Pretty Boy

Chapter 16

Liam

"I will give you a scenario," Coach Langley said, "You have 20 minutes to come up with a proper solution and write down in your notebook every single thought that led to your conclusion", he looked thoughtful, then shrugged, "To raise the stakes, let's say you'll get a solid B plus in your next quiz, if your team gets it right."

A small cheer rang out.

"Shit okay!"

"Language, Jason." He glared at Jason.

Jason shrugged.

That kid had run out of fucks to give when it came to life and as entertaining as it was to see him unhinged, it was also quite a bit concerning. Liam knew the history between Jason and Charlie, them being best friends for a long time and the friendship ending without even a trace of it remaining. Sometimes, when Charlie was drunk, he would suddenly spit out Jason's name with so much hatred and hopelessness and then start bitching about the shit he did that day at school.

For two people who hated each other, they sure paid a lot of attention to what the other did.

"And for your second assignment, which is a major part of your syllabus this year is an essay and before you start protesting, I believe this is an opportunity to understand yourselves better. Especially if you have plans on going to college, it's better to have a clear idea of who you are, first, before anything else"

Liam's head fell back as he shook his head. God, he hated this self-discovery shit, he was so fucking tired of always being expected to know things, all he needed was peace. He just needed a few days where people wouldn't bother him, ask him, "So what next?"

He didn't know! He had no idea who he wanted to be and he certainly wasn't ready to write an essay about it.

"700 hundred words", he registered their teacher saying through the haze in his brain, "By tonight"

Liam sighed.

"You may have heard of this problem before", Langley continued, "It's often called "The Monty Hall Problem" and it drove even the best of mathematicians wild. Today, I expect you to try to find a solution. The problem goes like this. Imagine you're in a talk show and the host asks you to choose one of three doors, one of those doors contain a car, while the other two contain donkeys. When you've made your choice, the host opens one door to reveal a donkey and gives you the choice to choose between the remaining two doors. The choices being, the door you already chose and another door. The question is, do you choose the other door, or do you lock in on the one you already chose?"

Harley's hand shot up.

Liam heard Jason snort next to him and Charlie groaned, "Subtle, Harls, Subtle"

Coach Langley's gaze trained on Harley, "Yes, Harley, as sure as I am that you know the solution, this is, after all, a group assignment so please, let your team in on it too"

Charlie let out an offended sound at that, folding his arms against his chest, "Wait, sir, how'd you know it was Harley and not me, it could've been me!"

Coach Langley blinked as the class went silent.

Liam opened his mouth to retaliate but stopped as Jason suddenly laughed, beating him to it, "Like you would ever know the answer!"

Charlie turned to him with a glare that made even Liam wince, "Says you."

"Exactly," Jason looked smug, "Says me. At least I'm not in denial"

"That a self-burn, Pierce?"

Jason shrugged, "Eh"

"Alright, Jason, Charlie, keep your petty feuds out of the classroom."