The Tracks Lead Back to You [klance]

Chapter 2: Brother

"Okay, students," the math teacher claps. "We spent yesterday taking care of technical stuff so today we can have fun." He turns on the big screen on the wall. A bunch of colorful shapes and a string of numbers appear. "Turn on your tablets and go to kahoot dot I-T. Enter this code and then a nickname. It doesn't have to be your real name, but let's keep things appropriate, shall we?"

Some kids groan. Other's laugh in excitement. Lance and I share an evil look before shielding our tablet screens from each other. I quickly put in the code and type Lance's name in as mine. I'm going to make everyone mad at him by winning first place. I see his name, as well as the other students' nicknames, come on screen. Then I see my name. I turn around.

"What's your username?" I question Lance.

He smiles coyly. "I'll tell you when I win."

That is not going to happen. Kahoot is a game of tact and speed, and I've got speed. I have to time everything right. There are bonuses for being the fastest to answer, and you can build up bonuses with answer streaks, but an incorrect answer receives zero points. I'll have to keep my wits about me.

The person nicknamed Keith and I vie for first place. It's back and forth throughout the game. We're neck and neck, but I come out on top as Lance.

"Yes!" I cheer out loud.

Lance leans over. "Oh, sweet. I won. Looks like you were oh so close, Keith. If only you hadn't gotten that last one wrong," he winks.

I gasp. "You sneaky little-" I make a grab for his head. He laughs and ducks.

"Boys," the teacher warns. "Let's stay calm, okay?"

Lance and I straighten up.

The teacher makes a weird face then. It's like he's trying to smile, but he's trying not to sneeze at the same time. Then he turns away.

I look at Lance and mouth the word "weird." Lance nods in agreement.

In the next classes, there are more games: name games, icebreakers, surveys— the usual second day of school stuff.

At lunch, it's a little strange because some kids from our unit sit with us. It's always been just me and Lance. One year Luis had the same lunch as us, but other than that, it's just been me and Lance.

The first kid is Hunk. He is tall and round. He has dark skin and hair and he wears an orange headband brighter than his smile.

The second person is the exact opposite. Pidge is a small, stringy girl with pale skin and huge nerd glasses.

"Hello," I say slowly. I don't know what I'm supposed to do in situations like this, so I nudge Lance to carry on conversation while I open up our lunch box.

The little one nods in acknowledgment. "Lance and Keith, right?"

"Yes," Lance confirms, shooting finger guns.

I roll my eyes and pull out our sandwich. "You're a dork," I say, handing him his half.

"At least I'm not edgy!" he retorts.

"What?" I gasp. I turn to Hunk and Pidge. "I'm not edgy," I assure them.

They laugh.

"You guys seem really close," Pidge notes. "Hunk and I have been buddies since junior high. How long have you two known each other?"

Lance's mouth is full, so I answer. "Like, forever?" I try to remember a beginning but I can't think of a time when he wasn't by my side.

Lance swallows his bite. "We're brothers," he explains, wrapping his arms around me.