Track & Field
"Parker's wide open. The quarterback throws a long bomb.Parker catches it and runs for the touchdown!!! It's amazing! This kid hasn't played on the team the whole season, now all of a sudden he shows up in one game and shows everyone up! It's like the ball is stuck to his hand!" The announcer couldn't hold back. His voice rang throughout the whole stadium as he expressed his excitement about the game's results.
Peter stood in the end zone looking at the crowd. Green and gold audience members were going crazy. His heart was pumping faster than a squirrel on caffeine. He had just scored the game winning touchdown against his rival high school. How did that happen? It seemed like yesterday he was sitting in AP Biology scoring perfect 100's on tests. How did Peter go from being the school geek to the school hero?
A stampede of burly football players came running at Peter. He turned to see that his whole team came out to celebrate except for one player. Standing in the middle of the field was a big junior hanging his head. He had his head bowed in shame at what had just happened. The scene would have been perfectly normal if he was on the other team, but he wasn't. His team had just won the biggest game of the year, and he was sulking about it.
Peter saw this player and smirked. His joy and excitement had jumped to a new level. He had just put Flash Thompson to shame and it felt good. This was the greatest moment in his life, and nothing could stop it now. He could see Gwen Stacy running up to him from the sidelines.
"Peter! That was amazing!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked him in the eyes and entranced him. He leaned forward and pressed his lips.
"Peter, Peter. Peter, can you hear me?"
Peter slowly opened his eyes. A blurry scene of colors and lights was displayed before him. Where was he? What happened to Gwen? Why was this person calling his name over and over again? His head was ringing.
"I think he's opening his eyes," came a familiar voice.
Peter's head was throbbing in pain. He must have gotten hit late in the game and that's why he felt so dizzy. The room above him was twirling around. He lifted his hand to stop it, but that only made it spin faster and a tsunami of pain was released from his hand. Peter screamed out in pain, "ARGGGG!!" Tears started to leak from his eyes as he released the intensity of pain he was in.
"Peter, honey, it's your Aunt May. Calm down. It's alright, you're in a hospital. Everything's going to be fine." Aunt May's voice set a soothing trance over Peter. The pain went down a little, just enough for him to bear.
Peter was still confused about where he was and how he got there. "What happened to the football game?"
Aunt May was concerned, "What football game honey?"
"The one I just won. What happened to everyone?"
"Peter, sweetie, you haven't played a game of football in your life. I don't even think you've touched a football since you were six."
What was going on? Peter was dazed by all the information. "Never touched a football?" thought Peter, "How can that be? I scored the winning touchdown in the game, yet she says I don't even play." Peter sat up and looked around. He was in a white room with machines all over the place. There was a wire attached to his chest leading to a machine next to him. A slight "beep beep" came from the apparatus. He was lying on a bed, and next to it was Aunt May. She had a concerned look on her face. "Peter," she said with a tone of worry, "What's the last thing you remember?" Peter looked at her in shock, "What's the last thing I remember? My great performance of course!! Did you see my catch? He threw it like thirty yards to me for a touchdown. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done!" If Aunt May was worried before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. "What are you talking about Peter?? I already told you that you haven't played football since you were seven years old!" Peter hesitated for a moment. It then hit him what happened, "Oh yeah, I forgot. I didn't tell you I was playing football because I didn't want you to worry. All those days I said I was staying after school last week was because I was practicing for the big game." Aunt May was furious, "Peter! You are in a hospital because you got bit by a spider Harry gave you!! You don't play football and you didn't score the winning touchdown!" Her voice resonated in the empty room. The door creaked open. A head of red hair peeked around the door. "Umm." the boy hesitated, "Is this a bad time?" Aunt May immediately calmed down with the arrival of the visitor. "Oh no Harry, come in." "Harry! Am I glad to see you. Tell Aunt May that I've been playing football behind her back." Harry looked at Peter queerly. "What the heck are you talking about?" Peter's jaw hit the ground. Why was his own friend turning against him? The door opened again as a doctor entered. He was looking at a clip board in his hand. "Peter Parker, right? Okay, can you explain to me what happened?" Peter was about to launch into his football story again when May interrupted, "Maybe Harry can, I don't think Peter is well enough to say much, and Harry was there anyways." The doctor turned to Harry, "Well son, what happened?" "Well, he got bit by a spider a couple of days ago," Harry said short and sweet. "Where?" "At school." "What kind of spider?" The doctor said with interest. "How would I know? It was as big as my hand though." "How does a spider that big get into a public high school?" The doctor's curiosity was increasing with every question. "I brought it. Peter needed a spider for a science project, so I asked a scientist that work's for my dad's company, Oscorp. He had some spiders that he wasn't using anymore so he allowed me to take one." Harry somehow forgot to mention the fact that it had been exposed to radiation. "Interesting," the doctor said, "Well I bet you're anxious to get out of here Peter. I think you'll be able to go home tomorrow, but you'll have to rest for a while. I have to warn you though; you might have a few problems. Delusions, headaches, hallucinations and other head injuries might occur. I'll give you a prescription for some pain killers in case you need them. Any questions? " Only one question came to Peter's mind, "Will I be able to play football soon?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Peter expected that he would be able to get home and just rest. With an injured hand and a dizzy head there's not much you can do but relax. He imagined sitting on the couch watching National Geographic or reading his Chemistry book. Apparently this was one of the delusions his doctor was talking about.
