"Hm, I think mocking people is a reductive gloss, she was pushing for a sort of freedom of speech in a way. Mocking people may not be nice but it absolutely shouldn't carry the spider penalty, you know?"

Taylor has considered this several times and admits that mocking does not deserve the spider penalty.

"I"m not saying Athena wasn't acting worse in the story, just that Arachne wasn't great and unlike Athena this is the only story people know about her."

"Reasonable not to want to be Arachne. I just think she gets an unfair rap."

"I don't think I'd switch anyways, people knowing who I am is pretty important for me nowadays."

"And at least the Branding people didn't come at you with 'Ladybug Lass' or some such nonsense."

"Makes me happy I didn't sign up to be a Ward." 

"It wasn't all bad but it also was not a recreational sports club."

"Recreational sports club?"

"It was not organized for the enjoyment of a wholly voluntary participant population."

"Ah."

"Speaking of uh, things not organized for the enjoyment of a wholly voluntary participant population. Any of you returning to school in the fall?"

"I have finagled myself into lightly supervised independent study."

"I'm staying in school - it's where I know Missy from." says the middle schooler.

"Nope."

"Um. My dad wants me to but I probably won't," says Taylor, looking embarrassed. 

"Dang it, just me in the high school?"

"Well, if you miss me too keenly I can be bribed with cookies to come trounce you all at house rules Risk."

"I hope you don't expect Victor cookies every time, getting him to make them in time for me steal them was hard enough once."

"I don't have expensive tastes, we've been over this. Chips Ahoy will do me."

"... No."

"We can get Chips Ahoy."

"It's just an example, I will also take, like, those soft Lofthouse thingies, or Oreos, or homemade snickerdoodles, or whatever."

"I will get fancy cookies and you will like them goddammit."

Giggle.

Eventually people filter out - Dinah first followed by Taylor and Lisa soon after.