The Tutor

Just Dance

The next morning, the three kids wake up to the smell of freshly made pancakes. Jacob and Keegan are up before Sam, who is still muttering random science facts under his breath as he sleeps. The two sit at the kitchen table, digging in to the pancakes. The mother sits with them and eats breakfast too. "Did you two get some rest last night, or were you playing all night~?"

"We went to bed, don't worry~" Jacob rolls his eyes, taking another bite of his pancakes.
"Good. I hope you guys had fun~ How's Sam doing?"
"He's still asleep."
She nods, glancing over in the direction of Jacob's room for a second. "He's probably tired out from walking all the way here... Do you know what happened?"
Jacob shrugs. "He said his Mom was yelling at his Dad and he got scared."
"Poor kid..." She sighs softly and shakes her head. "Do you think he'll want to go home today?"
"Probably. I doubt he'd want to upset his parents too much."

Sam walks into the kitchen, still a bit sleepy as he finds somewhere to sit down. "Morning..." He looks at the food, then up at Jacob's mother. "Is it okay if I don't have breakfast? I'm not hungry-"
The mother seems a bit concerned about that, but she's not going to force it. "If your really don't want to... You can take some with you for later if that's better for you."
The blonde nods, now just going quiet as he sits at the table. He's used to being forced to sit at the table even when he's not eating anything.

The mother brings her attention to the other boys now, not wanting to make Sam uncomfortable. "When are your parents coming to pick you up, Keegan? Or do you need a ride home?"
"They should be here around 10!" Keegan smiles, unphased by the drama around Sam. He's just happy with the pancakes. "We can still get a few games in before they come around."

Jacob smiles, glad that Keegan isn't affected by this. "Sure! What game should we play?" He asks, before thinking for a little bit. He wants to think of a game both Keegan and Sam would like. Sam would probably enjoy a puzzle game, but Keegan wouldn't. Sure, Sam may insist on not needing to play, but the kid deserves a distraction.

Just then, the perfect idea hits him.

"Just Dance!" Sam likes dancing, right? He takes dance lessons. Maybe Keegan would enjoy that too? It's worth a shot. "Would you be up for it, Keekee~?"
Keegan shrugs. "Sure. Haven't played that in a long time, could be fun to try it out again~"
Sam's interest is piqued. He looks up at Jacob, a little sparkle in his eyes. "Can I play?"

Well, that was a success.

A smile tugs at the brunette's lips as he finishes up eating his food. "Of course you can. Try to go easy on us~"
"Not a chance."
He chuckles softly. Even if Sam putting his all into winning Just Dance will make it hard for anyone else to even come close to winning, this is a good thing. It's good to get him acting more like how he was before the incident.
The ginger looks between the two before asking, "Why does he have to go easy on us? Shouldn't we go easy on him since he's younger?"
"Sammy here is a dancer. He has the advantage~" He gets up, picking up his dirty plate and silverware, carrying them over to the sink to be washed and put away later. "He also tends to be very competitive. But don't worry, I know how to cheat~"

The blonde looks at Jacob incredulously. "Don't cheat! That's against the rules!"
"Thats the definition of cheating, Samikins~ Telling us that won't change our minds."
"No! The definition of cheating is to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination!"
"I forgot you read the dictionary..."

Keegan chokes on his food a little when he hears that. "You wHaT?!"
Jacob laughs softly and nods. "I didn't believe it at first either. Not only did he read the dictionary, he took notes on it~!"
The tips of Sam's ears turn a little red as he glares at Jacob playfully. "It's not that weird!" He crosses his arms childishly. "It's a great way to step your vocabulary up."
"Nobody does that!" Jacob laughs a little more. "I'm sorry, but it is weird! Not in a bad way. It's quite charming and adorable~" He looks over at his mother, who was putting away the leftovers by now since everyone took the amount of food they wanted. "Can I go set up the game?"
"Go ahead."
"Thanks!" He looks back at the other two. "Keegan, come join us when you're done eating."
Keegan nods as Jacob now runs off to go set up the TV.

Sam is up on his feet quickly to follow Jacob. "What version do you have? What songs are included? Is it a version with special editions or just base-hame songs?"
Jay grabs the TV remote and turns it on before turning on the console. "I don't really remember. I guess we'll find out~" He grabs a controller and finds the game. "By the way, why did you take up dancing in the first place?"

"My parents wanted to get rid of some of my energy and thought it'd be a good idea to put my flexibility to use."
"Do you like it?"
The blonde nods excitedly. "Yeah! Nobody makes fun of me there."

Oh, there's that familiar pang in his chest with Sam's words. "I hope you know that I never mean to make fun of you..."
"I know!"
"Good."

Just as the game starts up, Keegan joins the two in the livingroom, done with his breakfast. "What songs did we want to play?"

Jacob shrugs, scrolling through the songs. "How about we each pick a song, one at a time? Keegan, you can go first~" He offers the controller to the ginger with a smile.
Keegan takes the controller and looks through the songs. "Oo, I know this one!" He picks some random song with a pretty good beat.

The three boys each take a role and the game begins.