July 1.5.4- Heroic spectacles
Picture prompt
Peter loved comic books as a kid. Reading about the exploits of great heroes saving their cities from the bad guys was thrilling for him. These men and women made a difference in the world. They weren’t always loved for it, but they always did the right thing. Peter wanted to be like that when he grew up.
The only thing that really bugged him was Superman. How could this man of steel put on a pair of glasses and suddenly become mild-mannered Clark Kent? Other superheroes wore masks to hide their identity, but not Superman. All he needed were glasses and he blended in with the crowd. It didn’t make any sense to him as a child.
Why that memory decided to rise up during his second year of nursing school, he couldn’t be sure. Peter guessed it had something to do with his last visit to the optometrist.
It was a completely routine examination. He sat in the chair, reading off the letters on the eye chart until they became difficult to read. They tested both eyes showing him blurry pictures that grew steadily clearer. Peter slid out of the chair feeling like he did pretty well. Then the doctor approached him, and Peter had been in nursing school long enough to sense when bad news was about to be delivered.
“Peter, you’re going to need glasses.”
Not what he expected, and certainly not what he wanted to hear. He picked up frames that didn’t look too bad and slid them on his face. The new weight felt a bit odd at first. He turned to the nearest mirror to examine his new look.
He suddenly understood the mystery of Superman and Clark Kent. It took his mind a moment to register that the bespeckled stranger in the mirror was actually himself. He knew he was the same person but the glasses made him look different, almost like someone else. Trying on different styled frames made him see how each kind changed the look of his face just a little. He finally settled on ones that suited him.
Walking through the campus wearing his new glasses, Peter wondered what the other students thought. Did they recognize him or did it take them a moment just as it did with him? He headed up to his dorm room where he eagerly waited for his roommate’s opinion. Peter didn’t have to wait very long, and of course the moment they were in the same room Shawn’s eyes immediately landed on the glasses perched on his roommate’s nose.
“Whoa. Pete, when did you get those?”
“Today,” he answered, watching the other man closely. “What do you think?”
“Not bad,” Shawn decided. “I think they suit you.”
“Really?” Peter looked to the mirror again, tilting his head to the side as he scrutinized himself.
“Sure,” the other shrugged. “If they work for Peter Parker, why not Peter Petrelli?” Peter couldn’t help but laugh at that comment.
“I was actually thinking of Clark Kent,” he confessed sheepishly.
“Not everyone can be Superman,” Shawn said with an endearing smile as he draped his arm across his friend’s shoulders. “But you can always be Peter,” he added, teasingly pushing Peter’s glasses farther up the bridge of his nose.
Muse: Peter Petrelli
Fandom: Heroes
WC: 543
Peter loved comic books as a kid. Reading about the exploits of great heroes saving their cities from the bad guys was thrilling for him. These men and women made a difference in the world. They weren’t always loved for it, but they always did the right thing. Peter wanted to be like that when he grew up.
The only thing that really bugged him was Superman. How could this man of steel put on a pair of glasses and suddenly become mild-mannered Clark Kent? Other superheroes wore masks to hide their identity, but not Superman. All he needed were glasses and he blended in with the crowd. It didn’t make any sense to him as a child.
Why that memory decided to rise up during his second year of nursing school, he couldn’t be sure. Peter guessed it had something to do with his last visit to the optometrist.
It was a completely routine examination. He sat in the chair, reading off the letters on the eye chart until they became difficult to read. They tested both eyes showing him blurry pictures that grew steadily clearer. Peter slid out of the chair feeling like he did pretty well. Then the doctor approached him, and Peter had been in nursing school long enough to sense when bad news was about to be delivered.
“Peter, you’re going to need glasses.”
Not what he expected, and certainly not what he wanted to hear. He picked up frames that didn’t look too bad and slid them on his face. The new weight felt a bit odd at first. He turned to the nearest mirror to examine his new look.
He suddenly understood the mystery of Superman and Clark Kent. It took his mind a moment to register that the bespeckled stranger in the mirror was actually himself. He knew he was the same person but the glasses made him look different, almost like someone else. Trying on different styled frames made him see how each kind changed the look of his face just a little. He finally settled on ones that suited him.
Walking through the campus wearing his new glasses, Peter wondered what the other students thought. Did they recognize him or did it take them a moment just as it did with him? He headed up to his dorm room where he eagerly waited for his roommate’s opinion. Peter didn’t have to wait very long, and of course the moment they were in the same room Shawn’s eyes immediately landed on the glasses perched on his roommate’s nose.
“Whoa. Pete, when did you get those?”
“Today,” he answered, watching the other man closely. “What do you think?”
“Not bad,” Shawn decided. “I think they suit you.”
“Really?” Peter looked to the mirror again, tilting his head to the side as he scrutinized himself.
“Sure,” the other shrugged. “If they work for Peter Parker, why not Peter Petrelli?” Peter couldn’t help but laugh at that comment.
“I was actually thinking of Clark Kent,” he confessed sheepishly.
“Not everyone can be Superman,” Shawn said with an endearing smile as he draped his arm across his friend’s shoulders. “But you can always be Peter,” he added, teasingly pushing Peter’s glasses farther up the bridge of his nose.
Muse: Peter Petrelli
Fandom: Heroes
WC: 543