𝑆𝐿𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐿𝑌 𝐵𝐸𝑇𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐴𝑁 𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐾𝐼𝐸𝑆 | 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄

𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝟕

—♜—

"𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 he'd be okay with it?" Peter whispered.

"Ninety-three-point-eight percent chance he'll say yes," Kara whispered back, "so it'll be fine. Probably."

Kara straightened up as the two of them walked toward the Decathlon team, all of whom were waiting outside the school bus.

They were all wearing the yellow team jackets over their normal clothes—ones that Kara and Peter were missing—and, clearly, were all set to go to Washington for the Decathlon.

"But what if he doesn't?" Peter muttered back. "What if he yells at us?"

"Don't worry, babe," she whispered. "It'll be fine."

The chatter died down as they approached, and Abe called, "Hey, it's Kara and Peter!"

"Kara?" Liz raised her eyebrows as the pair came to a stop in front of them. "Peter?"

"Yeah, we were hoping maybe we could rejoin the team," Peter requested nervously, his eyes flitting over each member.

"No, no way," declined Flash as he walked up to them and shook his head. "You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone."

"Hey, welcome back, Kara and Peter," Mr. Harrington greeted. He stepped out of the bus and gestured to Flash and another girl as he told them, "Flash, Sabrina, you two are back to first and second alternate."

Flash's jaw dropped, an incredulous look on his face as he uttered, "What?"

Abe grinned while the others giggled. "He's taking your place."

"Come on." Mr. Harrington smiled at the team and gestured towards the door. "Let's get on the bus."

Grudgingly, Flash took off his jacket and threw it at Peter, who caught it with raised eyebrows. Sabrina, much more kindly and less bitterly, slid her jacket off and handed it to Kara with a smile.

Kara followed Peter into the bus and sat down next to him near the front.

As the bus driver began the route, Kara placed her backpack at her feet and leaned towards him as she murmured, "See? Everything went well, just like I told you."

Peter grinned. "I never doubted you."

Kara laughed."Clearly."

Her attention then turned to Liz, who stepped out into the aisle and shuffled through her cue cards.

"Okay, guys," Liz sighed as she landed on the card she wanted. "Let's go through some practice rounds."

She set her flashcards to the side and leaned over her seat to dig through her bag, then grabbed a handful of silver bells and passed them around.

"First topic: instrument sections of music," Liz announced as soon as everyone had their own bell. "What is a woodwind?"

Charles rang his bell. "Aerophones made of wood."

"Good." Liz nodded. "What are strings?"

Kara rang the bell, and when Liz nodded to her, she answered, "Instruments that are bowed or plucked; similar to the chordophones."

"Perfect." Liz smiled. "What are brass instruments?"

"Aerophones made of metal," replied Sally after ringing her bell.

A few more questions and correct answers later, Liz shuffled to a different cue card. "Focus up, everyone. Our next topic is the moons of Saturn. Thirty-eight of the moons are small and irregular; what is the largest of those moons?"