"I really don't like math," Nick mumbled.
Jeff sighed. "I don't really, either," he admitted.
They had been going over a couple of problems from the last unit. Jeff didn't really understand; Nick had gotten all of them right, yet his math grade was so low.
They were quiet for a few minutes until Nick spoke up. "What is that?"
"Hm?" Jeff asked, looking over.
Nick pointed to a word on the paper. It had clearly gotten cut off in printing, reading 'simpli' instead of 'simplify.'
"Simplify," Jeff said, slightly confused. It was easy to tell.
Nick frowned. "That's not..."
Jeff chuckled. "Nick, the f and y got cut off."
Nick still looked confused but nodded, not asking anything else.
Jeff, on the other hand, was curious as to how he didn't recognize it. "How couldn't you tell?"
"It just... doesn't look like it." Nick looked like he wished he had a better way to explain. "It's unrecognizable."
"But it's just missing two letters," Jeff said, confused. He wrote an f and y on the end of the word, finishing it. "See?"
Nick was stunned. "What the fuck?" he whispered.
"We should get back to work," Jeff said, chuckling. Nick was so cute.
"Right," Nick said.
"Should we do something from the book? I think it's harder."
Nick shrugged. "Sure."
Glad they were in the library, Jeff pulled a math book off the shelf and set it down between them.
They worked through a section in silence, Jeff finishing first.
"Done. What?" Nick asked, catching Jeff's expression.
Jeff shook his head. "It's just, you were doing that thing you do when you concentrate. When you close one eye and, like, tilt your head."
Nick blushed, looking down. Jeff looked over at his paper, immediately becoming confused.
"What?" Nick asked.
Jeff gently took the paper, making sure he wasn't imagining it. Looking closer, he realized something.
First he was worried because Nick had gotten every single one wrong.
Then he was worried because Nick had copied down every single one incorrectly.
Jeff flipped over his paper, clearly writing on the back.
Sterlin
"Nick, what does this say?" he asked nervously, showing Nick the paper. He didn't want to be right.
Nick furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know."
"What if I told you there should be another letter on the end?" Jeff asked, growing increasingly concerned.
"I told you I don't know, I've never seen that before."
Jeff finished it.
Sterling
Nick's expression turned to a different kind of confusion. "It's your last name. How did I...?"
"Nick," Jeff said softly, "I think I know why your grades are the way they are."
YOU ARE READING
Back To Our Roots, Book One
FanfictionThad hasn't had the easiest life. It doesn't help that he's been called a 'she' for most of it. After attempting to end it, he enrolls in Dalton Academy. Meeting an old friend whose life he saved without knowing it, his old friend's boyfriend who i...
