Anonymous
November/ December 2024
Tyler sat at their library table, surrounded by piles of textbooks, snack wrappers, and what looked suspiciously like a blueprint for a highly efficient nacho layout. Nakshatra appeared, sliding into the seat across from him with a sly grin.
“Dude,” Nakshatra said, tapping his phone screen. “You’ll never guess what I signed us up for.”
Tyler groaned. “The last time you said that, we ended up in a chess tournament that was also a spelling bee.”
Nakshatra waved it off. “That was beginner’s luck. This is big. I signed us up for the ‘Inter-School Math-Off.’ Think about it—math problems, rival schools, and a prize of $100.”
“A hundred bucks for doing math?” Tyler perked up. “Are we talking calculus or, like, cool equations?”
“Cool equations,” Nakshatra said. “Real nerd-core stuff. Differential equations. Imaginary numbers. And guess what—they’re doing partner rounds.”
“Partner rounds?” Tyler blinked, barely containing his excitement. “You and me… destroying math problems together? Oh, we’re so doing this.”
A week later, they found themselves at the “Math-Off” arena—a heavily decorated high school cafeteria with “WE <3 MATH” banners, tables stacked with calculators, and a crowd of intense-looking competitors. The tension was real.
Tyler leaned over, whispering, “You think they’re all as nerdy as us?”
Nakshatra glanced at their competition: a guy with a Pi tattoo, a girl clutching her slide rule like it was a pet, and one guy wearing a lab coat with “I’M RATIONAL” printed on it.
“Definitely,” Nakshatra whispered back. “But we’ve got something they don’t.”
“What’s that?” Tyler asked.
“Bromance,” Nakshatra replied confidently. “It’s mathematically unquantifiable but highly powerful.”
They fist-bumped, then took their place at the table. The competition began, and they blitzed through the first rounds, each question bringing them closer to the championship.
Between rounds, Nakshatra looked over at Tyler. “I swear, our combined brainpower must be illegal.”
“Yeah, too bad it’s only useful here,” Tyler joked, nudging Nakshatra’s shoulder. “If we could just transfer these skills to real life, maybe we’d finally get social lives.”
Nakshatra chuckled, adjusting his glasses. “Who needs a social life when you’ve got me?”
Tyler froze for half a second. “Yeah. Yeah, totally. Who… who needs anyone else?”
They both coughed awkwardly, then immediately dove back into the math problems as if their lives depended on it. But every now and then, Tyler couldn’t help glancing at Nakshatra, noticing how his brow furrowed in concentration, the way he scribbled furiously on his paper. Maybe solving math problems wasn’t the only good thing about this competition.
Suddenly, the announcer yelled, “Championship Round!”
Tyler and Nakshatra straightened up, determination in their eyes. This was their moment.
The announcer raised the final question card. “What is the integral of e^(2x) dx?”
The room fell silent. Tyler and Nakshatra exchanged a look, their hands poised over their calculators.
“On three,” Nakshatra whispered, voice steady. “We’ll answer together.”
“Three, two, one—”
They both shouted in unison, “1/2 e^(2x) plus C!”
The room exploded in applause. They’d done it. They were math champions.
After the prize was awarded (an oversized check for $100 and a coupon to an all-you-can-eat buffet), Tyler and Nakshatra headed outside, both still buzzing from their victory.
Tyler looked over at Nakshatra. “You know, we make a pretty unstoppable team.”
“Mathlete soulmates,” Nakshatra replied, nudging Tyler’s shoulder.
Tyler grinned, feeling strangely happy. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Or maybe it was something else. He wasn’t sure, but one thing was clear: Nakshatra wasn’t just his math partner; he was kind of… his person.
Nakshatra must have caught him staring, because he nudged him again, smirking. “Careful, Tyler. Staring too long at a math genius is known to cause irrational thoughts.”
“Oh, please,” Tyler replied, laughing. “You’re the one who said bromance is unquantifiable. Pretty sure that means you’re thinking about this stuff just as much as I am.”
Nakshatra shrugged, feigning indifference. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I just really like winning at math with you. Same thing, right?”
“Yeah,” Tyler replied, laughing. “Totally the same.”
They walked back to the library, shoulder to shoulder, neither one saying a word about the lingering feeling that maybe—just maybe—some things in life couldn’t be solved by equations alone.
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