Leonard had always ignored the kid with patched-up clothes and dirty blonde hair, but now all of his attention was fixated on him. Chad… something or other. Harris? Nollis? Not that it mattered.

The kid was dirt poor and regularly picked on for it. To think that he’d be Leonard’s lifeline was frustrating. Leonard ground his teeth. He usually did decently at maths but he’d been unable to grasp the topic they’d been covering in class lately. Then he’d been sick of trying, and then it suddenly was the day of the test and now he was sitting in the sea of desks unable to even remember most of what he’d read.

He gripped his pen tighter. Returning home with subpar results and disappointing his father whom he so adored was not an option. He’d rather cheat and copy off someone. The kid to his left had no idea what he was doing, but Chad was steadily working his way down the problems. Even if he only achieved a middling score it was better than what Leonard could achieve on his own. Although, seeing the way he proceeded he suspected Chad’s performance was a pretty good one.

Sneaking cautious glances, Leonard gradually copied the writing on Chad’s answer sheet onto his own. The teacher sat at his desk, reading a book from which he occasionally looked up to give off the impression that he was paying attention to the class. Leonard was so focused on the task that he hardly noticed the sounds of pens scrawling, although the occasional frustrated groan of someone unable to work out the problems might snap him out of it for a moment.

There. All the problems had their answers neatly written out. He was surprised to look up and find that there was time left on the clock. Only ten minutes, but still. He was feeling pretty good about himself.

“Explain this.”

Leonard wasn’t feeling so good about himself now. He ran a hand over his light blonde hair, trying to smooth out some unruly strands. People let you get away with more when you looked good.

The teacher had him and Chad sat down, their tests placed for them to see on his desk. The paper almost seemed to glow in the afternoon sunlight. Leonard’s cheeks were glowing with the beginning of shame, though he hoped not too visibly.

The teacher, Chad and him were the only people in the room and the door to the classroom was closed to prevent eavesdropping.

“It’s just a coincidence,” Leonard attempted. “There are a limited number of ways to answer a math test.”

“The options are limited, yes,” the teacher agreed. “But not so much that having two identical answer sheets being handed in is a normal occurrence. You two sit next to each other. I wasn’t born yesterday, boys.”

Leonard groaned. Just his luck. Now he’d have to try to convince the teacher that Chad was the one who had copied off him and not the other way around.

“Anyway, it’s not like I-“ Leonard began, but he was cut off by Chad, who was raising his hand.

“I did it,” he said. “It was me who copied off Leonard. Don’t give him trouble for what I did.”

Leonard’s eyes went wide. Why would Chad say that? Wasn’t he angry at him?’

“A confession, huh? At least you aren’t that stupid,” the teacher said. He waved Leonard off. “Leonard, you can leave now. Keep up the good work.”

Leonard quickly did as he was told, lest someone change their mind. He decided to wait outside. This was weird. While he couldn’t tell exactly what was said, it was obvious enough from the volume that the teacher was chewing Chad out. Chad was probably offering some sort of apology. Leonard was glad it wasn’t him in there. Why would Chad endure all that for something he didn’t even do? He really needed to ask what this was about.

Once the volume finally lowered Leonard took care to hide just out of sight. The last thing he wanted was to have his teacher suspect him.

“Now, off with you,” he heard the teacher’s gruff voice. “And I don’t want to see a repeat of that.”

“Sorry, it won’t happen,” Chad mumbled.

Leonard allowed for a moment to pass before he ducked out of his hiding place. He blocked Chad’s path.

“Hey. Chad. What was that all about?” he demanded.

“A trade,” Chad said. “You owe me now.”

Leonard grimaced. He owed Chad? The mere thought was ridiculous.

“So what do you want? A new sweater?” he taunted.

Chad’s expression darkened. “You’re aware I can go back and tell him the truth any time I like, right?”

Leonard tensed up. “Hey. No. Wait. I’ll provide what you want, okay? So don’t tell anyone.”

“That’s more like it.” Chad nodded and extended his hand. “In that case… I know you get a generous allowance. I want yours for this month. Do we have a deal?”

It wasn’t an offer Leonard was eager to accept, but it stung less than the prospect of being discovered and ridiculed. After all, cheating only worked when other people didn’t know, and it would showcase his ineptitude to his father. Hesitantly, Leonard offered his hand and shook Chad’s. Contrary to his expectations Chad’s hand didn’t feel grimy, just completely ordinary.

“It’s a deal,” Leonard huffed.

Once Leonard got his allowance for the month, he handed it over to Chad. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to go back on the deal, but pride won out over greed in the end. The only one who knew about his cheating was Chad and he preferred to keep things that way.

Some days passed and Leonard kept an eye on Chad. He expected him to show up with some new clothes, or a fancy gadget to show off to the other kids, but neither happened. Chad showed up in his usual ratty sweaters and ate his usual sad lunches.

Leonard decided to confront Chad over it during one of their breaks. Spotting a conveniently located entranceway he once again he stepped in Chad’s way while there were no others around.

“Hey. What’d you spend the money you got on?” he asked.

Chad’s expression hardened. “It’s none of your business.”

“Seriously. You know some new clothes would be in order, or you could’ve gotten a handheld or a new phone or-“

“I told you it’s none of your business!” Chad suddenly snapped. “Now stop bothering me about it. I earned that money fair and square. It’s mine to spend however I want.”

“Just saying, those ratty old sweaters don’t make you look good,” Leonard continued pushing. “I’d have thought you at least would bother to get something nicer.”

“There are more important things,” Chad said in a tone that indicated no room for debate. “Not that someone like you would understand.”

“But-“

“End of discussion,” Chad said. “Or you won’t like what I do next.”

So Leonard left it at that.