It wasn't until Clark brought it up that Lex thought about school.

"I'm so excited!" Clark said one afternoon while they were playing basketball. "School starts in two weeks!"

Lex dropped the ball as panic shot through his limbs, but then he let out his breath. The Kents weren't going to send him to Excelsior. They probably couldn't afford to send him to any boarding school, even if they'd wanted to. "You're excited about that?"

"Yeah! It's fun. I get to see Pete every day, and Greg, and . . . Lana . . ." His cheeks turned pink.

Lex chuckled. Clark's voice always went soft when he said Lana's name. "Well, I'm glad you like school."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's boring, and I don't like homework, and . . . I usually can't make friends."

"Why not?"

"Because other kids don't like me."

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Clark's eyes went wide. "Why don't they like you? You're the best."

"Thanks, Clark." Lex sighed. Strictly speaking, he wasn't sure how true it was that no one liked him. Sure, there had been that birthday party that no one came to, but later, he'd found the invitations in the trash. His father's doing, he was sure, though he'd never confronted him about it—just assumed it was a punishment for something or other. But Lex had definitely never had friends, at least not since the meteor shower. "People don't like my father. And . . . they think I'm weird."

"Why do they think you're weird?"

Lex let out a short laugh. "Because I'm bald."

"So?"

"So . . . that's not normal for eighth graders."

"So?"

Lex groaned. "So people make fun of me."

Clark gasped. "That's so mean!"

"I'm used to it." Lex shrugged.

"But it's mean." Clark huffed and crossed his arms. "If anyone makes fun of you, I'm gonna beat them up for you."

"No, you won't!" Lex reached out and poked Clark in the ribs—Clark's invulnerability didn't save him from tickling. Clark shrieked with laughter. "Your mom and dad will kill you if you do that."

"Okayy." Clark pulled away from the tickling. "But you should stay away from the people who make fun of you. Pete has a brother your age, he might be your friend if he knows you're my brother."

Lex was pretty sure Pete's family was one his father had cheated, so he wasn't sure about that, but he nodded anyway.

"And if people are mean to you, you can tell Mom and Dad."

Lex winced. "It's not that easy in middle school."

"Well, you can tell me. I won't beat them up, but I'll give you hugs. So you feel better."

Lex's eyes stung, and he reached down to hug his little brother. "Thanks, Clark," he said.