It was a quiet afternoon at home. The house was calm—too calm. Jake wandered down the hallway, clutching his math homework in one hand and a pencil in the other. He’d stared at the same worksheet for over an hour, and no matter how hard he tried, the numbers just weren’t adding up.

There was only one option left: Zoey.

His older sister, Zoey, was in her room, sprawled out on her bed with her back against the headboard, earbuds in, scrolling through her phone like she was solving world peace on Instagram. The door was slightly open, so Jake gave it a gentle knock before pushing it open.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

Zoey didn’t look up. “What.”

“I, uh… need help. With homework.”

She raised an eyebrow but still didn’t take her eyes off her phone. “What subject?”

“Math. Fractions. It’s evil.”

That made her chuckle, just a little. She finally looked at him, then set her phone down with a sigh. “Alright, come in, but don’t touch anything.”

Jake stepped over a pile of clothes and a charger cable that looked like it hadn’t moved in weeks. He climbed onto the edge of her bed and opened the worksheet like it was a map to nowhere.

Zoey scooted closer. “Okay, show me what’s got you stuck.”

“It’s this one,” Jake said, pointing. “Something about multiplying fractions and then simplifying and… yeah, it just turns into chaos.”

Zoey leaned in and started explaining—step by step, in that calm big-sister voice she only used when she was actually trying. Jake followed along, her finger tracing each number. Somehow, when she said it, it made sense.

“So you multiply across, then simplify. Got it?” she asked.

Jake nodded slowly. “Ohhh… that’s why it wasn’t working.”

“Told you. You’re just overthinking it.”

He glanced at her. “Thanks, Zoey.”

She smirked. “Don’t get used to it.”