"Peter! Where are you? It's time to go for a jog!" yelled his Aunt May.
Peter cringed. His Aunt May was an active lady for her age. She believed that if you were idle for more than ten minutes then you just wasted the entire day. She was constantly jogging, cooking, or crafting in an attempt to keep herself busy. As a result of all of this, May led a happy life with hardly any injuries or illnesses. "It should work for Peter too," she thought to herself the day they got home.
"May, we've been at this for three days straight. Can't I just rest for one day?" Peter whined.
"Nope Peter, no resting. We aren't stopping until you go back to school, and since you seem to be incapable of going back, we're going to do it."
May dragged Peter outside the house and pushed him along. Peter was reluctant at first, he dragged his feet for a while, but eventually he started jogging. After about a mile they stopped for a rest. Peter was panting, but he was still in pretty good shape.
"Wow Peter, you've really improved a lot since we started. The other day you couldn't even make half a mile without almost collapsing on the sidewalk. Now you can run a mile breathing heavily."
"Yeah, I guess you've put me through a lot of training."
"Well hurry up and catch your breath because we're going to start for home again."
"Already? Can't we just sit around and enjoy the surroundings?" Peter pleaded.
"Nope. If we rest too long then the run won't do us any good." May said as she started to run back.
Peter ran after her and caught up after a block. May looked at him, smiled, then started to speed up. Frustrated, Peter picked up his pace and got even with her. May looked surprised that he was running this fast. She went into a sprint to try and stay ahead, but Peter just caught up.
Peter caught on to what his aunt was trying to do and put a big grin on his face. He went into a full on sprint and flew past May. He kept up the pace until he reached home. He looked back expecting to see May right behind him, but she wasn't. It took her another minute to reach the house.
"Wow Peter, I didn't realize you could run that fast." She said between breaths.
"Neither did I. I'm not even dizzy."
"Well that's good. How does your hand feel?" She said as she came over to inspect it.
"It's fine. It hasn't hurt all day."
"That's good. I think you will be able to go back to school tomorrow."
"Yes," Peter said to himself, "No more running."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Alright class, today is our 'In-Class Track and Field Meet'" shouted Mr. Cuth, the gym teacher.
Peter's face turned pale. He turned to Harry, who was standing right next to him, and said, "What the heck is he talking about?"
"Well the day you got bit was the day we started our Track and Field unit. We've been working on different events, and today is the big competition. I think you're signed up for running long jump and discus." Harry explained to him.
Peter sighed, "At least I don't have to do too much running. That's all my Aunt May."
"Parker! Quit talking and come over here. You're first for the long jump." Mr. Cuth yelled.
"Great," Peter muttered to himself, "now I get to make a fool of myself."
Peter approached the runway. He looked down the track at the sand pit at the end. Peter took a deep breath. The other sophomores in the class chuckled as they awaited the oncoming failure.
Peter sprinted towards the pit. His surroundings blurred past him as he picked up speed. He reached the line and launched himself into the air.
Peter flew threw the air. It was the greatest feeling as he hung in the air for an eternity. Peter felt like a bird floating over the ground. It disappointed him that he had to land after the thrill.
He stuck the landing and stood up. He walked out of the pit then stopped. There was absolutely no noise. He turned around and saw the class about twenty feet behind him. Every one of the students and the teacher had their mouths open.
"Holy Cow Parker!" Mr. Cuth shouted in disbelief, "That was one heck of a jump. You jumped twenty-five feet out and about three or four high. Ever think of joining the track team?"
