No offense to LEGOs or anyone who plays/likes LEGOs at all in this chapter. I, personally, am a huge fan of brick-building. Well, reviews are always appreciated. They are like a boost for me. I can't believe this story is in a community! Thanks, guys! But, without farther a do, here is the next chapter. And don't worry: things will get interesting soon enough. I promise on that note. (If you know what I mean, which I am sure you do because you've most likely seen the movie.)

And, a tedx is a global initiative about ideas worth spreading. Just to let you all know, in case you didn't. Because, when I was going over one scene in the movie to write it out, that was the best thing I could come up with for what Liz said. If you know what she said instead, please tell me to I can edit the chapter and fix it.


Next thing Liz knew, she was waiting outside of the school with the rest of the academic decathlon, including Mr. Harrington, who was walking around on the bus already. They were all wearing their golden Midtown jackets, ready to get on the bus to go to Washington D.C with their luggage. Was Liz nerves, yes. Was she excited, very. But she was ready to go and get it over with. And she was feeling a bit confident.

The team had studied nonstop when they weren't at school - at least that's what most of them told Liz. Even if it was just to maker her happy and less stressed. She was happy, though, and ready to start this. For the drive down, they would all get on a bus until they arrived at their hotel. The hotel were a lot of the students for nationals would be until the competition started the next day.

And they were just about to get on the bus when Abraham called out. And Liz had to do a double take.

"Hey, it's Peter!" he announced, leaning on the bus with his back.

"Guys-" Peter started as he walked up, backpack on.

Liz interrupted him anyways, full of excitement. "Peter?" she questioned, like it wasn't really him.

To be honest, Liz got a bit worried at first. What was Peter going to do? But then a small smirk covered her face; she was happy that Peter was coming back to the team, but she didn't really want to show it. Because, well, he was the biggest nerd in school. And he didn't have many friends. And he built LEGOs on his free time. People labeled him as a loser. Of course, Liz was on the academic decathlon team, but Peter was by far smarter than her. And even she knew it.

"Yeah, I was hoping I could rejoin the team," Peter asked, pausing a few times as he asked.

And then Liz smiled.

"No, no way," Flash but in, walking up front to face Parker. "You cant just quit on us, stroll up and expect to be welcome backed by everyone."

Mr. Harrington exited the bus at that moment and walked forward. His head popped up at the sight of Peter and he opened his arms a bit in surprise, not even listening to what any of his students had to say. "Hey! Welcome back, Peter! Hey, Flash, you're back to first alternate."

"What?" Flash snapped.

Abraham laughed. "He's taking your place," he said.

"Ah, excuse me?" Michelle piped up, leaning forward so everyone could see her from the back. "Can we go already? I was hoping to get in some light protesting before dinner?"

Mr. Harrington did a slight nod, then pointed behind him to the group's ride." Protesting is patriotic; let's get on the bus."

Flash tore off his golden jacket and tossed it to Peter. Annoyance was clearly covered across his whole body. But Liz was happy Peter came back. After all the trash talk she thought about him, she really did want him to be on the trip with her - and the rest of the team, of course. He helped out a lot when answering question because, well, he was smart. And Liz smiled in his presences.

As expected, on the bus they practiced more. Liz stood in the bus's alley where you'd get on and off and ask the questions. The rest of the students were in the seats with bells. And as Liz read off cards, they would answer the questions. But Liz was careful not to overwork them. Topics changed only after the questions were answered correctly. Moons of Saturn, was one of the topics that Peter answered correctly.

"Glad to be back," Liz said after Peter gave the right answer.

"Glad to be back," he repeated with a simple nod. He then looked down.

Liz was in the middle of asking another question, read straight from her card when Peter stood up. He brought out his phone and pointed to it.

"Can I take this real quick? I'll only be a sec," he asked.

"Yeah, fine," Liz replied and Peter walked to the back of the bus and plopped in a seat behind Ned.

Liz kept her eye on the two boys as they sat in the back, Peter still on the phone as Ned pointed to something he was holding in the seat he was currently sitting in. What it was, Liz had no idea. But she didn't interrupt them like she deeply wanted to, to ask about it. In fact, there were a lot of things she wanted to ask to Peter. Where did he always go? was a big one. But Liz had slowly gotten used to the idea that Peter is just a quiet kid that likes to keep things to himself.

After the four hour trip, they finally arrived to their final destination. The bus pulled up to the front entrance and everyone got off with their things. Then, Liz guessed , the driver drove off to get food or something. Maybe stay at another hotel? But the hotel Liz and the academic decathlon team were staying in was amazing. Glass was everywhere outside, letting pure sunlight shine through.

"Alright, stick together," Liz called out behind her. She was in the front of the group as they walked up to sign in at the front desk.

"Yeah," Mr. Harrington added.

The rest of the academic decathlon team looked up in aw at all the hotel doors. Washington D.C. signs where hung about the hotel, showing off the nationals competition that was being held there. There was a tweeting sound coming from up above. Plenty of other kids walked around breathlessly. The people who ran the thing must have a lot of money to do this.

Ethan followed behind Liz. "Are you kiddin' me?" he asked. "This place is huge."

"I've seen bigger," Flash responded.

Abraham pointed up. "There's a bird in there," he announced, putting together the pieces of the random tweeting from up above.

Liz got her own room, but she was right next to Mr. Harrington on her left, and Flash on her right. She tossed her luggage on the bed and sighed, a small big of relief washing over her. Here she was, in Washington, D.C. Tomorrow, she would be quizzed. And then, who knows? Maybe she'd win. Liz brought out her laptop as she sat on her bed. She opened YouTube and searched up if there were any new videos of Spider-Man.

