45 minutes later...

The bell rang, and the teacher dismissed us for lunch. I packed my stuff up, and headed down the hall to the cafeteria. I entered the large, loud room full of teenagers talking about the latest news, and searched for Jake. He was sitting at a mostly empty table close to a window, about to eat lunch.

"Hey, Sam! So, what's our afternoon look like?" he asked as he unpacked his lunch.

"You haven't even told me what you did, yet!" I said, sitting down and unpacking my own lunch.

"I-I know, but you usually have everything planned out as soon as we sit down for lunch! Especially if it's Taco Tuesday. It's your favorite."

"First, tell me what you've got."

"Ok, so I told you calculus was gonna be easy, so no need to worry about that. But then, there's social studies."

We both shuddered in mock disgust, laughing right afterwards. Yeah, that's not an easy subject for sure. I don't like it either, so we'll have to devote just a little extra time to studying for the test. It's due this Friday, so we have three days left to really cram for it.

"Yeah, I'll add that to our list of stuff," I replied. I popped a cheeto in my mouth and snickered as Jake took a huge bite out of his ham n' cheese sandwich. He grinned, and was about to take another bite, when something behind me caught his attention. I sent him a questioning look, then turned around. I stifled a sigh as Tania approached us.

"Why, hello there, Jake sweetie. How's it going?" She bent over to put a hand on our table and rested the other on her hip. I'm still not comfortable with how short that skirt is. But whatever. Jake sent me a look that begged me to help him, but I just grinned at him.

"Oh, we're doing fine, Miss Tania," I said, not breaking eye contact with Jake. He seemed to silently thank me, but Tania wasn't finished.

"Mmm, is that so? Are you two lovebirds done with your little tryst?~"

Jake turned to look at her in confusion, and I chuckled.
"Bravo, Tania! Excellent word usage!"
I clapped, and she swished her hair back haughtily.

Jake, however, was still confused as hell.
"Did I miss something?"

"It's nothing," I replied, waving my hand dismissively. "Tania's just demonstrating her grammar lessons. Well done."

"Thank you, Sam. Now," she eyed me slyly and checked her manicure. "I believe you and I have some business to discuss."

I glanced at Jake, then back at Tania.
"Ah, yes. About that-"

"Don't tell me you have plans!"

"I'm sorry to say, but yes. I am busy. I am not just your tutor, ya know."

"Hmph! You think I don't see what you're doing? You are just gonna spend all night playing video games with him!"

"Wow, how'd ya guess?" I smirked as she pouted. Eventually, I decided to try and please her. I sighed, and she perked up.
"I guess I can try to fit tutoring you into my schedule. No promises, though."

She gasped. "You will? Oh, that's perfect! What time?"

"Let me check." I opened my backpack and looked for my phone. It has all the things I need, from major social events, to the smallest reminders. I can be a tad scatterbrained sometimes, so I need to plan things out. I opened the calendar app and zoomed in on today. Hmm, that's funny. Today is study hall, so I will have two hours free. I could tutor Tania if we start right after lunch.
"If we start immediately after lunch, I have two hours free. We can do it right here at school too, so you don't have to walk to my house."

She thought for a moment.
"I guess that's fine. Just hurry up!"

I smiled as she walked away. Well, that went better than expected.

"Are we still gonna have time to hang out and play that game you got, tonight?" Jake asked as he opened his water bottle.

I turned to him, my smile growing wider. "Yes! It'll be perfect! Our only major obstacle will be the social studies test, but I know we can do it!"

We finished our lunches and headed to the library. Jake went over to some of his football buddies, and I sat down at an empty table. I brought out my physics book and began reading through the lesson we were assigned.

Equilibrium, huh?

A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.

As I thought about it, I started naming off opposites in my head. Day and night. Hot and cold. Up and down. Right and left. Good and bad.

Creation and Destruction.

'Whoa,' I jolted out of my train of thought. 'Where did that come from? I was nowhere near those subjects!'
I was shaken out of my thoughts again by a hand waving in front of my face.

"Hello?! Are you in there? Earth to Sam, we've got work to do!" Tania yelled. I was too late to stop her, and the librarian walked over, a stern glint in her eyes.

"Excuse me," she whispered. "This is a library, and other people are trying to read! Please keep your voices down, or I will ask you to leave."

"Sorry," I whispered back. I let out a nervous breath as she left, and Tania sat down. She took a tablet of paper and a glittery pencil case out of her expensive-looking backpack.

"Alright, where do we start?" Tania whispered eagerly. This is gonna be a looooong two hours...

Later...

I gathered my textbook, pencils, and notebooks. Tania gathered hers, and stood up. She looked down at me with a smirk.
"Hope I get an A. I sure would hate if somebody were to be expelled for starting a fight."

And there's the catch. She could be a real bitch when she wanted to be. When we were in private, she would spew out threats like this. She would accuse someone I knew of starting a fight with her, and in some instances, they have been expelled. I would've let her fail her classes if it wasn't for this. What if she targeted Jake?

I sighed and nodded. "You will get a better grade than most." I said bitterly.

She smiled that perfect, manipulative smile of hers, and walked away without another word.

Jake ran up to me.
"Hey, ready to head home?"

I looked at my watch.
"Yeah. Let's go."

We headed out of the building and started walking down the streets. We did this basically everyday of the week. It was enjoyable, and I was especially ecstatic about tonight. I couldn't wait to play my game! From all the positive feedback I saw of it, it should be well worth the wait. The walk home was silent, and when we got to our houses, we waved to each other and went inside.