"No, not really. I didn't even know I could do that." Peter explained.
"Well I'd seriously consider it if I were you. What other events are you signed up for?" Mr. Cuth looked at his clipboard. "Discus? Well let's see how you are at that."
Mr. Cuth took Peter to the discuss area. Peter stood in the throwing circle while Mr. Cuth got the discuses. Peter could see the class start to approach him as they wondered what else he could do. He felt the pressure as he realized this could change his reputation as the school geek.
Mr. Cuth showed him how to hold the discus then gave it to Peter. Peter mimicked the grip that Mr. Cuth had demonstrated. He stood in the center of the circle and prepared for the throw. He concentrated on not losing grip on the discus as he started to spin.
One.two..three times around he spun. On his fourth he prepared for the release. He planted his right foot and straightened his arm. His fingers let the discus go.but his palm didn't.
Peter came crashing down to the ground as the weight of the discus brought his arm down. He lied on the ground and heard the eruption of laughs from his class mates. He lifted his throwing hand and outstretched all five fingers. The discus was stuck to the palm of his hand.
"What the." Peter groaned. He was getting up to show his teacher but it fell to the ground. He looked at all kids pointing and laughing. Feeling horrible, he ran to the locker room with all the ridicule behind him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The bell rang for school to get out. Peter grabbed his backpack and left. He never liked staying after school unless it was for academic purposes. Staying after just meant more time to be around kids he didn't like.
As Peter walked home he thought about his class assignments. The special project Mr. Schmitt had assigned him popped up. Peter had forgotten about it, and he wasn't too happy to remember it.
As he was thinking about it, the solution popped into his head. It was so simple, so easy to figure out, why hadn't he thought of it before? It was a simple formula that he could concoct in his basement. He had all the chemicals and supplies he needed. One part this, two parts that.
Peter crossed the street ignoring his surroundings. He had a weird feeling in the back of his neck, but he was concentrating on the formula too much to care. He got about half-way when his foot hit a pothole. He went sprawling forward and face planted it.
The day just wasn't going well for Peter. His backpack broke open and his books were all over the road. He stood up and collected the books. He only had a few things left to pick up when he heard a honking sound. The funny feeling in his neck came back.
Peter looked up to see a car speeding towards him with no sign of slowing down.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Parker's wide open. The quarterback throws a long bomb.Parker catches it and runs for the touchdown!!! It's amazing! This kid hasn't played on the team the whole season, now all of a sudden he shows up in one game and shows everyone up! It's like the ball is stuck to his hand!" The announcer couldn't hold back. His voice rang throughout the whole stadium as he expressed his excitement about the game's results.
Peter stood in the end zone looking at the crowd. Green and gold audience members were going crazy. His heart was pumping faster than a squirrel on caffeine. He had just scored the game winning touchdown against his rival high school. How did that happen? It seemed like yesterday he was sitting in AP Biology scoring perfect 100's on tests. How did Peter go from being the school geek to the school hero?
A stampede of burly football players came running at Peter. He turned to see that his whole team came out to celebrate except for one player. Standing in the middle of the field was a big junior hanging his head. He had his head bowed in shame at what had just happened. The scene would have been perfectly normal if he was on the other team, but he wasn't. His team had just won the biggest game of the year, and he was sulking about it.
Peter saw this player and smirked. His joy and excitement had jumped to a new level. He had just put Flash Thompson to shame and it felt good. This was the greatest moment in his life, and nothing could stop it now. He could see Gwen Stacy running up to him from the sidelines.
"Peter! That was amazing!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked him in the eyes and entranced him. He leaned forward and pressed his lips.
"Peter, Peter. Peter, can you hear me?"
Peter slowly opened his eyes. A blurry scene of colors and lights was displayed before him. Where was he? What happened to Gwen? Why was this person calling his name over and over again? His head was ringing.
"I think he's opening his eyes," came a familiar voice.
Peter's head was throbbing in pain. He must have gotten hit late in the game and that's why he felt so dizzy. The room above him was twirling around. He lifted his hand to stop it, but that only made it spin faster and a tsunami of pain was released from his hand. Peter screamed out in pain, "ARGGGG!!" Tears started to leak from his eyes as he released the intensity of pain he was in.
"Peter, honey, it's your Aunt May. Calm down. It's alright, you're in a hospital. Everything's going to be fine." Aunt May's voice set a soothing trance over Peter. The pain went down a little, just enough for him to bear.
Peter was still confused about where he was and how he got there. "What happened to the football game?"