And to her surprise, there were.

They were short, but still videos. One of him splashing onto a pool, another of him running through backyards, jumping on roofs, trying to chase a broken up van. One of the videos was just two little girls talking about how he ruined their night by scaring them both half to death.

Liz wondered why Spider-Man would be chasing the battered up van. Did people manage to sneak under the radar and actually rob a bank, only to be hunted down? A few more theories came into Liz's head that she managed to think up. But none of them sounded...right.

After Liz finished watching the videos, she picked up her luggage and moved it off the bed. And, the bed was really soft. It was extremely comfortable. Liz brought out her phone and sent a text to Betty, informing her that she had safely arrived. But there was no response, so Liz placed her phone on the nightstand. She exited her room only to find most of the students wondering around in the hallways.

Flash walked up to her. "I'm ready to eat," he said.

"Me too, actually," Liz replied. She walked up to Mr. Harrington and asked what they were going to eat.

"Teens, always thinking about food," the teacher mumbled, but allowed them to order pizza.

And, even though Liz ate pizza a few days ago, she thought the dinner tasted amazing. After dinner, most of the students agreed to do a rebellious group activity. They decided on going swimming late at night in the indoor pool. And so after changing into a swimsuit - and raiding the snack machine - they gathered outside of Liz's room and started to run through the balcony, eager to get into the water. Ran, without making any sounds, but laughter.

Liz had her towel draped over her shoulder as she turned left, almost to the elevator to go down the levels when Peter exited his room that he shared with Ned. He had a sweatshirt on, and the hood was up. His facial expression at first was worried, like Liz was going to grill him on where he was going. But then it softened.

"Hey, Liz," Peter said.

"Perfect timing," Liz whispered, trying not to get attention from anyone else in their rooms. She wanted to reach the pool without Mr. Harrington knowing. She walked around Peter, jumping from one foot to the other. "We're gonna go swimming." She put her hand up, waving for the rest of the group to follow as she talked to Parker for a second.

Giggles escaped from the group as they ran by. Cindy quietly said. "Hey, Peter," as she ran, towel in hand. Flash was last, and as he pasted, he put his hand out and smacked Peter in the butt. Parker jumped, startled a bit, in return, but the rest of the group cracked up. Liz included.

"Aye!" Peter yelled, in a whisper, throwing his hands up. He then calmed down and spoke again. "I was just...I was just gonna go study, in, um, in the business center."

"Peter, you don't need to study you are like the smartest guy I've ever met," Liz replied, watching Peter's face light up. "And besides, a rebellious group activity the day before competition is good for morale."

"Hmm...?" Peter asked, cocking his head to the side a bit.

Liz moved her hair away from her face, a bit nerves to tell Peter this. "Um, well, I read that in a tedx. I heard it in a tedx," Liz confessed. "And I read a coaching book," she added. She then nodded confidently.

"Wow, you really," Peter started. "This is really important to you."

"Yeah, it's our future," Liz replied, raising an eyebrow as Peter swallowed. "I'm not gonna screw it up. Besides, we raided the mini-bar, and these candy bars were like, eleven dollars. So get your trunks on, and come on." Liz tossed a candy bar at Peter then turned around and started to jog to where the other students were giggling at. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Liz said.

Together, the group snuck in the elevator and opened the door to the indoor pool. Immediately, Flash dropped his towel and jumped in. Michelle quietly sat down in a chair on the side and continued to read her book. Cindy slowly went in; she opted for the stairs. Liz, well she walked to the center of the pool on the thin walls separating the different sections and sat down, legs kicking in the water.

She bent over and started to splash Abraham and Cindy; they were the two closest people.

"Aw, come on, Liz!" Ethan called out from the hot tub. "Go in!"

Liz shook her head. "I'm not going in when Flash is right there!" Liz replied.

So Flash got out of the water and put his hands on his hips. "What about now?" he asked.

Liz gripped the half wall she was sitting on. "Maybe in a few minutes," she responded.

Flash nodded his head and jumped back in, making his splash large so it would wet Liz. She covered her head and smirked, continuing to kick her legs out in an attempt to splash everyone. But eventually, she fell in the warm water.

Everyone was laughing as they swam the night away. Even Michelle joined in a couple of times. After about an hour, they got out and had a mini-chocolate feast, clinking each other's bar to one another's like they were at a tea party. And after swimming some more, a few jumping contests, and a splash fight, they decided it was time to head back. Liz climbed out of the pool and wrapped herself in the towel she grabbed from her room.

She let out a small sigh when she realized Peter never showed up. Well, what a surprise. Either way, he was smart, and choice not to show up to the pool party. So maybe he felt like he was ready. About Ned? Liz didn't know; she never saw him come out of the room. But, anyways, she got that out of her mind and focused on the present. She had fun tonight, and that was what mattered. The pool was supposed to relive stress and all in all make everyone feel happy. Mission complete.

After Liz made it back to her room with the rest of the team behind her and they headed their own ways. Liz changed into her pajamas and headed to the bathroom, only after picking up her phone and checking to see it Betty responded. Which she did.

Have fun, but not too much. ;) And win for me! Good luck!

Liz didn't respond, only because Betty was sure to be asleep by then. Hopefully. But either way, she smiled at the message and placed her phone on the bathroom counter as she brushed her teeth, music playing in the background. And to be honest, Liz felt really good about tomorrow. She was happy and excited.

After the bathroom, Liz crashed in her bed. Tomorrow was the day, but she was ready. With a warm smile across her face, Liz fell asleep.