Book Smart, Romantically Challenged (Wesley Stromberg/Emblem3 FanFic)

Chapter 5

*Sofia's POV*

"And so to find the exterior angle measures of a scalene triangle, you take the given interior angle measures and subtract them from a straight angle, which is?" I ask Keaton, gesturing around the page in his Geometry book.

"A straight angle is... Oh! An angle whose measure equals 180 degrees. So, I just take the 26 degrees from angle A and subtract it from 180, to get... 154 degrees?" he said.

"That's right. You're really easy to teach. Some of my other students couldn't understand order of operations if I used visuals and spoke like a kindergarten teacher," I sigh.

"Some people just don't get it."

"Don't I know it. You know I absolutely despised Geometry. Algebra was always my favorite math subject. I love crunching numbers and arithmetic. Although Geometry isn't hard if you pay attention, it's got a ton of rules that you have to remember." Math and science were my two favorite subjects, unlike most people. I could do math for hours and never be bored.

"Well, thanks. You make it so much easier than what Mr. Wright tells us to do," he laughs. "Hey Sofie, my mom's not gonna be home 'til late tonight. And my brother is probably out screwing around, so it'll probably be just me tonight. Would you mind staying here and hanging out with me for a while? I can only play so much Halo before I get bored. I can call in a pizza or something for dinner. Just please keep me company," he nearly begged.

"Sure Keaton. I'd probably just end up playing mahjjong with my grandma anyways," I chuckle.

"Thanks. Now i won't be lonely tonight."

"No problem. But instead of calling in a pizza, I can probably make dinner. I'm sure there's enough to scrounge up in the kitchen for a decent meal. " At my house, we hardly ever eat anything not homemade. Kirsty usually cooks a nice, traditional Filipino meal, or she'll heat up some left overs. I got up from my chair in Keaton's room and headed down to the kitchen to find what I had to work with.

I get lucky, finding an old rice cooker in one of the cupboards, and grab all of the ingredients I need to make adobo chicken and rice. As i start to prepare everything, I hear feet padding down the stairs. Keaton grabs a bottle of Naked juice from the fridge.

"What are you making?" he asks, peering over my shoulder.

"A dish my mother taught me how to make when I was about 11. It's called adobo chicken and rice. It's quite simple, and really delicious. One of my favorites, too." I finished breaking up the bay leaves and grabbed the uncrushed black pepper to sprinkle it around.

"Cool. I've never had Filipino food before," he says twisting the cap off of his juice.

"Then you'd love my Tita Norma's lumpias, or egg rolls. Everyone loves them," I suggest. Now that I think about it, those would be a good snack to have for school. I set the lid on the pan to let it soak in the soy sauce while I set the rice cooker.

I head over to the couch behind Keaton and watch him play Halo. He's so concentrated, I can't deny the desire to scare him. Getting up from the couch as quietly as I can, I sneak up behind him. I move my hands to hover over his sides, before attacking. My fingers assault his sides with deadly tickles and the giggles that escape are so adorable.

He flashes around and grabs me by my waist. He doesn't tickle me, but surprises me even more by picking me up. He spins me around in his arms and holds me against his chest. "Now now, that's not very nice. I was winning that round," he whispers in my ear

I chuckle, "I'm nice enough, and I gotta shake it up a little bit, don't I?"

"Yeah, well-" Whatever Keaton was about to say dies as Wesley walks through the front door. The smile falls off of my face when his gaze meets mine.