AN (pre-chapter) - Mwhahahaha. So, I'm getting on a bus in about an hour to go home, so I figured, ehhh why not upload another chapter. I have 7 more of these type of chapters before the OFFICIAL story starts. Some quick notes before:

1) I made Pidge older than the Wikia page says. Pikia says they're 14, while the other 3 are in their late teens, and Shiro's age is unknown. I'm making Shiro 7 years older the the other 3 boys. Where my story will pick up in senior year, the 3 boys will be 17/18, Shiro and Allura will be 24/25, Pidge will be 16/17, and Coran will be 42/43.

2) Pidge will be non gendered for the beginning. Later on they become she because she finally comes to terms with herself.

ENJOY!

5th Grade (Keith's POV) (Winter):

"Alright class." Mr. Dees got the classes attention from individual time, where I was sitting and struggling with my algebra. "We have a new student today. Go ahead, kiddo. Introduce yourself." I quickly move my eyes to the boy. Or is it a girl? They? I'm going to go with they. They speak, "My name is Pidge Gunderson. I actually just moved into town last week, and when I came here, the administration saw my test scores and decided I don't belong in the 4th grade. They said they would prefer me not even in elementary, but there's a rule that you can ever skip a total of one grade and…" I tune out what Pidge is saying after that, they're rambling. 'Why do they look familiar? They said they just moved to town last week, that means Winter break.' I jolt up in my seat, knowing why they look familiar. "... and then we were accused of cheating and-" "Keith, is there something you wanted to ask Pidge?" Mr. Dees effectively cuts Pidge off of their rambling. "Uh… well..." I scratch my neck, a nervous habit. "You… look familiar. D-did y-you just move into the Kiser Apartments?" Pidge focuses their eyes on me, "Yes, top floor.. How did you know?" "My brother, uh, Shiro, knows your brother, Matt Holt, and helped you guys move in." 'Which means this is Katie, the younger sister. But she prefers Pidge, and not to reveal her gender.' "Oh, you're the foster kid." "Y-yeah." "Okay, that's enough." Mr. Dees interrupts. "Pidge, you'll actually be sitting in the vacant seat between Lance and Keith. Maybe you can keep them from fighting." Pidge nods and sits in said seat. I go back to my math. About 10 minutes later, I let out a small groan, and drop my head on my desk. "Oh, is the poor orphan boy angry with his homework?" Lance asks, mocking that my foster parents just passed away a couple weeks earlier, from a car accident. "Shut up, Lance." I snap at him. Pidge turns around in their seat, "What do you need help with?" I just turn my paper so they can read it. "Oh! This is easy."

"Says the genius who skipped a grade."

"I'll help you."

I lift my head, "Really?"

They nod, "So, you have the basis, you just screwed up which way is what. When the number is small and at the top right position, you use the same number. For example, 3 cubed means 3 times 3 times 3. Where as, a 3 in front of something, like 3a, means 3 times "a". Get it?"

I sit up straighter, "What about this symbol?" I point to a symbol that looks like a division sign, but it has a weird "v" shape at the beginning.

"That's a "root" sign. It's the opposite of something being squared, or cubed, or any number. What does 3 cubed equal?"

I quickly do the math in my head, and answer almost immediately, "27."

"Right! So, if you need to find the cubed root of something, say 27, you need to find what number goes into 27, 3 times."

"Wouldn't that be 3?"

"Correct! What about the cubed root of 216?" They point to a problem on my paper. "Uhh…" I quickly run the numbers in my head, "6."

"Okay, and then multiply it by 7a."

"42a."

"Multiply by 20bc."

"840abc."

"Divide by 30a times 20bc."

"What?"

"Multiply 30a by 20bc."

"600abc."

"Divide 840abc by 600abc."

"1.4"

"Correct!"

"Thanks Pidge. And I won't tell anyone your secret." I whisper the last part, just so they can hear. "Thank you, Keith." they reply before turning back to their book. I finish my homework faster than expected. I think they're going to be a great friend in the years to come.

AN (post-chapter) - Hope you enjoyed! Please leave feedback!