Undefined Variables

Anonymous High School Student

March 2025

It was an ordinary afternoon in the library, except for the fact that Tyler and Nakshatra were brainstorming a list titled, “Top 10 Things to Do Before the Principal Bans Us from Science Forever.”

“Number three,” Tyler said, scribbling on the paper. “Convince the chemistry teacher to let us make a Mentos rocket indoors.”

“Too easy,” Nakshatra said, leaning back in his chair. “Number four: Rebuild the trebuchet and sneak it onto the football field at night. Call it… Operation Ballista Justice.”

“You’re gonna get us expelled,” Tyler muttered, though he was laughing.

Before they could add “install secret bunker under the school” to the list, the library doors swung open dramatically. In walked Sarah, the crush Tyler had obsessively overanalyzed back when he thought math equations could solve feelings. She made a beeline for their table, holding a clipboard like it was a weapon.

“Tyler,” she said, with the energy of a student council president who had just found a violation of the rules, “you’re in the science club, right?”

Tyler froze. “Uh… technically.”

“Good,” Sarah said, ignoring Nakshatra, who was now inspecting her clipboard as if it held state secrets. “We need more people for the science fair. We’re short on presentations, and you and Nakshatra are, like, smart or whatever.”

Nakshatra looked up. “Excuse me, smart or whatever? Tyler, she clearly hasn’t seen our math trophy.”

“I… have no idea what that means,” Sarah said, frowning. “Look, just sign up. The fair’s next week, and the theme is Innovation for a Better Future.”

With that, she slapped a pen onto the table and walked away.

Tyler stared after her. “So… that was Sarah.”

“Yep,” Nakshatra said, casually picking up the clipboard. “She’s got the charisma of a Turing machine.”

“Dude.” Tyler laughed, even though he kind of agreed. “That’s not—wait, what are you doing?”

“Signing us up,” Nakshatra said, scrawling their names.

“Why?”

“Because I live for chaos,” Nakshatra replied, grinning. “And because now we get to spend the next week building something ridiculous while Sarah questions every decision she’s ever made.”

The Great Science Fair Plan

By the time the science fair rolled around, Tyler and Nakshatra had outdone themselves. Their project? A “Fully Automated, Algorithmically-Enhanced Sandwich Maker,” which they had affectionately named “The Breadinator.”

“It’s genius,” Nakshatra said as they wheeled the contraption into the gym. “You input your bread and toppings, and it builds your sandwich using conveyor belts and robotic arms. Perfect sandwiches, every time.”

“I still think we should’ve tested it more,” Tyler muttered.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Nakshatra asked.

They set up their booth, complete with a banner that read “Solving World Hunger, One Sandwich at a Time” in Comic Sans. Sarah walked by, eyeing their setup like it was an unsolvable physics problem.

“You’re really betting the science fair on a sandwich machine?” she asked.

Nakshatra shrugged. “We’re innovators. This is what innovation looks like.”

Sarah rolled her eyes but said nothing.

The Science Fair Chaos

As the fair began, The Breadinator drew a crowd. People watched in awe as the robotic arms carefully assembled sandwiches—until, inevitably, something went wrong.

“Uh, Nakshatra,” Tyler whispered, watching the machine sputter. “I think it’s stuck.”

Nakshatra leaned in, frowning. “It’s fine. Just… wiggle the input bread tray.”

Tyler reached for the tray, but before he could fix it, The Breadinator went rogue. The robotic arms started flinging slices of bread and mustard packets across the gym like a culinary apocalypse.

“Abort! Abort!” Tyler yelled, dodging a tomato slice.

Nakshatra, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, shouted, “THIS IS WHAT INNOVATION LOOKS LIKE!”

Sarah, watching from a safe distance, muttered, “This is why I don’t talk to nerds.”

The Aftermath

Later that evening, after cleaning up what could only be described as a bread-based war zone, Tyler and Nakshatra sat on the bleachers outside the gym.

“Well,” Tyler said, staring up at the stars, “we didn’t win the science fair.”

“Nope,” Nakshatra said, grinning. “But we won something more important: the admiration of everyone who loves sandwiches and chaos.”

Tyler laughed, glancing at him. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“And you’re too worried about what people think,” Nakshatra replied, nudging his shoulder. “But hey, at least Sarah didn’t totally hate us.”

Tyler hesitated. “Yeah… I guess I’m kind of over that whole thing with her.”

“Good,” Nakshatra said, smirking. “Because honestly? She’s not even in the same league as us.”

Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Our league?”

“Yeah,” Nakshatra said, his tone teasing but his expression sincere. “You and me. Team Chaos.”

For a moment, Tyler didn’t know what to say. So he just smiled, feeling like maybe Nakshatra was right—about a lot of things.

They sat there, shoulder to shoulder, laughing about their latest disaster and dreaming up their next adventure. Somewhere in the chaos of bread, math, and jokes, Tyler realized that maybe—just maybe—he didn’t need Sarah, or anyone else.

Because Nakshatra? Nakshatra was more than enough.