel, then..."
The blue-haired girl looked up sharply. "Noah!"
"Right, Noah," Kamala muttered. "Why are you here?"
Noah looked down at the floor before glancing back at them. "Mitch broke up with me."
Who even is Mitch? Kamala thought. Fortunately, Noah wasn't looking at her; she was looking at Miguel. Miguel offered a sympathetic look and explained, "You know Josh. Apparently, he finally provoked Mitch, convincing him he could find 'better' girls than Noah."
Nakia grumbled in frustration, taking Noah's hand. "Those idiots! Just ignore them, let them rot."
So, Noah isn't a lesbian after all, Kamala noted internally. Knull didn't respond. Are you too busy in your prison to talk to me? she wondered. But being imprisoned didn't make Knull any less of a god. His 'prison' was actually quite comfortable, aside from the loneliness. He had symbioses to deal with; some were even plotting to bring him back. Knull watched those thoughts with amusement; he knew the ones who feared and hated him far outnumbered his loyalists.
Meanwhile, Kamala continued to act as if Knull was always listening. She didn't feel embarrassed when he didn't reply. She felt she was becoming increasingly immune to second-hand embarrassment.
She offered Noah some support. It turned out Miguel and Noah were close friends, but Noah's popular crowd usually left no time for him. To change the subject, Kamala asked, "What do you think is going on between Josh and Zoe?"
Nakia's eyes lit up so bright everyone could see it. "Kamala! Finally, we're gossiping about something I actually care about!" Nakia hated Zoe because of her superiority complex, and she hated Josh even more—the guy was oblivious to how he treated people.
Kamala used to avoid gossiping about them because 'walls have ears.' If Zoe heard, life would be hell. Back then, Kamala couldn't have handled the school drama. She still didn't like it—school meant struggle—ama they talked carefully anyway. Kamala ordered a strawberry milkshake for Noah. Slowly, the girl cheered up. Across the table, Miguel and Bruno had drifted into a conversation about sports.
●
The next day was Monday—the most annoying day of the week. Everything had gone wrong since morning. She lost focus in Science class, messed up her experiment, and it ended up exploding in the teacher's face. What am I even doing at a school like Coles? Kamala thought. We're supposed to be Midtown High's rivals, but the building is just full of useless people like me. The teacher sentenced her to three weeks of cleaning the lab. During lunch, she buried her face in her hands, venting to Bruno. Nakia was coming in late that afternoon.
●
The afternoon was even worse, mostly thanks to Gym class. The coach seemed to have a personal vendetta against her, only remembering she existed when it was inconvenient. When it was time for volleyball, Kamala tried to sneak away.
"Camilia! No escaping!" the coach barked.
"My name isn't even Camilla," she whined to Nakia.
"Let's just play for a bit, then we can sit down," Nakia said sympathetically.
"Why are you so afraid of moving?" Knull's voice whispered mockingly in her mind. Kamala rolled her eyes internally. That's not the only problem. As the game started, Knull spoke again. "You're terrible. And I just noticed... your form is a mess. All that food is really starting to show."
"I'm getting body-shamed by a literal god," Kamala muttered under her breath. Just then, the ball flew toward her. She executed a perfect pass. A moment of silence followed; nobody expected her to actually be good.
Finally catching on, huh?" Nakia cheered. Kamala felt a spark of happiness. Knull went silent. That silence unnerved her. Did I offend him? she wondered.
Then came the disaster. A new group joined their four-person game: Zoe and three other girls. Zoe spiked the ball so hard it slammed directly into Kamala's face.
Later, after holding an ice pack to her face with Nakia's help, she changed in the locker room and walked home in a daze of sadness.
In her previous life, she never got the chance to finish tenth grade. Everything had been destroyed before she could. Now, she was a sophomore, crying in her room. Sometimes there was no big reason; even if she had seen worse days, the 'now' just felt heavier.
"Kamala... Why are you crying?" Knull asked.
