Sneak peak of my new book for the competition📖

@Hades0918 part two of reading!!!!!!!!

'You’re terrible at French, Toby! You probably taught her the wrong endings!'
Leo snapped, his jealousy flaring up like a cheap firework.

'That’s not the point! The point is, she’s mine. I claimed her in my heart first,'
Toby argued, puffing out his chest as much as a fifteen-year-old can.

'You can't 'claim' a person like a parking spot, you idiot!' Leo countered. 'Besides,
she likes my intellectual depth. We discuss the existential dread of the suburban
experience.'

Toby snorted. 'Existential dread? She likes me because I make her laugh. I told
her the joke about the dyslexic devil, and she nearly fell off her chair.'
'Laughter is fleeting, Toby! Intellectual connection is forever!' Leo shouted, his
face turning a shade of pink that matched his binder.
The two friends stood in the middle of the hallway, a sea of students parting
around them like they were a particularly angry rock in a stream.

'I’m going to ask her to the Spring Dance tonight,' Toby declared, pointing a
finger at Leo’s chest. 'And there’s nothing your 'existential dread' can do about it.'
'Oh, you think so?' Leo challenged. 'I’m going to her house right after school. I’ve
already written a poem. It’s three pages long and uses the word 'ethereal' twice.'
Toby gasped. 'Three pages? That’s cheating! Nobody can survive three pages of
your poetry. You’ll bore her into saying yes!'
'It’s called romance, Toby! Look it up in a dictionary, if you can find one that
doesn't have pictures of superheroes in it!'
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Usually, this was their favorite time,
But now it felt like the starting gun of a war.
They bolted for the exit, stumbling over their own feet and several freshmen. It
There was a race to the parking lot, then a race to their respective bikes.
Leo pedaled like a madman, his legs burning. He knew Maya lived on Oak Street.
He just had to get there before Toby’s mountain bike cleared the hill.
Toby, however, had a shortcut through the park. He zoomed past a group of
toddlers, his cape—actually just an unzipped hoodie—flapping in the wind.
They arrived at the front of Maya’s house at the exact same moment, their bikes
clattering onto the pavement in a tangled heap of metal and rubber.
'I was here first!' Toby gasped, doubling over to catch his breath.
'Your front tire is over the property line, but my foot touched the driveway first!'
Leo yelled, gasping for air.
They scrambled toward the front door, pushing and shoving like two crabs
fighting over a particularly nice shell.
'Maya!' Toby yelled, banging on the door. 'Maya, it’s Toby! I have a very
important question involving dance and possibly a corsage!'
'Don't listen to him!' Leo screamed over Toby’s shoulder. 'I have a poem about
the moon and your eyes!'
The door didn't open immediately. Instead, they heard the sound of laughter
coming from the backyard. It was a deep, booming laughter they both recognized.

The two boys froze. They shared a look of confusion. That didn't sound like
Maya. That sounded like... authority figures.
Slowly, they crept around the side of the house, peering over the wooden fence
into the backyard patio.
There, sitting at a glass table with iced teas in their hands, were three people.
One was Maya, looking radiant in her denim jacket.
The other two people were men in their mid-forties, wearing matching 'World's
Best Dad' t-shirts that they had clearly bought as a joke together.
Leo’s jaw dropped. 'Dad?' he whispered, seeing his father, Mr. Miller, leaning
back in his chair and laughing at something Maya said.
Toby’s eyes bugged out. 'Wait... Dad? What are you doing here?' he asked, seeing
his father, Mr. Higgins, sitting right next to Mr. Miller.
Maya looked up and saw the two boys peeking over the fence. She gave a bright,
cheerful wave. 'Oh, hey guys! You’re just in time!'
Mr. Miller stood up, grinning. 'Leo! I didn't know you were coming over. I was
just telling Maya here about that time you cried because you couldn't find your
Batman socks.'
Leo felt his soul leave his body. 'Dad, why are you... why are you at Maya’s
house?'
Mr. Higgins chimed in, clapping a hand on Maya’s shoulder. 'Well, kids, we have
some news. You know how Toby and Leo have been friends forever?'
Toby nodded slowly, his brain trying to process the visual information in front of
him.
'Well,' Mr. Higgins continued, 'Your fathers have finally decided to get back into
the dating scene. And it turns out, we both met the most wonderful woman at the
PTA mixer last month.'
Maya giggled. 'She’s my mom. And she’s currently inside making sandwiches.'
Leo blinked. 'Wait. So you’re not... you’re not dating our dads?'

Maya burst out laughing. 'No! My mom is dating both of them! Well, not both at
once. They’re kind of... competing? It’s a whole thing. They’re like best friend rivals.'
The two dads looked at each other and nodded. 'It’s a healthy competition, Leo,'
Mr. Miller said. 'Winner gets to take her to the gala next week.'
Maya looked at the boys, then at her denim jacket. 'Wait, did you guys come here
to ask me something?'
Leo looked at Toby. Toby looked at Leo. The three-page poem in Leo’s pocket felt
like a lead weight. The 'Spring Dance' invitation in Toby’s head felt like a crime.
'We... uh... we were just wondering if you had the notes for the biology lab,' Toby
lied, his voice reaching a pitch only dogs could hear.
'Yeah,' Leo added quickly. 'The one about... cell division. Because things are
definitely dividing. Relationships. Sanity. Everything.'
Maya smiled, though she looked a little suspicious. 'Sure, come on in. My mom
wants to meet the sons of the 'legendary duo' she’s been hearing so much about.'
The two boys walked into the house, passing their fathers who were now
arguing over who had the better lawn-mowing technique.
In the kitchen, Maya’s mom was humming a tune. She looked exactly like Maya,
only with more sensible shoes and a look of someone who had survived many PTA
meetings.
Leo and Toby sat at the kitchen island, feeling like they had just walked into a
parallel dimension where their social lives had been nuked from orbit.
'So,' Maya said, leaning against the counter. 'You guys were acting really weird at
the fence. You sure there wasn't something else?'
Toby looked at the 'World's Best Dad' shirts through the window and then back
at Maya. 'Nope. Just biology. Science is the only thing on our minds.'
Leo nodded vigorously. 'Purely academic. We are scholars. Men of letters. Not at
all interested in anything that would make Sunday dinner awkward for the next
decade.'
Maya shrugged. 'Okay then. Let's get to work on those cells.'

An hour later, Leo and Toby walked back to their bikes. The sun was setting,
casting long shadows over the suburb that now felt like a minefield.
'So,' Toby said, kicking a pebble. 'We never speak of this again?'
'Agreed,' Leo said, shaking Toby’s hand with solemn intensity. 'We are still best
friends. And we are both very, very single.'

the end

@Hades0918 they didnt want her because after what had happened. they realized that as long as they had eachother as friends thats all they needed. something we need more of in this world.