Hello?

Congratulations, Mister Parker

"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."