"I don't know," Kamala whispered, shaking her head. Then she added, "I'm finally in the real world because of you. Thanks, God of Darkness."
"God of Darkness and Symbiotes," Knull corrected her. When she didn't react, his voice took on a playful, haunting tone—the kind you'd hear in a horror movie. "Soon, you shall worship me."
"What?" Kamala's eyebrows shot up.
"At this rate, I suspect you'll be converting religions soon."
"God forbid," Kamala snapped. "Never going to happen. You didn't create me, you don't even have a connection to this Earth. If you didn't create anything, you aren't a god."
Knull was silent for a beat. "I did create," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"The symbiotes, the abyss they inhabit, the world of shadow, and much more. I have done more than you can imagine, Kamala. But the selfish ones never gave me the reverence you give your God."
Kamala's expression was unreadable. She was thinking about the symbiotes' betrayal when her mother's voice calling from downstairs cut the conversation short.
Downstairs, she saw her brother Aamir standing by the table, video-calling someone. She peeked and saw Tyesha, his girlfriend.
"Hi, Tyesha!"
Aamir gently pushed her head away. "Sorry, Tyesha, we're sitting down for dinner. I have to go." Kamala saw him smiling shyly.
The dinner table was crowded. Kamala helped Muneeba bring out the plates.
"Ammi, Abu... when are we inviting Tyesha over for dinner? It would be great for us all to get together," Kamala said with a smile. Her father replied warmly:
"Whenever your brother finds the courage. Aamir thinks if she comes here, we'll just tell her all his embarrassing childhood stories."
Kamala leaned toward her brother, whispering like she was sharing a secret. "Maybe you should tell her the worst ones yourself first; then you'll have less to worry about."
Aamir narrowed his eyes at her. Kamala ignored the look, knowing he wasn't serious. Her eyes drifted to the Lamb Nihari on the table. The aroma hit her first.
But as she raised the spoon to her mouth, a wave of nausea hit her. She reached for a bottled water. Considering how much she had been through, this reaction felt almost normal.
Knull's grating voice echoed in her head: "It is normal food. It won't harm you."
I know that, Kamala thought, likening Knull to a AI. I just haven't done this in a long time. You know... family dinners.
Eventually, the nausea passed. After washing her hands, she retreated to her room. Her phone buzzed; it was a message from Bruno.
"Hey! Kamala, look at this. I'm not sure if it's real yet, but..."
-Link: Spider-Kid Saves People-
Kamala frowned. "Spider-Man..." she murmured. She texted back "Checking it now" and clicked the link.
The channel name was "QueensWatch." No surprise there; Spider-Man was a Queens legend. Or at least, he was in her other world. The view count was massive. This must be the video where he first gets recognized, she thought.
She sat cross-legged on her bed, focused. The video was typical street footage—low resolution and shaky. The camera focused on brick buildings against the sky.
Suddenly, a red-and-blue silhouette burst through the skyline. The figure performed incredible flips, swinging gracefully with webs.
At the top of a construction site, a massive water tank began to slide. Amidst the screams of people below, Spider-Man curved through the air toward it. His speed impressed her. For someone just starting out—or so she assumed—he was doing a brilliant job.
She watched him secure the tank with a single web-shot. In the final seconds, the hero glanced briefly at the camera before swinging away.
A strange shiver ran down her spine. Was Spider-Man this good the last time I watched this? In her memory, his early days were full of mistakes. He used to struggle with his balance. Nakia had even called that old video "amateur."
Is it because of the different universe? She couldn't figure it out.
A knock on the door startled her. "What is it, Ammi?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleepiness.
"Beta, what kind of reaction is that?" Muneeba scolded.
"Sorry, Ammi. What were you saying?"
"I just wanted to remind you about your driving test tomorrow. You might want to look at your notes before bed."
"That's tomorrow?!" Kamala jumped up, grabbing her study sheets. "Thanks for the heads-up, Ammi!"
Muneeba gave her a classic 'Muneeba look.' "Don't stay up too late. We have a lot to do tomorrow."