Aunt May was concerned, "What football game honey?"
"The one I just won. What happened to everyone?"
"Peter, sweetie, you haven't played a game of football in your life. I don't even think you've touched a football since you were six."
What was going on? Peter was dazed by all the information. "Never touched a football?" thought Peter, "How can that be? I scored the winning touchdown in the game, yet she says I don't even play." Peter sat up and looked around. He was in a white room with machines all over the place. There was a wire attached to his chest leading to a machine next to him. A slight "beep beep" came from the apparatus. He was lying on a bed, and next to it was Aunt May. She had a concerned look on her face. "Peter," she said with a tone of worry, "What's the last thing you remember?" Peter looked at her in shock, "What's the last thing I remember? My great performance of course!! Did you see my catch? He threw it like thirty yards to me for a touchdown. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done!" If Aunt May was worried before, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. "What are you talking about Peter?? I already told you that you haven't played football since you were seven years old!" Peter hesitated for a moment. It then hit him what happened, "Oh yeah, I forgot. I didn't tell you I was playing football because I didn't want you to worry. All those days I said I was staying after school last week was because I was practicing for the big game." Aunt May was furious, "Peter! You are in a hospital because you got bit by a spider Harry gave you!! You don't play football and you didn't score the winning touchdown!" Her voice resonated in the empty room. The door creaked open. A head of red hair peeked around the door. "Umm." the boy hesitated, "Is this a bad time?" Aunt May immediately calmed down with the arrival of the visitor. "Oh no Harry, come in." "Harry! Am I glad to see you. Tell Aunt May that I've been playing football behind her back." Harry looked at Peter queerly. "What the heck are you talking about?" Peter's jaw hit the ground. Why was his own friend turning against him? The door opened again as a doctor entered. He was looking at a clip board in his hand. "Peter Parker, right? Okay, can you explain to me what happened?" Peter was about to launch into his football story again when May interrupted, "Maybe Harry can, I don't think Peter is well enough to say much, and Harry was there anyways." The doctor turned to Harry, "Well son, what happened?" "Well, he got bit by a spider a couple of days ago," Harry said short and sweet. "Where?" "At school." "What kind of spider?" The doctor said with interest. "How would I know? It was as big as my hand though." "How does a spider that big get into a public high school?" The doctor's curiosity was increasing with every question. "I brought it. Peter needed a spider for a science project, so I asked a scientist that work's for my dad's company, Oscorp. He had some spiders that he wasn't using anymore so he allowed me to take one." Harry somehow forgot to mention the fact that it had been exposed to radiation. "Interesting," the doctor said, "Well I bet you're anxious to get out of here Peter. I think you'll be able to go home tomorrow, but you'll have to rest for a while. I have to warn you though; you might have a few problems. Delusions, headaches, hallucinations and other head injuries might occur. I'll give you a prescription for some pain killers in case you need them. Any questions? " Only one question came to Peter's mind, "Will I be able to play football soon?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Peter expected that he would be able to get home and just rest. With an injured hand and a dizzy head there's not much you can do but relax. He imagined sitting on the couch watching National Geographic or reading his Chemistry book. Apparently this was one of the delusions his doctor was talking about.
"Peter! Where are you? It's time to go for a jog!" yelled his Aunt May.
Peter cringed. His Aunt May was an active lady for her age. She believed that if you were idle for more than ten minutes then you just wasted the entire day. She was constantly jogging, cooking, or crafting in an attempt to keep herself busy. As a result of all of this, May led a happy life with hardly any injuries or illnesses. "It should work for Peter too," she thought to herself the day they got home.
"May, we've been at this for three days straight. Can't I just rest for one day?" Peter whined.
"Nope Peter, no resting. We aren't stopping until you go back to school, and since you seem to be incapable of going back, we're going to do it."
May dragged Peter outside the house and pushed him along. Peter was reluctant at first, he dragged his feet for a while, but eventually he started jogging. After about a mile they stopped for a rest. Peter was panting, but he was still in pretty good shape.
"Wow Peter, you've really improved a lot since we started. The other day you couldn't even make half a mile without almost collapsing on the sidewalk. Now you can run a mile breathing heavily."
"Yeah, I guess you've put me through a lot of training."
"Well hurry up and catch your breath because we're going to start for home again."
"Already? Can't we just sit around and enjoy the surroundings?" Peter pleaded.
"Nope. If we rest too long then the run won't do us any good." May said as she started to run back.
