Garbage Collection
Set in Brooklyn, the narrative describes the urban life that surrounds Miles, including the living conditions, structures, and activities. In one instance, the narrator gives an image of the garbage collection in the neighborhood. He points out the specifics of the garbage content making its way out of the plastic bags during collection: “Miles thought as he and his father shifted their attention, watching the garbagemen slowly move down the street—one driving, two walking alongside the truck slinging bags, dumping cans, and throwing them back onto the sidewalk. Plastic forks, chicken bones, toilet paper gaskets and other remnants that had slipped through holes in the bags were left strewn up and down the sidewalk.”
Perfect Dunk
As a normal teenager, but also a superhero whose identity is unknown, Miles occasionally uses his abilities in regular situations. During a basketball game with other kids, he manages to perform a perfect dunk with great ease. Nonetheless, this will seem like an extraordinary talent to the rest of the players watching him: “In all the movies Miles had watched, there was always some kind of pep talk or intense battle drum rhythm playing in the hero’s mind in these kinds of situations, but in Miles’s head, he heard silly music. Like, whistling, and the theme song to Super Mario Bros. Whatever. All the staring up at the rim “concentration” was just for show, anyway. After the tension in his body had built enough, Miles sprang up. He twisted in midair before spreading his legs into a full split, dropping the ball down, then drawing it up over his head and into the net with such force that veins of cracked glass traveled through the backboard.”
Vivid Nightmares
Mile’s Spidey-senses manifest through vivid nightmares and visions that aim to warn him of impending danger. He keeps dreaming of a strange cat attacking him and eventually wakes up with tense muscles. The imagery is so vivid that it foreshadows the final showdown with the villain: “Miles woke up drenched in sweat, his heart jackhammering and his muscles tight and strained, as if they’d become ice beneath his skin. The only thing he remembered from the nightmare was that there was a cat. A cat he had never seen before. Matted white fur, its tail split into multiple tails all coiling like snakes. But Miles couldn’t remember where he was and why the weird cat was there.”
Spiderman Reflexes
During the showdown, Miles fights a giant cat that is vicious and quick, matching his Spiderman abilities. The fight, however, displays his swift reflexes that prove he is indeed the superhero in the story: “It took a hard swipe, and Miles quickly sprang onto the wall, avoiding the cat’s attack, which left huge gashes in the clay. Miles skittered around, jumping from corner to corner, the cat swinging at Miles like he was a dangling chew toy, but missing, leaving destructive tiger stripes on the walls in its wake. Finally, the now-frustrated cat used one of its tails to strike, but Miles dodged that as well, and it drilled straight into the wall.”
