A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 40

Liam

"So, what do you think?" Mr. Sozwick looked at us expectantly.

"Uh..." I glanced at Aden, who looked just as surprised as I did.

"They want us to participate in the selection competition..." I furrowed my brow in confusion. "for the International Junior Science Olympiad?"

Mr. Sozwick nodded.

"This," he lifted our two exams, "is incredible. Even for you. I mean..." Mr. Sozwick ran a hand through his hair before looking at me. "You even calculated the reaction entropy, even though it wasn't even part of the task. We haven't covered that in class yet."

I felt myself blushing. I knew it was an exaggeration, but since I already knew how to do it, I wanted to show it.

"It was in the chemistry textbook," I said quietly.

Mr. Sozwick chuckled softly before looking at us seriously.

"You have a real chance of winning this thing. You'll have to write an essay that I can submit. Once you're accepted, there will be different rounds of tests or experiments that you'll participate in."

As Aden and I left the classroom, we took a deep breath. We had agreed to think it over and then get back to Mr. Sozwick.

"That was weird," Aden said eventually, and I nodded.

"What do you think about it?" I asked, and Aden shrugged before chuckling softly.

"I don't know, but it does sound cool. And it would look good on our resumes if we ever have to think about college scholarships."

I snorted softly, and Aden looked at me questioningly.

"What do you think, though?" he asked.

"I think we'll be spending even more time with our heads in toilets if anyone finds out about this," I said dryly. "We should worry more about the years we still have in school before thinking about college."

"We'll get teased regardless. But in this competition, we could show what we're really capable of, and we'd be doing it with people who are just like us. Don't you think it could be an opportunity for us?" Aden stopped and looked at me inquisitively.

"Aden, we already have enough bruises because we always get good grades. I don't want to find out what happens when we represent our school in some kind of nerd competition. It's like wearing a sign around our necks that says, 'Hit me.'"

"Nerd competition?" Aden snorted. "Schools from multiple states participate; it's a big deal."

"That's exactly the problem," I replied dryly and continued walking before we missed the bus. I didn't understand why Aden was so enthusiastic about it. I just couldn't imagine it being worth it.

Aden caught up with me, and we walked silently side by side for a while.

"Did we just have a real argument?" Aden asked incredulously, and I chuckled softly.

"I don't know if it counts as an argument, but let's not do that again. It doesn't feel... right." I looked at my brother, and Aden grinned in relief.

"Agreed."

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Coulder

Tired, I rested my elbows on the desk and put my head in my hands. English homework was really the worst. I was exhausted, probably because I hadn't been sleeping properly for days. Maybe I would ask Taylor if I could sleep over at his place tonight. That way, I would at least get some more rest.