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Tensions were high the next morning. Theo pressed his phone to his ear for the sixth time, eyebrows knitted together as he leaned against the school bus surrounded by their impatient teammates. He groaned when the call once again failed.
"Where the bloody hell is he?" He whispered to Ned furiously.
"I don't know, Theo! He hadn't been back all night!" The boy was nervously wringing his clammy hands, glancing around in all directions as if his friend would just pop up.
"God, we shouldn't have let him go, what the hell were we thinking?" The blonde dragged his hands down his face.
"Ned!" The two boys jumped at the sound of Liz's stern voice. Her curls bounced as she stormed towards them, Ty in tow as he tried to block her path. "Where the hell is Peter?" She asked, eyes flitting between them.
"Um... who?" Ned asked, trying to act nonchalant. Liz's face remained unchanging.
"We're not sure. Have you checked everywhere?" Theo asked. The girl nodded in response, running a hand through her hair, "God, of course, this happens, of course."
Mr. Harrington popped his head out from the doors of the bus, eyes finding Liz frantically, "Liz, any word on Peter?" The girl shook her head in response. The man took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, well, I stalled for as long as I could, but we need to leave now. I guess Flash is back in." Flash not-so-subtly pumped his fist with a wide grin on his face.
Theo glanced over his shoulder as he waited to board the bus, eyes searching for Peter's. "He's okay," He heard Ned whisper, "he's okay, of course he is, he's Spiderman." Ty rubbed his back comfortingly as they entered the bus.
The large auditorium was already filled with students and parents by the time Midtown's team arrived. They rushed off of the bus, smoothing their uniform jackets as they were ushered inside.
"Turn off all cellphones and place them inside this box! You will get them back by the end of the competition, thank you!" Theo checked his phone one last time for any notifications before shutting it off, handing it to the proctors. Since he was only an alternate, he watched backstage as the Midtown decathlon members were introduced with the school they were going to be competing against.
Theo tried to keep his thoughts solely focused on the competition, joining Mr. Harrington as they silently egged on their team in the sidelines, however, it was hard when Peter could be dead and they would have no way of knowing.
It was perhaps the longest two hours of his entire life, filled with stretches of silence and pencil scratching against paper as the students on stage tried to complete the written portion before the bell rang. Theo handed out water bottles during breaks and gave his friends words of encouragement.
The last event was the one that gave everyone the most anxiety. Five competitors from each school sat in front of a long table, buzzers within arm's reach, as the proctor asked trivia questions from several categories. It was the event that Liz had been drilling them on and Mr. Harrington told them not to underestimate; even if you know the answer, it depends on how fast you can press that bell.
