The Stark Internship // Spider-Man [Book 1]

three {Peter's POV}

"Let's move to the next question. What is the heaviest naturally occurring element?" Liz asked our academic decathlon team. In a few weeks, the team would be headed to Washington DC for the National Academic Decathlon.

However, I wasn't participating. I was sitting to the side, trying to convince our coach, Mr Harrington, that I couldn't come along because of my responsibilities at my 'internship'. "Peter, it's nationals, is there no way you can take one weekend off?" he asked me.

"I can't go to Washington because if Mr Stark needs me, I have to make sure that I'm here," I told him calmly.

"You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark," Flash called from the background.

"In fact, he has. And so have I," someone butted in. I turned around and saw Arya entering the room with a grin plastered on her face.

"Arya, so good of you to join us," Mr Harrington said. "With Peter not coming along, we could use some extra help!"

"Wait, what?" Cindy asked me.

"Peter's not going to Washington," Sally answered before I could.

"No, no, no, no," Cindy rambled. "No."

"Why not?" Abraham asked.

"Really? Right before Nationals?" Liz said, her voice laced with disappointment. My heart ached. I really wanted to go with them but I simply couldn't just abandon my duties as Spider-Man. What if Mr Stark needed me for an important mission?

"He already quit marching band and robotics lab," Michelle commented from her spot against the wall with a book in her lap. The room fell silent as everyone stared at her. "I'm not obsessed with him, just very observant," she clarified.

"All right. Flash, you're in for Peter. Arya, you're stand-by," Liz said.

"You got it," Arya got onto the stage and pulled up a chair next to Abraham.

"Oh, I don't know. I gotta check my calendar first. I've got a hot date with Black Widow coming up," Flash said with a grin.

Abraham rang his bell before calling, "That is false!"

"What did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr Harrington scolded him.

"All right, Arya, we're in the second round," Liz said, flipping over her flashcards. She continued asking questions and of course, Arya gave nothing but correct answers. When she looked over at me, she sent me a wink and I quickly averted my eyes, once again suppressing the urge to roll them.

I turned to check the time, seeing it was almost time for my last period before I was done with school for the day.

As I sat in Spanish class, not paying attention to anything the teacher was saying, I tapped my fingers nervously on the desk, my foot bouncing up and down as I waited for the bell to ring.

And at 2:45, it finally rang, and I rushed out of the school and to the back of the building. Checking if no one was behind me, I leapt over the fence without a problem and headed to the station to take the train to the other side of Queens.

"What's up, Mr Delmar?" I called as I entered the Deli. I had been to Delmar's corner shop at least once a week since I started at Midtown High and a few weeks into my regular visits, I had befriended basically every employee there, especially the owner. I grabbed two bags of sour candy off the shelves and placed them on the counter.

"Hey, Mister Parker!" Mister Delmar greeted me cheerfully. "Number five, right?"

"Yeah, with pickles and could you smoosh it down really flat? Thanks!" I asked the chef and he nodded as he went over to the kitchen to prepare my sandwich.