Peter ran after her and caught up after a block. May looked at him, smiled, then started to speed up. Frustrated, Peter picked up his pace and got even with her. May looked surprised that he was running this fast. She went into a sprint to try and stay ahead, but Peter just caught up.
Peter caught on to what his aunt was trying to do and put a big grin on his face. He went into a full on sprint and flew past May. He kept up the pace until he reached home. He looked back expecting to see May right behind him, but she wasn't. It took her another minute to reach the house.
"Wow Peter, I didn't realize you could run that fast." She said between breaths.
"Neither did I. I'm not even dizzy."
"Well that's good. How does your hand feel?" She said as she came over to inspect it.
"It's fine. It hasn't hurt all day."
"That's good. I think you will be able to go back to school tomorrow."
"Yes," Peter said to himself, "No more running."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Alright class, today is our 'In-Class Track and Field Meet'" shouted Mr. Cuth, the gym teacher.
Peter's face turned pale. He turned to Harry, who was standing right next to him, and said, "What the heck is he talking about?"
"Well the day you got bit was the day we started our Track and Field unit. We've been working on different events, and today is the big competition. I think you're signed up for running long jump and discus." Harry explained to him.
Peter sighed, "At least I don't have to do too much running. That's all my Aunt May."
"Parker! Quit talking and come over here. You're first for the long jump." Mr. Cuth yelled.
"Great," Peter muttered to himself, "now I get to make a fool of myself."
Peter approached the runway. He looked down the track at the sand pit at the end. Peter took a deep breath. The other sophomores in the class chuckled as they awaited the oncoming failure.
Peter sprinted towards the pit. His surroundings blurred past him as he picked up speed. He reached the line and launched himself into the air.
Peter flew threw the air. It was the greatest feeling as he hung in the air for an eternity. Peter felt like a bird floating over the ground. It disappointed him that he had to land after the thrill.
He stuck the landing and stood up. He walked out of the pit then stopped. There was absolutely no noise. He turned around and saw the class about twenty feet behind him. Every one of the students and the teacher had their mouths open.
"Holy Cow Parker!" Mr. Cuth shouted in disbelief, "That was one heck of a jump. You jumped twenty-five feet out and about three or four high. Ever think of joining the track team?"
"No, not really. I didn't even know I could do that." Peter explained.
"Well I'd seriously consider it if I were you. What other events are you signed up for?" Mr. Cuth looked at his clipboard. "Discus? Well let's see how you are at that."
Mr. Cuth took Peter to the discuss area. Peter stood in the throwing circle while Mr. Cuth got the discuses. Peter could see the class start to approach him as they wondered what else he could do. He felt the pressure as he realized this could change his reputation as the school geek.
Mr. Cuth showed him how to hold the discus then gave it to Peter. Peter mimicked the grip that Mr. Cuth had demonstrated. He stood in the center of the circle and prepared for the throw. He concentrated on not losing grip on the discus as he started to spin.
One.two..three times around he spun. On his fourth he prepared for the release. He planted his right foot and straightened his arm. His fingers let the discus go.but his palm didn't.
Peter came crashing down to the ground as the weight of the discus brought his arm down. He lied on the ground and heard the eruption of laughs from his class mates. He lifted his throwing hand and outstretched all five fingers. The discus was stuck to the palm of his hand.
"What the." Peter groaned. He was getting up to show his teacher but it fell to the ground. He looked at all kids pointing and laughing. Feeling horrible, he ran to the locker room with all the ridicule behind him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The bell rang for school to get out. Peter grabbed his backpack and left. He never liked staying after school unless it was for academic purposes. Staying after just meant more time to be around kids he didn't like.
As Peter walked home he thought about his class assignments. The special project Mr. Schmitt had assigned him popped up. Peter had forgotten about it, and he wasn't too happy to remember it.
As he was thinking about it, the solution popped into his head. It was so simple, so easy to figure out, why hadn't he thought of it before? It was a simple formula that he could concoct in his basement. He had all the chemicals and supplies he needed. One part this, two parts that.
Peter crossed the street ignoring his surroundings. He had a weird feeling in the back of his neck, but he was concentrating on the formula too much to care. He got about half-way when his foot hit a pothole. He went sprawling forward and face planted it.
The day just wasn't going well for Peter. His backpack broke open and his books were all over the road. He stood up and collected the books. He only had a few things left to pick up when he heard a honking sound. The funny feeling in his neck came back.
Peter looked up to see a car speeding towards him with no sign of slowing down.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~