"Mom! I'm home!" I called from the front door. Our big Doberman, Chief, greeted me, practically knocking me over in excitement.

"I'm in the kitchen, honey! How was school?"

"It was good. What's for supper?"

"Roast beef sandwiches. Your dad's favorite!"

My eyes lit up as I entered the kitchen.
"Will he be home early, tonight?"

"Yes! He said work went exceptionally well, so he got done early. He did stay a little while to make sure things went smoothly, but he said he'd be back in time for supper."

"Awesome! Can Jake come over? We've got some studying to do."

"Sure. What time?"

Just as Mom asked that, the doorbell rang. Chief let out a vicious bark, but his wagging tail belied his enthusiasm to see his new guest. I ran to the front door and opened it. Jake stood there, backpack slung over his shoulder. Chief pushed past me to greet one of his favorite people.

"Hey there, Chief! How are you doing? Who's a good boy?"

Chief barked happily, then charged into the living room. We followed and sat down on the couch. He jumped onto the couch and settled into our laps, licking my face and attempting to lick Jake's. Of course, he couldn't bend his neck far enough, so he just sat there, content with the attention we gave him.

"So, how's studying gonna go?" Jake asked as Chief jumped off our laps.

"It's about 4:00," I replied, looking at my watch. "We can study for an hour and a half, and hopefully get done before supper."

"Oooh, what're you guys having?"

"Roast beef sandwiches!"

"Nice!"

"Let's go get that studying done. I want to have time to play that game tonight!"

We ran upstairs with our backpacks, and got down to business. This test was 40% of our grade for social studies, so we couldn't afford to fail. That hour and a half will be well spent if we both get a B+ at least.

My dad came home just as we finished up. We were just coming down the stairs when he walked in the door. Chief barked when he heard the door open, and went out to greet the newcomer. Gosh, he is the best guard dog.

"I'm home! Hope supper's ready, cuz I'm starved!" he said jokingly, setting his contracts and briefcase down on a chair.

"Dad!" I jumped down the last step and leaped into his arms.

"There's my little power flower! How was school?"

"It was great! Jake and I were upstairs studying for a big test coming up."

"Is that so?" Dad asked as Jake appeared at the bottom of the steps.
"How are you doing, Jake?"

"I'm doing good, Mr. Jacobsen."

Dad chuckled.
"Just Tony is fine. So, are you staying for supper? I'm sure Andrea made plenty."

"Well, I mean, if it's alright with you..."

"Of course! Besides, I think it'll be fun to include you in our stargazing, this time. The sky is supposed to be clear. How about it, Sam?"

"Sure, Dad!" I replied, glancing briefly at my watch. I've got time. This was the one thing I wouldn't miss for anything. When the night sky was clear, Dad and I would sit out on the porch and look for constellations, connect the stars to make shapes, or just sit and gaze up at the lovely sight. Mom would sometimes join us with snacks, and we'd all sit quietly, enjoying the view and each other's company.

"Then it's settled. You'd better text your mom and tell her that you'll be here for awhile, Jake."

"Yes sir! I'm looking forward to stargazing. It sounds fun!"

While Jake did that, I helped Mom set the table. She had baked green beans int oven, and the sheets were piping hot. I snagged one anyway, loving the tender crispiness of freshly baked green beans. Could use more salt, though.

Once we were finished, everybody sat down to eat. Dad was right when he said Mom made plenty; there was enough to feed us three times over! I'm not really surprised. It isn't very often Dad comes home early enough to eat with us, so on the occasion he does, Mom really goes all out to prepare a nice meal for our family. Jake and I finished first, so we cleared our places, washed our dishes, and bolted upstairs.

"Thanks for the supper, it was really great!" We yelled down the stairs.

"Alright, let's start the game! ... What are we playing, again?" Jake asked as he sat at my desk and spun around in my swivel chair.

"We're playing Undertale! A game with monsters and magic!"

"Pfft, if you say so. Let's start it up."

I went to my laptop and set it up on my desk. I was standing, and Jake was sitting, so I bent over to see what was happening. I decided to go get a chair for myself while the game was starting up. I set up my chair just in time to watch the intro. A war between humans and monsters had started it all, huh? I guess the weren't in equilibrium.

-Time skip brought to you by Author-chan being unable to recall certain details that may or may not be important in the future-

We got as far as Snowdin when Dad knocked on the door.
"Hey kiddos, you ready to go stargaze?"

"Yeah, just give me a sec, Dad. Just gonna save real quick."
I turned my laptop off, and Jake and I left my room. Dad was already on the porch, sitting in his usual spot and munching on Mom's delicious chocolate chip cookies. I took a seat next to him and looked up at the dark sky. If only there was a place where this was always visible, always available to see.

"How's the new game, Sam?"
Dad asked between bites.

"It was awesome! Jake and I took turns playing, and we got as far as the little town before we quit. Thank you so much, Dad!" I got up and hugged him, and he returned it gently.

"You're welcome, my little power flower."

I returned to my seat, and we spent another hour stargazing. Eventually, Jake went home, and I went to bed. Time to see what tomorrow brings....

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2222 words, lol

I might update again if I have time, tonight. The next chapter is slightly shorter, I think, so maybe expect another one? Eh, depends. Depends on whether or not I GET ANOTHER BOX OF PASTA SALAD WITH THE FRICKIN' SAUCE PACKET IN IT!!!! >:(