"Alright, you're free to go, Peter. I can put the rest of the food away and I already closed your drawer out for you."
"Are you sure? I don't mind staying and helping you close up. It's really no problem, sir."
"Thank you, Peter, but it's late and you should be getting home. Your aunt is probably worried. You don't normally stay this late."
Peter stiffened a bit at that last bit, but quickly shook his head and glanced back at Mr. Delmar, who was too busy grabbing the toppings to put back in the fridge to notice.
She's not worried. She's either working or passed out drunk without a care in the world.
"I told her I would be staying late today since I clocked in late," Peter lied. It had honestly become second nature at this point; lying to everyone. He hated doing it, but no one needs to know what his life was really like. It wouldn't be fair for him to put that burden on anyone else.
"Speaking of, how do you think you did?" the restaurant owner asked his young employee.
Peter untied his apron and hung it up on the hook under his name in the office. "I think I did, okay. I was able to answer all of the questions and I didn't have too much trouble with any of them. So that could mean I either did really well or got all of the questions wrong," he responded as he grabbed his backpack and made his way towards the front cash register.
The man turned to face Peter and smiled. "Well, you're an incredibly bright kid, Peter. I'm sure you did great. Do you know when you'll get the results?"
"My physics teacher said that we would get an email sometime within the next day or two since the tests were scanned and sent to SI right after we took them," he explained. He really wasn't expecting to get in, considering that SI only really gives internships to college students, and only one high schooler would be earning the internship. There was no way he would be that one. His Parker luck definitely wouldn't allow that.
The more Peter thought about it, the more he realized that getting the internship could potentially cause a lot of problems. What was May going to say about the internship? Would he tell her or just pass it off as taking more hours at the deli? Would he even have time for his job? It wasn't a paid internship and he needed the money. And what about Spider-Man? The last time he went out as his alter-ego, he had been confronted and chased by the Avengers! Would doing the internship and being in the same building as the heroes really be such a good idea?
Why did I decide to apply? Gosh, you're so stupid, Peter! On the off chance that I actually get the internship, there's no way I can actually do it.
He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, abruptly pulling him out of his thoughts. He took a step away from the man on instinct but immediately regretted doing so when he saw Mr. Delmar put his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
"Woah, just me, Peter. You good? It kinda seemed like you zoned out for a second there," his boss said, with slight concern in his voice.
Peter just shook his head, letting out a breath as he tried to regain his composure. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just got lost in thought, I guess," he reassured the shop owner.
The man nodded. "Anyway, I said to let me know when you know your schedule for the internship so I can adjust the work schedule accordingly. This is a really big opportunity for you and I want to make sure you have the chance to take it."
Peter gave him a halfhearted chuckle. "That's if I get the internship, which is a very slim chance, Mr. Delmar. Only one high school student is going to be accepted, and I'm sure there are a lot of teenagers who would kill for this chance."
"But none of them are as smart as you. You definitely deserve that internship, Peter," Mr. Delmar told the teen, turning back around to get the last of the leftover food.
Peter didn't believe either of those statements but decided that trying to argue that with his boss wouldn't work and chose instead to change the subject. "Are you sure you don't need help closing up?"
"Positive. Now get on home and get some sleep. Good work tonight."
He turned back to the register, clocked out, said goodbye to Mr. Delmar, and stepped out of the sub shop. Seeing the city at night made him want to put the suit on and go on patrol. It had been four days since the teen had swung around as the spider-themed vigilante and he missed it. He considered dawning the mask and looking for crime to stop, but the soreness in his side reminded him that it wasn't such a good idea. He had had a long day as well, so he wasn't really in the right headspace to patrol tonight.
Tomorrow, he thought. I'll go back out tomorrow night.
With one last glance around the bustling city, he shoved the urge away and proceeded to make his way back to the apartment.
×<×>×<×>×<×>×<×>×<×>×<×>×<×>×<×
Instead of waking up to his alarm, Peter had been woken up to his phone vibrating on his bedside table. He was about to ignore it and look at it when his alarm went off, but one glance at the clock told him that there was no point. The clock read 6:57, leaving him three minutes until his alarm would go off, so instead of trying to get as much out of those three minutes as he could, he grabbed his phone off his nightstand to check the notification.
Turning on the shattered screen of his iPhone 4s, he could see that he had an email. Most of the emails he gets are either from colleges he can't afford or random junk, but this one was different. He unlocked his phone and clicked the notification so that he could read the whole email.
Congratulations, Mister Parker.
After reviewing your application and seeing your perfect score on the qualification exam, we are happy to announce that you have been selected as the winner of the Stark Industries High School Internship.
The internship will begin on Wednesday, October 19th at 4:00 pm. Once you arrive, show this email to the front desk. They will then give you your badge and show you where to go and what you will be doing. This internship will be every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. If there are schedule conflicts, please let your supervisor know and we will try to find a schedule that works best for you.
All additional information and paperwork are attached below. The paperwork must be filled out and sent back before your scheduled start date. You can turn it in by replying to this thread. Once the paperwork is completed, you will be in our system and will be all set to start your Stark Industries journey.
We look forward to working with you, Mister Parker.
~Stark Industries
Peter had to read through the email five times before it finally sunk in.
I actually got it.
I'm going to be interning at Stark Industries.
The loud beeping of his alarm had brought him back from his state of pure and utter shock. He reached over to turn off his alarm and got out of bed to get ready for school, the email still running through his mind. As he was getting dressed, once again in an oversized hoodie and dark wash jeans, he looked over at his clock to see that today was Tuesday, October 18th.
Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be an intern at Stark Industries.
And that one thought had brought a genuine smile to creep onto his face. That one email had made him the happiest he had been in a long time.
~¤○●○¤~
Chapter 13 has been completed! I've had the past three days off work, so it gave me time to write and get another chapter out this week for you guys.
Speaking of you guys, there are so many of you now! This story is almost at 4k reads and slowly creeping up to 200 votes! I never expected that to happen with this story, so thank you all who have given this a chance and are sticking with it.
Anyway, how are you guys doing? Things started to get back to normal this week, which means getting up early again. I am not enjoying that. Been focused on band, and work, and writing mostly.
Whelp, that's all I've got for now. I hope you guys have had a good first week of 2021 and that the rest of the week treats to well. Be safe and take care of yourselves!
~xxjustabeanxx